Seraphina

Caprolate

II. Caprolate

BREAKING: Explosion reported in the industrial zone west of Ceruliana. Aerial recon drones dispatched; visual confirmation ETA 6 minutes.

Midori was furious. Why did he have to grab the red pill from me? Her thighs ached from the near constant running she had been doing, ever since she ran from the collapsing farmhouse in Apricot Valley two years ago. Now she was running from the city guards, no doubt alerted to the destruction of the Pharmlab in Special Industrial Zone 3. The Pharmlab attendant’s sweaty face flashed in front of her eyes as she made her way between parked cars and cargo trucks, making sure to avoid the light. Please don’t hurt me, I – I just joined yesterday. I only stock the shelves. Midori closed her eyes to clear her mind and ran. If I can get to my bike in the next three minutes, I can escape into anonymity in Ceruliana. I know where the blind spots in the surveillance system are. The Apothecary will take care of me then. 

The Apothecary was the closest thing to a friend and family she had ever had. He had seen her outside his studio one night, shivering under the streetlight canopy. She had been homeless in Ceruliana for almost two weeks, living off scraps and sharing with the other drifters. He took her in and nourished her, and even gave her clear, sparkling liquids that seemed to decompress all her muscles at once and soften them into painlessness. She later found out that the Apothecary was a pharmchemist who was thrown out of school for making pharms to numb his mind and body. Midori thought they were fools to expel a student who could make these wonderful pharms that took all the aches of a body away…

She reached her bike in two minutes and lit up the engine. He will ask what happened. I need to remember every detail. He will want details. Midori fumbled through storing the stolen pharm supplies in the back of the bike as her hands trembled through the trauma of what had just happened and the exhaustion of all the running. I need more caprolate. Her body shivered from withdrawal. Once the bike was on the fastway to inner Ceruliana, she started the Social voicecast to hear what was being said about this night’s events. She flicked through the available casting stations with the touchpad on the right hand’s handgrip. 

‘- the last of the Three Sisters enforcing forced clone labor after a failed vote in the council. Aquilon and Stone’s Fist urge …’ Flick.

‘Humans for Humane Treatment of Clones advocate, Strum White said he was extremely disappointed in the continued CRIMINAL oppression of …’ Flick.

‘- rampaging DRUG problem in Ceruliana MUST be STOPPED. We are the WEALTHIEST of the Three, we MUST show the OTHERS what a LEADER does in the face of the enemy such as these filthy PHARM-‘ Flick. God, I hate this guy. Councilor Rhodes is one person she would gladly give the red pill to and watch him swallow it. Then activate it and see his body burn. 

‘-king news from SIZ3: Explosion reported in OvonaPharm facility. Aerial recon drones confirm that the large pharmlab was destroyed by what seems to be a portable incendiary device. State guards have been dispatched to the area, Multi-level blockade enforced around Ceruliana, all access into the inner city is restricted. Anti-State terrorists feared responsible for the attack.’ Flick, off.

Midori swallowed grimly. This will not be easy. Her helmet informed her pf an incoming Voice from The Apothecary. Nice of him to let me concentrate on driving and not doing Video. She could already picture his face with the rage lines across his forehead and under his eyes and that was enough for now. “What’s your location? a clipped voice echoed in her earpiece. “Fastway 11, 3 miles from first blockade according to the last Scan board I crossed.” Midori replied, echoing the militaristic tone. “What. Happened.” the voice stated, more like an invitation to an apology than a legitimate question. “He took the red pill and activated it. I had to run.” she forced out through short breaths. The stupid fool. Too many Videos of action heroes and he thought he could use the pill against me. “WHY did you have an explosive on your person for a simple smash-and-grab op, I should-” Midori cut him off. “Gotta go, the first blockade is here.”

