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.
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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