Project Devilgama

Six

Mhaz was thrown back to one of the pleasant days of 2119.

It was bright, normal noon. The sunlight shone through the windowscreen that had just turned off its translucent display of a repeated video nobody is paying attention to. He had been laying with his eyes shut on the bus seat along the exhausting two-hour travel from the geological excavation site of the prehistoric era, kilometers up the north. The bus had stopped and he hadn't end his slumber.

Numerous busses were parked in rows on the dusty plain dirt of the parking area. Machinery wheezes and lowly hums spread through the entire place, as if it could warm its surrounding by the vibration of atoms. Several passengers of the bus were walking past his seat to reach the opened door behind. Some others did it hectically for the excitement, rushing through columns of seats. And there sat a boy beside the napping Mhaz. Armbond. He was gaming on his cellular.

A strand of cable that branched out in the middle had been plugged into the cellular's top cap, that could be traced into Arm's black hood. It was more than a hood covering half of his head. It was something that renders Armbond into the game with its nano-systems connected to his brain. He could sense each footballer's advantage in his mind; the kicking strength, running speed, endurance, and accuracy of the strikes and passes. And a full experience of realistic audio was not an exception. Total immersion. He could have played for an hour long if only he was not on a field trip.

It has been fifteen minutes since the bus stopped.

"Wake up! We. Have. Arrived!" Armbond said, shaking Mhaz's stubbornly folded arms.

"Oh, where are we?" Mhaz sprang awake, "Dang, people have changed their clothes. I forgot to bring a casual one."

"Brexxy. It is never a problem, just wear the one you got right now."

Mhaz peeked over the seat in front of him. He could see other boys of his company on the front row in uniforms, which put him relief. He packed his bag up with his old cellular and a bottle of water he had drunk half of it in a rush. Arm stood beside him. Mhaz does not want to lose sight of anyone that is also wearing uniforms, for which he feels a little weird. He also pulled out of his bag a signature coat of his school, just to dress him up properly. Hopefully.

"Now that's all right. Let us head out, maybe?" Armbond invites.

An enormous cliff formation stood tall before Mhaz, entangled by staircases that circulate around the edge. A flat, semicircle area of concrete that looks like a stage was laid under its feet. And along the paved road were several tourists on horseback and hovering ATVs. People stream up, through the staircase leading to the top of the cliff. Mhaz could see contrast layers of white, browns, and yellows of different tones painted across the cliff, that are telling the past stories of eons for those who know.

Mhaz and Armbond walked on a small road that boundaries the protruding formation. They were in search of friends who were separated in another bus, or just scattered off unintentionally. "And toilets, bruh! You know it?" Arm asked, highly.

Mhaz shook his head, "Let's find out together. My bladder's stuffing no differently."

Arm opened his cellular, trying to locate anything amidst the sprawling place with bustling people and vehicles. He was found astounded seeing that some of their friends were heading in the same direction; restrooms. A complex of neatly decorated shacks and huts was seen ahead of Arm and Mhaz, which brings them a plausible answer. To them, it is more than a place to dump bodily excretion, it is a makeshift rendezvous.

The winds from the hovering engines of the parking busses blew specks of dust that lightly grime his hand as he walked. He had to cover his eyes and nose, sometimes. On the other hand, shallow puddles rounded with dry soil are sporadically covering the parking lot like craters after a phase of a meteorite shower. Bizarre was the climate of the earth of the days, and everyone knew but never consider.