Human Company a sci-fi novel

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution -- NoDerivs 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by -- nd/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. HUMAN COMPANY A Novel by Robert Petty CHAPTER 1 -- MECHANICALS The trouble with women is that all you get is sympathy. They will probably still be patting me on the head when the Elevator destroys the world. As I searched for Redblood, I took a deep breath to ease the tightness gripping my chest. This would be her last chance. She either helped me or else. Was she gone? A dark shape moved on the left -- only a horse in the stables. Across the square, the open gate framed a deserted drawbridge. Why did it have to get dark so soon? At last I saw someone to the right, standing on the castle wall. Shadows from the tower hid her features, but she stood straighter than the farm girls. It was Redblood. She frowned, I thought, when she saw me on the ladder, and when she extended her hand to help me onto the walkway, she tilted her head to make my name a question. "Gypsy?" "It's cold." It wasn't, not really, but she let me snuggle against her while she stared up at the mechanicals' garage. Several times I started to speak, but what could I say when her thoughts were so clearly on tomorrow. So I watched the shadows chase the last rays of ...