Thomas ran around the corner to where his old van was parked. He opened the sliding panel door, and shouted, "Get in," then ran around to the driver's side door without checking to see if they obeyed.
While Thomas unlocked his door, Alicia and Judy climbed in. Judy slid to the far end of the bench seat and started fastening her seat belt while Alicia closed the side door. Alicia was just fastening her own seat belt when Thomas gunned the engine to life, and jammed the gas pedal to the floor.
The van roared as it leaped forward, leaving short streaks of rubber behind. Thomas drove fast, breaking several traffic laws in his effort to get away from the convention hall. "Whew," Thomas said out loud, "it's a good thing we were at the convention center, and not at the MorphicControl main office. Otherwise, there's no way I could get away unnoticed."
After he'd driven a few miles, turning randomly, but trying to keep moving away from the convention hall, he finally got onto a freeway, and marged into the moderate traffic flow. He relaxed visibly, as there seemed to be no pursuit.
A few miles later, he got off the freeway. "Hey," he asked as he pulled up to a stoplight, "are you girls hungry? Do you want anything?"
The two girls started responding at the same time, resulting in an unintelligible babble. After a moment, he shouted, "STOP!" The two girls immediately stopped talking. "You... um, I'm going to need to know your names. Whenever I ask you both a question, I want you - the one with the green shirt - to answer first, then you," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Judy, "answer when she's completely done. Okay?"
Alicia nodded. "Yes, of course." Judy nodded as well, adding, "Yes, sir."
Thomas nodded with a self-satisfied smile, finally feeling that he was actually in control of his circumstances again. The light turned green, and he started driving. "So," he called over his shoulder, "what are your names?"
Alicia smiled and responded, "My name is Alicia Angelica Arrington."
There was a pause as Judy waited to be sure that Alicia was done, then she replied, "My name is Judith Tannhauser Westerbrook." After another pause, she added, "But everyone calls me Judy."
Thomas nodded, letting the information sink in. "So, are either of you hungry?"
Alicia responded, "Yes, I am." Judy followed up with, "Yeah, I need something to eat. I haven't had anything since breakfast."
Thomas nodded, and pulled into the drive-through of the local fast-food joint. Once they had their food, he drove on again. It was only a few minutes before he drove into the garage of his house.
"Last stop, everyone out," he called. "The house isn't in the greatest of shape, but I have a housecleaning service come in once a month."
The two girls followed him in, looking around curiously. The house was very clearly the residence of a bachelor - there were dishes in the sink that looked like they had been there for weeks, and the trash can was full.
Thomas turned back as the door to the garage closed behind the girls. "I, uh, don't know what we're going to do about fixing you, but I have to try."
Mon Aug 07 01:43:10 2006