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New Horizon

With my white backpack slung behind me, I take a deep breath before stepping onto the Kueski Public Transport bus. The driver looked at me with an eerie glare as I climbed the steps of the vehicle. A feeling of dread washed over me as I glanced into the driver's cold, unblinking, green eyes. I froze in place as if he halted my movements with some kind of telekinetic power. His old, wrinkled hand leaves the steering wheel and points to what seems to be a card slot underneath the bus's dashboard.

His bearded mouth opens as the driver finally speaks, "Two-hundred Jivits per ride, kid. Pay up or get off the damn bus."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I blurt out.

I then begin to frantically search my pockets for the Jivit card Mac left for me on his desk. Once I finally secure it in my hand, I quickly shove it into the card slot. As soon as the machine beeps I pull it out and slip the card back into my pocket. The weird old driver thanks me in a harsh tone and gestures for me to go and sit down with his hand. I apologize again and start making my way down the middle of the bus, looking for a vacant seat.

People of all shapes and sizes occupy both ends of the bus - The typical scum of Kueski. Lowlives, drug addicts, overworked businessmen, band tourists, etcetera. These people make up Kueski Major: The east province of the great city of Altai. I couldn't begin to describe how many disgusting people are aboard this bus. I could have sworn something died in seat seventeen judging from the smell of the area surrounding it.

I finally spot an open seat and quickly sit down. Once my butt touches the cushion, the bus begins to move. I close my eyes, sigh, and slump in my seat, feeling relaxed after that tense walk here. My eyes open, and I look at the passengers next to me. To my left, a rather attractive blonde lady in light blue business attire blabbers to her boyfriend over the phone. And to my right, a gross, obese man with a goatee loudly snores as he drools into the holo-magazine sitting loosely in his hands. It looks like he fell asleep reading the article, 'Personal Pleasure Droids: Enhancing Libido Like No Other.' Ugh, how pathetic can you get?

The driver takes his sweet time taking the bus down East Altai Superhighway. The speed limit is one hundred miles-per-hour, and this guy is only going eighty-five! At the rate the bus is going, I'd probably arrive at Duenba in a couple of hours. It kind of sucks, but it's alright. I just hope grandpa here doesn't fall asleep at the wheel.

The screens above the passenger's heads illuminate, and bright blue letters scroll across, stating: [NEXT STOP: NARCH! ARRIVAL TIME: ~10 MINUTES.]

It turns out the bus isn't stopping until it reaches the outskirts of Kueski - The dusty, sketchy suburbs of Narch. It's not all that bad, to be honest. I'll just have to take the monorail from station to station until I pass the Duenba-Kueski border. After that, I'll be heading to the Umbra HQ on foot. Before I left, Zac informed me that every street corner of Duenba is patrolled daily by the Peacekeepers - Altai's so-called police force. I'll be on my toes the whole time I'm there; I don't want to get arrested.

"DING-DING! Attention all passengers, we are arriving at Narch Metro Station. Please remain seated until the bus has come to a complete stop."

Phew! It's about time! I was starting to get antsy. As soon as the vehicle stops, half of the passengers, as well as me, get out of their seats and head off the bus. As I move past the driver, he scowls at me for no reason. I avoid eye contact with him until I'm finally off the bus.

The gigantic towers of Narch loom over me, and the humid air fills my lungs as I take in my surroundings. To my left, apartment complexes and factories go on as far as the eye can see, and to my right, nothing but roads and highways going off into the distance. I hop down from the boarding platform and begin my stroll down the sidewalk with my backpack still slung over my shoulder. Man, Zac wasn't kidding when he said it's humid down south! I feel like a hot towel soaked in root beer. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to wear all black.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" an older woman's voice catches my attention, "Get back here, you hoodlum!"

I look to my right and witness an old woman shouting to a man who is sprinting down the street with a black suitcase in his clutches. Looks like that lady's luggage got snatched by some delinquent. A couple of bystanders seem to have witnessed the mugging and are doing absolutely nothing about it. Poor old woman. I wish I could help her, but... I just can't. I don't want to get mixed up in other people's business. Besides, even if I chase after that guy, he might have a knife or something. And if I manage to get that lady's suitcase back for her, a Peacekeeper might be there waiting…

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't help you," I mutter to myself as I start quickening my pace to the Narch monorail station.

I make it to the station, but to my surprise, the train has already begun moving! I just missed it!

"Damn it!" I shout out of frustration.

