A Chapter 10 Preparations(5)

  Mazi city

  14 Blue, 2043. 10:04AM

  Ril Milena(POV)

  I looped one of the strings through another and tightened, thereby taking care of the laces upon my boots. Today, I was going exploring within Mazi, a prospect that filled me with endless excitement! I wanted to see for myself the reasons why it was greater than our city. Plus, I had to admit, there was a tiny part of me that wanted to take pride in my idol's work.

  "Estella will accompany you."

  I resisted the urge to groan. "Mother! It's just a tour, besides we don't have enemies that want us dead." I reasoned.

  "Its better to be safe that sorry. Besides, you're dismissing the fact that those Lutalo barbarians are here." she exclaimed, still clad in her night gown, with her eyes drooping, clearly a sign that she wanted to get back to her sleep.

  I shuddered, with goosebumps manifesting upon my arms upon conjuring last night in my mind. I crossed them and tried to adopt a calm expression, only for my mother to bound over instantly. "Something happened?"

  "Nothing mother. Estella can come." ultimately, I gave in. I didn't have the energy to reveal what had happened upon that balcony. Mother would surely blow her top.

  'That man is scary!'

  I bit down onto my lip before turning on my heel and heading out. "Bye, mother! I won't stay out too long." I said while forcing a smile upon my lips and forcefully banishing everything related to David from my mind.

  -----

  Upon exiting the building, there was an additional woman beside me. She was a brunette with short chin length hair, and brown eyes. She was clad in a jacket and a pair of pants, with a holster no doubt tightened around her waist. She was prettier than me, a detail I had found myself noticing with the many women these days. Was I competing with them? Or was I finding myself inadequate to be at my idol's side? Lying to myself was something I couldn't do. His eyes had lingered a little too long on that Snow woman.

  My attention drifted from her to the bustle around me. From the engines and whistles of both bikes and cars, to the cacophony made by people as they walked, chatted... Basiy being themselves. The smells of food, sweat and vehicle fumes were cloying upon assaulting my nostrils together, but also served as a testament to the prosperity of the city.

  I started heading south along the street, towards my target while taking in the various sights. A mesmerizing aroma tantalized my olfactory senses barely a few minutes into my walk, with its irresistability subconsciously making me shift my steps over to the origin instantly. A charcoal stove with a trio of long legs having elevated it level with my waist stood beside a table, with a circular chappati being spun upon the dark plate placed upon its mouth. The oil was sizzling, releasing a tantalizing aroma of onions and flour that served to expedite the increased production of saliva within my mouth. I hurriedly took out my coin pouch and purchased one, with the stall owner, or attendant, wrapping up one from the tall cylinder made up of chappati on the table. Even Estella wasn't forgotten as I offered her another!

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  Chappatis existed back in Milena, but what had attracted me to this stall was simply because of the aroma and the fact that I hadn't had anything to eat ever since I had awoken this morning. Besides, the stall owner was clearly a man with lots of experience in his craft considering that the first bite alone almost made me moan at the dance of flavors on my tongue!

  As I ate, I walked, witnessing the vibrancy of the city. The people here had that gleam in their eyes... The gleam that spoke of expectations from tomorrow, the day after and many more days after that. I paused upon an alleyway that spilled onto the street, where I caught a bunch of children playing with what looked to be cardboard cutouts of the different gun models, with some taking on the roles of being the beasts. The genuine smiles on their faces made it so, that I was entranced for a moment.

  Change was coming. The dark days that had been hanging over each and every human were now over. It was up to us adults to keep it that way.

  After wiping off the oil with a handkerchief, I folded it neatly and placed it back into my pockets to await until I returned to the hotel and dropped it into the laundry basket. Then, I made my way towards my destination, a place that I had wanted to explore since my arrival into this city, the Spirit Museum!

  After a few minutes of walking along the streets, monotonously gazing at many highrises made with glass and steel, a massive clearing was exposed just after passing another glass monster, where a plaza stood before a massive single floor building. It wasn't ostentious like the sky chasing buildings surrounding it, but simple. You could even mistake it for a warehouse if it wasn't for the signage on the street and the statue in the middle of the plaza.

  I entered the plaza and made my way towards the statue. It was faceless, and it's body had vague undefined contours. It had been carved from marble, and only a title and a year had been plastered on its pedestal.

  Father of Spiritual Circuits, 1942.

  The reason the statue didn't have any defined features except for the male gender was simply the fact that no one could remember the man. It was weird, yet also true. No one had personally known the person who had invented the spiritual energy circuits except for the fact that he had been a predecessor from the Dugavu region, probably even a clan member.

  I stood before the statue in silence for about a minute before I walked away, heading towards the entrance into the museum proper. Luthor Dugavu had ordered it's construction. And the reason I conjectured was simply because Spirit circuits were the future. Their origins had to be preserved and documented for those generations of the future, not to mention the fact that it served to draw the interest of the younger generation into pursuing knowledge about spiritual circuit technology.

  I panted a little after completing the steps that placed me right before the massive entrance. I was starting to regret having dubbed my handkerchief in oils when Estella offered me one.

  "You didn't use yours?" I asked in suspicion.

  "I carry multiple." she answered while I took it from her outstretched hand and wiped my face. This was one of those times I didn't envy those women who padded themselves with lots of makeup.

  "It will be returned after washing." I said before taking in the massive entrance before me. People, especially those with their kids, were streaming in and out of it.

  We walked into it, with the first attraction that caught our eyes being the massive yellow mostrosity just after the entrance, surrounded by crowds. It was a yellow metallic tank that had moved, not on tires, but belt tracks. Placed atop it, was a massive clearly cumbersome construct that took up way more space than necessary.

  From what I could recognize from the contraption, there was a spiritual energy gathering unit, a storage unit, pipes, a primitive concentrator, and a giant muzzle that fired off massive unattuned spiritual energy blasts. Currently, it was an outdated and cumbersome weapon, but in the early days, it had been a game changer that had put humanity on even footing with the beasts.

  According to what I had learned at school, it took too long to take a shot, like almost twenty minutes, but it had been the most effective weapon against those beasts that had crossed the first threshold. Mere gunpowder and projectile weapons hadn't been powerful enough to take them down. And even explosives hadn't worked well enough unless their quantities were scaled up.

  Beasts that had crossed into the First threshold had a spiritual energy membrane that surrounded their bodies. Anything lacking spiritual energy was simply useless unless it carried potent energy, or force.

  I took in the bright eyed children who were gazing at the monstrosity with awe. They were clearly enjoying themselves. Maybe a few years from now, there will be those that would carry the torch. Wait! Was I shooting myself in the foot here?! I wasn't that old to start thinking of passing in the torch!

  My smile vanished as I decided to continue on to the next exhibit with an uncertain feeling. Luther Dugavu was few years older than me. Did he see me as a woman? Or a girl? I had to change his perception, but how? I had never cared much for dating, so I had zero experience... "Have you ever... Dated?" I asked Estella.

  The woman's silence prompted me to turn my gaze towards her only to find that she was gazing at me as if I had just grown multiple heads.

  "Have you finally found someone you like, young Miss?" she asked with a gleam in her eyes, one that dropped my stomach in the pits.