Hacking the Sun [Old Version]

Chapter 18.2 Listen, Cyberwhore!

Under the rim of the evening at long last, Jessica, her friends, and the Woodsmen arrived at their destination. They found a shabby, old ranger outpost surrounded by cedars and covered in leaves. Little more than a series of dilapidated beams and old towers. Closer inspection brought a network of metal barricades. Indescribably, the sensation of an invisible presence motioned toward the greater labyrinth of the forest.

Gideon strolled up to the ruin, Danielle still slumped over his shoulder. With the tip of his foot, he tapped around a leaf patch until the hollow drum of metal resonated. Scattering the leaves revealed a cellar door, then he stood silently by as two woodsmen grabbed the handles. A series of concrete steps lowered into a hollow space.

"I'm noticing recurring abstract imagery here," said Shannon.

Gideon stared over his shoulder. "Are you noticing hospitality?" With the golden hour done, the leader of the Woodsmen led the way down. His men stood guard, apparently waiting for their guests to step below.

Shannon paused. "It's as if the darkness just keeps landing in front of us, this ominous representation of personal fate: indomitable, impalpable, and we are impassive to it. Like Yin without Yang."

Silence.

Hand on her chin, Jessica placed Shannon into her contemplative crosshairs. Thinking about it, her girlfriend's sixth sense never steered them awry. For the most part, she was a premonitory cookie. 

"Hmmm..."

"Don't let vague signs tell you how to live your life, girl," said Valerie. "If you don't go with the flow, you get blown away, and we're being blown away."

"Hmmm..."

Jessica entered the cellar, followed by Dexter, then Valerie, then Raptor, and Shannon last. Their entry preceded the iridescence of a candle in the pitch black. With a flicker, Gideon lit another, then another, and another. In no time, the furnishings of an antiquated lounge contoured before them. 

Newfound visibility landed everyone on a hardwood floorboard furnished with a few tables. Some stools lined the countertop of a bar, behind which rested a wooden rack decorated by shot glasses and bottles in every shape and size. Two adjacent sofas lay within reach—one of which comforted Danielle's sprawled body as she slept. This half of the interior was reserved for leisure. The other half, the back, had several crates and gallons of water. Jessica found it exceedingly unremarkable until her eyes wandered to the scattered Christmas decorations. "How very Anglo," she remarked.

Gideon unfurled a map and pinned it to the center of the round table with a knife. He offered a chair to Raptor, and as the operative approached, he gestured for everyone else to sit on the available couch. He tossed Jessica's gravity board to her. "Skater girl!"

Jessica caught the board. "Ja?"

"You seem to be the brains. Be a part of this."

"How formal and abnormal." She looked back, noted Woodsmen guarding the entrance, then casually accepted one of three seats. Scrunching equidistant to Raptor and the vacant seat, their knees nearly touched. Meanwhile, Gideon strolled over to the bar and procured a bottle and three glasses, which made Jessica wince.

"Y'all can take a seat and park it," Gideon reiterated, staring at Jessica's friends. The three of them casually waited by the sofa, hesitant.

Awkwardly, Jessica's gaze meandered to the animal heads displayed behind the counter. She then turned to her friends on the sofa. Anxious mugs, albeit Dexter had a twinkle in his eyes. A thud later, she found Gideon parked next to her. Lazily, he eyed the lot of them then started, "Why are the pointy ears after ya?"