Callidus Rising | Complete ✔️ | Book 1

2: All Sizes

I grab the water-proof backpack that I found a few weeks back and stuff it with useful tools: a hydro-powered flashlight (ironically), my rubber-like map, a hand-built drone, and thermal glasses.

I then shove a half-full water bottle into it as well.

I have a while before it would be dark, but I throw in my night vision glasses as well.

I push a little wireless plastic speaker inside my ear and the adhesive side sticks to
my ear canal.

This tech is ancient.

"Lukas," I say, checking that it's still operational.

"Alexi," the AI mimicks. It is very loud, and I visibly cringe.

Yep... It works.

"Well I sure hope so!" I cringe again, Lukas' voice echoing five-fold into my eardrum.

"Lukas! You don't have to yell! I can hear you just fine," I say, irritated.

"Well, neither do you," Lukas returns. I sigh and continue packing the bag.

"You don't have to do this you know," it says.

I don't respond.

"You've got months, maybe even years, worth of food up here. This is madness. Teaching is not the only thing I exist for, it's also keeping you alive and this is just asking me to fail," it reasons.

"Sorry to disappoint, but you forgot water," I say.

Lukas doesn't respond, the silence making me uncomfortable.

"Maybe it'll give you some lessons in when you're actually supposed to be quiet and when you're supposed to speak," I mumble.

"Okay then, Alexi. I might be AI, but I can tell when you have an attitude, and you know very well that if you got rid of those useless plants you would have quite enough water," Lukas warns.

I know. I also know keeping my thoughts to myself won't help because you listen to them. I don't even want to know what kind of crazy tech that is... Or if I have some hunk of steel in my brain because of it.

"True, that's very true," the AI says," and you don't have steel in your brain. To put it very simply, I was coded to buzz on two frequencies: the one you can hear, and the one that your thoughts are on. So when you think, I hear," Lukas says.

I wonder for a moment.

Frequencies of my brain waves? That's just insa-

Wait a minute...

"Stop stalling me. I'm going."

"Stay here or come with me, your choice," I tell my friend.

As I pull a protection suit on, Lukas starts displaying the route to the store in perfect 3D picture in front of me.

I slip on my all sizes calf boots/armor and wait.

Soon, little spirts of air come out of the sides as they depressurize and hug every muscle all the way up to my knee, the thick flexible material climbs my thighs all the way up to my lower back.

Metal rivets slide out of the bottom and it's supports cling onto my ankle.

The red turns to blue strips of light that runs up the sides is telling me that they are fitted.

I was all clear. I pull on a thin black long sleeve shirt over my protection vest and then pull out a tank top that matches the boots.

I put it on and wait for it to mold itself, taking a swig of water from a small bottle that had been next to my bed.

The light turns red as the little metal triangles on the shoulder blades pop open and produce arm-length gauntlets.

First, it covers my shoulders with a hard indestructible metal.

It then works its way down to my elbows where it puts a thick layer of flexible material to give some coverage and protection.

Then it continues down to my forearms and wrist where, after they are clothed in strong metallic material, it crawls up onto my palm and the back of my hand and links together through the spaces between my fingers.

From there, it covers my fingers with the same material that covers my elbow.

It allows freedom of mobility, and it's breathable.

The last thing it does is form a small sphere sunken into the metal at the palm on my right hand.

I smile as the familiar feeling of security covers me.

I begin to walk toward the Jumper and glanced at the trail Lukas has laid out one last time, totally missing the small mileage number that is displayed beside it.

I step inside the wide tube that sits at the corner of my doorless room. For a moment I am a little scared, but soon it turns into buzzing excitement.

I haven't been out of this building for years except for a handful of times... And I never actually opened the Jumper for fear of the virus.

Right as I type in my stolen authorization code and select one of two Jumpers I can go to, an almost silent whizzing sound catches my attention.

I whip around just in time to see a familiar white box zoom into the tube right as it closes.

I smile a little bit.
~~~~~~~~~~

The picture on top is kind of what I imagine her boots to look like. ( I know it looks a little bit like the leg of an action figure with glue on it, but just imagine with me here.)
Thanks for reading, and feel free to draw a better boot than that one and send it to me!!
❤️