My sudden outburst catches the attention of those who are patiently waiting for the next train. I quickly cover my mouth as my face starts turning red. I move myself to an empty bench just as my audience resumes mumbling to each other. I sigh.

'Okay, that was pretty embarrassing,' I think to myself, 'Maybe it would be best if I don't do that again.'

My face lights up suddenly.

'Oh, right, I almost forgot! I have to let Zac know I'm doing okay by myself.'

My hands reach behind me and swing my white backpack over onto my lap. Unzipping it, I use my hand to begin rummaging around its contents, feeling for the holodisk Zac gave to me so I can keep in touch with him. I find the disk with my index finger, and pull it out of my bag. I turn it on, and a prompt shows up on the tiny screen in the center: [ENTER NUMBER].

"Now all I have to do is enter Zac's number," I whisper to myself, "Wait. What was it again?"

The small glowing screen illuminates my face as I rack my brain for Zac's numbers, inadvertently putting some pressure on me.

'Ugh! What was it!?' I ask myself, getting frustrated, 'I know he told me his numbers!'

I open my eyes and look down at the screen again. I furrow my brow and groan; There's a caller ID index. Sighing again, I press the buttons on the side of the screen and select the only number registered in the holodisk: KM-36-24-66-89. The screen displays the words, 'Calling Zackalon Solis...' as it plays a cute little ringtone. I lift my feet up off the dirty, marble-tiled floor and curl up on the bench, balancing the ringing holodisk on my knees.

The ringing ends, and a little chime plays, followed by, "Hello?"

"Zac? Can you hear me? It's me, Sachiko," I say in my no longer hushed voice.

"Sachi! I'm glad to hear from ya!" He shouts into the speaker, "Is everything alright? Did you make it to Duenba?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I'm fine. I'm not in Duenba yet, though. I decided to take the monorail there."

"The monorail?" he pauses, "Oh, I see. So you were just in Narch then?"

"Well, I'm stuck at the station waiting for the next train. I just missed the seven o'clock departure."

"That's unfortunate, hun. You're going to have to wait a whole hour and a half for the next train to stop, yeah?"

"Yeah, it's gonna suck. I had no idea Narch was this humid!"

"Yup. the further south you go, the hotter it becomes!" Zac laughs.

"I thought it was only gonna be this hot in Duenba."

"Hang on, just how hot is it there?"

"I dunno. Maybe about thirty-five degrees?"

"Wow!" he exclaims, "They must be having some sort of nasty heatwave! The temperature in Duenba usually hovers around twenty-six to twenty-nine degrees."

"Ugh, well, I hope this heatwave ends soon. At least it's almost night time."

"That's true," Zac pauses again, "Hey, Sachi, I have to hang up now. I'm still at the Diner and there are a few customers waiting for their food. Call me again when you get to Duenba, okay?"

"Alrighty. Talk to you later, Zac."

He chuckles, says, "Same to you, hun!" then hangs up.

I'll admit it: It was nice to hear from Zac again. I haven't talked to him since eight o'clock this morning and, to be honest, I'm surprised I missed hearing his voice. Maybe it's because it sounds strikingly familiar to Mac's. I mean, they ARE brothers after all. It's good to have someone to talk to during this little expedition of mine.

'Now,' I think to myself after sitting in silence for a few minutes, 'What can I do to pass the time?'

My eyes scan the station and the many faces around the place. Everyone seems so exhausted. It must be this stupid heat. My hair is matted to my face and I'm all sweaty and gross. I could only imagine what it was like a couple of hours ago in the middle of the day. The station has a little bit of air conditioning which is nice, at least. I look up at the digital clock mounted on the wall to my left. It's seven-thirty. Maybe I should do a little wandering around.

I push myself off of the bench and zip up my backpack, slinging it back over my shoulder. I begin making my way out of the monorail station and into the streets of Narch. Now that I look at it, those factories are emitting a ton of smoke. That's normal, right? Surely all that smoke isn't trapping this heat in this part of Kueski... Right? My eyes darted upwards and the obvious realization hit me. The thick blanket of clouds hovering over the city is keeping the heat from escaping the atmosphere. Amazing job, Narch. The people are suffering from this heat and there doesn't seem to be anyone doing anything about it.

I suddenly overhear a distant conversation to my right, and I turn my head. It's the old woman from before and speaking to her are two Peacekeepers. Oh man, I really don't want to be seen by those guys. If I do, they might recognize me as a Flawless on account of my bright blue eyes, or something, and have me arrested! I pull myself back into the station entrance a little and peek from behind the corner at the two officers. All of a sudden, another Peacekeeper emerges from behind them. This one is much taller and isn't wearing the Peacekeeper's signature visor. His rather attractive, chiseled face is complemented by his short, spikey, brown hair. He's carrying something particularly large on his shoulder. It looks like some sort of... Greatsword? What the hell?

