The Stranger - Max Frei [288]
When we were already outside, I was struck by an absurd notion, so our departure was delayed by another half hour. I needed to stop by the Country Home. This time I didn’t want to play cards, though.
When I had settled myself behind the levers of the amobiler, I happily lit up a cigarette, and the vehicle started to move. I drove fairly slowly to the city gates. But when we had passed the eleven Vaxari trees, I drove like a bat out of hell—a hundred miles an hour, at least. I couldn’t believe I had managed to get that kind of speed out of the absurd old jalopy. And that was just the beginning!
Shurf sat frozen in the back seat. I couldn’t turn around to see the expression on his face, but I could have sworn I heard him breathing rapturously. It was indescribably wonderful. We flew though the darkness along an unknown road. There were no gray cliffs, none of the bottomless precipices we had passed on our way into Kettari. The cable car on the edge of my nameless city, and the city itself, were nowhere to be seen, either—only the darkness and the cold minty air of Kettari. I didn’t even notice when the air lost its biting freshness.
“I just contacted Juffin,” Lonli-Lokli told me. I raised my eyebrows in surprise
“Good news, Shurf. Tell him . . . tell him your part of the story of what happened in Kettari. I can’t afford to get distracted when I’m driving this fast—and slowing down would be too much to ask. Tell Juffin that, all right?”
“Of course. I realize you don’t really like using Silent Speech. In any case, by my calculations we’ll be in Echo very soon—no later than tomorrow at noon, if you don’t get tired.”
“Well, what’s Elixir of Kaxar for? I know, I know, the driver isn’t supposed to indulge. But since I’m the big boss these days, I think I can.”
“Yes, Max. You can,” said Lonli-Lokli.
Then he was silent for a long time. He and Juffin clearly had a lot to talk about after their long separation. I didn’t envy them. If anyone was enjoying life now, it was me. Tomorrow I would talk my fill. Oh, poor Juffin! I’d talk his head off.
After about two hours, Lonli-Lokli touched my shoulder gently. I shuddered in surprise. The dizzying speed at which we were traveling had made me forget about everything else on earth, including my silent passenger.
“Sir Juffin and I have finished our conversation. Besides that, you know, I’m hungry. It would be nice to stop at a roadside diner.”
“Dig around in my bag there—you’ll find some cookies. They’re imported, but edible, I hope. And pass me some. I’ve also got the munchies.”
Lonli-Lokli rummaged around in my bag for a while, then produced a bag of cookies for me, and some for himself, which he munched with gusto.
“Are these from another World, too?”
“Most likely. Oh, Shurf! I have an excellent idea. Wait a minute.”
I stopped the amobiler and stuck my hand under the seat. I waited for a minute or two. Ah, there they were! Then I started to laugh.
“What happened, Max?”
“Nothing, it’s just that yesterday, when I was trying to get hold of some cigarettes, I kept finding all kinds of edibles. And now, when I’m trying to forage for our dinner—voilà!” I waved a long cardboard carton in front of his face triumphantly. “There are tens packs in here, Shurf! And they’re my favorite kind—555! I’m in luck!”
Greetings, Max, Mackie Ainti’s call reached me so suddenly I gasped, slumping down in the seat. It wasn’t the most pleasant feeling—like getting slammed by a dump truck. Not a real one, of course; but still, what a greeting! It was lucky that I hadn’t been driving