Year One

Chapter 4

JAREK

I stood outside my flat, leaning against the wall with an energy drink in my hand. I watched the various vehicles pass by, waiting for a public hover vehicle to arrive. At 50 miles per hour they're the slowest way to travel, but I had some time to kill. I was meant to meet Talin in Old Camden in 10 minutes. Seeing a hover-bus (as I like to call them) approach, I stepped forward into a heavy downpour of rain. The rain drops skidded off my advanced coat, leaving it dry. The bus came to halt, the doors directly in front of me. On the outside, it looked just like an old London bus,(another historical feature) along with fake bus numbers, adverts for outdated films and even a video clip of a friendly driver. I stepped inside the holographic door (no need for a real one in the current climate). Inside, cream coloured seats were lined along a narrow corridor. Blue lights lined the floor and drink dispensers stood at the far corners. As I walked in payment was taken with a wave of my Zeno card. I dreaded to think how many thousands of credits public transport had gone up by this week, but without employment at the PPU, I was left without a vehicle.

I sat opposite an older lady who had obviously had anti-aging treatment. I'd barely sat down before the bus zoomed off along the blue electric tracks which lined the road. Adverts were projected onto the windows behind the seats, showing images of silly products like robotic children for the infertile and the various beauty products and treatments the woman in front of me must have used. She noticed me looking and looked away as if embarrassed.

After a few minutes, I exited the hover-bus onto Old Camden, one of the few places in London to keep it's original name. Unlike central London, Camden was completely modernised. Skyscrapers lined the street, stretching for what seemed like miles above my head. The street was practically empty, only the few cleaner robots out and about. I strode along the high street, passing various shops and robot pods, ready to be dispensed at commands ranging from 'terrorist attack' to 'broken nail'. After turning a corner off the high street, I arrived at the bomb crater. I was taken aback by how big it was. It stretched for half a mile in each direction, leaving a rocky reminder of the eighteen world wars. I spotted Talin by the information center, fiddling with some devices in his bag. "How's it going?" I asked him. Talin was leaning over a table outside a run down café on the outskirts of the center. "I think we're all set!" He replied with a smile. Although I knew he was only sounding excited to hide how scared he really was. "Wheres the ship?" I asked.

"It's right in the center of the crater, I've managed to locate it , although still no idea how we get in."

"What about security? We don't want to be electrocuted as soon as we step into the crater..."

"All disabled. We should be able to step right across, unseen to any passers by."

I nodded in acknowledgement. Talin packed up his stuff and stepped over to the crater. He looked over the edge, then back to me, obviously wanting me to go first. I rolled my eyes and stepped down into the crater, but the drop was longer than I anticipated and I stumbled over. "You alright?" Talin asked, his voice slightly echoed. "Yep. Come on down." I replied. Talin gingerly jumped down to join me. From inside, the crater surrounded us in a shield of rock and dirt, a shade as red as the sun itself. I followed Talin across the crater until he stopped suddenly, eyes fixed on a device on his hand. "It's here," Talin told me, pulling the key out of his pocket and turning it over in his hands. "Now what?" He asked me, gesturing with his hands, causing the key to touch the ship. A beam of light moved across the ship until it was completely visible. Talin turned and removed the key from the ship. It turned invisible again. "Keep touching it. I'll find the key hole," I said. The ship itself was relatively small. It was the typical shape of an older space ship; a wide beetle shape rounded to a sharp point at the front, making it about 20 metres long. It was completely jet black with material that looked as though it would be able to camouflage into the environment. There was a large blue ★ above tinted windows which lay seemingly where the cockpit was.