EDGE OF DAY

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Shikshak Amada?" she called tentatively.

No answer came.

Screw it. Bashful was probably part of her implanted personality. Monday probably wouldn't blink an eye at walking out there with only opaque jelly clinging to her breasts and bum.

Or maybe this was the shikshak's idea of a joke. Perhaps they were going to have a good laugh at her expense. Yeah, don't worry guys about the police droids surrounding the building.

Screw it, Day thought, peeling off her jeans and knickers and pulling on the rubber ones, which was like pulling on wet bikini bottoms. Squeezing into the top would be more problematic with the cuts on her back.

She took off her t-shirt, unwound the gauze and let the bandage fall to the ground. Then she pulled the jelly bra-band over her head and down over her shoulders. She flipped out her arms, and tugged until it held her boobs, pressing them flat to her chest. The good news was it didn't hurt her back.

"Let's get this over with," she muttered. "Doors." The half circle swished open and she stepped out, clutching her clothes to cover her breasts, stomach and a bit of thigh.

Will smiled innocently but she thought she saw a bit of smirk too. The shikshak stood beside Sarah the jellyfish, arms sunk into the fleshy goo of her body.

Day stepped up to Will, still covering herself as best she could with the rest of her clothes. "Tell me this isn't some kind of revenge you guys have on Monday..."

"Revenge?" Will didn't seem to understand. Or perhaps he was playing dumb.

"Whatever." In a few minutes it wouldn't matter because she would be the hard-as-nails, I'm hijacking a prison-ship to go to Mars, Monday they were all waiting for.

"OK, Sarah's ready." The shikshak extracted his arm from the strange substance. "Push yourself inside Sarah's body," he said, taking Day by the elbow, "and once you are fully immersed Sarah will insert some air-noodles into your nose from two of her tentacles. They're really tubes," he added, chuckling.

Day couldn't even pretend to find it amusing.

"I don't understand how this is going to work," she said.

"It is a wise person that knows they don't know," he answered.

"Well I'd like to be less wise please and pretend I understand a little bit."

Will laughed.

"Glad you're having fun Will," she snapped.

He smiled serenely and took a deep breath.

"I'm betting you don't understand quantum physics or nanotechnology yet you've got a quantum chip monitor stuck in your arm monitoring every aspect of your body."

"It's broken," Day muttered.

"If you want I can explain it, but that might take a few hours. Certainly longer than a cup of tea."

"Fine, forget it."

The shikshak held out his hand. Day took it. Her skin crawled as he helped her into Sarah. She thought of the cool blue gel pooling into the cells of her mind when she'd had the implant at Janus. It hadn't been uncomfortable, it had been excruciatingly intrusive, and this would probably be worse.

The machine squished around her body. Day tried to get comfortable. All of a sudden she was locked in place, and the jelly substance was pressing into her face, the tentacles of light reaching up her nose. She opened her mouth to let out a muffled cry and tried to wriggle free, but the jell locked her in like cement.