Ten Thousand Reasons to Live

Ten Thousand Reasons to Live

     Floran was acting very nervous. He was pacing up and down that Underground Public Transport. Finally, he sat down. “Why is the meet here,” he thought to himself. “There aren’t that many people here this time of day. But there are a lot more than usual. Does that mean anything?”

     “Just relax,” came a low voice that only Floran could hear. That voice belonged to Wendem. “If you don’t relax you are going to scare him/her off.”

     “You may have done this a million times.” Floran spoke without moving his mouth. All Torianians did that. “But this is my first time.”

     “Who are you talking to? Are you in communication with someone?” A woman sat down next to Floran. Her name was Lorine. There were plenty of other places he could have sat. But he chose that one. Why?

     “Don’t panic,” said Wendem. “It might not even be her.”

     “I’m talking to myself,” said Floran. “Is that okay with you?”

     “Don’t be like that with me,” said Lorine. “You know what will happen if you make me mad.”

     Lorine looked up and down the isle. After making sure no one could hear them she continued. “Go two compartments up from here. No one ever goes there because they think it’s haunted. Place the bag on the seat. Then leave. If anyone asks say you left it there by mistake.”

     First it was lorine who got up and left. A few minutes later Floran did. He went to the compartment that he was told to go too. Once there he realized that man was right. That compartment looked haunted. “Are you still with me?”

     “I’m still here,” said wendem. “I heard everything. Just do what he asked. And everything will be okay.”

     The only problem was everything wasn’t okay. Floran woke up expecting to see Morissa. But all he saw was a Video Feed about a Credit Collector who found a bag with ten thousand Credits in it.

<<<<<*>>>>>

     It all started a day ago. That was the longest thirty-two hours of Floran’s life. He knew there was a problem when his ten-year-old daughter Morissa didn’t come home from Learning. She always came right home. Did her Evening Studies, Ate, watch some Video Feeds – then went to sleep. Morissa had never done anything like that before. That’s why he knew there was a problem – even before the door announced someone was there.

     “Have you been contacted yet?” The Law Enforcer said his name. But Floran was too shaken up to hear it.

     “Contacted about what? What are you doing here?” Floran quickly asked Wendem into his house as soon as he saw his ID. He had some very suspicious neighbors.

     “Then you haven’t heard,” said Wendem. “It’s your daughter. She has been abducted. It happened right after her last Learning Class.”

     “Abducted! Why would anyone abduct her? I’m not made of Credits,” said Floran.

     “We don’t understand that either,” said Wendem. “According to your history there’s no reason for this abduction. Maybe it’s a mistake. Whatever the reason whoever has Morissa will contact you.”

     As if on cue the lights in the whole house started to flickering. That told Floran and Wendem that Floran had a communications from someone. Floran went to make contact. After a few minutes he returned. “It was the abductors.”

     “What did they want?” asked Wendem. Floran didn’t answer him.

     “She told me not to contact Law Enforcement,” said Floran. “If I did Morissa would suffer.”

     “Abductors always say that,” said Wendem. “They know we are going to contacted. If not by the victim, then by The Secret Eyes around the Community.”

     “I don’t care,” said Floran. “I’m not telling you anything.”

     “Did you say she? Is the abductors a female?” Wendem didn’t seem surprised about that.

     “It sounded like it was a female,” said Floran. “Is that a problem?”

     “Abductors are usually male,” said Wendem. “But sometime they are female – especially if a little girl is involved. It could be a couple too.”

     Wendem continued to try to get Floran to tell him what the abductor, or abductors, wanted. But Floran refused to risk Morissa’s life. It took Wendem some sneaky questions but he finally figured out what the abductor wanted.

     “Can you get your hands on that many Credits?” Floran glanced around the room they were in. “You don’t have that many Credits do you?”

     “I don’t know where I’m going to get ten thousand Credits,” said Floran. “What am I going to do?”

     “I’ve got an idea,” said Wendem. “We can loan you the Credits. But with a special tracking dye so that we can get them back – and get the abductor.”

     Floran didn’t like the tracking dye. But he was willing to do anything to get Morissa back. It only took Wendem a few hours to get the ten thousand Credits. Now all they had to do was wait for the abductor to contact them with instructions for the exchange.

<<<<<*>>>>>

     “Morissa isn’t dead yet,” said Floran. “The abductor contacted me right after that Video Feed was seen about the Credit Collector. They, and she did say they this time, said they couldn’t get to the bag right away. And by the time they got there it was too late. That Credit Collector found it.”

     “What do you want me to do? Give you another ten thousand Credits,” said Wendem.

     “It twenty-five thousand now,” said Floran. “And they know about the tracking dye.”

     “How did they find out about the tracking dye? We didn’t let that slip out when they did the Video Feed,” said Wendem

     “I don’t know how they found out,” said Floran. “But they did. And they warned me not to try something like that again. If I do Morissa is dead. Are you going to help me again?”

<<<<<*>>>>>

     Floran and Lorine were lounging by a lake. Morissa was swimming in that lake. “I can’t believe we got away with it.”

The End?