"The city is on the other side of the lake. Ralph here will take us across. Let's go."
They followed the stranger down to a dock with a sleek looking craft tied up to it. There was
something unexpected about its appearance, but Cori was too tired to recognize what it was. Ralph showed her into the boat's small cabin, and she found a soft chair there to sit in. Then he went on deck and started the engine, while Max untied the boat.
Engine? Cori thought as she fell asleep again.
Max roused her when they had reached the opposite shore. He was wearing light brown pants with a green shirt. A pair of loafers had replaced his well-worn boots. Bardy's ponytail was gone; his hair was now the same length as Brandon's.
"Sit still," he told her. "I have to cut your hair."
"What for?" Cori asked sharply.
"You have to blend in with the other people. They all wear their hair short in the city. Now hold still."
Cori was suddenly wide-awake and very uneasy. Max took his knife and cut into her long locks.
When he finished, she looked in disbelief at the pile of hair on the floor.
"That wasn't too bad, was it, kid?" he asked. "You look really good. The new style really
becalms you."
"You know, most people think it's really important to use the right words. Because when you
don't, you sound like a damn idiot, Max. I'm just glad there isn't a mirror around. And stop calling me kid!"
"You need to change your clothes. Put these on before you come outside."
Cori put on the white slacks Bardy had provided. They were made of a soft silken material, as was the red shirt she put on after. The loafers he had provided were a bit small, but not to the point of being too uncomfortable to wear.
She walked up the stairs into the morning light, instantly realizing why this boat had seemed so out of place: it was made of a material that closely resembled fiberglass. The vessel also had an engine,which Cori never expected to see in what she had believed to be a more primitive time. Then she saw the city.
This was a modern metropolis, larger and more magnificent than any Cori had seen before. The buildings appeared to reach the stratosphere, resplendent towers now bathed in the dawn's triumphant light. She stared at them in awe.
"But I thought this was the past," a confused Cori said to Max. "We're in 2120. And this city is Chicago. Welcome home, kid."
YOU ARE READING
BAD WINE CRAPPY CHOCOLATE
Non-FictionFor Cori Fitzgerald, a young woman living in the year 2045, the future is now. Her co-worker Brandon Cane has taken Cori to a place ripe with political intrigue. The United States has been transformed into the Seven Sovereign Territories. Years of h...
