Joy Ride
by Jedi Cassandra
Looking at her wristwatch, Keira feinted mock-surprise and shouted, "Oh boy! Am I ever late! I have to get going!" and ran into one of the more crowded shops. Ducking around and behind a few people she managed to find the back door. Glancing behind her and finding no sign of the robot, she swung the door open and ran out.
Well, she had planned to run out. She ended up in a small closet, as it was. Cursing at herself, Keira was about to leave when she saw the robot enter the shop and scan the room. She slammed the door shut, fumbling with the panel on the side of the door to lock it. Keira sighed in relief when the panel buzzed, signaling that the door had been locked.
Of course, now she was stuck in the closet. Wonderful. And she had missed her contact. Well, maybe not. Maybe she had just run in terror from her contact. That wouldn't bode well with her superiors, she guessed. But she was pretty sure that she had been right on this one. They wouldn't have trusted a robot to be her contact.
After what was most likely was half an hour, Keira fumbled again at the lock to no avail. Cursing, she tried again. Nothing. She wanted to kill the shopkeeper. This was obviously a direct violation of the building code laws on the moon.
"Hey!! Let me out of here!!" she screamed, pounding on the door with both fists. "Hey! Are you all deaf?! LET ME OUTA HERE!!!" She threw herself against the door, trying to force it open. It didn't budge. She slammed her fist on the panel in frustration. "DAMN YOOOOOOWOOOOAH!!!"
The back wall had suddenly opened up and the floor had slanted sharply, sending her flying backward down a shaft. She screamed and cursed as she slid on down the frictionless tunnel, faster and faster. All of a sudden the tunnel turned sharply, throwing her up against the wall before she flipped awkwardly and kept sliding, cursing louder. The tunnel was getting darker and darker, taking more and more wicked turns and twists, each one throwing Keira up against the wall.
Suddenly, the ground disappeared from underneath her and she fell onto a mattress of sorts, her momentum flipping her off the mattress and onto the floor. She moaned shakily as the room seemed to dance around her, swirling and twirling in all different directions. She thought she was going to be sick. Finally the room came into focus...a dark, dreary den with a few chairs, a coffee table, a sofa, and a small bar in the corner with a wide selection of various wines and drinks. A man was standing in front of her, and Keira suddenly sat up with a start as she recognized the shopkeeper she had seen with the scanner.
"It would have been much easier," he said with a tight smile, "if you had taken the stairs."
Keira thought she was going to be even more sick.
Keira decides to: