Nemorous

I

Into this world we're thrown
Mì fìkifkey moel tsrole'i
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Waimea. Once a beautiful place. Now turned to ruin in the year 2146. War had devastated my home-islands of Hawaii. My family was lucky. We were evacuated to California when I was four. And then we moved even further into the Midwest.

We came from almost nothing. And Kylan turned it into something. He was brilliant. My baby brother was a genius. By the time he was 19, he was taking over the Avatar's genetic program after Dr. Lovecraft's contract termination.

He convinced me to get my life together when I was nearly giving up. I worked small odd jobs to make ends meet when our parents got sick. With what money I made, I got my brother and I into college. And even then, there's no promise that your career will pan out after college.

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"Take the trash out!" The man barked from behind the bar counter. Leila was working odd jobs, maybe three or four part time jobs. She was only a student after all. Twenty years old, over one thousand days of work and nothing to show for it yet.

Leila bagged up the trash bags around the customer side of things and began her way out the back door when the same bartender bumped into her and caused her to knock everything over, scattering litter all over the floor and bar. When Leila looked up, the bartender was a few shades from tomato. When he breathed to open his mouth and say something, she already knew she was fired. Without a word, she collected whatever pay she was owed for the week and left without anything else.

The streets glowed with holographic light. Monorails screamed overhead and whirred with energy and strain. Masks were on the faces of those who were immunodeficient, including Leila. The Delta Lansing area was now a reflection of New York during the twenty-first century. One-hundred-and-twenty-five years have turned it from a decent sized town to a Detroit sized city. The overpopulation was the main source of this change. Schools became obsolete unless they were four-year institutions and universities. Restaurants were tucked away into alleys unless they could afford a street-side ground level building. Parks were artificial and meant for the rich. No one really kept pets anymore.

Upon returning to her studio apartment which she shared with her genius brother, she showered the day off and began looking for a new job via her phone. There were a few good options just shy of prostitution, but she had at-least enough dignity to justify passing them over. The stray cats scratched at the window, settling on the roof of the apartment nearby.

She would've asked if they were hungry, but it was obvious. She had some kibble, but it was stale. She also had some leftovers of an artificial caged chicken. She decided to fix them a bowl or so and set it outside. She had named the ginger one 'Āko'a. Like coral but for the color. The brown one was Chuchi, after her dad's dog. The black cat with green eyes was 'Ohu, and its twin with gold eyes and bigger teeth was Teefs. She had managed to take them to a vet and get them fully vaccinated and tagged, but it was expensive. Cost nearly all her life savings. She'd adopt them, but they like the roof where the pigeons are. Better to let them live how they want.

But that's when Kylan got home.

"Fired?" He asked in his alto voice that always sounded like a thirteen-year-olds to Leila.

"Fired." She responded simply. Kylan didn't get angry, he would get frustrated and his curly-wavy hair would bounce with a shake of his head. But not today.

"Good news, we have two openings. You can put those linguist skills to use. But they specifically want a pathologist and ecologist." Kylan rubbed his neck, "it's not too late to switch majors."