The Walkers: Chapter 1

Walking at Night

You’ve probably felt it before, that feeling like you’re being watched by someone. Sometimes you feel it at night when you wake up from a dream. Other times you feel it walking down the street in the middle of the day. When you turn and see nothing, you’re probably right. Just a feeling. When you turn and see me, you’ll wish it was just a feeling.

-Kazma Bee 1225

Chapter 1: Walking at night

I’ve always been a little bit different than those around me. Not special, nothing like that, just a little different. In school, I could never really focus on the teachers. Not because I couldn’t understand, and not because I was so smart that I didn’t need to, I just couldn’t find a reason to. Today is no different.

Mrs. Freeman is speaking at the front of the class about…what class is this…that’s right, history. I find the birds outside just a little more interesting, at least for the moment. I can see them bouncing in circles, up and down, in a group. It’s amazing that they never run into each other. How is it that they never run…

“Mr. Akron, do you know the answer?” I’m snapped back to reality.

“Uh, what was the question?” The class laughs at me. Always just a little bit different.

“What started the War of Aromas? Did you do the reading?” The first time I’m asked a question I know.

“No.” I look back out the window. With a gasp the class returns to itself, leaving me to my thoughts.

The War of Aromas, of course I know about that, everyone knows about that. Energy, always energy. They can say the wars started over failed diplomacy, or over anything else, but that’s just crap. It’s always been about energy. Ever since they opened that first damned gate. Looking around the room, all I see is energy from the gates. The gates are connected throughout the world. Some of the nations call them portals, some call them wormholes, we just call them gates. Back when they opened, after the last World War, they thought they were saved, or at least that’s what mom always said. After the electric grids were destroyed, no one knew what to do. That was almost 100 years ago now. The gates opened a decade after and civilization was able to re-start. That’s when the last war, the War of Aromas, got started. People wanted control of the gates, of the power, of the energy. After that war, we were left with 5 nations, each one with a gate.

The bell rings in my ear. Finally, time to get going. I hop up, first one, and run out the door. Friday, Friday, Friday. I can finally get out of Toka and get back to the farm. The city smells like, well like a city. That dank perfume of sweat and dirt, of all the foods you can think of, of burnt shit, I hate it. I can’t wait to get back to the farm. Walking to the bus stop away from the school I can hear her running up behind me.

“Hiya!” She jumps up and grabs my hat, like always. I pretend I didn’t hear her; she prefers it that way.

“What’s up, Suzie Q” I say to Susan. She’s been in my class since, well, forever. I turn and snatch my hat from her hands. She’s short for 17, only 5’, and she kind of looks like a little kid still.

“Where you going Tommy?” She pulls a puffer out of her jacket pocket and takes a hit. She inhales the vapor and hands it over to me.

“Really Suzie Q? You said you were gonna quit.” I snag the puffer and take my own hit, feeling the drug fill my mind with a peaceful serenity. “What’s this, Happy? Peace?” I ask trying to discern the emotion the drug is supposed to represent.

“Fulfillment. It’s a new flavor. I’ll quit the day after you do.” She laughs and snags the small vapor filled cartridge back hiding it in her inside jacket pocket. “You staying at the farm tonight, hick?” Her hair is black and curly and her eyes a dark green. The outside of her pupils is covered with a red ring, showing her implant. I still can’t afford one. I’m still a little different.

“Of course, someone’s gotta keep those beasts in line, yeah?” She picks on me like I’m her little brother. I may be a few months younger, but I’m at least a foot taller than her. She laughs again.

“You can’t even keep YOU in line, what makes you think you can get anyone else straight?” I see her implant light up yellow. “Hold up, I’m getting a call.” Her eyes go completely dark, almost black. Her facial expression is blank. It still freaks me out seeing people on EYECALL. It’s like they have no soles, like their body has been left behind. Only a few seconds later she returns. Her whole demeanor has changed.

“I gotta go, Tommy, I’ll catch up with you later.” Before I can say okay, she’s gone. I watch her run down to the street and jump into a red car floating a few feet above the road. It whirs up with almost complete silence and shoots out into the sky. My bus comes driving up a few seconds later. Not one of those fancy hover cars, just plain old tires on the street. I hop in with a few classmates who had been waiting with me. The hour long ride out to Casa is always rough.

As I look around the bus, I can see most people zonked out with that blank, soleless expression. I couldn’t imagine getting an EYELINK, even though I’m desperate to have one. They say it’s only going to be a few years before you can’t function without one, but for now, I’ll live in the past. I take out my EYE Glass and flip it over my ear, pulling the small screen in front of my left eye. As I sit back, I pull up some content vids from the net and watch them to pass the time. I mostly watch the fights from last years Tournament. Man am I ready to for this year. The nations will be getting their people together. I can’t wait to get to the farm and see if dad has picked anyone to send to Toka for the prelims. They’re only a few weeks out. It’s going to be great.

The bus pulls up to it’s last stop. It won’t go all the way out to Casa, or more importantly it can’t. We never got Mag-Roads so the bus can only get out to this last stop. I have to walk the rest of the way to the farm, 6 miles. By the time I get there, it will be dark, but at least I have 3 whole days before I have to go back to the city. I may even get home in time to watch some of the end of todays training. My EYE Glass buzzes, a phone call. I flip it out and turn the screen to my eye. It’s Dad. I click ignore and continue walking. I listen to the message he left.

