The F.O.X. Project

Chapter 15: Stalkers

A surprising amount of people really didn't care that they were a different species on the platform. They were mostly on some sort of device. Or eating.
'You might want to cover your ears again for this one.' Crystal warned Trent.
'Noted.' He replied.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a group of male teenagers staring at Crystal. He could hear them commenting on her appearance and if he could hear them, she could hear them. But Crystal either pretended not to notice or just didn't care.

A set of headlights shon through the station and a roaring engine echoed throughout. Then the BiRail shot through the station with the ear splitting shriek of treadbases on Endocryte. The BiRail shot past at full speed for minutes before slowing to a stop where the last few cars were on the  platform.
Civilian vehicles were swiftly loaded and people crowded into the two disguised passenger cars. The group of teenagers followed Trent and Crystal into the end car.

They walked up the stairs to their cabin for the overnight trip. Trent threw the rucksack onto his bunk and they stared out of the window as the BiRail pulled out of the station and through the loading area where the freight cars were loaded up.
'This BiRail will only take us to Macropolis. We'll have to take the ferry from there.' Crystal reminded him.

One of the problems with having almost supersonic hearing is that you can hear what is going on in the rooms either side of your room whether you'd like to or not. But it did hold the benefit that he knew that the group of teenagers were peering through one of the vents by the sink. It was obvious that they thought Crystal was wearing a costume and were waiting for her to take it off. Perverts. Haha but little did they know she already wasn't wearing clothes and couldn't care less! He put a towel over the vent anyway, claiming that it was a bit draughty.

He removed them from his mind and focused on the scenery flying past outside. A crisp desert littered with craters with the occasional scavenger settlement. A freighter lumbered across the sky in the distance.
They traveled up the coastline and out across the ocean. The sea blurred into the sky at the horizon and the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere produced a beautiful gradient of light blue to purple, shining all the colours in between as the sun dove below the horizon of the early winter.

As the evening gave way to night Crystal and Trent ate one of the last meals in their backpack, showered and went to bed in the surprisingly comfy bed.

                        ♦️  ♦️  ♦️

Wet, muddy and dusted with a thick layer of ash Max trudged along a beach, just about ready to give up. But he had one last trick up his sleeve.
Turning on his mobiglass he summoned his ship, why he hadn't done that earlier he was too tired to figure out. He waited in the dark, dusty desert for his ship to arrive.

The sound of jet engines filled the sky and a large fighter craft swooped around and hovered just above the ground. Max clambered into the cockpit, took the flight stick and flew in the direction of Macropolis as that's where he heard that they were going.

                         ♦️  ♦️  ♦️

The neon lit skyline of Macropolis stretched in front of the BiRail and ocean quickly gave way to dockyards and mass housing, then industry as they entered the underground tunnels to the city's central freight terminal.
Their carriage slowed to a stop on the multi platform station. Several other BiRails were at the station with their crews (surprisingly all Anthros) laughing and chatting with each other.

Trent and Crystal stepped off the train and onto the noisy platform. The sound of traffic far above echoed through the tunnels and there were people everywhere.
It seemed that Anthros had already been a part of Macropolis' work force for a few weeks. Many people were still keeping their distance though, not sure what to make of a new species within society.

They walked up the staircase and into the lobby of a large office building. The tops of mass housing blocks could be seen just over the web of road networks and highways and Viu Tower was a silhouette in the distance, looming over the rest of the city.
They walked out of the buildings main entrance and onto the street, all kinds of vehicles drove by on the street and the Monoway was even out during the day as a sort of light rail. Mostly humans were walking around but Anthros could be seen doing all kinds of jobs around them. No matter how hard he looked Trent couldn't see many female Anthros though. They seemed to be only made for specific jobs that weren't as public as the ones most males were doing.
At this point Trent had absolutely no idea where he was going as he had never been to Macropolis.
'Where is the ferry terminal from here?' He asked.
'I think it's just a short Monoway journey that way.' Crystal pointed out across the cityscape.
'Wait. You think?'
'I'm not even from here I'm literally just going off the old map I have on my apartment wall.'
'This should be fun...' Trent replied sarcastically and jogged to the nearest Monoway terminal just down the road.

As they neared the terminal Trent noticed that the group of teenagers were still following them, looking like they wanted a fight.
The Monoway terminal was a medium length sheltered platform in the middle of a concrete opening. Neon lines snaked across the ground, marking the routes of the Monoway trams across the city.
A few trams were already parked, 'out of service' signs flashed on the route advisor screens. Some of the trams had treadbases while newer ones used sleek steel wheels that rolled along the groves in the street.
Walking onto the platform Trent and Crystal heard the familiar 'ding ding' of a tram bell and a sleek, newer Monoway slid to a stop beside the platform.
The doors opened and they embarked.

The Monoway had a clean, white interior with light blue padded seats.
Trent breathed in the sterile air and sat down, Crystal sat next to him and it appeared that they had lost the people following them.
They glided away from the platform with a light wirr and along an avenue and further into the city.