A droplet of rain slapped itself across my forehead, enlightening me to the fact that it would rain, and soon. Luckily, I’d worn my favourite leather jacket for a trek like this. Unluckily, the rainy season meant that Bridge City would have that permanent mist that enshrouds it this time of year.

I tapped the droplet from my forehead, rubbing it, feeling the moisture dissipate between my fingertips. I was tempted to lick it as I was downright thirsty but mostly hungry.

Luckily though, I was close to my destination, so those thoughts dissolved faster than the droplets of rain I just smudged.

My jacket was thickly layered, cushioned and fashioned after the bomber leather style from the 20th century. It was cosy, cosy enough to keep me warm and still have me looking dapper. That’s what I thought when I wore it anyway. Other people might’ve thought different, but who cared what other people thought especially when I've lived the best I could after living what I'd been through.

As I made my way through the streets, I made myself small as hundreds of people huddled together, making their way to whatever destination they had in mind. The way we were crowded felt as though we were ants, returning to the colony after a long day’s work.

Hmmm…work. I hadn’t worked in months, and this line certainly didn’t help with my mood. “What’s keeping us from moving?” I grumbled to myself, feeling someone bump into me from the other side of the pavement.

“Hey…” I growled. “You almost took my arm!”

“Up yours, ass wipe!” the stranger answered, showing me his longest finger.

Asshole.

I pursed my lips in annoyance and shook my head whilst watching him walk in the opposite direction. The bastard wore a brown hoody and white track pants with blue lights flowing down the sides.

I settled back into walking through the crowded street, waiting for the swarm of people behind me to take my spot. My stomach released a loud growl that made everyone turn towards me, shunning me with their eyes.

“Bastard’s bout to drop one on us.” Someone said from behind me.

“I ain’t got a bug…I’m just hungry.” I answered.

“Could’ve fooled me, young one.” An old lady, three people ahead of me, said. “I’ve been alive too long, and I know when someone’s about to drop a two.”

“No twos to share, ma’am. I assure you”

“Meehhh”, she answered, shaking her head.

As I didn’t want to piss her off any further, I just shut my mouth and rubbed my stomach from inside my jacket, trying my best not to cause a riot.

They’ve been easier ways for riots to start, but someone taking a shit in the middle of the street? There’s no better way to roil a crowd up especially in Bridge City.

To distract myself, I looked up into the sky, taking note of the hundreds of advertising panels floating above us. The light floundered down like rays from the sun. The only thing was they came in varying colours of pink, yellow and white but mostly no heat as the panels were too far. At least we’ll have light when the mist comes. I thought ruefully.

The pawnshop, OLD GOODS, was on my left a great place to get retro gear. Hell, my bomber jacket was scanned in that very shop.

My eye left OLD GOODS and continued wandering the area. To the right were small palm trees with LED lightning chords blinking intermittently in pink, red and white across their trunks and a few food vendors in the background.

I felt a burrowing sensation in my side, drawing my attention to my right side, only to see a woman looking straight ahead, ignoring me. Then, I looked down, finally catching sight of what aroused the sensation in my side.

A little kid around the age of five or six, doing his best to make room for himself. When the hell did he get there? I thought, eyeing from the side. The woman, who I assumed was his mother eyed me nervously, giving a shy smile as she held her son across his shoulders, trying her best to restrain him.

“Sorry,” she said, “…he’s a little agitated.”

“We all are, Dear, don’t worry about it,” I said. The kid pursed his lips at me, and his mother gave him a slap across the wrists. “Manners!” She said tone stern.

The boy pouted for a good five minutes before he nestled back into her arms like a baby. I chuckled, making the kid stick his tongue at me in response. Then looked up at his mother, hoping she didn’t see. She didn’t or she just couldn’t be bothered, based on the fatigue I saw in her eyes.

I mean, the line wasn’t moving…so yeah, you would ignore an agitated kid at this time just to keep your sanity.

To me, these lines in the middle of the streets were counterproductive. Whoever designed them were idiotic at best, and I’m sure the engineers who built the city would agree.

I never understood why people couldn’t walk freely in either direction. This was a street for people instead of cars…with lanes.

Ridiculous.

The line finally moved after a fifteen-minute halt. Allowing my destination to appear in a short distance—one of my fast food joints in the city.

Creative Foods.

I exited the line, went down a short flight of stairs and climbed another, passing Styrofoam crates which exhumed a rancid smell that made my stomach churn. Definitely not the best scent to inhale for someone who was about to get some grub.

I made a large gulp, helping my stomach settle somewhat. Then, cold and hard raindrops slapped themselves across my face followed by a heavy downpour that sounded like sand falling from the sky, sputtering everywhere.

