The wind blows in a gentle circular motion, creating a unique pattern in the plain field. The surface of said plain was covered with the brownish-yellow short grass, which provided a natural comfortable cushion to walk on. They stood uncaring of their surroundings, yet inevitable affected by it in the end.
These grass were known to grow on any biological material in rapid pace, yet their growth stays limited to the same small size. Their growth is nothing to scoff at, as even after an hour long nap you could already catch them growing with a crawl up your body. Removing them however is neither difficult nor is it painful, it's what they consume while you're unconscious is what to worry about. They can be quite parasitic, consuming the nutrients of whatever thing they grow on without consent.
Unless you were running low on supplies, sleeping overnight wouldn't be too much of an issue. However, it's not uncommon either to find them growing on a recently deceased corpses of animals and lost wanderers.
It was never known if they could feed by just the contact of stepping on them, not that it matters to me anyways. With boots that were designed to face more than the grass, I simply walk over them with no worries, temporarily disabling them with my steps. Step by step, I made my way through the plain field, slowly burning through my energy to complete my task.
My breathing was controlled as I was trained, a way to be as efficient and optimised as I can with it. My intake takes in as much as I can, holding it in so all the oxygen could be used before I exhale. The burden strap over my shoulder and onto my back was certainly heavier than usual, but it was definitely not the heaviest I had.
Sometimes, I did wonder what I could be possibly carrying that would be this heavy yet unimportant enough to have a human carrier do this job. However, it wasn't my job to question it, as long as I deliver it, that's my part done as the Nomad Couriers.
Nomad Couriers... For a title like that, alongside the responsibilities and severe risks, it's questionable how others treat us. Going so far out of the safe boundaries while they stayed in the comfort of their bunkered underground cities, never truly having a home to go back to, delivering essentials that keep the cities alive. I guess none of it matters to them as long as there are alternatives.
Clockwork, most see our service as giving the bare minimum. I don't blame them for perceiving it that way, but it was their choice for going with us. Our purpose is to serve for as low of a return as possible, connecting those who aren't fortunate enough to go with the more premium options like Horizon and Desolates.
Still, it's not justified for how they treat us who work under Clockwork. Through all the bullshit we have to go through and the tools available to us, you're lucky to even see us at your entrance alive, let alone holding your package.
A short sigh slips out of me as I tried to exhale, it seems that I had been walking nonstop for a good distance now. Perhaps I deserve to take a short moment. I gradually slowed my steps before fully stopping, unbuckling straps and disengaging metal locks that had secured the cargo onto my back.
The metal containers drop from my back and onto the grass field, slightly clattering against each other. Thanks to the specialised bolts, they stayed stuck to each other, removing the responsibility of having to reorganise them when I decide to start moving again. Abruptly, I dropped down onto the field, letting out a soft groan of relief as I rest my back against the flatter side of the cargo stack.
I sighed as I rest with one knee held up like a tent, my arm resting on it. There was still a long way to go, and all I can do is just push through it. Sure, I do have exo skeletal leg to make it easier, but they can only help so much for the journey.
Joraorhub to Nepang Island. That's six hundred and sixty-four kilometres to trudge through in total. The idea of it made me feel like sinking into the ground, but it's not like I had a choice anyways. It was either this or...
.
My nose is... sensing something. I could smell it approaching, even the hair on my arm and the back of my neck is reacting to it, rising against my will.
"...shit." I let out under my breath.
With the quickest I'm able to go, I stood back up and tried to prepare myself. Picking up the stacked cargoes, I quickly fasten and secure every strap and lock, trying to get out of there as soon as possible. Before I even moved, I felt a drop of wetness on my right arm. I looked up to see the dark clouds had already formed. Without a second glance, I began sprinting across the field.
I had to look for shelter before it was too late, but I was already losing hope from that single droplet. Just as I expected, it started raining down heavily on me, and I was nowhere close to any shelter. It was already futile at this point, and I was aware of it.
It was so abrupt, the end of me happening before I could end it myself as how I was supposed to. I turned to look up in the sky and stop, as I was already in the eye of The Epoch. I tried to reach for my gun to end myself before it gets me, but the fog had consumed me before it could even happen.
.
.
.
I gasped as soon as I regained consciousness, getting up into a seated position and turning to vomit out an immense volume of liquid. I felt my stomach twist and churn as it pushes out the liquid that had overfilled it. After everything was out, I began coughing aggressively, my lungs burning from everything.
Disorientated, I miraculously found myself at a familiar yellow field. I groaned and grunted in pain, as if my body is telling me that this was not meant to happen. The plant was already creeping up my arm with its roots while I was unconscious. Even after facing the eye of The Epoch, I still can't escape this forsaken land between Time and Space
