The World in Between

Chapter One: To Move or To Move; There Is No Question

Rain pours down my window as I gaze forlornly at the numerous piles of moving boxes. This was it. We were moving and the decision was final. No more desperate arguments or midnight shouting matches. No more pillows damp from tears, (though there were sure to be more once we arrived), no more calling up moving companies and lying to them that we didn't need their services anymore. 

Trees zoom by and all of a sudden, the hover comes to an abrupt stop and crashes to the ground. Crud. My stupid stepmom forgot to get biofuel at the last stop. We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with a hover full of furniture and boxes.  I shudder at the thought of hitchhiking. Really, you could get stabbed, shot or kidnapped. Unsafe as it was, I wasn't going to shirk from a challenge. I got out of the hover and rolled up my sleeves. "Where are we?" I ask to my watch.

 My  Electro-Assistant, Pam, flashes onto the screen. "Good afternoon Vivian. The time is 13:37, and you are standing in the middle of nowhere." 

I sigh. "Yes, Pam, but WHERE"

"I unfortunately can not tell your approximate location due to the trees causing interference to my GPS signals. However, the nearest BioFuel station is 32.5 miles away. There are no tows nearby, so you will have to get a guide magnet from the front seat and walk. Hitchhiking is not advisable in this current area."

"How long will it take to walk there?" I ask.  

"Well, judging that the average human takes 20 minutes to walk a mile, it would take you 650 minutes, or 10.8 hours. However, your average mile time is 8mph when you run. If you run and don't slow down, you could make it in 4.3 hours. 

"WHAT?!" I screech. Victoria looks up from her tablet, obvious disgust written all over her face.

"Well, get going then. The hover isn't going to pull itself," she says coldly. 

Did I mention my stepmom hates me? Cursing her, I opened the passengers panel, revealing three silver spheres on a leather strip. I strap it on my hand and give an experimental pull. Huh. It was practically weightless. That would help, but we still have to walk 32.5 miles. On second thought, make that I still have to walk. "Victoria, don't we have to start walking to the pump?" I ask innocently, already knowing the answer. 

"Yes Vivian, you should start walking. I'll stay in the hover in case of... complications."

I roll my eyes. The thing with Victoria is that you can never say no. Maybe it's something about her icy eyes, or the thin line her mouth makes when she's angry. Either way, she's terrifying. I'm struck with a sudden bolt of inspiration. "Hey, isn't my FlyBoard in the backseat?" 

"Yes."

"Can you pass it to me, please?" I ask.

"Well, I can, I don't know if I will though," she says loftily.

I roll my eyes. "Will you then?" I groan.

"Alright, though I don't see how much help it'll be." She passes down the wide, silver board. Excellent. I hop on, making sure the guide magnets are still in place. I thrust off, pulling the hover as I speed along the empty road. The rain blinds me, but I'm too elated to care. Soon, we would be out of this dismal forest and into actual society.