The Sovereign

The World

Grid opened the door, and I shielded my eyes from bright sunlight. "Your time starts now," Grid urged me out the door. "Two weeks!"

I paused and nearly hit myself. I thought I'd be able to get five pounds, easy. I'd made some of my own rules.

I got my armor, mask, and staff back. Grid hat looted or van, evidently, as he forked over items I hadn't had when he took us.
The deal was that I could get five pounds of straight diamond. I thought I could book it to the Comet site, but I realized how far that may be. I had thought I'd been in Britain, ignoring my own point. If I was in fact still in the USA, I'd need to stretch the money I had.

That was the other rule-I had ten thousand dollars to do it. I'd reasoned to Grid that he'd get millions in return. He agreed to it. I'd planned on catching a plane, but I hadn't planned on flying overseas.

I had to do what I had to do.  By a year from then, I'd have forgotten Jade's face.  And I probably wouldn't survive that long, the way Grid ran things.  It blew me away that he just let me walk out of the building that way.  I considered leaving and not coming back, but I had to remember the rules.  'Return late or not at all, and the girl dies,' Grid had said.

I looked around. Nature. It felt so good. I stretched my back and reached upwards when I was a safe distance from Grid. I sat down in the grass and just took in everything for a minute. I let myself cry a little, to release everything that had been balled up inside me.

I had to keep moving. I could make out a skyline in the horizon, maybe three miles off. I was in a large grass plains, with gently rolling hills. It allowed me to make out the dark gray towers from such a far distance. It was going to be a long two weeks.

•••

As long as it took to get to the city, I didn't mind it much. I walked briskly the whole way, and remarked as how smoothly nature faded into the city, as if the trees and grass was slowly clawing inwards on society. It was quite beautiful.

I looked around. Besides trees and vines as think as my waist growing from buildings, not a single thing was alive. It would be a long day if I just kept going city-to-city, looking for someone who knew where an airport was. Or what continent we were on, for that matter.

Nobody.  I was alone.  I was always alone.  I felt like the last man on the planet, but I remembered that there were people just twenty minutes by foot away.  I felt a slight urge to go back.  I would be beaten and so would Jade.  I couldn't return empty-handed.  And I couldn't not return. 

I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted at the top of my lungs.  "Is anyone here?!"

I heard nothing but rustling of leaves in the wind. 

Suddenly, an unbroken window opened.  An older gentleman called out, "Who's there?!"

I shouted back.  "I'm not gonna hurt you!  I've just got a few questions!"

The window closed, and I plopped down to a sitting position.  Were people that unwelcoming before the Ends?

A few minutes later, a heard a door creak open.  "Sorry I was so slow, m'bones aren't what they used to be."

I looked up.  It was the old man.  I tossed my staff aside and rose my hands in the air.  He made a puzzled face.  "Ehh, I trust ya.  Quit lallygaggin', whatcha wanna ask?"

I smiled and lowered my arms.  "Where are we?"

He thought deeply with an "Ahhh," then nodded.  "You came from Grumposaurus, didn't ya?  What's he going by nowadays?  Griz?"

"Grid."

"Ah, yes.  There's been others before ya.  They try an' escape, but this Grid character hunts 'em down, kills 'em of he gets 'em.  Seen him draggin' their limp lifeless bodies back to the complex.  Well, son, we're in Alabama."

I frowned.  "Is there an operating airport anywhere close by?"

He wrenched and twisted his face.  "Yeh, thirty miles out that way.  Keep headin' 'way from Grid and the complex a few days, you'll hit it."

"I don't have a few days.  I've got two weeks and I have to get there and back, and I have to get to somewhere with five pound hunks of diamond.  I know where to get them, but it's the timeframe.  Twelve hot flight, six hours on the ground, then everything doubles."

"I see.  Well, I suppose you can take my car.  It's got enough gas to get there an' back.  Just leave it down by the airport, an' bring it back when ya return!"

I was already jumping with joy, practically.  "You're a saint!" I cried.  "You're saving two lives."

"Two?" He repeated.

"Me and Jade.  She's my girlf--uh, traveling companion."

The man made a wide, gossipy smile.  "I see.  Ya kissed 'er yet?"

I blushed.  "Maybe..."

"Boy, you sure turned red as a beet.  Alrighty, I'll leave ya alone.  Boy's gotta have a woman."

I felt blood drain from my head as my face further reddened.  "Just take me to the car, please," I said as calmly as I could.

The man walked along, quite slothishly, but I didn't mind.  The guy was at least sixty, I had to give him a break. 

He led me to a vine-covered garage-style door, behind which was a 2001-model Nissan Variant.  I widened my eyes.  "This is practically an artifact!  You're sure I can drive it off-road?"

He nodded.  "When you're as old as me, stuff is stuff.  Don't need to keep it as it is.   I won't have any of it in due time, anyway."

"What's you're name?  I'll call for you when I come back in a little over a week."

"Martin," he spoke.  His wrinkles made him look like a sad puppet as he spoke.

I opened the door and ducked my head inside.  I looked at him one more time.  "Thank you.  A lot.  Jade would say the same."

"If you an' her are gonna be killed if you don't come back with whatcha need, it's the absolute least I can do."

I almost cried.  He was the nicest man I had ever met. 

I drove away to hide the stream of tears bursting from my eyes.