Storm

Chapter Forty-Nine

The sound of the honking cars was nearly too much for his ears, but there wasn't any time to stop.

It was nearly midday, and the sun wasn't letting up. Beads of sweat rose up on his wrinkled brow as he pedaled faster, faster...

Keep going. He had to make it before...

A slick black limo honked, and he nearly fell off his bike. If only any of these people had the slightest bit of courtesy.

The red light ahead of him switched green and he was off once more. The wall wasn't very far now.

Despite how close it seemed, it would be at least five more minutes. He glanced quickly down at his watch. He had to be there in two.

With that in mind, he pedaled off the road, taking more of a risk than he usually did. The entire bike bounced up and down on the rocky pathways, but he didn't care. He gritted his teeth through it. Made it past one street, two...only one more and then a right turn...

The man in the bright yellow cap saw him coming. The boy could sense his disdain from all the way down the street. Usually, Davis wasn't happy about the boy's daily trek to bother him, but today, he seemed particularly irritated.

"Really, boy? Hurry the hell up!" he shouted out at him, waving from outside a pair of gates. They were huge, and would be closed in a mere five minutes.

The boy sped through the gates, yelling a quick, "Sorry!" as he flew by Davis. Hopefully, Davis wouldn't be too terribly mad.

He slowed down as he entered the facility. It was a pretty gross place. Nothing very nice to see. But Davis understood why he'd come. The boy had explained it all to Davis in a panic the first time he'd received his letter from Chance.

He couldn't help smiling at simply the thought of Chance. They'd met after being placed in the same unit back when he was in training at the Wall. Since then, they'd been nearly impossible to separate. Even when they did get separated.

Chance had chosen to stay at the Equator's Wall and protect the people. Protect people like himself. The boy respected that a lot. But it didn't stop him from missing him every single day. Chance had promised that one day, he'd come inside.

And then they could do all the fun things the boy imagined in his head. There were so many places to show Chance...people for him to meet...even Davis.

For now, they could only talk through the countless letters sent back and forth. And through this facility.

The trash facility.

Not a very glamorous place to be, nor a very glamorous place to work at according to Davis. But the boy had always loved the world outside the Equator. He loved its nature -- frozen as it was. He'd sort of started up a collection back when he was in training. Collecting bits of tree bark from different types of trees, along with anything else interesting he could scavenge from the ground had become a big hobby of his.

So, when Chance offered to continue sending the boy these small bits of nature to add to his collection, the boy could not say no. Even if it meant having them sent down the Wall's trash chute.

Today, the gift was easy to find. Chance usually sent them in bright neon orange boxes so it wouldn't be too difficult to find. He also always used the same chute...and the box would almost always end up in the same place as long as the boy came at the right time of day. If he came too late, Davis would be off shift and forced to close the gates. Then, Chance's gift would get lost in the piles. If he came too early, Chance wouldn't have had it sent down yet.

The boy grabbed the neon box and wiped away some debris that was stuck to it. The trash workers tried to keep most of the trash in assorted bins, but frankly, it often ended up all over the ground. Fortunately, it never was anything too gross. Usually, just torn uniforms, inked papers, and food scraps.

He was turning away, clutching the neon box close to his chest, when he saw it.

He screamed.