The vehicle rumbles like a lumbering giant as we go careening down the road, a speed much faster than I'm comfortable with. A wagon would never be so capable, I cling to the door handle by the window while Soli gives directions. We zip through the haze as if it's dense fog, where I expect to feel moisture, I'm met with a sandpaper-like grit that leaves me feeling perpetually dirty.

I close my eyes, leaning back into my seat to ward off the sickness I feel in the pit of my stomach. 

The water pipe Soli was using to bring in her contraband was indeed an older, abandoned pipe for when the city was much more alive. The age made the water have a funny smell, but it was better than the alternative, which was multiple families in the 'slums' as she called them, not getting enough. 

We travel on elevated highways that make my heart swell into my throat; how on earth such a narrow strip carries us boggles my mind, and the stress makes me thankful that I only had an apple for breakfast. Any more, and we might be having a playback on the contents.

 On further discussion, Soli reveals that the 'cat people' as I've been dubbing them in my mind, are from an independent source, not necessarily the government. 

"These cats are hardly human, I'm sure you've seen, they're very difficult to kill." 

It was rumored that the government was creating them as part of their 'enhancement' program, people were getting all sorts of alterations. Their faces, their bodies, and any part they desired could be changed for very little to match this exotic ideal. Boarding on the extremes to keep the state of the world out of the eye of the public. 

Soli had the thought that it made no sense for the government to want 'super agents' as Tonic had speculated. The cats were hard to control and flawed, they were inconsistent and it was hard to know how far one could change or how strong it would be. 

"People go missing all the time." She concludes. "Sometimes, I think I recognize some of them, I had a few runners go missing. I'm just worried that there is something more behind this." 

Tonic makes an amused sound, resting his elbow on the window and his cheek on his knuckles as he glares at the road. "Hence why the government hasn't taken responsibility for it."

It just sounds like a big distraction to me, while these vigilantes are running after these creatures, there's no one to stand up for the people who are dying and sick in the streets. "When we take the water off the truck, we need to purify it," I tell her, trying to change the subject. Her expression is not impressed and I correct myself, "I will purify it."

"Can you do it quickly?"

 We are on a time crunch, the more time we spend, the more attention we would draw. What we were doing, was indeed, illegal.

I assure her I'll do my best, only to pause as the situation dawns on me. We drop off down a side road, winding down into the depths of the smog and into a cracked and rumbly street. The buildings are more minor, homes instead of professional structures. 

The metal roofs are ripped and tattered in place, and windows are boarded up and covered over with plastic. Some homes are sealed up altogether with what looks like stone, only to be revealed to me as concrete. The homes of the sick were closed off to prevent the spread of disease. 

Some while the occupants were still alive. These people are desperate; they do anything to stay alive, even if it means turning to barbaric measures of controlling the disease. 

"No doctors will come to this city," Soli explains, "We had one but his family was upgraded to the next state over when the drought got really bad. It hasn't rained here since I've been here, things are getting pretty bad."

 Years. 

Years without rain. What even a drizzle would do to bring life and relief back to the industrial hell. "Put on your respirator, and do not take it off." 

Tonic gives me a stern look that says he very much agrees with her command. I obediently do so as we step out, an older woman limps over to us, and I'm reminded of Zsophia. I don't want to be here, and at the same time, I feel like this is what I need to see. 

Motivation to help these people, to figure out a way. 

"Can you show me where you put the water?" Two men lead me through the murky streets, the greasy oil-stained road is silk under my boots, and I struggle to keep my footing on the cracked and crumbly surface. How are we going to do this? Rain will put this into the earth and poison everything around them, but how much worse could it get? 

I scratch my head through my hair, the smell of exhaust heavy in my nose. It's hot, very hot, the heat makes it feel as though there is a sauna under my respirator, and I struggle to breathe. My body sweats heavily under the lycra, making it stick to my skin. 

The man motions to a large basin, and I wrinkle my nose under the stealth of my mask. At least the tub was almost empty. "Can we clean this?"

They glance at each other as Tonic comes over as well. "You want to get in there and clean that, aren't you?" My eyes give away my intention. "It's difficult to keep things clean around here with the heat." This doesn't make much sense to me, but I suppose any standing water stagnates.

I imagine people don't have much energy to clean the massive tub. 

"Just get them out of here, I'll give it a quick sweep." 

He nods as I shimmy over the edge and down into the basin. My feet slip and slide on the algae, and I cough and sputter at the sour smell of aged sulfur. We had to do better; there had to be better. I quickly take hold of the murky remains, turning them into ice chips as I swirl my hand and spin it rapidly throughout the tank. 

The ice makes quick work of the mess, acting like a scrubber to pick up the debris. In a quick motion, I throw a gust of wind at my feet and jump out, landing on the edge carefully as I finish off the swirling motion on the bottom and pull the remaining water out of the tank; the people gape and gawk.

