Silhouette Read Online Free PDF Page A

did not ensure that no one was watching. Silhouette used the shadows of rocks and the shading of hills to connect the dots of her path, always staying close to the comfort of darkness. The farm was miles away, but she did not lack endurance.
    Sweaty, but not exhausted, Silhouette approached the outer wire fence of the property with caution. She rolled under the lowest strand and moved along the inside of the fence. Acres of green things were lined up in rows and a small house with a barn stood at the far end of the field beneath a stone cliff. She made her way toward the house.
    Silhouette came to a stop at the edge of the planted field nearest to the house and concentrated on her senses, hiding in the vegetation. An array of insects besieged the solitary porch light. A light breeze blew, making waves in the tall wheat. Fertilizer was used recently. The odor was pungent. Nothing seemed to stir in the barn across the way, and chickens slept in a pen next to the house, sheltered from the breeze and softly clucking to one another.
    The shades of every window were drawn, but Silhouette activated the thermal sensor in her Ocu and peered inside, seeing a single man sitting in an armchair next to a lamp. The water heater was the only other source of heat inside the home.
    Silhouette moved to the corner of the house opposite of the man and tried the window, but it was closed. She gradually applied upward force to the glass until it budged. She slid it open, very slowly. When it was open just wide enough to fit her small frame, she climbed inside.
    The bedroom was neat and simple. Everywhere was dark. She crept through the open door and down the hall. The man sat in the front room reading a book in the weak lamplight.
    “Hello,” said the man. Silhouette was startled, not expecting to be detected. She froze in place and thought to retreat. “I kent see yeh, but I know yer here. Not quite as sneaky as yeh might thenk yeh are.”
    She remained silent.
    “Don’t come any closer,” said the man. “I don’t want to see yeh.” He paused, waiting for a response, but there was none. “I knew yeh would be here t’day. They told me, and so I waited. There’s now a breeze licking my cheek that wasn’t there a few minutes ago, that’s how yeh gave yerself away. Was no draft before.”
    “Are you X?” asked Silhouette.
    “Yes. They didn’t tell me yer name and I don’t want to know.”
    “You have something for me?”
    “Yes. If yeh leave this room the way yeh came in there will be a small table in the hallway on yer right. The data drive in the drawer is yers. It contains everything I know.”
    “What kind of data?”
    “Maps, itineraries, schedules, other mishmashes of details on the Burmin at Jhiik Compound. Take it and leave.”
    “How did you come upon this?”
    “Years of obedience and a good memory. After decades of quality service, the Burmin released me from working the compound to come out here and grow their food. A gift of insignificant freedom, but at least it’s outdoors.”
    “This will help more than you know.” Silhouette opened the drawer, grabbed the data drive, and immediately started loading the information into her Ocu.
    “I think nething. I know nething. Get out of here and don’t come back. Yeh cannot stay on this farm tonight. If I find that yer still around this place in ten minutes I’m going to notify the compound. We never spoke.”
    “I understand.” Once the data transfer was complete, Silhouette crushed the physical drive between her thumb and forefinger and tossed it back onto the table. “Burn it.”
    And with that Silhouette left the way she had come. Once outside she closed the window and ran away from the man’s home.

    * * *

    Silhouette climbed a trail of switchbacks up the stone cliffs, finding more pastures and farmland which were divided by a single strip of paved road. She moved north, away from the road and around the backside of several cultivated fields. The farms were