Descending Road - A FAINT CONFUSED RUMBLE by Dana W. Paxson

A FAINT CONFUSED RUMBLE

1563 4D

“So there you are! Come on, Andrew, we gotta go, get your ass moving.” Ezzar‘s sharp voice penetrated his stupor.

He turned to look at her, and croaked, “What are you doing here?” Grendel and another man stood behind her.

“You can’t stay here, the blues‘ll be here in seconds. Come on, we’re headed to the Complex. The show is on, right now.”

“Who is this?” The third man cut in. All three of them carried two long guns each, and packs of supplies. The stores around them had closed their shutters.

“He’s one of us,” Ezzar said. She turned on Andrew. “Come on, damn it!”

Andrew looked around. Janny and the other girls had disappeared. They’d find him when they wanted to, and Engel… he stopped himself. They’d both have to wait. “All right. Give me a pack or two to carry.” He held out a hand to Ezzar.

The lights in the understreet flickered to brown, then brightened to yellow for a second. Then they went out. The pitch blackness lengthened and deepened. The sighing of the air circulators, a sound with no beginning, slowly died away into a faint confused rumble of dancers’ drums, and then the drums themselves faded to a stunning silence.

Andrew swiveled his head, hearing nothing except the soft dripping from the smashed tanks in the bioshop, and the residual ringing in his ears. The power to Sobi Zone had been cut.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	A FAINT CONFUSED RUMBLE 1563 4D “So there you are! Come on, Andrew, we gotta go, get your ass moving.” Ezzar‘s sharp voice penetrated his stupor. He turned to look at her, and croaked, “What are you doing here?” Grendel and another man stood behind her. “You can’t stay here, the blues‘ll be here in seconds. Come on, we’re headed to the Complex. The show is on, right now.” “Who is this?” The third man cut in. All three of them carried two long guns each, and packs of supplies. The stores around them had closed their shutters. “He’s one of us,” Ezzar said. She turned on Andrew. “Come on, damn it!” Andrew looked around. Janny and the other girls had disappeared. They’d find him when they wanted to, and Engel… he stopped himself. They’d both have to wait. “All right. Give me a pack or two to carry.” He held out a hand to Ezzar. The lights in the understreet flickered to brown, then brightened to yellow for a second. Then they went out. The pitch blackness lengthened and deepened. The sighing of the air circulators, a sound with no beginning, slowly died away into a faint confused rumble of dancers’ drums, and then the drums themselves faded to a stunning silence. Andrew swiveled his head, hearing nothing except the soft dripping from the smashed tanks in the bioshop, and the residual ringing in his ears. The power to Sobi Zone had been cut.