are all I need to convince me to take a break.
There are cafés on nearly every corner so it doesn’t take long to find a place with a short queue to get inside and grab a quick bite to eat. The line for the airlock moves quickly and I soon find myself inside.
The café is a drab and lifeless grey with exposed wires and pipes covering the walls. The décor is a typical sight in a city where grey is an accent color. I grab a pre-made sandwich and a bottle of seltzer.
The transaction is quick and wordless. I take a seat by the window. Observing the throng of multi-colored ants, I chew slowly giving myself more time to watch. Gulping down the last of my seltzer, I put my mask back on and give it a few tugs to tighten it up.
Waiting in the queue for the door, I pause by a trash can. Finally a place to get rid of my trash from breakfast. Both breakfast’s and lunch’s trash plummet into the dark bottom of the can. The streets have cleared up significantly in the time it took me to eat lunch. Across the road, the connecting street appears promisingly empty. Looking both ways for traffic, I dash across the narrow street. The street bends off around the corner so I walk further along the curve in search of a deserted place.
A few hundred meters down, the street curves again in the opposite direction. In the space between, I stand alone. I glance back and forth. The street is empty and silent. A deep breath flows out from my chest and nervous electricity dances on my skin. I am actually going to do this.
My fingers run along my neck, stopping on the pressed-tight rubber of my mask. Nervous, I look around again. Still no one. Still uneasy, I look for a little bit more privacy. Only a few meters away there is a narrow alley. Jogging to it quickly was enough to get my already excited heart beating fast. A final look. Alone.
Retracing their path, my fingers press under the rubber seal. Swiftly I rip the mask off. Involuntarily holding my breath, panic sets in. What the hell am I doing? How stupid am I? Of course the advertisement lied to me, why would I change my filter everyday if they lasted a long time? A filter a day is good for business, but what reason does the government have to flat-out lie to millions of people? Fumbling with the mask, I attempt to loosen it enough to slide it back on.
“Stop!” The ferocity of the command leaves me breathless. Two brown-coated Peace Officers have turned the corner. Their batons in hand, they start to sprint toward me while shouting with their mechanical sounding voices enhanced by the synthesizer in their gloss-black rebreathers. Without a conscious thought, I turn and run.
Mask swinging free in my hand, I dart down the narrow alley. My small frame allows me to pass through at full speed. Chancing a glance back, I see the Peace Officers have had no such luck with their broad shoulders and thick coats and they are struggling to push their way between the constricted brick walls. Deep breaths of the outside air burn slightly in my lungs, but it’s most likely the soot. I’m not dead. Free from the mask, I breathe deeper than I ever have before. I feel my muscles working harder and springing back faster than I’ve ever known.
The gap between us widens significantly with my newfound energy. The alley is beginning to widen. Once it widens enough for them to run, their longer legs will surely make up the gap. I have to lose them. In a flash I catch a glimpse of another alley running perpendicular to this one as I pass by. Attempting to stop quickly, I slide on the damp stone and come down hard on my left knee. The impact stings but adrenalin keeps me moving and I quickly clamber up. Now staring back down the alley I see the Peace Officers rapidly approaching. Without hesitation I turn the corner and take off at full speed. Thankfully this alley is narrow at first which should buy me a few seconds. I begin paying more attention for another intersecting alley. I spot one with plenty of
There are cafés on nearly every corner so it doesn’t take long to find a place with a short queue to get inside and grab a quick bite to eat. The line for the airlock moves quickly and I soon find myself inside.
The café is a drab and lifeless grey with exposed wires and pipes covering the walls. The décor is a typical sight in a city where grey is an accent color. I grab a pre-made sandwich and a bottle of seltzer.
The transaction is quick and wordless. I take a seat by the window. Observing the throng of multi-colored ants, I chew slowly giving myself more time to watch. Gulping down the last of my seltzer, I put my mask back on and give it a few tugs to tighten it up.
Waiting in the queue for the door, I pause by a trash can. Finally a place to get rid of my trash from breakfast. Both breakfast’s and lunch’s trash plummet into the dark bottom of the can. The streets have cleared up significantly in the time it took me to eat lunch. Across the road, the connecting street appears promisingly empty. Looking both ways for traffic, I dash across the narrow street. The street bends off around the corner so I walk further along the curve in search of a deserted place.
A few hundred meters down, the street curves again in the opposite direction. In the space between, I stand alone. I glance back and forth. The street is empty and silent. A deep breath flows out from my chest and nervous electricity dances on my skin. I am actually going to do this.
My fingers run along my neck, stopping on the pressed-tight rubber of my mask. Nervous, I look around again. Still no one. Still uneasy, I look for a little bit more privacy. Only a few meters away there is a narrow alley. Jogging to it quickly was enough to get my already excited heart beating fast. A final look. Alone.
Retracing their path, my fingers press under the rubber seal. Swiftly I rip the mask off. Involuntarily holding my breath, panic sets in. What the hell am I doing? How stupid am I? Of course the advertisement lied to me, why would I change my filter everyday if they lasted a long time? A filter a day is good for business, but what reason does the government have to flat-out lie to millions of people? Fumbling with the mask, I attempt to loosen it enough to slide it back on.
“Stop!” The ferocity of the command leaves me breathless. Two brown-coated Peace Officers have turned the corner. Their batons in hand, they start to sprint toward me while shouting with their mechanical sounding voices enhanced by the synthesizer in their gloss-black rebreathers. Without a conscious thought, I turn and run.
Mask swinging free in my hand, I dart down the narrow alley. My small frame allows me to pass through at full speed. Chancing a glance back, I see the Peace Officers have had no such luck with their broad shoulders and thick coats and they are struggling to push their way between the constricted brick walls. Deep breaths of the outside air burn slightly in my lungs, but it’s most likely the soot. I’m not dead. Free from the mask, I breathe deeper than I ever have before. I feel my muscles working harder and springing back faster than I’ve ever known.
The gap between us widens significantly with my newfound energy. The alley is beginning to widen. Once it widens enough for them to run, their longer legs will surely make up the gap. I have to lose them. In a flash I catch a glimpse of another alley running perpendicular to this one as I pass by. Attempting to stop quickly, I slide on the damp stone and come down hard on my left knee. The impact stings but adrenalin keeps me moving and I quickly clamber up. Now staring back down the alley I see the Peace Officers rapidly approaching. Without hesitation I turn the corner and take off at full speed. Thankfully this alley is narrow at first which should buy me a few seconds. I begin paying more attention for another intersecting alley. I spot one with plenty of
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