Gate Program

Sci-Fi Short Story Part 1

I’m working on a sci-fi short story series, a spin off of my previous short story, Black Pupil. Meet Ally, a young woman who is on the run. She’s somehow connected to the mysterious Gate Program, and Svetlana, a Russian woman who may have the answers.

Gate Program, Part 1

This is really weird. Ally just noticed the block stitching – “Gate Program, Ally Cranston” – in small letters, embroidered on the left pocket of her windbreaker. She hadn’t noticed it before, not even when she rode in the cab with the nice trucker in the brown hat who offered to take her as far as Thunder Bay in the cold and sleet that Sunday afternoon. What the hell is “Gate Program”? Ally couldn’t remember much about the last few days. She didn’t know why she was on the run, or why she felt driven to flee up north in the cold.

My God, am I that pale? She gazed at herself in the mirror, scrubbing her hands in the rusted sink. She noticed her hazel eyes, splattered with amber and green specks, and she instantly remembered snippets of a group chat from a day ago. The other girls in the chat quickly typed in a mad crescendo when they discovered they all shared similar traits, including their hazel eye colour, and the fact they all had a tiny black spot located on the left iris. She examined her left eye in the mirror and instantly found the mysterious black speck hiding in the outer ring of her pupil. Is it just a coincidence? Who am I? She left the water running and stared at her narrow, joyless face. Her heart thudded and flashbacks quickly came to her. Running through a forest. Dogs barking behind her. Swinging her leg over a tall wire fence. Enough. The back of her head pricked and she felt dizzy.

“Remember to turn off the tap, dear.” A shaky voice spoke from the back stall. “The water will spill over and we’ll have a flood in here.” The older woman pursed her wrinkled lips and clutched her mop tighter. She smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “I’m the head janitor around here, that’s all. Uh, is everything alright?”

Ally shut the water off and turned around. She pulled a wad of brown paper towel from the dispenser. “I’m fine thank you.” She paused, not wanting to seem too out of it. “Excuse me, where is this place?”

The elderly woman’s eyes opened wide. “Hun, you’re in Beltown, don’t you know? Are you okay, dear?”

Beltown? Not familiar at all.

“There’s a woman in the diner asking for you, dear.”

Ally’s eyes grew large. “Oh?” Her mind began to race.

“Yes, she says she’s Svetlana from the Gate Program. She’s waiting for you.”

Ally tossed the paper towel out and smoothed her dark strands from her cheeks. She managed a thank you, and walked out into the bustling diner. A petite woman, her hair swirled up in a dark bun, waved from a booth by the kitchen. She motioned for Ally to come sit with her. Maybe now I’ll get some answers.