The Path Between the Stars

Chapter Two

~2~

2021

Nicholas

Clutching tightly to my backpack, I jog to my tent, leaving behind the sound of the helicopter I've just gotten out of. As always, it's too hot for this time of year, and I swipe away the sweat trailing down the side of my face, and my dark hair which has stuck to it. Heat, dirt, noise...that just about summed up the world now.

I push the tent flap to one side and step into the welcoming shade, automatically pulling my scratched sunglasses off my face. My eyes search for the one person I'm looking forward to seeing.

"Nicholas! Where've you been my boy?"

I grin as a bare-chested Andrew jumps off his bunk and struts over to me, wrapping me up in one of his overly-exaggerated man hugs. I pat his back and pry his arms off me with a laugh.

"Alright, alright, let's not get people talking," I joked. "I was sectioned over in the north of Delta Quad. They got hit pretty hard with the riots and acid storms last month. They needed all the help they could get with rehoming."

"Man," he says, his smile slipping. "Shit deal."

"No, the shit part is, most of the Quad rats are starving. They just want rations like everyone else. They just go about getting them the wrong way." I dropped my bag at my feet and shrugged, trying to brush off the injustice and horrors of what I'd seen in the DQ this past month. Because while what I was saying was true, no matter how hungry they were most of their actions were unforgiveable.

"Don't tell me you're getting soft. Rats are rats. And they'll always be rats, even if you do rehome them somewhere better than Delta Quad and give them clean clothes and food." Andrew's smiling, his one gold tooth glinting even in the dim lighting of the tent. "They're only out for themselves, you know that. I know you're not that stupid."

I nod and drag a hand across my bristled chin and jaw, my fingers feeling the small scar that hides amongst the stubble, only barely noticeable. "Yeah, I know. I guess I just want them to be better than this."

"Well they ain't, and they ain't gonna' be anytime soon, brother." Andrew throws his arms wide. "This is it, and you gotta' make do with what you got. Those rats are making shit harder for everyone, and they have to be stopped or contained."

Andrew is a true soldier. In both looks and mentality. With his shaved head and no-nonsense attitude he doesn't let sentiment get in the way of doing his duty. He feels no guilt, no shame, and no pity for these people, and I know I shouldn't either. The Quad rats are making it harder on themselves and everyone around them, but deep down I get it. These men have families, families that are starving to death. Families without protection from the suns deadly rays or from the acid storms that frequent the country, not to mention some of the other deadly storms we got hit with. They want protection, and they want it now. And if they don't get it—they'll take it by force. If I had a family, I couldn't sit around waiting for help to come either.

Of course, not everyone in DQ is like that. A lot of them are good people, waiting their turn for transport somewhere safer. Regardless, they have all been labelled Quad rats, and will be until we can get them the hell out of there. The trouble is, there is nowhere to go. The other Quads are already overcrowded. It is a carefully balanced situation and we can't put too much stress on any one of the Quads or the whole thing will come apart. That's exactly what had happened with DQ in the first place.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I say the words, but they stick in my mouth like tar. "It's good to be back though." Now that was the truth and, God, was it an understatement.