Echoes [Spectra] (Original Draft Version)

10: Strange Benefactors

The soft hum of the tram reverberated around Visk as it moved swiftly over a highway.

The tram system was pretty quiet and cozy this late at night. He gazed absentmindedly out at the street lamps outside, flashing by every so often with a soft yellow glow. Occasionally, he could hear the vrmmm of cars below; he was on an inter-district tram line, which got pretty fast, more so than the vehicles on the road it ran above.

He glanced over at Nari. She was staring at her gaunt, a dim green glow lighting up the front of her face.

High on the wall of the tram car, he could see a blue screen, with a map of the Mercantile's districts and the tram line. A flashing dot indicated where the tram was in relation to everything - seemed like they were coming up on their destination pretty soon. The surroundings reflected that - some of the lights were dim and flashing, some were out entirely, and this entire region of the station gave off the vibe that it had almost fallen into disrepair.

As he waited, a ping noise played over the speakers and a banner appeared above the map which read "NOW APPROACHING: DOLGOT CENTRAL." The tram began to slow down as it pulled into the station.

Nari put away her gaunt and shuffled towards him.

"Stay close by me," she whispered. "Dolgot can be a dangerous place at night."

The tram came to a stop and the doors opened. Visk followed Nari as she disembarked. They seemed to be in a train station alright, though it wasn't a particularly good-looking one - although it was trying its best to have a comfortable atmosphere, the slightly leaky roof, poor lighting, and altogether ramshackleness led it to fail severely at that goal.

Somewhat cautiously, the two made their way to a platform labeled "C." They stood in silence as they waited for a tram to arrive, their eyes betraying to each other the unease they both felt.

After a few uncomfortable minutes, the tram cars rolled into the station, and they both hurried onboard.

===

"Man, that place always creeped me out as a kid."

This tram car was older and much smaller-capacity than what they'd rode to Dolgot on. Some of the seats were arranged facing each other, and preferring to not be face-to-face with complete strangers, Visk and Nari had both elected to sit across from each other.

"Seems like the same holds true today," the irva pointed out.

Nari shivered slightly. "Heh, I guess you could say that," she shrugged. "Same goes for you?"

"Yeah," nodded Visk. "I'd guess it's a lot more lively during the day, but at night it's...it just reminds me a bit of the Monolith's underchambers, if that makes any sense."

"I suppose I can see that. Like you're in the belly of some massive structure. The deep parts where you're not supposed to be."

"I think that's it." Visk looked at the floor for a brief moment before looking back up at Nari. "So you grew up here?"

"Yep. Well, sorta. Moved here when I was 16, almost 17. Long story, I won't get into the details. But it's not a place you want to be when you're just coming into adulthood like that."

"Yeah, I suppose not," Visk sighed, glancing at the window.

Once again, Nari pulled out her gaunt, though it was pink this time. Or at least it was pink, before she swiped on it a bit and it turned yellow.

"What've you been doing on your gaunt? Saw you using it earlier," he asked.

"Oh, this?" she said, turning her gaunt at him to reveal a holographic screen hovering above it. "Been ordering a taxi with it. It's a bit of a distance from the station to Reskul's place, so we'll need a ride. I don't live anywhere besides the Skyweaver. Don't have a car here on the Merc."