Summer reached into the purse on her side and pulled out a small purple flash drive with a lightning bolt drawn on it.
“Perfect!” Kyle smiled and held out his hand for the tiny device. “I owe you Summer, lunch is on me today.”
Summer opened her hand and dropped the drive into Kyle’s hand. He quickly brought it up to his neck port and pushed it in.
“Ohhh my god I wish I had my own…” Kyle’s pupils dilated and he leaned back and exhaled. He took the drive back out and handed it over to Summer. She inserted it into her wrist and sat down next to Kyle. She leaned back against the tree and rested her head on his shoulder. Then she pulled out the purple plug and handed it back to Kyle. They passed it back and forth a few times before Summer finally unplugged it from her wrist and placed it back into her purse.
This was how modern drugs were used. People would buy flash drives and plugins off the street or from dispensaries. Kyle and Summer personally never used anything stronger than the Violet Vibe they had brought with them. It was similar to marijuana. It numbed their bodies by sending electric currents through their nerves, but didn’t tamper with their ability to think clearly and rationally. And the effects were extremely temporary and only lasted a few minutes. However, being one of the mildest drugs didn’t make it any less illegal.
So Kyle and Summer always hiked up to Old Oak a few times each month to plug in away from parents and authorities. This was typical behavior for any young adults in this time, as it always has been.
Kyle reached out and pulled his bag closer, then pulled out two clear cans of a deep blue liquid. He handed one to Summer then popped the tab on his own. It fizzed loudly for a moment, with tiny bubbles jumping and flying from the opening.
Summer studied the can, “Ice? Where’d you get this? Isn’t it really new?”
“My dad has connections at work that can get him stuff like this, you know, in the division of AutoTronic he works in?” Kyle said.
“Oh, um, consumers?” Summer gave her best guess.
Kyle laughed, “Basically yeah, innovative consumer goods. He’s one of the ones who helps decide where new products should be placed, like in what stores. So naturally, he was able to talk to the guys that made Ice, before they put everything into Output Central.”
Summer made a face, “Geez that place is so damn expensive! I’m glad your dad was able to get a few of these.” She took a drink from the ice cold liquid and swallowed.
“Oh it’s good, forget buying lunch this is payback enough!” Summer smiled and took another gulp.
The packaging of Ice cans was a kind of plastic imbedded with tiny micro sensors that activated whenever the temperature of the can rose above a certain point, and cooled the can back down. So in a way, being true to its name, it was as if the blue soda was actually packed in a can made of ice.
Summer set her can down and reached into her bag to pull out a sketchbook and pencil. She flipped the book open to a blank page and started to scrape the pencil across the paper. Kyle rolled more onto his side to face Summer.
“Hey can I have the Violet again?” He asked, somewhat sheepishly.
Summer set her pencil down and reached into the purse, and tossed the device to Kyle. He caught it and slid it into his neck once again. He sighed and took it out, then gazed up into the treetops.
“It’s so nice out here. I really do hope they never take this place away. I’m sure it’s forgotten enough anyways, nobody comes out here anymore.” Kyle closed his eyes and sighed again. Around them, the leaves rustled in the gentle breeze and birds sang out of sight, hidden among the branches.
Suddenly, a low humming sound cut through the forest. The kids sat up. And looked at each other.
Kyle asked, “What’s that?”
Summer shrugged and looked in the direction of the noise. It seemed to be growing steadily louder. Several crows cawed and flew overhead, away from the sound. The hum was now a loud whirring. The kids rose quickly to their feet.
Then there was a loud CRACK and tree splintered to pieces and flew at Kyle and Summer.
A VELH hovered over the broken tree, whirring loudly, and two officers stood against the railing of the vehicle, their guns pointed at the teens.
Comments (0)
See all