THE EXCHANGE

1

The moonlight rained down, unperbuted in the cloud of darkness. I sighed, the historian's voice from the headphones once again going back to the background. I swerved my solar paneled car to the right, letting it rush down Meiling Street. The familiar surroundings of white washed houses sloping up a few stories high, fenced by dark iron automated gates.

I tuned back to the historian again, my thoughts wandering back.

"Back in 2030, the second civil war had taken place leading to a colossal death rate. It is said that the war ended in 2038, more than half of the population were killed after which the Chinese finally took it upon themselves to turn the ruins of our country to their colonies. At that time, we were one of the few African countries to.."

I suddenly removed the headphones, lessening the pressure I put on the pedal. An alarm blared faintly in the distance, I turned to look forward, following the sound to find it was coming from the museum which was many streets away. The brown towers of the building stood above the other clan of white washed buildings that curved in the different directions. The mecury lights lighted the dark sky, red and blue hues mixing onto the dark overtone.

What in the world?

I pressed down on the pedal, the car harrumphed to life. I glanced at the rearview mirror, noting the amount of power I had left in the battery. 20. I dug through my pocket for my pod phone, pulling it out quickly. The message I had sent to Dana had not received any reply. The white notification taunted me, affirming my worst fears. I breathed slowly, still waiting to feel the slightest vibration in my pocket.

My joints ached of tension as I drove lazily, avoiding the road blocks and the hovering traffic lights continued their job above.

Dana would feel the same way, it's all good.

I picked up speed, pressing down on the pedal more. The car swerved through a couple of turns, the roads tiled with cement blocks and towering solar paneled lights. The well fenced gutters brimmed with water, reminding of the torrential rain fall that happened earlier today. I tried to keep my mind of the message I sent earlier, still no vibration to alert me. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my mind mulling with scenarios as I passed.

Maybe she's asleep. Yeah, that's it.

I sucked on my lip, trying to contain my jittery nerves. My stomach clenched swarming with the familiar sensations I felt around her. I kept glancing at my pocket, the plush leather seat doing nothing to alleviate my anxiety. The rumble of thunder echoed through. I sighed. I still found it hard to believe that once before when the Southern and Northern Protectorates were still amalgamated there was another season apart from rainy season.

The rain drops slid down my window, I pulled down on a lever beside the steering wheel. The metal wipers scrubbed loudly, screeching against the translucent silver glass. I pulled onto my own street, Su Street. My pod phone vibrated. I jerked, taking it at break neck speed as my heart leapt to my throat. I took my eyes off the road, taking a look at the notification to see a text from Dan.

I groaned before peeling my eyes off the phone. I saw a figure stagger out of the last street into the intersection. Alarm seeped into my system, not noting them in time. I turned the steering harshly. The car turned in an arc, my heart racing as it did. Nausea washed over me as my stomach did all sorts of flips.The screeching tires threw my mind into a frenzy. The car hit against the rod of what I assumed was the street light, making me jerk forward in my seat belt. The air bags puffed out immediately, trudging out from different sides. The car glided down, turning like a rolling top as the air became suffocating.The translucent seat belt pressed into my ribcage. My mind flashed thinking of how I wasn't even able to see Dana's reactions to my confession. Tears came to my eyes, my head dizzy as the world was backed up in a blur.