Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Tower of Trials Chapter 2 Page 1

Of course any parent would be concerned if his child suddenly decided to venture out into the wasteland. That uncivilized land beyond the city walls was a hazardous environment, filled with unknown dangers. Well, that was until George mentioned that he would be with the Scarlet Vixens. Then strangely, his Papa commented, "I guess it'll be a good experience for you. Come back in one piece."

That had sounded a little ominous. Especially that last bit.

Then Mama passed. The father and son immediately changed the subject to the weather. Which was not visible where they were since their home and Papa's workshop were deep within Covenant, well away from the edge of the tower.

When George had been a little kid, which was not very long ago, he had taken Papa's old coat from storage to play in. He had imagined that he was an adventurer out in the wasteland seeking fame and fortune. His imagination had been fueled by the stories Papa had told him, stories of life in the wasteland, stories of ruins hiding lost treasures and natural oases with beauty that could never be matched by the parks of the city.

As far as George knew, Papa had never been to the wastes. As such, George had never thought that he himself would ever leave the tower city. However, that day, he really was about to see for himself what was out there.

It took George a while to find Papa's old coat again - it had been years since he had last played with it. When he finally found it, the coat was covered in dust.

Somehow, despite the controlled environment of Covenant City, dust still existed.

More precious time was needed to shake the dust from the coat, during which, George discovered to his delight that the coat was indeed acidproof. There was no need for an acidproof coat within the city so Papa had probably bought the coat in hopes of exploring the wasteland. Or maybe Papa had played with the coat as George had.

George also noted that the coat had a logo on the back. The faded logo was of a wheel with wings sprouting out the sides. Had Papa bought a secondhand coat from a seasoned adventurer?

Once he had the coat, tools and supplies ready, George popped downstairs to the workshop to bid Papa goodbye. They then mumbled an excuse to Mama about George going out with friends. Which would be true if the boy considered the Vixens as friends.

Then George rushed out of the workshop towards the megalift.

One of the chief methods of transportation within Covenant was the megalift, elevators large enough to carry multiple vehicles, cargo containers and many, many passengers between the thousands of levels of the city. Inertial dampeners, precision-controlled acceleration and liberal use of straps kept the lift contents from flying about as it moved.

George rode within the passenger compartment of that lift. He was strapped to his seat with his breathing mask around his neck and Papa's coat on his back. He had his bag containing tools, a canteen of water and a few nutrition bars tucked safely under his seat.

The megalift was not going fast enough for an excited boy like him.

A device at his wrist blipped. He looked at it and saw that he had a call, audio only, ID: Rose Vixen.

"Where are you, Squirt?" Tricia demanded as soon as the call connected.

"In the megalift," George answered, "I'm on my way."

Tricia had called him 'Squirt' again. She should have learned by then his real name from the city comm ID number that he had given her. Maybe it was some form of endearment, some way of making him feel part of the gang.

"Hurry!" the Vixen urged, "Everything's packed and we still have to check your equipment!"

"If you know of a way to make the lift go faster, I'm listening," George said.

"Hey," Mabel's voice interrupted, "If you blow the lift supports, I bet it'll drop faster!"

"Bad idea," Tricia admonished, "we need Squirt alive!"

"Oh well, you can't have everything," said Mabel.

"Just get here quick," Tricia concluded the call.


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