Read Deadlocked 8 for Free Online

conclusions.”
    “Fair enough,” he said without looking up
from the picture that David was drawing. “Just do me a favor and
think about what I said.”
    I got up from the bed and felt my back and
shoulders aching as I did. Laying down, even for a moment, had been
a respite my body direly needed, and getting back up again was
harder than I’d expected. “I’ve got to go.” I crossed the space
between us and kissed David on the head before giving Arthur a hug.
“I love you two.”
    “And we love you,” said Arthur and his son
agreed.
    I grabbed my coat and left, feeling more
uncertain about our future than ever before. Nothing was easy, and
it would only get harder before the end.

3 – One More Night
    Ben Watanabe
    “You again?” asked the guard at the entrance.
He was sitting behind the receptionist’s desk in the waiting room.
This building had been designed with a set of double doors that led
to a small vestibule before the exit. In the old world, this could
prevent unwanted visitors from getting in before the entrance could
be locked, but also kept patients from easily escaping. The
electronic locks no longer worked, but the manual ones did, and
anyone that wanted to leave the center was required to sign out and
back in again when they returned. This way the Rollers could make
sure no one in the facility was missing. The majority of the people
staying at the center never left expect to go to the outhouses, but
I was frequently asking the guards to look the other way as I
wandered around outside. “We’re not supposed to let you…”
    “Laura’s meeting with me outside,” I said
before the guard could finish his protest.
    “The Captain? Why?”
    I shrugged and sat down on one of the musty
couches beside the registration desk. There were pamphlets in a
plastic container on the end table that were still in surprisingly
good condition. Most of the magazines and books of the Red world
had been claimed by people eager to recall the world we’d lost, but
these brochures for the rehab facility had been left alone. I took
one out and began leafing through it. They discussed addiction, and
the damage it could do to a family, and I thought of Harrison who
was still struggling with his own demons.
    It took Laura longer than I expected to get
to the entrance, and by the time she arrived I’d already finished
reading the brochure. She apologized, and then we both signed out
before the guard unlocked the exit.
    We stepped out of our shelter and into the
bitter cold. It was always a surprise to me just how warm it was
inside of the building, a side-effect of the quantity of bodies
within. Of course, I’d rather deal with the cold than a building
full of bickering people. I hoped that Laura was meeting with me to
give her blessing to the idea of Annie and me heading out on a
scouting mission. I needed to get away from this glut of
humanity.
    “It’s been a hell of a winter,” said Laura as
she closed the door behind us. As if to prove her right, the wind
gusted, stinging our exposed faces. “Usually the winters out here
in the flatlands are pretty mild.”
    “Spring’s coming,” I said as I nestled my
hands in my pockets. “I’d bet this is the last gasp of cold
weather.”
    “I hope you’re right,” she said and then
offered nothing else, as if there was more to say but she just
didn’t want to say it.
    “Did Annie talk to you?”
    She nodded and said, “Yeah.”
    I expected her to offer an opinion, but she
just stayed silent as she stared off into the cold distance. I
wasn’t sure what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I gave her the
time she seemed to need.
    “I want to say no,” she said before finally
looking back at me. “I want to lock her up in here so nothing can
ever hurt her.”
    “I can understand that.”
    “But I also want her to be happy, and locking
her in this place is guaranteed to make her miserable.”
    “I’m the same way. I can’t stand being locked
up in a place