Escapade

THIRTEEN - DEX

   We met a solid wall of concrete at the end of the walkway. About ten feet from the end of the wall, the hand holds stopped. We had to work our way along, by digging our nails into the small imperfections in the moulded stone.

   In the middle of the wall, a large pipe, which looked to have the diameter of two feet, let out brown, frothy, liquefied crap. It was probably sending it to a place where it would sit forever. Humans were terrible like that. They filled everything natural with unnatural chemicals, making them unable to complete the circle of life.

   My mind kept drifting to the things that humans did wrong. Marella broke my thoughts, by asking me what we should do. I pointed up to the sewer grate above the wall.

   "That leads out onto the street. We need to get up there, and then we're free." I hoped that she didn't think I was a human geek, and was weird for knowing all of these things.

   "Okay, I think we'll have to shove off of the wall pretty hard to get out there. Do you want me to go first?" She sounded determined, so I let her go first. She bent her legs, then shoved off of the wall, and easily reached the grate. She gripped it, and sat there, suspended because of her levitation.

   Next, I tried pushing off, without as much success as her. I was at least a foot away from her outstretched hand. I tried kicking, but that was to no avail. She reached out, and so did I, but still, a few inches separated us. Finally, she gripped the edge of the grate, and reached out with her foot, hanging sideways, in an awkward position. I caught her foot, and felt a flush of embarrassment cover my face. She pulled me in, and I couldn't help noticing how close we were. Pushing our Telekinesis to its limits, we pushed the grate open, and hauled ourselves up, onto the street. Luckily, it was empty, and no one walked along the dismal alley, to see us slip from the sewer.

   It was dirty, and smelled like rotting fruit, but we quickly left the sewers behind, and walked out into the setting sun.

   The streets were filled with vibrant buildings, and many had signs, with human writing on them. Glass windows looked into the shops, to reveal clothes, hats, and shoes on display. People stood outside, and admired the items for sale.

   A few auto-mobiles drove along the streets, and pedestrians walked along the sidewalk. A group of laughing teens walked by, and Marella blushed as a guy winked at her. I bet we looked pretty weird. Two dirty teenagers, both with blue eyes, and stunning features.

   "Where do you think we should go?" Marella asked me, still looking awed by the enormity of the city. I couldn't quite place where we were.

   As we walked, I overheard a man, as he spoke to another woman in English. I figured, because of their accent, we were somewhere in western Europe, most likely near or in Britain. I hoped that my assumption was correct. As we walked, I saw an automatic bank teller. It was just like the one that I had used to get money, with Sophie, in France.

   "Just a moment," I indicating the teller. "I'm going to go get some money."

   After she had nodded, I walked up to it, and only waited a few minutes, before it was my turn. I fumbled at the foreign symbols on the little keypad. Somehow, my brain connected with the symbols, and I still couldn't read them, but I understood them. I clicked them, and then a calm voice asked me to insert a card, or something. It came from inside the machine. I jumped back in surprise. Then I realized that it was just the human tech. I continued clicking buttons, but the persistent voice continued asking for me to insert a card. For some reason I couldn't understand how to fix it. It wouldn't stop.

   I heard footsteps behind me.

   "Is something the matter?" A human man, stood behind me, wearing a white shirt underneath of a blue vest, with English writing printed across it. He wore blue, denim jeans, and his hands stuck from his pockets casually. I struggled to translate his words, taking a few moments to thank myself for taking the time to learn English.

   "No. I—" I didn't know what to say. "I have just never used one of these—these things."

   "An ATM?" he asked, eyeing me with concern. Surprisingly, he seemed to want to help me.

   "Yeah, an A-T-M," I said, uncertain if an ATM was even what I needed. Was ATM an acronym? He smiled.

   "I'd be happy to help. Do you have your card?"

   I wondered what he meant about a card. Was that the thing that the machine kept asking for? Was it like Birth Funds? I wasn't sure what to say, so I just nodded.

   He continued to look at me, as if expecting me to do something. I tapped my thigh impatiently.

   Finally, he said, "You put it in this slot here, and then it will ask you for your PIN. You type it into the keypad, and then ask for the money. You type in how much you want, and then it will give you the money. Say, didn't your parents tell you how to do it?" It took me only a second to translate his words.

   "I—um, no. They don't really care. They just asked me to get some hu—dollars."

   The man laughed. "You won't be getting dollars here in Wales, lad. You'll be getting pounds. If they asked you for dollars, you'll need to get to the currency exchange," he gestured with his hand, "Over there." A little green booth was stationed across the street, and it had more human writing on it.

   "No, sorry, they said pounds. I'm just used to calling them hu—dollars." The man gave me a grin.

   "If you need any other help, just head over to the Tourist Office, right down the street. Anyone wearing a blue vest, will be happy to help you." He gave me a thumbs-up, and I smiled back awkwardly, having no idea what he meant.

   "Thank you."

   He turned away, and walked out of sight.

   I went right back to randomly clicking buttons.