Chapter 2: Anguish
Alec left the base two days later after the paperwork was settled. Now, he only had to wait for the ceremony the following week.
He had these days free to meet up with his family.
The cool breeze outside the fort somehow felt more chilly than the open grounds inside the base. The sunlight covered him, his reddish short hair shining slightly. He walked to the train station miles away, boarding the next bullet train to the district's outskirts; where his family was waiting for him.
It was going to be a more than a three hours before he arrived, so he looked outside the window to remember how the city looked like. After all, it has been ten years since he last stepped out of that place.
At first, what little was left of green grass fields filled the landscape, ten minutes later, the green leaves were replaced for towering, gray buildings, and eccentric neon signs. Gigantic holograms also covered big part of the view, begging you to spend whatever money you had on you.
The train, moving gracefully between buildings and busy air traffic lines, elevated around 1.400 meters, crossing right above the Union Bridge, connecting the two most powerful, taller buildings in the city. It's been five centuries since diesel and other fuel liquids were banned from the market, and only available for military purposes.
Now, almost every transportation method was exclusively magnetic. Airspace maps map out "invisible" lines, guiding the automatic driving system in every car, bus, train, plane, or magnetic motorcycle. Of course, old-fashioned wheels are still used, specially for those eccentric enough to keep, restore, and maintain the antique goods.
The bright lights of a city that never sleeps kept flashing and passing by at high speed, tinting Alec's face as he reminisced of old times. When the view cleared from undying city light, he knew he was half-way there. Between cities, there was a brief moment were you could still see what was left of nature.
A small percentage of land compared to how massive and intimidating cities actually were nowadays.
It was no surprise, though, since more than seven hundred years back the human race solved the ecologic issue that hunted them for thousands of years: Humans cannot live without trees. It wasn't an easy job, but after decades of perfecting what are called the "city trees" today, cities started to expand even faster than before.
Not having as many trees as before wasn't a problem, though. By the time most cities were filled with those giant lamp city trees, diesel was already out of the system; making the atmosphere and everything in it even more stable.
After a few more minutes, the female, automated voice announced they would arrive at the Northern Main Station in twenty minutes.
Alec rolled down a little, fixing his cap to fall over his eyes, and closed them. An hour of sleep will do just fine, since he was probably not going to sleep much after the whole family got together.
And Deacon, his best friend, probably arrived that morning. They had both gone to Central City to become pilots, trained together like madmen to rank up in the tests and trials. They both had to cover up their asses, cleaned their wounds, and even popped back a couple of shoulders during training.
Deacon was his brother. Now more than ever, after finally going through hell and back together and still keep their shit together.
Slowly, he drifted into sleep.
Waking up solely because of the feeling of extreme anguish. When he opened his eyes, the last stop was already in sight, but the drumming if his heat was making him feel dizzy. Alec looked around, the couple of people sitting around him looking at him like he was crazy.
Did I say something? He asked himself.
"Are you OK, mister?" A soft, high-pitched voice asked right beside him.
Turning around, a pair of round, blue eyes were staring at him from the seats behind him.
"You're crying." She added, pointing at the tear falling down his cheek.
Alec blinked a couple of times, taking the tear away.
"Y—Yeah." He replied, confused, glancing at his wet fingers. "Why was I—" He mumbled, more to himself than the six-year-old.
"Was it because your girlfriend dumped you?"
"Camille!" A young woman scolded the girl, who pouted. Alec knew by how both her noses were round and tiny, and how blue their eyes were, that she was the girl's mother. "I'm so sorry." She smiled apologetically.
Alec chuckled, regaining composure.
"Why'd you say that?" He asked the girl.
"Because you were saying it was hurting." Her mom tugged her dotted dress, a warning look in her eyes. The girl pursed her lips, looking down as if she had done something wrong. "I'm sorry."
"Actually—" he started, placing his hand on the top of her head. "You just saved me. I was having a horrible nightmare."
"About your girlfriend?" She brought back the topic again, making him laugh.
"Yeah, about my girlfriend." A white lie like that wouldn't hurt anyone. The girl revealed a cunning smile, pleased to know she was right.
She kept asking Alec about his imaginary girlfriend for the rest of the trip; something he didn't mind, since Camille's sassy and honest answers were a rather pleasant way to help him forget about the awful sensation in his chest. That, until they finally waved goodbye at the station. He waited, watching them from afar, until they got inside the bus that would take them home.
After buying a few beers in the convenience store, he walked all the way to the main gate. It was night already, but he wanted to walk home. Just like he did years back.
He had barely set foot outside the station when screams around him shredded the silence of the night, startling him.
He didn't have enough time to react, when a heavy weight clashed against him; not too hard to make him fall to the ground, but enough to step back. The screams quickly turned into laughter and cries, the weight on him quickly increasing as a couple more pair of arms wrapped around him.
"Welcome home, son."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
XanaTrygg
XanaTrygg Be welcome to this Sci-Fi story, filled with lots a cool giant robots, action, aliens, plot twists, and the hint of romance to spice things up just the right bit.
Sit and enjoy of this journey with me! You can always leave a review, votes, gifts, and comments ;).
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