Ghost Spark - Essence Engine

Six

Out on the dock, Marcus made his way slowly between rusting piles of old electronics and low hanging power lines. The smell of low tide permeated the air. It was a different smell then he remembered as a boy back in Maryland. The smell here was fetid, like rotting fish and decaying dreams.

Reaching the central pier, they turned and started walking down the wide concrete thoroughfare. The fog had begun to roll in. Marcus could see the fog streaming past in the glow of the LED and Neon lights. Already some of the taller 4 and 5 story stacks were becoming shrouded, their Neon signs creating whirls of color reflecting on the wet of the pier. The Fog almost seemed alive, wrapping the crowds in a constant translucent glow. He looked up into the mist. It seemed to move in different directions and angles from the wind. Sometimes, it dove down onto the pier, creating eddies of light as it swept across the concrete. It seemed to carry the crowd along the pier, pushing them in different directions. Some to their destinations, others just further down the concourse. What was left was swirls of color and muted voices carried by the wind.

"Take my arm," she said.

"What?" Marcus replied.

"Take my arm or it will look suspicious," she replied.

"There are hundreds of people out and you are worried about blending in? Besides less then 45 minutes ago, you strung me up and tried to kill me," he said as he took her arm and placed it in his.

"That was before you became useful to me." She said.

"Right."

"You know, if I am going to be escorting you down the boardwalk, I probably should know your name."

"Boardwalk?" she asked.

"Yeah, back east on the coast, they erected wooden piers along the coastline for entertainment. There were arcades, places to eat," Marcus said lowering his voice. "It was for families on vacation before the EMP."

"Miko," she said.

A light drizzle started.

"Tule," said Miko, looking up.

"Tule?" asked Marcus.

"Different types of fog. Tule," Miko said gesturing to the sky.
"Thick, wet and never ending. Everything gets soaked, no one can get warm."

Letting go of Marcus's arm, Miko walked directly in the path of a Tuk-Tuk and yelled at it.

A brief heated discussion took place with the driver and the Tuk-Tuk looped back and stopped next to Marcus.

It was a miserable looking three wheeled vehicle. Splashes of green and yellow paint overlapped at differing angles on the Tuks exterior. Red velvet tassels dangling from the roof vibrated and danced as the underpowered Mistubishi 2-stroke bucked and coughed. Climbing into the vehicle, Marcus noticed the railing's ornate design was small dragon heads made from one continuous piece of steel. It was glowing iridescent blue and was warm to the touch. The interior roof of the Tuk displayed a tranquil sunset scene of the Golden Gate bridge. Marcus could just make out a HeloCarrier docked at the Presidio's deep water port.

Miko jumped in from the other side.

"What was all that about?" Marcus asked.

"I wasn't sure he could see us, so I blocked his path. Turns out he has heat vision augments. "

"This is a little old school isn't it? A little quaint? Are there no rovers on the pier or autocabs?" Marcus asked.

"There used to be when the pier was first built. They had the whole pier wired for automation. But superconducting wire is worth more than gold, so it wasn't long before the pier started getting torn apart," Miko said.