The evening was an elusive opportunity for Cerridwen to experience a little freedom. She walked slowly but uneasily, breathing in the chilly air, saturated with the smell of salty waters. She did not remember the last time when she’d opposed Delian. She always saw him as the final authority and listened to his advice and instructions. She felt guilty about going out without his permission, disobeying his blatant orders, but curiosity won against all the rules. She has been waiting for many days to see the most modern weapons, vehicles and other devices that she’d watched only in the photos and holograms on the Web. Feeling a blast of cold wind, she pulled on her hood.

A few hundred metres from the beach and its promenade, huge turbines protruded out from the waters. Amid the streets stood white, gleaming streamlined skyscrapers with balconies overgrown with tropical trees, bushes and flowers. Those buildings symbolised the idea of the coexistence of civilisation and nature, while governments of other planets placed more importance on unbound industrialization and urbanisation. The greatest pride of the city was placed on the island which was the headquarters of ArtEvo company. Visible at a distance was a structure resembling a DNA helix, which gleamed like the sunbeams during the day and shimmered in green and blue at night.

Focused on admiring the views, Cerridwen did not notice that she’d left the designated path. She glanced down at the her LiqWatch display, which resembled a wide armlet, and the screen flickered red. It showed her location to be two streets away from her destination. She could not get the directions from it as the battery was dying down.

With a growing sense of concern, she slowed her pace to look around and consider all possible solutions. She did not know her surroundings, and none of the landmarks seemed familiar. She put her hands in her pockets and with a shudder of nervousness, realised that she’d forgotten her payment card. The idea of asking someone for directions crossed her mind, but because of Delian’s obsessions and lectures, she could not dare to just go up to a stranger. The display showed that a little further was a road leading to the maze of streets and tunnels, a narrow aisle between two skyscrapers. She remembered that the pointer on the map had avoided this area, but the gallery district was only several hundred metres away in a straight line if she took that route. Also, Cerridwen could shorten her walk by about one kilometre and save time as there was only half an hour left for the exhibition opening.

Remaining vigilant, the girl turned in between the buildings. She passed the provisional tents, which had been set up in a hurry along the wall, filled with piles of various items inside. She saw some of those devices for the first time and had no idea about their usage. The deeper she ventured into the dark, twisting street, the more intense was the smell of dampness, mould and stale food. Out of curiosity, she looked inside one of the pots smeared with old fat. She grimaced and backed away at the sight of the live, slithering millipede inside.

“Would you like to try?” asked a scrawny Ifrit, peeking out of the tent.

“No… thanks,” she replied, grimacing, and backed away.

Several metres ahead, somebody hollered curses and two other voices replied with the same. Cerridwen looked behind, raising her eyebrows, but the entire street had suddenly become quiet. Then the sound of a gunshot broke the silence. Cerridwen’s limbs stiffened and she stood still, just like a prey which froze with a fervent hope that the predator had not spotted it. Only her chest rose and fell slowly with each shallow breath of the musty air.

In less than a minute, the conversations started again, and everyone returned to their routine, casual activities.

“It’s no big deal, my child,” a Celestian spoke to her in a raspy voice.

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Cerridwen glanced at him questioningly. Something was wrong with the eyes of the stranger dressed in a scruffy jacket. They shone with a metallic sheen and a barely visible red diode gleamed inside his pupils.

“As ye see, it can be dangerous around here,” he carried on, “I suppose a guard would be useful for ya.”

“No, I’m late,” she interrupted, but the stranger held her back.

“You look like a girl from a good family, money shouldn’t be a problem for ya.” He reached out his hand. “It’s cheap, really.”

At that moment, Cerridwen felt like she was being enticed into a trap. High walls surrounded her on all sides, somebody had just shot another person behind her back and an old biohacker had cut off her way. Icy shivers of fear froze her muscles. Cerridwen opened her eyes wider, and pretending to be stunned, she stared at a point behind the stranger’s back. When he turned his head, she crouched down to run, but he grabbed her hood. Springing forwards, she lost her balance on the wet road and fell on her side. She clenched her fists and swung her hand, targeting the attacker’s face, but she missed it by millimetres.

“Get away from her,” growled a female voice.

Cerridwen looked up. Standing next to her with her hands in the pockets of a grey vest was a Kehrian woman. Based on the vivid, azure blue colour of her skin, Cerridwen evaluated her age at less than thirty years. The Kehrian woman’s braid, reaching up to her arm, glittered in the neon light like an obsidian formation. She tilted her long, narrow ears backwards as a sign of annoyance. The Kehrian woman frowned, and her light hazel eyes lit up with a glare of anger.

She brought something out of her pocket, but Cerridwen could not recognise the item. The Celestian looked at the stranger’s hand with eyes wide open. He let Cerridwen go, pushing her to the ground, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

“You shouldn’t hang around there,” whispered the Kehrian woman, leaning over Cerridwen and giving her a hand.

“Of course,” muttered Cerridwen, getting up. She brushed the dirt off her blouse and pulled the hood on. “I need to go.”

“Do you even know where to go?” asked the Kehrian woman. “It looks like this was your first time here.”

“I know,” replied the Celestian girl and walked ahead. She wanted to turn her device on, but the only thing seen on the screen was the battery level standing at one percent. She halted. She had never walked this district before. She remembered the way back, but armed groups of strangers ignited fright in her. Every prowling creature seemed like another robber or kidnapper. All but one. Cerridwen spotted the Kehrian woman strolling in the crowd, looking around and checking something on her LiqWatch all the time.

Cerridwen ran to her, keeping pace, and asked, “How to get outta here?”

The Kehrian woman stopped, sizing the girl up with suspicion. Her ear twitched as if she’d identified an eerie sound. She turned on her LiqWatch and pointed to the alley.

“You walk straight until you see a red, rusted container. A turn off is next to it, where you turn left. When you come to a tunnel, you walk through it, turn right and get out on the street number two hundred fifty.” She narrated the directions so fast that Cerridwen barely understood her words amongst the street hubbub.

The Celestian girl remained silent, analysing the stranger’s directions in her mind. After a while, she spoke up, “So, on the bend, I turn… Can you repeat that?”

The Kehrian woman sighed. “I have some work in that area. You can follow me until we get out of this maze.”

Cerridwen pursed her lips and squinted. “No, I can handle this,” she said, then she remembered the earlier incidents of gunshots and being accosted by strangers. The very thought of being alone on the return trip caused a sense of dismay in her. She felt herself being watched by hooded eyes who followed every move of their prey and waited for a moment of lack of alertness when they pounced.

“Good luck,” said the Kehrian woman and moved on. “Watch out for jerks like that biohacker.”

Well… she looks a bit less dangerous than them, thought Cerridwen and turned to the Kehrian woman, “Or wait. I’ll go with you.”

The stranger nodded and walked into the shadows of the dark street. Cerridwen, keeping a distance, followed her new companion. Three minutes passed when Cerridwen, out of curiosity, dared to ask, “Would you at least tell me what’s your name?”

“Ninguen,” the Kehrian woman whispered. She looked around and wiggled her ear again.

“I’m Cerridwen. Your name sounds native. Are you from Ernef?”

“I’ve lived here for a long time.” Ninguen sped up. “Down west.”