I made it under the small parasol right by the entrance. It’s gotta be my lucky day! I thought, hearing expletives and groans across the street from the line I just exited.

As the downpour grew, I watched as the streets began to resonate with a sombre glow imitating the luminescence from the lights above, giving the street a jaded charm of rays and moisture. If the rain wasn’t pissing down so hard, the street would’ve been one of the prettier sights I’ve seen all day. I thought.

I finally dragged myself inside to win another battle.

Hunger.

“Welcome to Cre—“Rhea called out but paused momentarily upon recognising me. “Mr Cypher!!” The girl called out.

“Rhea…what have I told you? Drop the Mister. It’s Kaiden. You’re making me feel older.” I said, noticing the store’s emptiness.

Rhea smiled shyly, making her freckles curve to the side. The girl was sweet, cute, and had a matching personality—a hard thing to find in Bridge City. If you didn’t change, this city would force you to change; swallowing you whole and spitting you back out, turning you completely different.

I strolled over to the counter, ignoring the stanchion divider, side-eyeing Rhea as my eyes scrolled through the menu.

Rhea was dark-skinned, with high cheekbones and cybernetic eyes that changed depending on her mood, like a mood ring.

Not the smartest of cybernetic enhancement for someone, but the girl showed great control of her emotions. So I had to give it to her, that’s why she probably worked the counter.

The joint was your typical fast-food chain. It was littered in red, black and white—the company’s colours. The CREATIVE FOODS logo was behind Rhea, spelt out in 3D fashion, stapled against the wall. The words colour coded in the company colours with a stroke sitting beneath the words with a slight curl at the end of FOODS, coloured in white.

“What will it be tonight, Mis…” Rhea started but caught herself mid-sentence. “…Kaiden”, adding a shy smile

“The usual,” I said, returning the smile.

“Well…you’re gonna have to wait. I have to season the wings for you.

“I thought everything was automated,” I asked, confused.

“They are, but wings sold out earlier, so I have to spice them up myself for you. The Automatons spiced fifty wings at a time. If I were to spice fifty wings, just for one serving, I’d have my ass handed to me.”

“Ouch. Can’t have that.”

Rhea’s Mood-Eyes shifted from blue to pink and finally settled on...Pink, which meant happy if I remembered correctly. “Fine… how long?” I asked, giving a scoff of a laugh.

“Not long…give me about fifteen minutes…twenty, the latest.”

“So you’re not sure, then,” I said, blowing steam from my lips.

Rhea shook her head and smiled gently, Mood-Eyes still purple.

“Fine…I’ll wait,” I said with a wink.

“Okie. That’ll be 80 Credits.”

I flicked my wrist, allowing my creditstrip to dangle down my arm to my wrist from beneath my jacket. I placed it against the scanner waiting for the approval beep to sound off.

Once it did, I made my way to a seat in the back where I could keep my eyes on the door. Old habits die hard. I mused as you could never be too careful in Bridge City. The mounting list of enemies I’d stacked up in these past few months certainly bypassed my allies.

I walked past the empty stanchion line, passing two blue lotus flowers opposing each other as I made my way to the Coffee and Tea Machine. The strong scent of cinnamon, sugar and milk flooded into my nose, making my mouth water. I imagined the blend before finding my seat but noted the few coffee or tea stains on my left.

No…I’ll wait. I thought, walking past the machine forcing my hunger to subside with a few more growls…but after a few minutes of me sitting staring out the window, I finally got back up and doubled back to the machine, waving my creditstrip against the scanner.

Once the approval ding chimed off, I punched the Green Tea option with no sugar, obviously…calories. The machine spat out a styrofoam cup, and water poured from the silver nozzle piping from the side.

I picked up the cup, made my way to my second office, ready to find some work. I watched as the green inlay of the cup melted into the hot water, melding together within two seconds.

Forming into my tea.

The cup inlay was made up of synthetic green tea, which evaporated once it met any form of liquid that reached 180° Celsius. I snapped off the straw that was sitting on the side of the cup, stirred it for a bit, and then waited for the herbal aroma of my tea to waft around my table.

Once it finally did, I took my first sip, tasting that green herbal taste sizzle across my tongue, making me healthier than I’d been all day. Refreshing, I thought ruefully. Everyone likes coffee for some reason, but I just didn’t fancy the stuff…too bitter.

‘Add Sugar’, I was told. No…I’m good. I could admit that green tea had a ‘distinct’ taste, but regardless of that, I always felt as though it cleansed me of whatever poison I decided to take during the day, and thankfully I was poison-free.