The Rose of Flames: Rising Tides

Chapter 12

August 22nd, 2047

12:47 P.M.

Portage, Michigan, U.S.A.

"WHAT?!"

Catherine felt herself jolt awake in surprise, the booming yell still ringing in her ears. Groaning and sitting up, she rubbed her eyes with her fingerless-gloved hands, then looked over at the silver alarm clock, narrowing her eyes at the lime-green screen. Reading the time, she huffed and slipped out of bed, her feet soundlessly reaching the carpeted floor. It had been a week since she'd gone home, and the dreams had kept on coming, but none of them stuck out; they were about the same as they always are, and they typically blurred pretty fast.

Good lord, I forgot that my father tends to scream at his TV. Oh well, she remembered with a soft sigh. While she appreciated not needing to worry as much about what was going on out in the world, she did miss all the thrills it provided, like being able to meet Overshadow's commanders and that cowboy. Especially the outlaw. She stepped out into the hall and made a sharp left, pushing open the pearly-white door that was bordering her bedroom.

The room was about the same size as her own, with a very similar layout in terms of windows. The wall directly opposite Catherine had a fairly large coffee-colored L-shaped couch up against it and was painted a brilliant green. The rest of the walls were an aqua blue. Facing the couch was another large, flat-screen television on a wooden brown stand, numerous video game figures, devices, and consoles below. On the couch, itself was a fluffy white pillow against the arm across from the L part and a purple blanket. Down on the floor, her laptop was charging from the cord being plugged in just below the window, along with a bit more trash than Catherine cared to admit.

Limping on her left leg without care, she hobbled to the blank screen of the TV, reached to the underside, and tapped a small button, subsequently turning it on. She bent down to pick up an electric-blue console controller, tapping its power button before making her way to the couch. She plopped onto it and grumbled to herself quietly while rearranging the blanket to have it sitting over her. She made a few quick movements with the controller's joysticks and got some videos playing before grabbing her well-used laptop and opening it. She logged in quickly, sighing.

All seems quiet. Thank God. I don't need to deal with the Clorias right now, Catherine thought, her eyes scanning a map of her hometown. While she didn't like to think about it, their world was going through a huge war, dubbed the Clorian War. The Clorias were sentient robots created by Clorium, a company that specialized in the latest tech. She didn't tend to buy from there, seeing as the amount of money, or interest, she had for the company was pretty slim.

Sighing, Catherine scrolled through the map, debating on whether or not she felt like looking into the cameras that the police and traffic departments had installed around the city. One of the things she tended to do when she was bored or just curious was to hack into the cameras, typically traffic cameras, and observe her hometown. It could be for gossip, information for her... extensive collection of dirt on people and organizations, or just simply keeping an eye on any crime or humorous events in the streets; drivers in Michigan often varied from skilled and smart to "I-just-got-my-license-for-my-birthday!" drivers, offering up plenty of entertainment for a bored Catherine.

After a few moments of debate, Catherine clicked into a fresh tab and got to work. It was only a few moments of rapid code-writing before she was clicking through camera footage. Because why not, right? She thought with a small grin, tapping into a camera outside a local supermarket. She watched it idly, chuckling softly when she saw a random guy walk right into the glass beside the sliding doors. As she sat there, she could quickly feel boredom start to form, so she got out of the cameras and stood.