She rolled her bike slowly into the containment square. “State your name, last location and destination. And please provide UID Card.” a state guard ordered. “Midori Inke, Gen. Williams State Park, Bourdain, South Ceruliana.” Midori handed over her UID and closed her eyes for the briefest second. ‘The first thing you’ll need if you want to stay in the city is a UID Card. Do you have one already?’ he had asked. She had shaken her head to say no. ‘Okay, I’ll see what can be done about that. I know a guy who knows a guy. What name do you want to be?’ ‘Midori’ she said. ‘Does anyone know about you and your name, Midori?’ No, not anymore, thank you.

“Ma’am?” Midori looked up. “Your creds check out, please leave the containment cell and proceed onwards. The next blockade is at the entrance to Bourdain sector limits. Thank you.”

She sped off. At the Bourdain perimeter, the state guard seemed a little less professional than the last one. “Open the storage compartment, girl.” He said in a Vapor laced grunt. Midori stiffened. The pharm supplies are hidden… sort of. This Vaped brute shouldn’t be able to find it. She exhaled and opened her storage unit. The guard clumsily picked out her belongings, looking for anything to make this lissome girl stay at his check post a little longer. 

“Ma’am, what’s this?”

Midori let a sigh through and turned to look at the guard with a withering gaze until she saw him hold up a finger-length red cylinder with curved ends. A green light was beeping, ready for the signal to detonate. Oh, shit. 

In almost slow motion, her neck snapped straight ahead and her fingers lit up the engine, and her bike sped away. Within the next two minutes, she saw five Guard quads chasing her, lights flashing. She thanked the stars for there being no traffic at this time of the night as she revved her bike through ever narrowing streets into the city’s less prosperous sector. 

She knew these streets. I’ve sold enough pharms and ran from enough sentries in this neighborhood to know the ways to disappear, without a vehicle. Midori took a sharp turn into a narrow bylane and grabbed her bag with her pharm loot. An underground tunnel for the City Rapid appeared ahead and she ran into it. A Rapid was just coming into the tracks going north and Midori got on. 

Two stops later, she exited into a cleaner environ. She surveyed the crisp roadways and the shiny buildings for anything living that was surveying back. Satisfied, she walked at a brisk clip at first, and then ran when she was clear of the automated surveillance. 

Ten minutes later, she entered a two story residential and knocked on the first floor studio. “You made it.”, The Apothecary said, crease marks along his forehead and under his eyes. “Were you followed?” he asked, with a hint of apology that evaporated on closer scrutiny. “No. I dumped my bike in Bourdain and took a Rapid here.” She replied and dumped the contents of her bag on only free table she saw in the studio. “Take a look at what’s caused all this mayhem tonight.” She offered, as a truce. “Don’t blame the message for the faults of the messenger.” He muttered. Midori gave him another one of her withering looks and went to get herself some caprolate. She took a tubule of the sparkling liquid and injected it into her arm. A bright light seemed to flash in her eyes as she felt her pupils involuntarily dilate and she strained her neck back to look up. Her weight seemed to recede into nothing and time seemed to hold onto the present for just a little longer. Bright lights in different colors began flashing in front of her eyes and loud noises seemed to be approaching from the distance. She heard the Apothecary say something that sounded like ‘there’s beer’. Midori smiled. Beer, that sounds like a good idea. 

Suddenly, she was jolted out of her reverie by the Apothecary who was shaking her violently and shouting in her face, spittle flying into her eyes, screaming ‘THEY’RE HERE! HOW DID THEY FIND THIS PLACE?’ but Midori just ignored him and began lusting for beer. At the back of her mind, a voice was whispering something and she closed her eyes to listen to it. All she could make out was – the pill. Midori opened her eyes, stared with vacant eyes at the Apothecary and said simply “They found a red pill.”

The Apothecary let his arms fall to his sides, releasing her. He ran towards the other door to the studio but all Midori could remember of what happened next were more flashing lights, the door being blasted open, and the disbelieving expression on the Apothecary’s face as his body fell to the floor, blood pooling around him.