Humanity's Peacekeepers

Concrete Jungle [ 19 : ДЕВЯТНАДЦАТЬ ]

- Jack // Джек -

Tramway Plaza was about a kilometer from Katharine Hepburn Garden, but we're giant robotic dogs! We can cover that distance no problem, it'll take no more than a few minutes.

"It's just straaaaiight down the road," I pointed. "We don't need the map, really."

We went past rows and rows of buildings to the left and right of us, as well as a few cars here and there. "You'd think this place would have more than a few cars, right?" I asked.

"Well, with the end of the world and all, a lot of people probably left home to go sight-seeing," Igor guessed. "...Or to get food, I don't know."

Every shop had their metal shutters rolled down, closed down for quite a long while. Every labelled signboard was bleached and unintelligible, while the 3D block letterings bled paint onto their walls, some even fell off. I only took a few glances, but Igor was very focused on the world around him. I stared at his face, really serious and in awe.

"...Hm?" Igor turned to me. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You look so amusing," I snickered. Chewdo nodded in my paws.

"How so?"

"You've been starin' all around you for quite a while."

"Well, is this place not amazing to you?" he asked.

"I don't think it's 'amazing', it's aesthetically pleasing, though." The place was nice, but also pretty boring. Nothing's happening at all, just the occasional pile of leaves and plastic bags tumbling on the sidewalks. "Not judgin' ya though, don't w-"

CRASH! "Yike!" A loud noise made me jump. "W-What was that?!"

Thunk! "Squeak!" Chewdo suddenly fell into my paws. Igor was laughing so hard that he made no noise.

"Hahaha- Cough cough!" He was trying to stop laughing. "Ahem, you just tossed him into the air! Aahhahahahaha..."

"Hush it, you..." I muttered and petted poor Chewdo for a bit.

"Squeak..." he shivered. Definitely not my proudest moment so far.

A bit of joking around later though, we did more theorizing. "Uh, what do we know so far?" I asked.

"Hm," Igor thought for a bit. "We have the characters Grandma, Dad, O, P, and Roborodent. Grandma is Frances Meikel, O is probably Professor Owen Ryieszenski, Roborodent is Chewdo, and Dad is presumably Stanley Ryieszenski."

"Hold up, we also have Amelia and her mother, or P's wife," I added. "Amelia Maxine Ryieszenski's name also kinda confirms it's Owen."

"So we don't know who Dad, P, nor his wife is," Igor said. "...Nor the point of the story yet."

"I hope I turn out to be Dad." I faked a serious face. Chewdo laughed, while Igor facepalmed again.

— - — - — - — - —

A bit more mocking later, we got to the plaza. There was a giant tram station beside it, for getting from Lenox Hill to Roosevelt Island. There's no other route to reach there from here, unless you wanted to cross the river. Three times.

Like everywhere else it's viney and such. The plaza itself though, especially the centerpiece, had to be one of the only un-green places here.

"How... sad," Igor whispered. The middle had a tall rusty structure, called "Hosea". It looked like a triangular pyramid framework, but with very bulky yet wavy beams and a large gear on top.

"Poor Hosea," I said. All the dirt in the small flowerbed beside it was dried and crackled; there had been no plant life here for quite a while now. Despite that, there's a shovel upright in the soil.

"Chances are, that's chapter 6," I guessed.

"Squeak!" Chewdo nodded. Igor smiled, and dug into the dirt with the shovel.

"This is getting way too easy, professor," I chuckled.