“Hey, Tommy, Its Dad. Well, you knew it was Dad, but it’s Dad. I’m headed out to the Club tonight with Franko, see if he’s worth the salt we paid. I left some chicken on the table. Make sure you feed the beasts alright? Alright…well I’ll be home late. Probably tonight. Maybe. Well, uh, maybe. I don’t know kid, you know, things go a certain way I may be out later, if you know what I’m sayin’. Alright…”

I sigh at the message. So much for today’s training. Dad is always on something, if it’s not vapor, its drink. He just can’t be sober anymore, or won’t, at least not since mom died last year. He was always a little weird, but it’s gotten out of control lately.

I walk up to the edge of the farm. It always looks bigger from the outside. We have the pits for training and fighting on one side and the cells on the other. In the middle is our house. It looks big, but from the inside, it’s always crowded. I walk through the front door and throw my bag against the wall. The house is a mess, like usual. I shout out “Yo, Billy boy, you around?” The robot comes swinging around the corner ramming into the wall on its way. “The fuck, Billy boy.” I grunt as it snaps back into place.

“Hello, Mr. Thomas, how may I serve you today?”
“Well, why don’t you clean up some of this mess?” I say with a bit of anger. I know it can’t clean without being commanded, and Dad never thinks to tell it to, but I still blame it for not getting to work.
“Yes sir, Mr. Thomas.” It begins to move trash and clean up the house.

“Billy boy, how are the beasts?” I call out as I’m running up the stairs to change. He responds through my EYE Glass.

“All 22 fighting slaves are accounted for and in acceptable health. Franko has left the premises with your father. There is no scheduled return tonight.”

“Alright, good. Let’s go check them out.” I change quick and slide down the banister of the stairs. As I run out the door, I hear the robot in my ear again. “Mr. Thomas, you have food prepared and ready to eat. Please do not forget” I push the silence button and run out the front door. On my way to the cages, I hear a bit of rustling. I brush it off, thinking it’s probably just one of the dogs. When I get up to the barn door of the cages, I type in the code to open it. It should open up, but nothing happens. I look at the pad and see it’s blank. No energy. I think to myself. I’ll have to check the cable when I’m done here. I open the door manually pushing it hard. There is a bit of resistance, more than I’m used to. The cages are dark.

“Billy Boy, gimme some lights out here.” The robot doesn’t respond. I click the call button on my EYE Glass. Nothing happens. I try to open the house app but the EYE Glass doesn’t respond. What the hell?! I curse to myself.

“Hey, boys, y’all doing alright?” I hear nothing in the darkness, not even the breathing I normally would. I walk back towards the door to go outside and check the lines. Before I can make it, I feel a dull pain in the back of my head. The world gets blurry. As I fall on the ground and look up, I see the Gonga, a slave we’ve had for years, standing over me.
“Well, Tommy, looks like you got home a little early today. Sorry kid” he says lighting the match in his hands. “Just close your eyes, go to sleep. You won’t feel a thing.” As the world starts to blur, fading to complete darkness, my life quickly flashes before me. Nothing special, I’m nothing special. I knew it. I close my eyes hard and my mind falls back to earlier in the day, at school.

My eyes open with a flash.

“Well, Mr. Akron, do you know the answer or not? What started the War of Aromas?” Mrs. Freeman…I’m back at school?

“Uh, what? Yeah, I mean, no, I mean…what?” The class laughs.

“Mr. Akron, if you plan to be high in school, can you at least pretend to pay attention?” I hear the bell ring, cutting her off. This time, I’m the last to leave the room.

As I get to the bus stop, I hear her again.

“Hiya” I grab her hand this time. “Wow, Tommy, what’s up?”
“Susan, what the hell is going on?” I’m sweating, visibly frantic. I’m nervous and everyone can tell.

“You tell me, Tommy, you look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” She goes to pull the puffer out.

“Look, I’m going crazy, I know it. You got a new flavor, fulfillment, right?” Her smirk fades to a small frown.

“How’d you know?”
“I don’t know how to explain it…It’s just…It’s just, so weird.” My eyes are darting left and right

“Look, Tommy, you need to drop the paranoia puffer and get back to normal, kid.” She gets the call on her EYELINK “Hold up I’ve got to take this.” That blank stare again. She’s back again. She says she needs to leave again. It all keeps happen again. The bus ride, the call from Dad. I get to the road and walk. I get home.

“Billy-Boy” I yell at the robot slamming the door against the wall.

“Hello, Mr. Thomas, how may I serve you.” It doesn’t hit the wall this time.

“Why is there no power in the cages?!” I’m yelling frantically at the robot. It doesn’t have expressions, just a screen with a face on it. It doesn’t respond.

“Billy-Boy, I know you can hear me. Tell me what’s happening in the cages.” I yell again. The robots can’t hurt humans, programming and all, but they can fail to protect us.

“Routine Maintenance scheduled for this time has begun. Your EYE WILL is now offline” The screen face goes off. I see the flames from the cages and watch as the slaves run off onto the road. What the hell is happening?