"Hey, you two!" the mysterious man shouts in a deep voice to the officers, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Our sincerest apologies, sir!" one of the two Peacekeepers speaks up, "We were just about to conduct an investigation on this citizen's stolen item, sir!"

"That's right!" The old woman chimes in, "These kind gentlemen were offering to help me find the little brat that stole my suitcase!"

"Your matters ain’t none of our concerns, ma'am," the officers’ superior responds to the lady in a unique accent, "We already have a duty to fulfill. Unless the person who stole your luggage is a Flawless, it don’t matter to us."

"How inconsiderate!" the woman shouts, "I'm an elderly Altain citizen in need! Peacekeepers are supposed to help us with things like this, right?"

The tall man groans and places his free hand on his hip, stating, "That's the normal Peacekeepers' job, not ours. We're with the Special Ops Bureau of the Altai Police - The Hunters. I’m sure you've heard of us, right?"

The old woman's angry entitled look on her face fades into a look of confusion, and she replies with, "What? No, I don't think I've heard of such a group."

The man turns to his lackeys who are now standing behind him. He chuckles deeply and holds his hand up in the direction of the lady.

"Can you boys believe this hag? 'Never heard of such a group' my ass!"

The two Hunter officers do not move an inch. They look terrified of their superior. It must be that deep voice and the huge weapon over his shoulder that makes him seem so intimidating. He's starting to make me nervous as well.

"I've never in my life been treated so horribly by an officer of the law! How inconsiderate-" the lady shouts at them but is cut off by the big guy's movement.

He gets real close to the old woman who is now shaking in fear from his menacing gaze.

"Let me reiterate, ma'am: We AIN'T Peacekeepers. We are Hunters. Now, run along home before I lose my damn patience."

The woman backs away in fear of the strange man and begins running in the direction the person who stole her stuff went.

The tall man chuckles as she flees then turns to the officers, saying, "Well, what do you know? She listened!"

Okay, this guy is a real creep. And what's with those two cops? Are they too terrified to move or something?

"Now," the man starts again, "About you two..."

"Sir?" an officer mutters.

"Last time I checked, I believe the commander gave us the direct orders to retrieve any Flawless we come across in this area of Kueski, and not to do your daily Peacekeeper duties!"

"We apologize again, sir!" the other officer speaks up, "We will continue monitoring this section of Kueski under your supervision, sir!"

"Oh, for God's sake, save the formality for the higher-ups, would you? We ain’t soldiers, we’re cops!"

"Um, right, Captain Horus. Won't happen again."

Horus is his name, eh? He's one heck of a character, I'll give him that. The dude looks to be a little over two hundred centimeters and has some rather impressive muscle mass for a guy his size. I'm not surprised he can carry a weapon that huge with those arms. He still looks kind of scary, though, so I should best be avoiding him until the train arrives.

Horus turns towards my direction and says, "Alrighty, boys, let's get back to work. We'll be receivin’ a chopper with the rest of the group in about thirty minutes. Report any confirmed sightings of Flawless in the area to me via voice com, and I'll head your way. Understood?"

"You got it, captain," an officer responds.

"Beautiful! Let's get goin’."

'I should probably get the hell out of dodge soon before they spot me,' I think, 'I'm done for if they do!'

I quietly slip back into the station with my head held low. I make my way back to the bench I was sitting on, and my eyes glance up at the wall-mounted clock again.

Seven fifty-six.

"Just another hour and I'm out of this dump," I whisper to myself, "I just wish time would move a lot faster."

I curl myself up on the bench again and let my eyes wander around the station, taking in my surroundings as I usually do. To the left of me are a pair of unisex restrooms, drinking fountains, and a group of businessmen in black suits standing in a circle discussing... I would assume business-related things. Straight ahead of me are the empty, brightly-lit, monorail train tracks accompanied by neon-red signs reading, [FOR YOUR SAFETY STAY AT LEAST 1 METER AWAY FROM THE LEDGE!] And finally, to my left is the rest of the waiting area which keeps a consistent appearance and aesthetic all the way down to the other end of the station. Multiple individuals have gathered in one-person to four-person groups quite a distance apart from each other, similar to the passengers from the bus.