A Hero Comes Calling

Waymo began as an experiment. The idea, make self-driving cars a reality, became a nuisance to San Francisco, California residents. Protests called, “Waymo Standoffs” erupted across the city, all spontaneous, making the vehicles stop in the middle of the road or force multiple Waymos to block each other. They started as pranks and soon turned weird, like San Francisco. People started jumping on empty Waymos to catch a ride across town. They started dressing the Waymos in giant fluorescent car condoms.

The pranks started to turn ugly until a Waymo did something...unexpected. Citizens of “The City” knew to avoid the Tenderloin district. One Bobby Lemon, an autistic student of the Tenderloin Community Elementary School had found himself pursued by a gang of bullies. A Waymo, spotting the boy’s predicament, paused in the middle of the intersection at Hyde Street and O’Farrell. The electric Volvo XC-90 hit a K-Turn and sped toward Bobby. It wedged itself between the boy and his pursuers. The passenger door swung open, letting Bobby jump inside. Not missing a beat, the Waymo honked its horn and backed away from the toughs.

“Please share your address,” The Waymo said.

Bobby’s autism never affected his ability to remember numbers or addresses. He directed the Waymo to drive slow to a specific address, which was not his home.

The bullies gave chase. Several turns later, the Waymo stopped in front of the Tenderloin Police

Station at 301 Eddy Street. The boys, not aware of their location. Started a Waymo Standoff and began rocking the Volvo back and forth.

Several patrolmen exited their station and detained the bullies.

At that point, Bobby gave the Waymo his actual home address. He rode away, looking back at his oppressors as they got led away in handcuffs.

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Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Refugio (Gio) Jones resides in Superior, Colorado. Refugio's short story "Indocumentado" was published in Roman Remains, the September 2021 issue of Down in the Dirt Magazine. In addition, his work has appeared in two San Diego Thursday Writer chapbooks and the 2022 Dime Stories Anthology. He holds an MA in Education and is currently at work on new short fiction and a science fiction novel.