1
Human Company
A Novel by Robert Petty
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HUMAN COMPANY
CHAPTER 1
-- MECHANICALS
The trouble with women is that all you get is sympathy. They will probably still be patting me on the head when the Elevator destroys the world.
As I searched for Redblood, I took a deep breath to ease the tightness gripping my chest. This would be her last chance. She either helped me or else.
Was she gone? A dark shape moved on the left -- only a horse in the stables. Across the square, the open gate framed a deserted drawbridge. Why did it have to get dark so soon? At last I saw someone to the right, standing on the castle wall. Shadows from the tower hid her features, but she stood straighter than the farm girls. It was Redblood.
She frowned, I thought, when she saw me on the ladder, and when she extended her hand to help me onto the walkway, she tilted her head to make my name a question. "Gypsy?"
"It's cold."
It wasn't, not really, but she let me snuggle against her while she stared up at the mechanicals' garage. Several times I started to speak, but what could I say when her thoughts were so clearly on tomorrow.
So I watched the shadows chase the last rays of sunshine off the peaks and tried to marshal my arguments. I was too young, she would claim, but f