With nothing much I can do, I continued my way to Nepang Island as it was the singular task I was given. With the exoskeleton legs, it assisted me as I trudged through the field of golden grass. It's hard to tell if this was a blessing or a curse, being pushed back somewhere around 100 kilometres.
Even after the storm, the package seems to be fine surprisingly. I and the cargo may survive this time, but I may not be as lucky next time. The Epochs aren't known to be merciful, their abilities to send ripples through the time stream are clear about that. It could have pushed me way back into the past or way further into the future or even completely erase me from ever existing, yet this time, it chose to put me back a few days back in the past.
The Epoch is one of the reasons why we Nomad Couriers can't have any significant connections or ambitions, as being erased from time could have a significant impact on society as a whole. The couriers who had sent important cargo are also limited in the amount of time they can do their job. If a person was to be erased from time, then everything that the person had and could contribute to changes would be erased.
The last time this happened was when Gondalunamy and Milan were proceeding with their operation to connect the two cities together. What ended up happening was someone who was responsible for the transport of some of the materials to construct the road connecting the city was erased by The Epoch. His erasure sent ripples through time, causing the road to collapse on itself as it was not possible that it could exist without the material never being delivered in the past. Neither was it possible to exist as the materials that were supposed to be delivered in the future will simply never happen anymore. However, memories of him remain.
It affected everything that was nearby, having several effects on the people who were working on the road and the ones who lived in the cities. Some were ripped apart out of reality from the sheer impossibility of the phenomena, as the bridge was already in construction, yet his erasure meant it was never built. Some had their sanity completely fractured, unable to discern between the past, present, or future, which only caused them to commit suicide from sheer confusion. The biggest change of all is that about 30% of both cities were completely gone, the bridge had taken them with itself as it disappeared.
With so much risk involved in this industry, what is the provided procedure to prevent it? A swift suicide.
Although test has not been done on the storm, considering how big of a damage it could potentially cause, this information was obtained from a simple observation. Throughout hundreds of thousands of years of humanity, it has always been observed that The Epoch is unable to erase what is not living and self aware. For centuries, written in many cultural stories or findings, it has always been acknowledged that whether enemies or loved ones, they should be killed before The Epoch could get to them.
Clockwork, and most other courier providers, give all their nomad couriers a gun that is holstered on the chest. Although it has been used for self-defence against threats like bandits, its main purpose was to assist a quick suicide. It was just selfish of me, to believe that I had time to outrun the storm instead of using the gun immediately.
At least now, I'm still alive and moving. My exhaustion is getting to me, yet I acknowledge I need to keep going to make up for the distance I lost. I'm just... slowing down slightly.
.
.
.
There was suddenly a slight, noticeable rumble from the ground I was marching through. As I continued on without acknowledging it, it became more intense with a low humming accompanying it. Before my curiosity could even get the best of me, the source of the rumble sped past me, speeding through the field of golden grass and descending down a hill. It was another nomad courier, riding a speed cycle, must be from one of the more premium companies.
As I finally made my way to the top of the hill for the descent, I could see the biker had stopped at the bottom as I stood still from above. With the design of their uniform, I could finally make out who they were working for. Horizon Haulers. Containers and cargo were stacked and organised so neatly balance of the bike in mind, it was no wonder they are so efficient with such tools provided.
It took me a moment to realise what was going on, but the biker was waiting for me, inviting me to ride along with them. With their rigorous leather jacket and their durable helmet with dark visors, they looked up at me as they silently waited. I couldn't see at all through the dark tainted helmet, but whatever they look like, I know they are just scheming.
It's more likely they want to just ruin the image of Clockwork to boost Horizon sales even more, or perhaps they were going to charge me once they had sent me. As tempting as it was, I simply descent down the hill, avoiding the courier and continued my way without any exchange of words. I could feel the smirk under the helmet, as their engine revved in hums before speeding past me once more.
Without any warning, the hair at the back of my neck began to rise. The effect spreads down through my body, my nose picking up the familiar unwanted scent. Despite how exhausted I was, I began sprinting as I knew the storm is approaching once more. What kind of luck am I having? Two storms in one journey?
As I sprinted across the field, I noticed there was a cliff on my left side, making me do a hard turn to rush towards it. As I see the survivable drop from the edge, I jumped down without a second thought. It was no surprise that I hurt myself from the drop, having my leg absorbing all that force.
Fortunate for me as I had predicted though, under the cliff was a nesting cave. With it being my only shelter from the oncoming storm, I start moving into it, my right leg slightly limping. With how my luck was going, it's amazing that the cave was not occu...
I completely stopped my movements as soon as I saw its eyes, but it was already too late as it had already detected me. The pair of eyes lunge towards me, seeing me as an intruder to its nest.
The sound of a powerful explosion came, with the head of the creature blown to smithereens as the body fell limp. My adrenaline levels were still high when I looked towards the cave entrance where the sound had come. There, I saw the biker on the speed cycle with a recently fired gun aiming at the creature, helmet off, allowing her raven hair to flow to the storm's wind.
