Will McIntosh - Love Minus Eighty

Winter fell into a coughing fit, her chest and stomach spasming. She took a long, squealing breath and coughed more.

“We have to get to the boat,” Rob said, nearly shouting. “Can you hang on around my neck?” He spun around, wrapped Winter’s hands around his neck, squeezed them together. “Hold on tight, as tight as you can.” Winter dug her fingers into his collarbone. “That’s right.”

Rob swam a breaststroke. It was easier now, but the boat seemed impossibly far away, drifting toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which separated the bay from the ocean.

“What happened to the boat?” Winter asked, so soft Rob could barely hear.

“It’s drifting away on the current.”

Winter’s legs started thrashing. It took Rob a moment to realize she was trying to kick, to help. They were feeble kicks, but it was nice to see she could move her legs.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “You’re not hurt?”

“Don’t talk. Swim.”

So Rob swam, struggling to keep his face above water while bearing Winter’s weight on his shoulders.

Soon the boat was noticeably closer.

And closer still. As they closed in, the boat seemed to be flying across the water, intent on staying out of Rob’s grasp.

Rob kept swimming.

Veronika wiped her eyes, but the tears kept coming.

She wanted to open a screen over the bay to see how Rob and Winter were doing, but it was too risky. If she watched, there was a risk of inadvertently giving away their location to the authorities. The moment Rob tossed their systems into the bay, Veronika closed the screen she’d been watching from, high above the bay, knowing she’d never set eyes on either of them again.

Across the big banquet table, she caught Nathan’s eye. He smiled.

It’s sad, but still a happy ending, no? he sent.

I’m happy for them, terribly sad for me , she sent.

Nathan nodded. He stood, gestured for everyone’s attention. It was a large gathering, mostly Bridesicle Watch people, but also some of Winter and Rob’s friends, whom Veronika had invited after the news of their disappearance became public. The room quieted.

“Before the formal festivities begin, I’d like to propose a toast to my two friends.” Nathan raised his glass of champagne, originally intended to toast the demise of the bridesicle program. That could wait. “To Rob and Winter. Wherever you are, wherever you end up, you’re where you belong. Together at last.”

Veronika stifled a sob as she drank. Lycan reached out, patted her back. “I’m sure they’ll be all right.”

Sunali got everyone’s attention and gave a little speech. She lavished praise on Veronika, and Lycan, and even on Lorelei, although the latter was clearly an effort. They toasted the fall of the dating center.

“Now I want to tell all of you something firsthand, before it leaks,” Sunali said, after the toast. Veronika was struck by the woman’s presence, the sense of power and purpose she exuded. “Cryomed is going to announce that it is returning all of the ‘salvage’ bridesicles to their families for burial.”

Sounds of surprise and outrage rose; Sunali raised her hands for quiet. “They want to make Bridesicle Watch seem responsible for these deaths, that we forced the closing of the dating program, now look at the terrible price these poor women and their families must pay.”

Veronika couldn’t help thinking that if the closing had occurred a few weeks earlier, Winter would have been one of those women.

“Right after their announcement, we will announce that Bridesicle Watch will revive all of these women.”

“ All the bridesicles?” Lycan asked. Veronika was startled by his voice; it wasn’t like him to speak in front of so many people. His graduate student was handling all of the interviews surrounding the rollout of his emotion system app, because he was too nervous to speak in front of the camera.

“No, Lycan, unfortunately we don’t have the funds to revive everyone in the program, only those who’d otherwise be buried. It will drain most of our remaining funds, but with the dating program closed, Bridesicle Watch doesn’t have much reason to exist anyway. So, we’re going out with a bang.”

“What about Mira?” Lycan asked.

Sunali nodded. “Mira will be first. My plan is for her to be at my side at the press conference, if she’s willing. And we’ll revive a few other women who’d otherwise go back to the main facility, to repay favors owed.”

Lycan nodded, went back to looking down at his hands.

“I want to talk to Sunali for a minute,” Lycan said as people were filing out of the banquet.

“About what?” Veronika asked, but Lycan was already halfway across the room. Nathan motioned to her; Veronika held up a finger and hurried after Lycan, who strode up to Sunali like someone mustering his courage for a confrontation.

“I want to be the one to tell Mira she’s being revived,” Lycan said.

“ Wait a minute ,” Veronika said, before she could stop herself.

Sunali ignored Veronika, canted her head at Lycan. “I don’t understand. Why would you want to be the one to tell her?”

Lycan was looking at Veronika, surprised by her outburst.

“Can’t you let Sunali do it?” Veronika asked. “You can speak to Mira once she’s out.”

Lycan shook his head. “It wouldn’t be the same. This is important to me, that I do this.”

“You know her?” Sunali asked.

Lycan explained, haltingly, clearly uncomfortable to be confessing his bridesicle sin to the founder of Bridesicle Watch.

When he finished, Sunali looked at Veronika. “And you’re uneasy about this because of their past?”

Veronika nodded.

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” Sunali said.

It was a remarkably patronizing thing to say, as far as Veronika was concerned. Of course Veronika was being foolish. Of course a woman as stunning as Mira wouldn’t be interested in Lycan, unless she was dead and trapped in that unholy hell. But to come right out and say that? Her hackles up, Veronika asked, “And why is that, Sunali?”

“Because Mira is gay.”

Already prepared with a comeback for what she’d expected Sunali to say, Veronika swallowed it, let out a stunned peep in its place.

“How do you know?” Lycan asked, looking beyond surprised.

Sunali explained. Mira had asked her to pass a message to a woman in the main facility, whose name was Jeannette. Jeannette told Sunali that she and Mira had been partners. Mira never mentioned that to Sunali, evidently afraid of being pulled from the bridesicle program if anyone found out she wasn’t hetero. After doing some digging, Sunali had discovered that in the early days of the dating program, Cryomed had simply plucked longtime residents of the minus eighty without much effort at screening the women, orienting them, or getting their consent.

“I really want to be the one to tell her,” Lycan said. “Please.”

The night air was chilly, but rowing kept him warm, even though he was shirtless after tossing his system overboard. He’d been happy to discover Winter was wearing a shirt underneath hers. Smart girl.

She was still sleeping, curled in the bottom of the boat.

The boat rose on a particularly high wave, plunged down the far side. He was getting used to it somewhat, no longer convinced the boat was going to capsize each time they went over a big wave.

Without his system, he had no idea how long he’d been rowing; all he knew was he needed to get about thirty miles up the coast to ensure they weren’t caught by any surveillance cameras. It was going to be hard, adjusting to having no access to information like that, now that he was systemless.