Rhiain comes through

'Ugly-man.' The name pops into Samantha's head on cue. 'Works the shadow of 5th Tower.' Samantha had no idea what "the shadow of 5th Tower" meant, neither did she like the idea of working with someone called "Ugly-man" but she had little option. She knew no-one at all in this city (a image of the handsome doctor flashed into her mind but she dismissed it immediately) that she could go to for help so unless she planned to turn herself back in to hospital security it was either this 'Ugly-man' or no one.

The 5th Tower must be one of the dozen or so towers that dominate the night skies ahead, as monsterous as the hospital and the other buildings that rose around her, the towers rose to whole new heights. Walking towards the impossibly tall structures seemed like her best option for now, but the towers must be miles away. As she walked she noticed that the large trucks that rumbled by didn't even have a driver's cab so she had no chance of hitching a ride from any kind-hearted truck driver.

The great trucks (each easily as long as a 18-wheeler and perhaps almost twice as wide) had corporate logos emblazoned on their sides. Most of these markings were as alien as the rest of this strange planet but some of the emblems looked vaguely familiar including both what looked like a Coca-cola logo and another that might be a Toyota symbol. The thought that some of old Earth could have survived this many years into the future was somehow comforting and she began to pay more attention to the trucks as they passed by.

Even without drivers, these great trucks seemed to have little or no trouble navigating the streets, she wondered how they avoided colliding with each other or pedestrians. Each of the six wheels stood as tall as her, and as the trucks rumbled by she found herself stepping well away from the curb so as not to be crushed by the huge tires in case the trucks ran up onto the sidewalk.

'Don't worry, the trucks have AI-drivers' Rhiain's helpful comment supplied the information, 'A lot better than rimmer drivers.' Samantha watched two more trucks slow slightly and swerve to avoid a pothole that looked as big as her younger siblings wading pool, and she had an idea.

She piled a small collection of trash into the road a little beyond the pothole and waited by the side of the road. 'Good idea, I haven't done this since I was twelve - never had trouble getting rides as soon as I hit puberty.' Looking at Rhiain's curves Samantha could well understand why men would be falling over themselves to give her a ride. 'Avoid the corners, that’s where the cameras are.'

Right on cue another of the lumbering behemoths approached Samantha's location, as it neared the pile of debris the truck slowed slightly, not nearly as much as she hoped it would, but enough that Samantha thought she had a chance to reach the ladder that was mounted in the center of the truck just ahead of the middle tire. The lowest rung of the ladder was a good five feet off the ground, if she lounged for it and missed she would surely be crushed by the great wheel. As she started moving forward she wondered if it would be safer to add more trash to the pile to increase her odds with the next truck.