Chapter 41: Fig-line
The deafening roar of a vehicle engine resounded through the lone roads of Sector 3.
The afternoon sun still shone, illuminating the world, and in turn giving that one Hover Rover, cruising through the non-residential areas of Sector 3, a glistening feature as the steel body reflected sunlight.
In the driver’s seat of the speeding vehicle, a wide grin was plastered on Lucien’s lips as he affixed his emerald eyes on the road.
His hands firmly gripped the steering wheel, controlling the vehicle.
Next to the dashboard around the steering wheel, the speed of the Rover was being gauged. Lucien ignored this, gazing at the half-materialized screen in front of him, which was the system-map, loaded in a way that didn’t distract his driving, and didn’t obscure his linear vision.
Confirming that they were a few minutes away from approaching the Fig-line, Lucien willed the system-map out of existence, and he glanced at the camo-watch wrapped around his wrist, silently noting the time.
[3:50 pm]
They’d been on the road for an hour already.
A whole hour.
They needed to get to the area around the Fig-line before sunset because, to Lucien, facing off against dozens of Prowlers in the dead of the night didn’t really seem exciting.
And so he stepped on that pedal, boosting the speed of the Rover, increasing the roar of the engine, which was a telling sign of the insane speed they were currently running with, because Rovers were usually silent vehicles.
As he drove, Lucien gazed at the rearview mirror, noting the kids sprawled on the passenger seat.
Michael’s eyes were shut, black bangs plastered against his forehead as he breathed softly, chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm.
It wasn’t surprising that the boy had fallen asleep. The initial awe and excitement of entering the Rover had faded after about thirty minutes of boarding the vehicle, and, with nothing else to do, he’d just fallen asleep.
But, see, the surprising part was that Amira was still awake. And Michael’s head was currently resting on her shoulder.
The purple-haired girl’s attention was fixed outside the window, her jaw resting on an open palm as she noted the shoddy, almost blurry landscapes the Rover zoomed past.
Lucien cleared his throat, his gaze still focused ahead as he called softly:
"Amira?"
In the rearview mirror, Mira’s head suddenly jerked slightly as she blinked, staring at the back of Lucien’s head.
"Yes, Lucien?"
Lucien chuckled, noting her subtly bewildered expression.
"I’m sorry for startling you," he said. "I just wanted to know if you’re feeling okay. I know the past few hours have been a little too... hectic, to say the least. And fast, too. Heck, they might’ve even seemed a bit unreal. One moment you were in a cage, and the next you’re on a high-speed adventure to who-knows-where."
Hearing his words, Amira smiled a faint smile, gathering herself as she shook her head.
"I was about to say ’you have no idea,’ but seeing you say it like that, I figured maybe you actually do have an idea."
This made Lucien laugh softly, nodding.
But then, as he watched Amira, he noticed her smile turn... somber. She gazed at the world beyond the window once more, but her amethyst gaze had lost focus.
With a low voice, she said:
"It was terrible, Lucien. I– we were forced to watch things we weren’t meant to watch, to do things we weren’t meant to do. I..." her breathing became hurried, pronounced. "That place..." she shook her head. "I’m truly grateful, Lucien. With you, I’ve been able to experience these new things. I mean," she paused, staring at the interior of the Rover, "look at where I am!"
Hearing her say this, Lucien’s warm smile saddened. A hot feeling boiled in his chest, overwhelming him.
Amira was too mature for her age. She didn’t think or speak like a child. She spoke like a broken adult who’d seen all the disappointment that life had to offer.
But then, there was a ray of hope that still shone in her. A strand that Lucien desperately prayed she would hold on to.
It was love.
Lucien’s heart calmed down as he noted her bright smile. And he remembered the same smile on her lips whenever she spoke with Michael, whenever they played together.
Maybe... just maybe, that currently small strand would grow into something thicker in the future.
All Lucien could do was foster it.
And so, with a tender voice, he uttered:
"Mira, whenever you feel like you need anyone to talk to, about anything at all, I’ll be here for you, alright?"
The girl, still gesturing at the Rover, froze in place. She appeared taken aback. But she quickly cleared her throat and adjusted her posture.
"I... I don’t think that’ll be necessa–"
"I’m not saying it’s a must. I just want you to know that you have this choice, and that you don’t have to carry any burden alone. You have me now. You have us. And I wasn’t kidding when I said that we’re family. A team."
Slowly, Amira nodded.
And Lucien smiled.
[Ding–!]
[Nurturing Action Has Been Detected!]
Lucien frowned, gazing at the pop-up notifications in his field of vision.
’Really? Right now?’
With a sigh, Lucien swept the notifications away. He’d address them later.
"But I want to know something, though," Mira’s voice drove into his ears.
Lucien blinked, tilting his head as he gazed at the mirror.
"Yeah? What’s that?"
Amira, with an utterly serious expression, stared directly at the mirror, meeting Lucien’s emerald gaze.
"Where exactly are we going?" She asked. Her voice was low, yes, but there was a certain... tension in her voice, sizzling. It created a kind of dissonance that made Lucien feel as if, for a moment, he wasn’t speaking with Amira, but rather someone of a... he couldn’t even describe it.
"We’re a team, right? You should be able to tell me this. Ah, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be rude or anything," she said, her voice soft, back to normal as she scratched the back of her neck, smiling. "It’s just that, to be honest, I’ve been tagging along without really knowing where we’re going, so I figured I’d ask you since I haven’t had the opportunity to..." Her pupils quivered as she met Lucien’s gaze in the mirror, and she blurted: "I asked Michael! He..." she gazed at Mikky asleep on her shoulder. "He said it was a secret."
Lucien closed his eyes, chuckling to himself as he shook his head.
"Right. I haven’t told you. Well, like I’d told Mikky earlier, you’re both going to have three more siblings."
Amira’s eyes widened.
"You–"
However, before she could speak, Lucien raised a hand.
"Shh."
He significantly reduced the speed of the Rover.
A strange phenomenon occurred in him. His mind, heart, soul, everything about him felt it, like a sixth sense.
It was an inherent feeling of danger rooted in the core of his being.
The skill, [Safety Location], was warning him.
And as all the warning alarms in him rang out, crying, Lucien gazed ahead at the entrance of what seemed to be a rocky enclave, filled with various high rocks.
He stared at the system-map, feeling his heart tense. But a wry smile painted his lips as he read out the words of his destination:
"Fig-line."
And so, he drove forward, ignoring the instinctive warnings that constantly alerted him, telling him that:
This was not a Safe Location.