Between the Lanterns(28)
Samantha did as she was asked, and then walked Mr. Parr to the door with her hands on her hips. Her lower back was a little sore today. She noticed him glance back at the BrainSave on the mantle as he left, and then to Woodrow, who was awkwardly waddling along behind them.
Finally, Mr. Parr glanced down at her belly and said, “Oh, and congratulations on your first child. How far along are you?”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied, smiling and rubbing at her baby bump with one hand. “I am just now four months pregnant. So far, it ain’t as easy as they would have you believe.”
Mr. Parr grinned wide at her, and said, “Mrs. Lurie, I was led to believe that pregnancy was actually quite difficult.”
She grinned right back and told him, “Exactly what I meant, Mr. Parr. It’s even harder than you heard. Now you have yourself a pleasant day. And don’t come back, now, you hear? I like you and all, but we only ever see each other when someone dies. You keep far away from my door if you please.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a tip of his hat. “But if you recall, I always bring you Credit or property. Doesn’t that make it any better, Mrs. Lurie?”
“No, sir, it don’t. Now get,” she said with a smile and a wave before closing the door on Mr. Parr.
Woodrow pushed on the door with his little arms and said, “DON’T.”
Samantha nudged him with her foot and walked back to continue the housework with one hand on her sore back. Woodrow followed right along, standing directly in the path of the vacuum again.
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August walked the production line, observing in detail everything that was going on. He was pretty meticulous when it came to running things at the factory. Everything got done precisely and on time. However, he always had an open ear for the workers to suggest improvements in any area.
Today he was out watching how this team handled the newest model BrainSaves. One of the members of the line had told him they could improve production if they had two people on QA. There were so many BrainSaves coming down the line that one person wasn’t enough. As August looked on, he had to agree that the employee had been right. They were missing a few bugged ones coming down the line, which were ending up getting packed for distribution.
He called a halt to production for just a couple of minutes so he could pull someone in to fill in temporarily until a full-time person could be trained and added to the team. With only thirty minutes until shift change, he was only putting a temporary bandage on the problem. But he wanted to make sure they all knew he was on their side, and would always try to listen to them and make changes when needed.
Phillip sat at the end of the line directly opposite from Greg, who had been doing this job since they began making BrainSaves. Greg was giving the temp some tips on how to keep things moving along.
August signaled for the production line to start back up, and the sirens went off for six seconds beforehand to warn everyone that parts would begin moving again. Phillip was not used to the belt that brought multiple components down the line, as the section where he regularly worked required no moving belt to transport parts. Phillip had placed his hands underneath the belt mechanism as he sat down and had not moved them when the assembly line began to flow again. The scream that echoed throughout the factory shook all of the employees to their cores. It was a cry full of pain and terror, and August looked on in horror as Phillip held his now handless arms in front of his face and continued to howl in agony.
“HALT PRODUCTION! NOW!” August screamed above the roar of the machinery and then jumped into action.
He gathered Phillip in his arms and raced to the factory AutoCar, which was typically used to run errands back and forth into town. He placed the mutilated worker in the back seat, and August then ripped his own shirt off to use as a tourniquet;, staunching the flow of blood.
“BRING ME THE FIRST AID KIT RIGHT NOW, DAMNIT!” August screamed through the now much quieter area.
A minute or so later, someone handed the kit to August. He tore it open and found the AutoCauterizer made by Montek.Pharm. It would be painful as hell without the numbing gel provided, but he was in too much of a hurry to think of that. August gently removed his makeshift tourniquet from the ends of Phillip’s arms and clicked the AutoCauterizer to ON mode.
“I’m sorry, Phil, but this might hurt a little,” August said.
The tip glowed with red laser heat, and he pressed it to each gory nub in turn. Phillip’s howls of pain sounded much more intense now because of August’s proximity to their source.
Having sealed the wounds with laser heat, August relaxed a little. He realized this meant that Phillip’s hands could not be reattached now, but August had seen what remained of those hands – chewed up by the belt as they were – and knew that they were never going to be reattached anyway. At least now Phillip wouldn’t bleed to death on the way to the clinic.
“I’m sorry, Phillip. I… it’s my fault for puttin’ you there without the proper trainin’, man,” August said. “I’ll get you to the clinic now. I’m sure they can provide some top-of-the-line robotic prosthetics for you. Montek will cover the costs, don’t you worry. It’s a work-related injury. And I’ll stay with you for as long as you want. Is there someone I can call for you?”
Phillip said nothing, as he was unconscious at this point, having passed out from the pain of the AutoCauterizer. The AutoCar raced on to the clinic while August held this man in the back seat, horrified at what he had caused.