elite racer. He enjoyed it when arrogant or stupid pilots gave him a hard time for flying slowly. Then he could take off and leave them shocked and rocking in his jet stream. He’d added on a variety of mods, some of them useful, like the chameleon wash-over that gave him camouflage mode, some of them not so useful, like the back massager that tickled and made him laugh so much he couldn’t see through his tears.
Eli slid the starter flash from his pocket and unlocked the craft, then hurried to the passenger side and pulled open the door for Silho. A million chocolate wrappers and tech parts avalanched out onto the ground.
‘Sorry about this.’ He grabbed them up in armfuls and dumped them into the back. He shoved everything else off the passenger seat and dusted off the fabric. Nelly darted out of his pocket onto the seat. When he tried to lift her away, she nipped him.
‘Sorry, she gets very jealous of other girls,’ he tried to explain to Silho as he wrestled with the furry otter.
Silho held onto the side of the transflyer to keep herself upright, and Eli gave her full credit for the fact that even though she’d been embarrassingly dismissed early from her first shift, she was still trying to pay attention to what he was saying instead of slipping into a trance of self-pity and ignoring him. Eli managed to grasp Nelly and stuffed her into her safety carriage at the back of the craft. She sat clinging to the bars, puffing out her fuzzy cheeks and chattering furiously.
‘If you please,’ Eli made a sweeping gesture for Silho to enter and smacked his hand on the transflyer door.
She murmured her thanks and ducked down into the craft.
Eli ran around the back, cursing and shaking his stinging knuckles. He jumped into the pilot’s seat and wrinkled his nose. The craft smelt like someone had passed a lot of gas, leapt out and shut the stench inside.
‘Wet carpet,’ he tried to explain. He gave a nervous giggle and hurried to turn on the air. The engine ignited and the motor purred into life. The craft lifted up until it was hovering higher than the other parked transflyers, then Eli extended the flight wings. He restrained himself from explaining to Silho all the small details of his creation. If she was like most of the girls he knew, such information would cause her to lapse into a coma of boredom within seconds. He swooped the craft upwards and away from Headquarters to where a line of transflyers waited to merge onto the main skyway of the level.
‘You live on Level 502 – Angelstown, right?’ he asked Silho.
She nodded. ‘Forty-five Hall Drive. Thank you for taking me home.’
Eli smiled at her, and his eyes were drawn to the tiny pictures partially covering her neck and chest. They were separate but joined. They were like something he’d seen before, but he couldn’t place where.
Eli swerved out and joined the flow of transflyers, masses of people hurrying to get home, or at least as far away from work as possible. Though Eli loved his job, that was one of the downsides of being a tracker – home was at work and work never ended. He glanced at the glowing chronograph embedded in the dashboard of his craft. It was only mid-dark – still half the night to go. He veered off the main skyway into pipeway seven which ran from Level 150, where Headquarters was located, all the way to the murky places of Level 840. He had never personally been below Level 700 and had no desire to. People had a way of vanishing without a trace in the places with no natural light.
Once inside the pipeway, he punched the engine up to hyper-speed and they shot straight downward, the tunnel lights flashing by on either side. Eli looked over at Silho.
‘In three months you’ll be off probation. You can live at Headquarters then if you want to. I do. Jude and the commander do as well. Diega lives offsite with other Fen soldiers. She says we’re too boring for her.’
Silho nodded, barely lifting her eyes, and Eli felt
Eli slid the starter flash from his pocket and unlocked the craft, then hurried to the passenger side and pulled open the door for Silho. A million chocolate wrappers and tech parts avalanched out onto the ground.
‘Sorry about this.’ He grabbed them up in armfuls and dumped them into the back. He shoved everything else off the passenger seat and dusted off the fabric. Nelly darted out of his pocket onto the seat. When he tried to lift her away, she nipped him.
‘Sorry, she gets very jealous of other girls,’ he tried to explain to Silho as he wrestled with the furry otter.
Silho held onto the side of the transflyer to keep herself upright, and Eli gave her full credit for the fact that even though she’d been embarrassingly dismissed early from her first shift, she was still trying to pay attention to what he was saying instead of slipping into a trance of self-pity and ignoring him. Eli managed to grasp Nelly and stuffed her into her safety carriage at the back of the craft. She sat clinging to the bars, puffing out her fuzzy cheeks and chattering furiously.
‘If you please,’ Eli made a sweeping gesture for Silho to enter and smacked his hand on the transflyer door.
She murmured her thanks and ducked down into the craft.
Eli ran around the back, cursing and shaking his stinging knuckles. He jumped into the pilot’s seat and wrinkled his nose. The craft smelt like someone had passed a lot of gas, leapt out and shut the stench inside.
‘Wet carpet,’ he tried to explain. He gave a nervous giggle and hurried to turn on the air. The engine ignited and the motor purred into life. The craft lifted up until it was hovering higher than the other parked transflyers, then Eli extended the flight wings. He restrained himself from explaining to Silho all the small details of his creation. If she was like most of the girls he knew, such information would cause her to lapse into a coma of boredom within seconds. He swooped the craft upwards and away from Headquarters to where a line of transflyers waited to merge onto the main skyway of the level.
‘You live on Level 502 – Angelstown, right?’ he asked Silho.
She nodded. ‘Forty-five Hall Drive. Thank you for taking me home.’
Eli smiled at her, and his eyes were drawn to the tiny pictures partially covering her neck and chest. They were separate but joined. They were like something he’d seen before, but he couldn’t place where.
Eli swerved out and joined the flow of transflyers, masses of people hurrying to get home, or at least as far away from work as possible. Though Eli loved his job, that was one of the downsides of being a tracker – home was at work and work never ended. He glanced at the glowing chronograph embedded in the dashboard of his craft. It was only mid-dark – still half the night to go. He veered off the main skyway into pipeway seven which ran from Level 150, where Headquarters was located, all the way to the murky places of Level 840. He had never personally been below Level 700 and had no desire to. People had a way of vanishing without a trace in the places with no natural light.
Once inside the pipeway, he punched the engine up to hyper-speed and they shot straight downward, the tunnel lights flashing by on either side. Eli looked over at Silho.
‘In three months you’ll be off probation. You can live at Headquarters then if you want to. I do. Jude and the commander do as well. Diega lives offsite with other Fen soldiers. She says we’re too boring for her.’
Silho nodded, barely lifting her eyes, and Eli felt
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