Descending Road - I TRIED TO TELL THEM by Dana W. Paxson

I TRIED TO TELL THEM

1560 4D

Back the next day, after my talk, with my new acolyte Iana at my side, I drew a breath to call them all to follow, and the old woman stuck her face in mine.

She was small, maybe half my size and weight, and her dark skin had the marks of life on the surface under sunlight. Her hand gripped my elbow so hard I said, “Ow–” and that’s all I said, because my body stopped working and I went down on my back, a heap of jelly.

I couldn’t even turn my eyes, or close my eyelids. People began to drift out of my field of vision, which was contracting more and more. Murmurs and frowns.

The old woman said, “Where is your coll license for inspeaking? You aren’t one of us, are you?” Her hands worked my slipsuit, removing all the contents of pockets and pouches. “No, go on, he’s a fake,” she said to the last few people. Voices died away.

Another old woman, a little leaner in the face, joined the first. “Who is he?”

“He’s Darko Hejj. Wouldn’t you think so? Such a bunch of fools.” Somehow the word sounded a lot worse when the person using it wasn’t banging me. “Oh.”

“What?”

“He’s a… cleaner.”

“No!”

“Yes. One of the Kaliagni bunch. Gringatina hires these freelancers, sticks them with an andro, and sits back and rakes in the cash. City pays her a lot. Bodies go away.”

“What do we do with him?”

“Don’t you know? We dump him in a shaft.”

A third voice joined the two. “He’s been making things up as he goes along. He almost fell down one of the shafts yesterday – I had to grab him. Could have saved you all this trouble, I guess.” It was Iana, or whatever her real name was. But I knew she wouldn’t tell them about the licking my leg and what followed it. Probably not, anyway – not until I was dead.

So I tried to tell them myself. The only thing that came out of me was “Gg. Gg gg.” And it was so soft that the old woman bent close and put her ear next to my mouth.

“Ggg gg ggg. Gggg. Ulgg gglg,” I said.

“Sounds like he’s praying,” the old woman said. She smiled a little, and the other two laughed. “Hejjis must think it’s never too late, I guess.”

Right then I started to think this job hadn’t been such a good idea. In fact, it was getting to be a lot less fun.

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


	I TRIED TO TELL THEM 1560 4D Back the next day, after my talk, with my new acolyte Iana at my side, I drew a breath to call them all to follow, and the old woman stuck her face in mine. She was small, maybe half my size and weight, and her dark skin had the marks of life on the surface under sunlight. Her hand gripped my elbow so hard I said, “Ow–” and that’s all I said, because my body stopped working and I went down on my back, a heap of jelly. I couldn’t even turn my eyes, or close my eyelids. People began to drift out of my field of vision, which was contracting more and more. Murmurs and frowns. The old woman said, “Where is your coll license for inspeaking? You aren’t one of us, are you?” Her hands worked my slipsuit, removing all the contents of pockets and pouches. “No, go on, he’s a fake,” she said to the last few people. Voices died away. Another old woman, a little leaner in the face, joined the first. “Who is he?” “He’s Darko Hejj. Wouldn’t you think so? Such a bunch of fools.” Somehow the word sounded a lot worse when the person using it wasn’t banging me. “Oh.” “What?” “He’s a… cleaner.” “No!” “Yes. One of the Kaliagni bunch. Gringatina hires these freelancers, sticks them with an andro, and sits back and rakes in the cash. City pays her a lot. Bodies go away.” “What do we do with him?” “Don’t you know? We dump him in a shaft.” A third voice joined the two. “He’s been making things up as he goes along. He almost fell down one of the shafts yesterday – I had to grab him. Could have saved you all this trouble, I guess.” It was Iana, or whatever her real name was. But I knew she wouldn’t tell them about the licking my leg and what followed it. Probably not, anyway – not until I was dead. So I tried to tell them myself. The only thing that came out of me was “Gg. Gg gg.” And it was so soft that the old woman bent close and put her ear next to my mouth. “Ggg gg ggg. Gggg. Ulgg gglg,” I said. “Sounds like he’s praying,” the old woman said. She smiled a little, and the other two laughed. “Hejjis must think it’s never too late, I guess.” Right then I started to think this job hadn’t been such a good idea. In fact, it was getting to be a lot less fun.