Making it through customs wasn’t that bad, they did make me strip all the way down though when they realized I was still wearing a bodysuit. I got some weird looks for it but honestly, at least I don’t need to put on underwear or socks. The downside however when I was in the detention center was stripping down to take a shit. Like wow, it takes effort to get it below your knees. So maybe the bodysuit isn’t so great but who cares, not me.

“Hey, Alen.” Martin strikes up the conversation again when we’re through customs.

“Uhh?” He moans, dealing with his hangover.

“You can stay over at my family’s place with Eric tonight.” He suggests.

“To keep drinking right?” He mumbles.

“Yeah… Sure.” 

We have to stop a few times because the exercise of walking through the terminal makes Alen throw up while Martin and I laugh at him. We got on what can only be described as a really futuristic train, paid automatically by our faces being on camera which is kinda creepy. The train itself didn’t rattle like the tube in London, nah this shit levitated which is fucking awesome.

“So I don’t live in the most dangerous part of the world, lucky me. However, it is the undercity, my sister is going to meet us at the next stop and she’ll take us back.” Martin explained.

“She cute?” Alen slurred while Martin gave a death glare.

“I’m just gonna say things might be a bit awkward. She was like twelve or thirteen before we got iced so she's in her early twenties now.”

“Nice,” Alen muttered before breaking into a coughing fit.

“I know what you mean man, it was so awkward with my younger brother when I came back from war having no idea who he was.” I empathize with him.

“Wait what?” Martin locked eyes with me.

“Ah well…” I fucked up, I scratch the back of my head to try and make a quick excuse. “This wasn't the first time I was on the ice.”

“Shit man you’re like a soldier lost in time or something,” Alen muttered, I sat back in the seat and sighed.

“I got nothing, I feel like I’m dead but my body just doesn’t know it yet,” I state while Martin grows a brooding look and Alen tries his best to sober up to do the same. “I didn’t mean to get all heavy on you guys, who's this guy you know in Bulkhead?” I try to change the topic.

“He was a close friend from school, which for me was just a few years ago. For him? More or less a decade ago. He’s a recruitment manager so we def’ got a job lined up. If not then a little stint in the military for me to get some flight hours before switching to freight.”

“Shit man, you got a backup plan?” I laughed.

“Don’t worry bro, I’ll help square you away in a gig if that doesn’t fall through.” Martin laughed.

“Thanks, bro.”

⚶

I push my hands deep into my olive bomber jacket which I’m wearing over my bodysuit and scan the crowd for someone that looks like Martin's sister. I didn’t look too hard considering he was phoning her. Luckily the train journey finally seemed to sober up Alen.

“How old are you anyway Alen?” I asked, he took his hand from his head and looked like he was about to start counting fingers.

“Biological or chronological?” 

“Bio.”

“Twenty.”

“Fuck man, you really did just come out of school.”

“Fuck you man, you’re barely older than me.”

“I’m like twenty-three but I got life experience!” I laughed sarcastically.

“Like what?” 

“Fighting pirates, fighting the pirate's ship, fighting flesh-eating monsters.” I laughed at him.

“Rest in peace Jones,” Alen stated, drawing a morbid air over the three of us.

“Yeah, didn’t know him very long. Just a few hours of clearing rooms, but he seemed like a solid guy. Knew his shit and took the situation in stride.”

“A brother we never really knew.” Alen nodded sagely.

“Martin!” A higher-pitched voice yelled from the barriers for outgoing foot traffic.

“Jessie!” He shouted back and rushed over to meet his sister, Alen and I just shrugged at each other and followed slowly. When we caught up to Martin he was locked in a bear-hugging competition with his sister.

“I thought you were dead! No contact then a suit walks into our house and tells us there was an ‘accident’.”

“Is ‘accident’ the new word for a flesh-eating monster?” I asked Alen.

“Could be.” Alen giggled drunkenly.

“There are no mistakes but only happy little accidents,” I stated sarcastically.

“Man you gotta stop joking about that thing, it was seriously fucked up.” Martin sighs.

“Nah man, I gotta make sure everyone is traumatized as I am about it.” I try and keep a straight face before almost bursting out with laughter.

“Jessie, these are the guys that saved my life. I wouldn’t be here without them.” Martin introduces us.

“Piss off Marty, I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you and Alen wouldn’t have had a ship to fly.” I step forward to shake Jessie’s hand. “I’m Eric.”

“And I’m Alen.” He does the same.

“Alen is just a kid pilot, but you gotta keep an eye on Eric. He’s a crazy troublemaker.”

“Hey!” I whined.

“Everyone that has disarmed a tactical nuke warhead that’s already been fired with no training raise your hand.” He sighed.

“You can’t judge me based on one event!” I protested.

“Right, Eric is crazy. Got it.” Jessie stated taking a half step back.

“What the fuck, why didn’t you tell me?!” Alen looked at Martin with a look that said ‘abject horror’.

“Fuck you guys.”

“Let's get home, mum and dad are dying to see you,” Jessie says to Martin.

⚶

I never really pay much attention to my environment, well I do but not in regards to the aesthetics. It was a startling shock when we got in the elevator and started heading to the Undercity.

The topside is clean, silver, groomed hedgerows with skyscrapers. The Undercity is the exact opposite, sure it’s everything that Topside is built upon but from our position we could see pretty far and there was no natural light. What they had basically done is built a layer of metal over the planet and made a physical barrier between the top and the bottom. The top was clean and perfect, like posters from the 1950s Utopian world, the bottom was the definition of cyberpunk. Eternal darkness, a soft orange glow, dirty, polluted, and more.

While Martin’s sister was guiding us back, I noticed we never strayed far from the main road. No doubt there would be someone waiting in the dark looking to make a quick and easy buck by mugging us. I think the first thing on my list if I live down here is getting a weapon.

We started going up a large apartment block, like fucking huge. It would have been amazing if the elevator didn’t smell of piss, vomit, blood, and sweat. Luckily we got off at the second floor and started heading towards the apartment. However, the corridor seemed to get a bit crowded further down, a couple of guys smoking in it and generally just fucking around.

I do a cursory shoulder check before we get close and it looks like no one is coming up behind us, but it doesn’t mean they can’t come out the doors to jump us.

“Jessie! Babe, you refuse to be my girl for so long and now you come back with three guys, I’m heart-broken.” The thug puts both hands over his heart but one of them is mechanical with no false skin.

Man, I’d kill to get a prosthetic like that in real life, but you know. For my leg.

“Darreyl, this is my brother and his friends.” Her tone tense and firm at the same time, the man named Darreyl straightens up, gets real close to Martin, and sizes him up. Martin just smiles, not a placid one, but one willing to fuck shit up.

“Yeah, I’m her big bro, back from the dead. Got my ass saved by my new two buds who are in Bulkhead.” Martin’s smile is manic now.

“Aight, cool, cool.” Darreyl backs up, letting us pass, we walk for a few more minutes before we reach Martin’s family door, we haven’t said a word and Alen kept checking over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t following.

“Nicely handled Marty,” I state.

“Yeah, this place is no different.” He sighed “Just gotta imply a lot of threat and who knows who shit.”

“You ready?” Jessie asks her brother.

“Yeah.” He answered and opened the door to see his parents. Alen almost immediately followed him in but I held him back just outside the door.

“Let’s uh, give them a few minutes.” I suggest and he makes an ‘oh’ face. Jessie nods appreciatively and closes the door behind her.

“I guess I’ll phone my friend or something.” He starts playing around with his wrist computer and makes a few steps away to make a video call, I zone out to it.