Salvation 2035

Chapter 14- True Genesis

    『Abel』

     The sun is just peeking above the horizon, gently illuminating the overcast sky. It's time for us to leave David's place. It was really nice of him to drive us to the next town to the car rentals, and to give us all that advice. From now on, we have to do everything legally so as to not arouse any sort of suspicion. No petty thievery, no grand theft auto, no battery, and no identity theft. Oh, and we also have to change our clothes pretty often. Nothing concerning the law in any way, just a good tip. It seems straightforward enough for me, but for Tsuki and Keisha, well not so much. The two of them have mischief running in their veins.

     I feel bad that Tsuki didn't get to say a proper goodbye to David. It was rather brief and since we're in a public place, it kind of had to be. Still, they've known each other for quite some time and I'm sure a 'see ya' wasn't exactly ideal. Who knows if and when they'll see each other again. Speaking of Tsuki, he seems a little off today. Like he seems content but also extremely wary and...dejected. It's as if he's trying to hide something. His hair is also a little wavier than it usually is. But then again, he's always sort of been like this, but in varying degrees. He's also the type to experiment with his appearance, so I'm sure I'll be in for some interesting spectacles down the line. It's rather concerning that he's so bothered by his natural face that he would wake up so much earlier than the rest of us before even grabbing a bite to eat just to alter his appearance. I'm not sure if going in by asking him directly would solve this behaviour in any way. No insecure person is happy to talk about their insecurities, and if I ask him, 'do you not like the way you look naturally,' or 'do you hate yourself,' the chance that he'll answer honestly is almost zero. I just want to know how to help, because I know that he's in some sort of pain. I suppose all I can do is be kind.

     And then there's Keisha who is perfectly fine from what I can tell. She's rather excited about this whole... thing. I mean, if you've lived underground your whole life, I suppose one would be in this sort of honeymoon phase. The real stakes of the situation we're in haven't quite dawned on her yet. I will never forget our time in Kydoimos, though. It was just so odd. All I saw were young people around my age, and they were living in a seemingly functioning society. It's completely absurd that something like that could exist. I'm not sure if it's more rational to think that it could be a settlement created by an anti-government extremist group to rally a force to create some sort of revolution, or that it's a giant, twisted social experiment. And talking to Keisha doesn't seem to help all that much, as even she doesn't seem to know too much despite living there all her life. Perhaps there's something she's not telling us? Well, all I know is that her intentions toward us don't seem to be malicious in the slightest. I can't help wanting to get to know her better. Her life has been so... unorthodox.

     "So Keisha, have you ever driven a car before?" I ask as we walk up to the rental.

     "Yep!" she chirps. "But only a few times when we got our hands on one."

     "Care to explain?" I inquire.

     "You see, back in Kydoimos I was a scavenger, so I'd go into nearby places like landfills and junkyards with a few other people and bring back the useful stuff and make it into something... er, useful," she explains. "That's how I got so good with techy stuff. But I'm not so great with cars, though."

     "Thankfully we have Tsuki with us for that," I turn over to him. He grins back at me, as we both seem to recall our great escape.

     Soon enough we get our rental vehicle. It's a dark blue standard size that's a fairly recent model. I have no complaints. We can all fit easily with plenty of room to spare. I have to say, it's quite nice. We have to return it in a month, but that's not too bad since we got ours from a rental franchise, so we can just drop it off at a different location. I am a little worried if they'd recognize my name. I had to be the one to do all the documentation since I'm the only one with a valid driver's license. I am a fugitive after all, so I'm afraid someone will rat me out. Still, the worker there didn't seem too concerned and just wanted to get paid. He just took the payment and let us go, despite the fact that Tsuki and Keisha generally look suspicious. Well, the economy is in the toilet, so I'm sure he just wants to stay afloat.