I use it to rinse off the streets much like a wave, a casual push and pull until the water is almost too heavy to wield. I send it in a quick motion to the ridge where civilization begins to become a desolate wasteland and ignore the gazes as I instruct Soli to turn on the water. 

It feels good to use, I catch the water quickly as if I were putting it in my hand and direct it the short distance to the basin. My eyes track the stream, compared to what was in there, it is much more tolerable to wield. I can't focus on the startled looks and the murmurs. 

My body feels weak, I pant against the only device offering me fresh air. Between the heat and the constriction, I'm not fairing well. The last of the water transferred, I used my remaining energy to pull the silt from the bottom of the basin and toss it much like the other. 

My legs feel weak as I make my way back to the truck. 

"Damn Red." Soli rests her knuckles on her hips. "That would have taken us hours." 

I shrug. "I'm good with water." I leave out the weather. No one needs to know that there's a force who wants me to fix this, what if I can't? This alone was so draining. I wasn't used to the weather or the atmosphere.

The people surround us and it's a flurry of speech, loud, cheerful applause, and everyone wanting to touch me. Where I'm sure she expected me to shrink away, this is what I was used to. Being a public figure was nothing new to me and I sat quietly on the tailgate, waving to them and accepting their thanks. 

People didn't want or need explanations, most of them just wanted to be heard. Soli stands on the tailgate, raising her hands to call for silence. "We have new hope, friends. A light in this darkness, a means to an end, my friend, Red, is going to help us!" My eyes widen and I give her a hard look. Quickly, I yank her down as the crowd cheers and Tonic directs them back towards their homes. 

"Are you insane?" I ask her sharply. "I have to go back."

"You're going to leave these people here to suffer? You can help them! You can help us!"

"There are bigger things in the works, I can not stay here. I have other obligations to fulfill. I will be back to help but the answer is no, I can not remain."

"Are you going to tell them? Tell them that their lives aren't as important as your plans. These are people's lives, there are hundreds of places just like this one that could use your help! Maybe with your abilities, we could start to farm, to irrigate and grow back some hope of grass and have real ponds?"

 She's thinking too much of the small picture, just like I used to do. It's hard to turn away from hundreds of faces, desperate for help, but my goal was the planet. Not just this doomed city. I shake my head, leaning back against the tank in hopes of expanding my lungs. 

"Nothing will grow until the smog is lifted," I warn her. "I can clean all we want, and there will be nothing we can, not only that, it will waste what little water we have. This is too big of a job; you are way more help than I could ever have been. You sneak right past the nose of the police, and they would notice my involvement by the second day."

"Do you want to bring 'her' here?" Tonic sighs. "She'll want to see him if he becomes popular."

Her?

"Her?" I ask. 

Soli scowls, even under her mask, I can see her displeasure. 

"The great bitch. She's a peacekeeper, talking about love and recycling. Wherever she goes, somehow, it magically gets better for a little while, but people are lazy, nothing lasts. The moment she's gone, it goes right back to the way it was. She claims she has 'God's hands'." 

I tilt my head, that makes absolutely no sense, but why would they hate her? 

"And you hate her because?"

"God's fucking hands, I'll slap her with these damn hands if she ever steps foot in this town. She just tours the world, making speeches and collecting money. The people worship her but for what? Nothing has changed." 

"Well, then you should understand why I can't remain here," I told her shortly. 

She opens her mouth to complain but stops and sighs, scrubbing her hand through her hair. 

Heavy with disappointment, Soli accepts that convincing me to stay is a lost cause. I hate this, but if we play our cards right, then maybe I can actually be of lasting help. She motions for us to return to the truck, and we start the long drive home. 

I hear a low hiss and tilt my head. Tonic jumps, touching his vest. 

"Artifice?!" He asks hopefully. 

Soli's eyes widened, and she clutched the door, giving him a horrified look. "You have an Artifice on your body?!"

"Yes, we both do." He gives her an odd look. 

"OFF!" She shouts. "Off! Off! Take it off! Now! Throw it out the window!" She hurriedly yanks on my vest, and I try not to look bewildered as I twist out of it. She digs desperately through the sleeves, and I see the little microphone is switched on. 

"Son of a fucking whore!" She throws the mic out the window, and Tonic gives her a strange look. 

"What is your problem!?" He demands, and suddenly, he jerks, and the truck accelerates.

"Slow down!" I scolded him.

"I can't! It's my right leg!" He pulls at his thigh, but his left hand is firmly attached to the steering wheel. 

Soli quickly climbs over me, pushing me into her seat and fasting down my seat belt. 

"Cover your face. Prepare yourself." She tells me quickly, climbing over to buckle into my seat and digging through Tonic's vest. "You should know better than to bring this trash with you anywhere!" She spits at him as she clutches the microphone between her fingers. 

The truck groans, shakey under the exsertion. 

"Look out!" Tonic averts his eyes as the truck smashes into an oncoming vehicle, and I cross my arms over my face. We're air-born, weightless as the truck lifts off the highway, and it seems time briefly stands still before it slings us into the unforgiving pavement.