In A Starship's Wake

Chapter Two: Not Empty-Handed

"Okay, I'm satisfied now." Joseph's comment brought her out of her nervous reflections. He turned the truck back onto the road Allison had already pointed out that would take them to Terrence's club. She and many of the other workers lived in an apartment building across the street. Joseph was taking her back there to pack a few things. She didn't relish the idea of going in there again now that she'd decided to run, but she also didn't like the idea of leaving with nothing.

"That we weren't followed, you mean?" He had mentioned something about that as they left the diner, but Allison's mind had been on other things. It was only fifteen minutes from the club on foot, and it dawned on her that they'd been driving around for about that long.

"Yeah. I didn't think it was likely, but you never know. How far is it to this place?"

"Not far. A couple more blocks." Her heart started beating faster as they got closer.

Soon the club itself was in sight, a gaudy two-level storefront with lots of neon lights advertizing what it was. The most obnoxious were off right now, since midmorning wasn't particularly busy, but the club was still open. She pointed the building out.

"The apartment is the brick building across from it. Terrence either owns it or knows someone who does, because none of the club workers pay rent."

"Does anyone else live there?"

"Not many. The noise from the club at night keeps people from moving in." As they drew up to the buildings, Allison's stomach suddenly clenched in fear. "Don't stop, don't stop!" she whimpered before Joseph could slow down. She shrunk down in her seat to avoid being seen through the windows. She saw him turn down the next side street instead before she clenched her eyes shut.

What if someone figured out she was running and kept her from leaving the apartment once she was inside? Or worse, what if Terrence had given orders that she wasn't to leave again until her shift? She had never seen that happen, but she knew the building manager would do it if Terrence told him to. She had a sudden, terrifying vision of the fat man bolting her door from the outside.

She opened her eyes, and the vision vanished to be replaced by an ordinary, small-town residential road seen through a windshield. Her heart rate slowed as she recognized her surroundings. She wasn't in any danger yet. Joseph had pulled over a few streets back from the apartment.

"Going to be okay?"

She glanced over at the starman. The concern in his voice was mirrored on his face. She nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. I started worrying that they might try to keep me from leaving again."

"Is that likely?"

"No." She shook her head. "Nobody monitors that. It's just...if they realize I'm running, they might."

Joseph rubbed his chin, thinking. "Well, are you likely to actually run into anyone? A few people might see you through their windows, but generally nobody stands around in the halls of an apartment building."

"I don't know. More likely than when the club is busy."

"They have no reason to suspect you just for walking through the building. You live there."

"I'll be walking through looking upset and scared though. What if they figure out why?"

"Taylor just threatened you to force you to do something you don't want to. You have a completely legitimate reason for looking upset and scared. They have no way of knowing that you're more afraid of something else."

Joseph using the wrong name again barely registered with Allison. She hadn't considered that she had a ready-made excuse if anyone asked her what was wrong. Now that she considered it, there were probably a few residents that had known of the ultimatum before she did. Jeremy, the building manager, certainly would know, and she could think of a few others.