Free Genesis by Paul Antony Jones

Mizz Baxter’s request?” No one said a thing. “All those against granting Mizz Baxter’s request.” There was a resounding chorus of “Nay” from the assembled council.
    “While we appreciate your predicament, we cannot commit our scant resources to something we have no proof of,” Valentine said. “Meeting adjourned.”
    “Fine,” said Emily, abruptly standing and sending her chair skidding across the floor. She had managed to keep her growing anger from her voice, but now her words dripped with contempt. “If you bastards won’t help me, then I’ll do it myself.”

    Emily stormed out of the council building, her rage at Valentine and the rest of the worthless council quickly frozen away by an ice-cold resolve. If the council was not willing to listen to her, then she was going to have to take matters into her own hands. She had already made up her mind how she was going to do that before she had taken less than a handful of steps back toward her apartment.
    Glancing over her shoulder, she saw she was alone, the two guards assigned to her still inside the building, waiting for their orders from Valentine, she guessed. Emily ducked to her right, putting a building between her and the council chambers. Valentine’s mutts would be on her trail pretty fast once they discovered she hadn’t gone straight back to the apartment. They might think she had gone to the beach to cool off, but she had to assume they would start looking for her, so she had better make this fast.
    She began to jog up the path leading up to the helo pad.
    No one thought to post a guard around the Black Hawk. Why would they? Besides herself, no one else knew how to fly the thing, and it wasn’t like someone was going to walk in off the street. And apart from the ground crew who kept it oiled and fueled, no one paid it that much attention.
    When the helo was not scheduled to fly, it was covered with a huge tarpaulin and secured by tie-downs to protect it from the elements. Emily slipped under the edge of the tarp, then let herself into the cockpit. A quick check of the instruments showed that the fuel tank was at optimal. The service log showed that the ground crew had done their job and run all the required maintenance after the last flight with Mac.
    She was ready to rock and roll.
    Emily stepped back outside, checked that no one would see her, then slipped out from under the tarp and made her way as nonchalantly as she could down the path toward her apartment.
    She checked the time on her wristwatch. It was just after two. If she tried to take the helo now, the entire camp would be all over her before she could get the engines up to maximum speed. She was going to have to wait until it was dark. That should buy her enough extra time.
    Her entire body ached, not from the weariness she had woken with, but from the slow-burning anxiety created by the constant pull she felt toward the northeast.
    Take it easy, she told herself as she pushed open the door to the apartment block. Everything is under control .
    She hoped that she was right.

    “But I want to come with you,” Rhiannon said for the third time in as many minutes. She sat on the edge of the bed as Emily moved around the room.
    “Pouting doesn’t look good on you, kiddo.”
    Rhiannon scowled. “I’m not pouting and I’m not a kid. Why can’t I come with you?”
    Emily continued to pull clothes from her closet and pack them into the backpack lying on the bed. “I’ve already told you why; I need to travel fast and light, and, I’m sorry, but you’re just going to slow me down.” An ember of the anger she felt at the council’s decision still smoldered deep in her breast, and she regretted the harshness it brought to the words the second they left her mouth.
    Rhiannon smarted as though she had been slapped.
    Emily dropped a light rain jacket on the bed and stepped in close to the girl. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. It’s just