The Inferno Slayer: Book Two- Charm

SIXTEEN: Hector Crown

"People who couldn't afford proper Filters wear clothes to their necks, weaving them all to make a makeshift suit. The only thing the emperor could afford to give to every single person, and now every newborn baby, were the gas masks," explained Walker as they traveled through the streets, watching as thugs and elders, women, children, men... all kinds of people walked in the streets.

If Sam could be safe anywhere, it was in this car.

"Those a little more wealthy could afford Hovercars, their own residences in the buildings, officially called Skyscrapers, and properly functioning Filters. The Hovercars and Skyscrapers are radiation-free, pressurized, and have air conditioning with extra amounts of oxygen. And those who were rich even among the middle class paid for robots, machines with humane intelligence, to work everything. And they are the laziest, fattest, and most selfish people you will find on earth. They ride around on Hoverbeds, drinking and eating all day, and the robots clean, feed, drive their Hovercars... it's just a mess. That's why I headed to the Station, because there, at least it feels a little more normal."

The Hovercar passed on, to a large structured building. It was not as tall as a Skyscraper, but much larger in area.

The structure was a ball at the top of a stick. That was how it looked like. The ball was translucent, and so was the stick.

Sam could see the shapes of people rising up the stick to the ball. He guessed the emperor was up at the top.

The most disturbing part about the city was the absence of animals and plants. Apart from humans, there were no life forms left.

"One question, Mr. Walker."

"Yeah?"

"How do you eat and drink?"

Walker made a disgusted face.

"Here, or at the Echo Station."

"Both."

Walker met Sam's eyes in the mirror above him.

"Let me show you."

He pulled up a hologram, which he had explained was an image but not a reality, up on Sam's window.

"That's a picture of the food we eat on the border."

Sam saw all sorts of vegetables, like his parents had grown. So no animals, but vegetables were fine at the edges of the city. Then he remembered he had eaten vegetables back at the Station and felt stupid.

"Then here's the food they eat here."

Sam only saw human excrement.

"It's a joke, right?" exclaimed John from the other side. The colonel was completely serious. Walker had pulled it up on his window too. Irys, in the middle tried to see over Sam's shoulder.

"You don't want to see," he said, disturbed.

She did, nevertheless, and almost puked.

"Hey, guys. That's only before purification. They purify it and make it into any food they want."

He pulled up pictures of many foods, but Sam was done. He opened his window, made sure no one was down below, and vomited.

"So you're saying... the water... holy crap."

Sam vomited again, but didn't see the unlucky fellow who was pommeled by a rain shower of vomit.

"Yes. You drank purified piss back at Echo."

All three of them vomited, Irys leaning over Sam to do it. The man below was completely washed in the liquid.

"Serves him right. I saw him once before. He was stealing my car keys from my pocket a few months ago, when I came for a suit delivery," growled Walker.