Mother's Hand

Chapter Four

"So? Do we have flying cars?" I said as I gave Gary a hug. My mood lifted seeing my friend alive and in one piece. Another piece of normalcy from my old life locked back into place.

"Flying cars!" Gary said laughing, his cheeks had filled out even more, they squidged up into great balls either side of his face, I noticed he had become a good few inches past stocky.

Gary, was one of the few in Mother's City who could trace his linage and knew his family name. Although discussing Old World race and identity was forbidden by the OneCulture Act, he had let me know in confidence that way back he was a Papequash of the Plains Cree who would have lived, at one time in the very north tip of the circular circumference of Mother's Wall.

Even more incredible, his family had buried their family's relics once OneCulture passed. Perhaps Gary harbored a long-held hope of digging them up one day if Mother ever relaxed those laws. I knew she never ever would, once Mother has taken something, you don't get it back.

The Papequash relics would be Gary's secret passed down to further generations though, and I envied that little glimmer of hope he could have.

Gary's skin was tan, although lighter than mine but his eyes were darker. I noticed more grey hair flecked from the sides of his black mane than before. I also appreciated that his hairstyle was now a very subtle mullet tied at the back into a small ponytail– as much as was likely allowed in his job at Mother's Mind.

"Do you think I would be picking you up this piece of skiff if I could be driving around in a flying car?" he said. "No man, we don't have flying cars. And look at you!" He grabbed at my bicep and I flexed my arm. "Oh great, yeah Kal– enjoy it while it lasts. Now, stop being an asshole and get in the car."

I belted in and settled down.

"Where are we Gary?"

"Just outside Section One, in the Section Two borders – it was a non-marked facility actually. Total skiff to find. Oh, I've missed you too."

We took off and I scanned the road looking for changes in scenery. Nothing had changed. There was one of the many towering statues of Mother in the distance.

We hit the highway which then plowed us into the sprawling black spires of section two, a ruined nameless city of the Old World. We would have to crawl through more than an hour of traffic in Section Two for before hitting the greener pastures of Section Three where we lived.

"Tell me everything Gary. What have I missed? I've been gone four damn years–"

"Wait." Gary interrupted me, all the usual humor from his voice sliced away. "They didn't tell you?"

"Didn't tell me what?"

I tried not to spit out of the last word out but seriously – didn't tell me what? That the Scynthians were about to land on Earth and wipe us out?

I hadn't been told a damn skuffing thing apart from that I had a grip and grin photo session with Prince Rufus in a week.

Gary took a big breath and blew it out. "Okay. Sod this."

We were hitting the first traffic jam of Section Two and already it felt dark. Cloaked in the perpetual gloom of high pollution and gravity-defying towers, punctured with hundreds of neon signs. The streets were packed with thousands of people shuffling about, shouting and hawking dressed in an array of crazy Section Two fashions to downright rags.

Gary saw a parking spot open up and we risked life and limb to nab it.

"I need a drink," he said. He lumbered out and I followed, grabbing my de-brief kit from the dash. He gently moved a skeletal old lady out our way who let out a raspy, "Hey, wanna fool around?"