The Bubble Popper

Chapter 11

The tube transport moved at full speed through the interconnected transportation system. Sud could see the waterways under the tube part as it zipped by.

Depending on one's needs, the tubes could carry one or two bubbles at a time. Sud was lucky. As soon as he arrived at the transport station, the last single tube was available. He boarded as soon as he paid for the ride.

Everything was going as planned, except the next available departure out of the city tube would only be available after the Remembrance Ceremony. That was due to so many bubbles coming for the ceremony. The long-distance tubes were reserved a long time ago, and very few empty tubes were available. That was a long time to wait, so Sud bought a ride to the third ring, which was leaving immediately.

Sud hugged his backpack. He could already imagine his new life.

The tube system moved quickly through each ring. Very soon the tube stopped at the third ring.

He gathered his belongings and was ready to get out of the tubes. At the station, he would buy a ticket for the outer ring. Then find someone to smuggle him out of Cloud City. He would also inquire about getting a new identity.

He got off and headed for the self-service ticket counter. He tried to buy a ticket, but it didn't go through. He went to the customer service window and asked, "I was trying to buy a ticket, but the self-service wouldn't let me. Can I get a ticket for the fourth ring?"

"I'm sorry. We just got an emergency notice; we need to stop all travel until further notice. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

The news stunned Sud; something told him he needed to get away from the station fast.

He left the transport station walking as fast as he could. He didn't really know where he was. All he knew was that he was in the innermost part of the third ring. He had been there a couple of times delivering packages, but that was a long time ago. He knew that the rich bubbles lived there and that there were quite a few bridges around the ring. Sud needed to cross the whole width of the ring, and then find a bridge to get to the fourth ring.

Those bridges were never guarded. He needed to get there as soon as possible; he couldn't stay stuck in this ring for too long. But he wasn't sure how long it would take him to get to the outer part of the ring. He had never had to cross a whole ring without using the tube system.

Each ring of the city was actually very big. While the circumference grew, so did the thickness. There wasn't just a single row of houses; there were many rows. In a car, it would probably take a day or more to get from one end of the ring to the other. Going around the ring, it would take a month or more. Each city varied in size; this was just Cloud City.

Transport stations helped to shorten the time it takes to travel around the city. Transport tubes were long tubes that had single-tube capsules inside. These capsules were shot at super fast speed, allowing them to reach a destination in half the time.

The main central transport station was located near Remembrance Park. From there, the tubes would take bubbles to the next city or ring. Each ring had various mini-stations located at different distances along the ring, but the main station was the one next to Remembrance Park.

Usually next to the transport station, near the edges of the rings, there was a bridge used for the bubbles who walked or drove from one ring to the other. Next to it, there was also a taxi service and hotels. That's what Sud was trying to find, the taxi service.

The walking distance was short, but for some reason today many bubbles were waiting to cross the bridge. All around the bridge and to the taxi place, there were a lot of bubbles. It was hard for Sud to find an empty taxi, but he was able to grab one that had just arrived.

Sud heaved a sigh of relief as he finally sat inside the taxi.

"Where to?" asked the taxi driver.

"I need to get to the fourth ring, so as far as you can take me."

"I can take you to the next taxi station. Then you can take another one from there until you get to the crossing or the bus station, your choice."

"To the next taxi station, please." The bus station would have more people, and what he did not need at the moment was many people seeing him.

Sud felt that something was off. He just couldn't sit still through the ride. It didn't help that now and then the screen communication pad in the taxi kept beeping.

The driver saw Sud staring at the screen. "There's a lot of activity today. Did you see many bubbles trying to cross the bridge next to the transport station?"

Sud didn't want to answer but he was intrigued. He nodded as an answer to the driver.

"Well, it turns out the transport station was closed, so bubbles are trying to get to their destinations, but they can't because the police closed down all the bridges. Bubbles can't enter or leave their current ring."

The news stunned Sud. He knew the transport station was closed, but he didn't know the bridges were closed. What stunned him more was the news that it was done by the police. Sud wondered if it had anything to do with him escaping.

Could they have found out I used the transport station so fast? He thought.

Why would they mobilize so many bubbles for him? He wasn't that important. Besides, they had no evidence he had caused the poppings. Even if they suspected him, they didn't have concrete evidence, or they would have already arrested him. He must be overthinking.

"Do you know why they closed the bridges?" Sud asked. He needed as much information as possible.

"No. They haven't said anything yet. Aren't you going to a bridge? You might need to wait a long time. Are you sure you still want to go?"

"Yes." There was no other way for now.

How else was he going to get out of the city? But with the bridges closed, how was he going to cross? He could wait for a few days at this ring, but staying too long would make him lose the advantage he had. Besides, he would need to check into a hotel where ID was needed, and that might alert the police.

Sud's mind was in turmoil. Things seemed to be going against him. Just moments ago, he felt things were finally going as planned. Why was life always so unfair to him? When things seemed to be going well, there was always something ruining it.

"This is as far as I can take you." Said the driver as they reached the next taxi station.

Sud paid the driver and got out of the taxi. There weren't many bubbles around. It was mostly empty. He walked toward the small office and asked the employee for an available taxi.

"Sure, how far do you want the ride to be?" She asked.

"As far as it can take me, I'm on my way to the next ring."

"Ok. Well, we also have a bus that can take you all the way there, but it only leaves two times a day. If you want that one, you're going to need to wait a couple of hours. If you want the taxi, we should have one available in a few minutes, but it can only take you about an hour away."

"I'll take the taxi." He couldn't take the bus. Besides the amount of bubbles using it, the wait times were too long. After learning that the bridges were closed, he couldn't stay still for too long. He would only rest when he got to a safe place.

"Ok. Here's your confirmation, and just have a seat. I'll call you when the taxi is here."

Sud sat down but couldn't sit still. His leg kept shaking as he anxiously waited for the taxi to arrive. It seemed that time moved extra slowly when you were in a hurry.

Why was it taking so long? He needed to be as far away as possible.

Trying to find a distraction while he waited, the bubblevision caught his attention. They were doing a special report, and there was a crowd of bubbles behind the reporter.

At first glance, Sud thought it was a report of the Remembrance Ceremony, but then the Police Chief of Cloud City appeared. Sud listened attentively while he peeked at the taxi employee. Luckily for Sud, she was distracted talking to the taxi driver who brought Sud.

"As many of you have noticed, the entry points between rings and cities are closed. We are working hard with the help of all the members of Cloud City P.D. to open them up as fast as possible. For the specific details, I'm going to let Detective Fizz explain." The Chief stepped aside, and from behind him stepped a face Sud knew very well.

Sud panicked and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to the bubblevision; the ticket lady was still talking to the driver. Sud continued to listen.

"As you guys know, over the past few weeks there have been incidents of bubbles popping randomly. After a long investigation, we have found that there is a Bubble Popper among us. Now please don't panic. We have located a suspect that was being kept under surveillance. Unfortunately, he escaped this afternoon. We have some leads as to where he might have gone, but we need to secure each passage of the rings to ensure the safety of everyone. As we secure each bridge and station, we will open them up. We ask that you have your identification with you. We also ask the community to contact us if you have any clues in this case and to report sightings of the bubble. We will now show a portrait of the bubble."

Sud watched as his picture appeared on bubblevision. He had been found!