As the Crow Flies (Short Story, Complete)

Until we meet again

Worn boots kicked the dust on the road. He misstepped, his thoughts coming back to the present, and quickly regained his balance. The backpack with his canned food and other essentials slipped to the side, and he adjusted it on his shoulder. With the sun setting at his back, it sent his shadow out before him. Clouds, wispy and high up, could not keep out the stars. Here in the flat plains of the desert, there were only the high mesas on the near horizon, the low bracken and scrub brush on the land, and the ever-present wind.

(You don't have to do this, you know?)

The sound came from inside his head, interrupting his thoughts, and he cursed the decision, again, that humanity thought it was acceptable to place implants in the skull so everyone would be connected. Wi-Fi for the brain. The voice was like that of a virtual consciousness sitting on his shoulder.

(Staying silent purposely?)

He said nothing and with a mental **click** shut the implants off. Sounds of the insects now filled the night. Refreshing.

As the wind picked up, coming to his back from the west and rustling the leaves, he set his feet to the road with hardened resolve.

In the twilight before him, the air began to shimmer. Blue light brightened the yellow stripes on the black asphalt, which once guided traffic. He did not shy away from this apparition; knowing it for what it was, he kept walking.

His shadow pivoted wildly as he walked past, and the light-brightened darkness of his form danced before him.

As suddenly as it began, the blue light extinguished. It formed anew meters ahead, taking human form. He ignored it.

"Lyric," Old Omni vocalized with a light feminine voice.

"No good, not listening," Lyric said over his shoulder as he passed. "You should know this by now. We have the same conversation every night."

"There is nothing ahead of you for kilometers. I have a ride waiting. It can be here in a few moments. End this and accept my help. It makes no difference to me either way. I just don't like to see you suffer."

Still, he said nothing and kept walking. There was a glow on the horizon. The moon would be up soon. With the daylight gone, he would have light to see by.

Again, the blue light appeared in front of him. Almost seeming solid, it changed to the form of a woman. The image was lovely, but it could not sidetrack him.

"Just a conversation? We need to talk," Old Omni pleaded before dissolving and reappearing in front of him again.

It went like this most of the night.

At midnight, he stopped and dropped his pack near a large rock. Pulling a can and an opener from his pack, Lyric started to eat. The blue-lighted apparition of a woman sat cross-legged on the road and watched him.

"Are you serious?" Old Omni asked. "What is that, beans?"

"You like that? Cool beans." He flung a spoonful towards the shimmering form and they passed right through. Old Omni didn't even flinch.

"You're upset, mad. I can tell."

"Understatement," he said.

"You should come aboard with us. We would welcome you."

"I'm not ready to die yet. May be the only body I have, but I am kind of partial to it."

"So, your lips work only when your feet are not moving."

"Oh, a jab," he scoffed. He grabbed his chest with an empty hand. "Ouch, you cut deep. How about we compromise and you ignore me and I'll ignore you? We'll call it even."