Chapter 6: Reconciliation
The tram came to a stop, dipping beneath an overpass choked with exposed cable vines and light-stripped trees. The doors hissed open, and David pulled the lizard from his lap, its claws hanging onto the fabric of his pants.
He brought it to his face and glared at it. "No more drooling. Got it?"
The lizard blinked its beady eyes, and as expected, nodded.
David sighed. "I’ll take that as a yes."
He placed it on his shoulder and stepped out of the hovertram. He walked past mech waste areas, steam vents and back-alley stalls. Under the bridge, close to the river, few locals made it their home. Those that didn’t have the money to live in the more comfortable parts in the inner ring of Sector Twelve.
Locals like Jethro.
David knew the way. It had already been implanted in his mind with the memories, and so he just walked, knowing he would arrive soon. The gutterling pretended to know the way too, occasionally tapping David’s neck with its tongue like a signal to turn.
Although annoying, David tolerated it.
Soon enough, he sighted the building from afar. It was a squat, two-story structure secluded in the darkness of the evening. One side of the building was residential, with a chipped door and tiny balcony. The other was a garage, having a metal door half-covered in faded paint.
It said: Harlon Merrick - Mechvet & Repairs.
David stepped closer, his boots crunching against the stony ground filled with tiny metal scraps that had washed from the waste areas close by.