The World Of Steam

7

Oh, the joys of a thirty kilometre journey by foot. What fun. All I had to do was just keep moving forward and I would be there in no time. It couldn't be simpler. But strictly speaking, that was not true. I could have bought a car, but alas, I wasn't the richest man in the world. I could barely pay the rent to keep my office up and running. And so, I willed myself to keep walking without pause. At least it wasn't raining or snowing heavily. That was one good thing to count on. But in a place and time like this, snow was almost impossible. It was ash that fell down upon us in the winter, not ice. The refuse from the factories' furnaces spat themselves out of the chimneys and landed right back on top of us, darkening the ground, staining the buildings around them, seeping into the lungs of the innocent. Global warming was at its peak as the country slowly burned to a blackened crisp and the acid rain killed everything that it touched. The country's own weather was trying to kill us, happily knowing that we could do nothing to stop it from doing so. It picked us off one by one, starting with the weakest and moved on to the others, sapping away their strength bit by bit. I just had to find the scientist and this would all be over before I gave myself more work to do. It was just a simple, minor task that could be easily done with no horrendous consequences. The city would be cured and I could finally rip off this damned gas mask after so many years. I wanted to breathe in fresh air, I wanted to feel the wind on my face. But until I finished the job at hand, I had to settle for this minor torture. After all, it was better than getting lung cancer. I suddenly heard footsteps and stopped in place, looked around at the deserted pathway. The footsteps stopped a couple of seconds after I did. If they were trying to be stealthy, they were not doing a very good job at it. I drew my gun out and looked around, being wary. They may have been an amateur crook, but it was still better to be safe than sorry. They may have been unpredictable, which made the experience all the more terrifying. I did not want to deal with an insane, knife-wielding thief. I suddenly heard a small shuffle and instantly held my gun in front of myself, turning towards a seemingly empty alleyway. With my finger ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice, I slowly walked over to the source of the sound, my breathing ragged, my heart pace quickening. Suddenly a cautious face peeked out from behind the corner. Relaxing, I put my gun into my coat and looked at the stalker. "You again."

The same woman that I had saved looked at me as she stepped out from behind her safe spot.

"What do you want from me?"

"I said that I can help you." She said to me, not seeming to mind that she had just narrowly avoided an agonising execution.

"With this city? How? Even the top scientists do not know what they are doing. How would you do any better?"

"I have some theories."

I stared at her. Then after a while I asked her, "You're not going to leave, are you?"

"No." She replied plainly. I sighed.

"Alright, fine. I will not be held responsible for anything that happens to you. If you happen to get killed, just remember that you dragged yourself into this. I tried to stop you, but you refused. Capisce?"

She merely shrugged, not seeming to mind the large possibility of death. "Sure. Jennix Charliza is the name."

"Lennox Zand." I sighed, exasperated, and then gestured with my head for her to come with me. And so, I had a companion.