The Delmarian Influence

Chapter Six

6.

Delmar I, City of Essix

4100 G.E., Septam 18, 18:30:25.00

Old Creek, Essix

Garett leaned back against the tall grasses before the lake, sucking in the bluish smoke from the smoker he'd rolled earlier. Taking it into his lungs, he felt the tingling down his throat and into his chest, then slow relaxation of all his muscles as he exhaled a violet hue into the slowly dawning sun. He passed the smoker to Dania and waited silently.

"What was it like to walk? Did it hurt?" he asked finally.

Dania shrugged as she exhaled. "It didn't hurt. It felt good actually. I felt like I could run forever and never run out of brea--" she coughed slightly at the end, handing the smoker back.

Garett watched the ash flake into the grass, laying, then melding with the dry earth. He watched Dania's eyes dilate, the effect always faster and more intense than his own. Garett continued another puff as Dania retrieved the half-empty Greelian Brandy from her pouch. She handed the blue liquor to Garett after taking a large gulp for herself.

"You made the cut though. You'll be able to walk full time now."

Dania turned to look up at him as she took the smoker and pulled another puff.

"Don't you realize what this means, Garett? You'll never be able to feel another smoker in your life, never be able to get drunk again. I'll miss it."

"If you're that dependent on alcohol and drugs then it's probably best if you do go off-world, Dania. There's so much more out there. Get tilted on life.”

Dania struck him softly on the shoulder.

“Besides, when we come home and those things go offline we'll be able to feel the old things."

The smoker was nearly done now and he finished it off with a large inhalation that left only ash and a violet mist surrounding them. A jarring feeling ran through Garett and he felt even heavier as he sunk his head into the tall grasses. His fingers delved into the dirt and he could feel a faint pulsing near the center. It was said that one became sensitive to the roots of the Tyliam Leaf that provided the smokers with their altering properties if you smoked enough.

Garett could always feel them somewhere beneath him, almost as though they lay at the very center of Delmar I.

"Good news that you made so high a mark. Secret forces and what-not. You'll be one of those secret-agent-type deals."

Garett took another gulp of the Greelian Brandy, feeling the surge of warmth spread through his limbs. He coughed slightly and wiped a layer of sweat from his brow. The dry dirt on his hands created a muddy soup on his forehead which he let sit.

"You're drunk already," he frowned. "I'm afraid they might make me into some type of robot that kills when they command. I don't want to be that, Dania."

"And if I said I loved you?" she asked suddenly.

Garett sighed. "You're drunk, Dania."

"I know."

"No, I mean really drunk."

"Why do you have to ruin everything?" she asked softly.

"I'm not," he promised stolidly, closing his eyes and drifting off.