Coming Out #4: Susan Jane Bigelow on Fly Into Fire February 29, 2012
Posted by juliarios in : Coming Out, publications , trackbackWelcome to Coming Out #4! Coming Out is a series of guest posts in which creators talk about specific newly available works. We based this loosely on John Scalzi’s The Big Idea series, except, since we’re The Outer Alliance, you can expect all the projects to involve QUILTBAG people and/or content. Our guest poster this time is Susan Jane Bigelow, author of Fly Into Fire.
Fly Into Fire is the sequel to 2011′s Broken (which received an honorable mention from Publishers Weekly for the best science fiction books of 2011), and features a trans protagonist.
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I haven’t been able to think of much to say in guest posts lately, so here is a story! This takes place directly before the events of Fly Into Fire, my new novel out this January from Candlemark & Gleam!
The Beam
by Susan Jane Bigelow
January, 2110
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Outside, the snow fell softly, covering the city in a cold muffling blanket of white. Renna looked out the window and sighed, her breath fogging the window. The lights of Halifax blurred, then became sharp again. Behind her, refugees huddled together for warmth, sleeping in packs on or under the cots the shelter had set up for them. Amy leaned against the wall, dozing, not really asleep but not awake either.
Tomorrow, Renna thought. Tomorrow we leave Earth for good.
They’d managed to escape from Toronto with next to nothing besides the clothes on their backs. They’d gone out the window while the Black Bands pounded and shouted at their door, then somehow dodged them through the streets and dark alleys. The trip across the wintry countryside to Halifax was, if anything, worse. At last, though, they’d washed up at the feet of Jackie Nabors, who promised them a spot on the ship she was flying to Räton space. Amy had paid for it, God knew how.
The one the Black Bands had really wanted was Amy; Renna was nothing to them. Renna didn’t want to imagine a life without Amy in it, though, so she stuck by her. They’d been inseparable ever since they met at a party during her first week at the University.
Amy was one of the few people like herself that Renna had ever met, and the only person in Toronto she dared tell about her past. She even quietly whispered her old name to Amy late one night, after they’d moved in together. Ramon. Amy had touched her face, crying, and whispered Andy back to her. Only Amy really understood the desperation and stress of hiding a past that, in the eyes of the new government, made a person into a monster.
Amy understood everything. Renna would follow her anywhere.
Renna glanced up at the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of the moon or the stars, but the snow and the clouds were too heavy. Tomorrow. The old sense of obligation nagged at her. She sighed and dug her pad out of her pocket, expanding it until she could use the keyboard. It had next to no charge left, but she could still write something.
She tapped out something on the keyboard. Hi Mama! It’s me Renna. Your daughter! How are you and Rafé doing? Are you okay? Is it hot in Tuscon ha ha!
Ugh. She deleted it. They didn’t care what happened to her anyway, they’d never understood. Her mother had been clear on the subject: Don’t ever come back.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” Amy said.
“Hey,” said Renna, holding Amy’s hand for a brief moment.
“Writing something? A letter?”
“No,” said Renna, embarrassed. “Nothing like that. Just some thoughts.”
“I see,” said Amy, resting her head on Renna’s shoulder. “Hey, I tell you? I heard someone say Sky Ranger was on this ship with us.”
“You’re kidding,” Renna said, baffled. “Why?”
“Because he’s on the run, like we are.”
“What?” exclaimed Renna, outraged. Sky Ranger, leader of the Extrahuman Union, had been a notorious supporter of the Reform Party. He’d been known for particularly noxious pro-Reform speeches. “But—”
“Shh!” Amy cautioned. “He’s probably somewhere here.”
“But why would they let him come with us? He’s probably a spy!”
“I doubt it,” said Amy. “He’s on their terrorist list now, too. Turned against them a few years ago, they hate him now. And the captain trusts him, so I think that settles it.”
“Still,” fumed Renna. “I wish he wasn’t coming with us.”
“Why?” Amy asked, fixing her with that piercing look that made Renna want to crawl into her own shoe. She knew she’d somehow made a mistake.
“Uh,” she said, fumbling for an answer.
“You don’t buy all the stupid stuff they say about Extrahumans, do you?” Amy pressed. “So what if he can fly? He’s still a person, isn’t he?”
“It’s just weird,” mumbled Renna.
“Hey,” said Amy, smiling wryly at her. “So are we.”
Renna deflated. “I guess.”
“Give him a chance. I bet no one else here will.”
“Fine,” grumbled Renna. Amy gave her a quick hug, yawned, and wandered off to find the bathroom. Renna, bored, let her gaze wander around the dimly-lit room. Refugees slept on the cots, or stood under lights talking. Everyone seemed tense and worried.
She heard a muffled noise from above and glanced up at the ceiling. Birds?
No. She inhaled sharply. A man sat on one of the ancient wooden rafters, peering down at everyone. She couldn’t make out his features very well in the dim light, but who else could he be?
He happened to look down and caught her watching him.
She glanced quickly away, heart pounding. Outside, the snow was falling harder. She concentrated on tomorrow, trying not to think about him. What did she care, anyway?
Then it occurred to her: Sky Ranger was one of the last Extrahumans alive, now. The others had all been killed when their Tower collapsed.
It’s a lonely thing, she thought, to have no one else who understands.
She looked back up at him, and found his eyes still focused on her. She waved hesitantly, and forced herself to give him a little smile. His eyebrows rose in surprise.
Then he broke into a wide, warm grin.
Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad after all, she thought, grinning back.
***
Susan Jane Bigelow is a native New Englander and librarian with a passion for books, computers and writing. Fly Into Fire is her second novel. She lives in northern Connecticut with her wife and cats.
Fly Into Fire is available in multiple formats from Candlemark and Gleam, or through other retailers like Amazon.
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