"Told you we'll follow Rogue's grid map. Now I'm late and the assembly has begun." Mira hushed, hiding behind a dilapidated wall; its rusty odour, a little too lingering in her nose.

A couple feet away was a barbed fence barricading something that looked like a school yard. A shallow arched entrance which lead into a giant metallic Igloo like structure, was nestled in the center.

Perfectly arranged rows of kids, in sets of two - one for boys and the other for girls - stood in front of the igloo.

"Shan't resist, shan't break,
shall never cross the limit.

Shan't cry, shan't despair,
shall never resent the Codex..."

Kids started singing the imperial anthem in chorus, right fists pressed on to their chests. Tired faces, sleepy eyes, yet their voice was as loud as thunder.

Reno tugged on Mira's rag of a sleeve and gestured his hand to the other side. "Ditch that shit. Come with me. I'll show you somethin'."

On other days, she would have snuck Rogue in her backpack in silent mode and sneaked into one of the last rows. But today, it was too late and Reno's offer was too good to refuse.

"What's in it for me?"

"Want'one." Reno stood up, dusting off his khaki military slacks and started towards sector two.

"A what?" Mira followed him unwillingly.

As Reno's walk transformed into a slow jog after a few steps, Mira grew restless. She didn't need a 'want'one' or whatever that thing was, she needed a protein block, a bed to tuck herself in and drift off. That was possible if she went back to the bunker and perhaps, pleaded with the evil warden.

"Reno!" She called, stomping her foot.

On a whim, she even turned around to head back to the bunker. Then she saw kids moving inside igloo one after the other, handing their daily 'win' over to the warden.

A crafty face with a pinched nose in between a pair of large glasses was scrutinizing everything that was being offered on the table by the girls.

Mira could almost hear her say, 'Nice!' to the pigtailed twin sisters, with her squeaky high pitched tone from beyond the barricade.

Mira suddenly realised that she didn't have a 'win' for today. Of course, she didn't want to give up on the precious Zantium battery for a night's protein block and water, she would've rather died hungry.

'So Want'one it is then.' She thought.

"Hey, comin' or not?"

"Oh Rogue, what have I gotten myself into?" Mira groaned when a jolt of reality kicked in.

Although the first step was heavy, with the next one she was sprinting and swinging above the hurdles with Reno. Rogue buzzed behind her, skillfully manoeuvring between the dark crevices of the Twilight city.

Even in the infinite continuum of darkness, life had always bloomed. Teeming people, vrooming vehicles and an aurora of city lights merged into one spectacular cityscape and that was the Twilight city - another name for Sector two and apparently the only business junction for the under-dwellers.

Magnetic mono-wheels carrying riders zoomed in and passed beside Mira and Reno, almost pulling them along in their way. Mira always wanted to ride one, at least for once in her lifetime.

After pulling himself away from the trajectory of the Mono-wheeler, Rogue shook himself like a drunkard waking up from a slumber. A pukish smiley face was pixelated on his screen, "Rogue is quite a sucker for this magnetic field, she attracts me. Sometimes I wish she were a bot, we would've made a cute couple. Such a bummer she is not."

"Such a bummer you're not a chick-magnet either. Now, ZIP. IT." Mira drew her pinched fingers along an imaginary zipper on her lips.

Just after crossing the magnetic tracks, the trio entered a conjusted and cluttered lane of vending shops, food trucks and scrap dealers.

"Rogue's getting multiple signals and at the same time, Rogue can sense these jammers all around." Rogue stopped, still shaking his face, "If I can't access the cyber-net, I cannot function. If I cannot function, I feel threatened. And if I feel threatened...." Rogue's pixelated worry face blinked twice before it went totally blank.

"Security-bot mode initiating, cyber-net access limited. Audio-visual track disabled, location disabled. Mira, you may proceed." A circular green light glowed from the edges of the dark screen of Rogue.

Mira face-palmed, "give me a break, Rogue!"

"Rogue's understanding is limited when off line, please give full commands. Would you like me to break something?" Rogue asked, perplexed in a monotonous AI voice.

"You know what? Never mind." Mira pursed her lips and walked down the lane with Reno, her back slouchy and lifeless.

"Your bot is quite the entertainer." Reno remarked, taking a sharp left to a dead end.

A small store stood at the corner, pink and green neon lights decorating its panel read - 'Nana's Want'ones and Win'daloo'.

"Ah! I've been waitin' all day for ya, you li'l rascal. Where the hell were ya gone?" A woman in her sixties or maybe seventies walked into the light from inside the stall, her face disproportionately angry.

"Good to see ya too, Nana." Reno gently hugged her unwelcomed. It wasn't really clear if the old woman enjoyed hugging him or not, but Reno sure did. He crushed her old bones with a tightening grip and let out a deep breath in relief.

"And who's this nasty li'l tag-along you've brought, ey?" She pointed her metallic cane towards Mira. That was when Mira saw it, a white-out eye. The old woman's left eye didn't have an iris, it was all silver and sheen. Just pure metal under those droopy lashes. Nonetheless, Mira couldn't help but sense that it was fully functional.

Mira was never scared of cyborgs, not really. But this one here, made her heart go haywire. There was something appalling about her, something eerie. Was it her crooked left eye? Or just her unfriendly way of talking? Or her hagemony over Reno? She could never tell.

Sensing her emotions run erratic, Rogue buzzed past Mira and stood on guard in the face of the old woman.

The old woman's greying brows raised and vanished in between a curly tuft of scruffy, white hair. "Mmm...Interesting, a first generation CR-0ny that is perfectly functional."

"Uh, she's my friend Mira. Mira, this is my great-grand mother, Nana."

"H-hey N-Nana!" Mira stuttered, for the first time in her life.

"Why are ye here, ey?" Nana swiftly turned around grinding her teeth. Limping on her cane, she settled on a stool which was set behind a pot of piping hot shroom Win'daloo.

Tang and spice rode up Mira's nostrils to her brain, strange odour that was for sure. But it had awakened a writhing beast inside her belly, roaring and gnawing at her inside out.

"Trade, ey? He eh eh..." Nana cackled baring her withering teeth. "Stomach never lies, lassy. Oh how it never lies. Eh eh."

Mira gulped. Hunger long gone. What remained was a pit of something that people often called 'guts', and it screamed the same thing over and over, 'Run Mira, run!'

Nana flipped open the lid of a pan with the tip of her steel cane. The pan contained an assortment of steaming dumplings made from shredded protein blocks and mixed spices. "Here. Two Want'ones for a cuppa water, that is. A protein block would do too."

.

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CR-0ny = to be read as 'Crony'. 🤖

WC- 1207

Yayy! 2k words reached. 🤩😍

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