the theif and the ark---

these are backwards

It took a long time but I finally calmed down enough to try and get back home, through the fog of the streets and the spinning colors of the subway I stand and sway with the track and suck on my cigarette. A hundred people stand alongside me trying there best to ignore each other, guilty and hungry I lift my eyes and take in the sights of the city as the pod races through buildings and under great metal spires.

We found the alpha-net and ever since have been trying to build the waking world to match the iridescent grid that so many of us spend so much time in.

The menthol chills my throat and I glance at my wrist watch, again. The time is accurate to the millisecond, and the small readout assures me that the info is safely inside the quantum storage. The small icon reminded me of where I had to go to retrieve it. It was the first time I had actually seen an Angel, not to mention one of them crossing the gate into the alpha, I could only imagine the chaos that must have broke out moments after I left.

My phone rang and I let the melodic notes go on for a few seconds before lifting the small plastic tablet to my  false ear,

"Yeah?"

I was expecting the call but the oily voice on the other end still sent chills down my back, a blurred and distorted cadence that assured total confidentiality,

"Good evening User, is it good?"

No emotion or apprehension about the scroll, only a flat computerized voice, I had heard public access booths with more heart.

"It is very good."

No response only a crackling static, I felt more than I heard the vibrational pitch that radiated from my phone, holding the reciever to my watch I waited for the icon to vanish, meaning the transfer was complete.

After that business it was only a  matter of confirmation, with a smile and a cigarette hanging from my lips I waited for the static to pass.

"Look behind you, User."

Confusion plain on my face I turned around slowly, nothing special, just civilians standing and holding unto the handles that hung from the top of the bullet pod. The line went dead and I saw it.

A metal hornet the size of the pod fell from the inky clouds and matched speed long enough for me to take in the sight of the sleek black predator that resembled one part copter and two parts insect. Putting the phone into the pocket of my jacket I took one last drag of my smoke and backed up through the still mass of bodies. No one else looked out the window or commented on my rude pushing.

I was good at sudden dangerous happenings, in my business someone trying to kill you after a job well done was as common as someone trying to snuff you after a spectacular failure. The pod went through a short tunnel but the hornet gracefully followed ,as silent as a bated breath. My back fell against the clear plastic that separated the passengers from the crew. The mass of swaying bodies blocked the hornet from my view but I knew I was only moments from dying in a fireball, I had to get out, now.

Reaching into my hidden pocket I pulled out the plastic gun that I kept for emergencies, smaller than my palm and clear as glass it showed the one thick bullet that rested in an otherwise invisible chamber. The sight of the gun woke someone up becuase suddenly people were pushing against each other to get away from me. They feared my gun and started to yell and dial numbers on their phones, it was absurd that so many would be afraid of one man, fear submersion had really gotten to these poor people.

I turned and covered my eyes and pulled the trigger, my wrist damn near broke and my ears rang long after the gunshot. A pile of glass sat at my feet and I shook my arm to dislodge any shards that were glittering on my leather. The cockpit was a sealed door in front of me, protected by foot thick steel it was the heaviest thing in the pod, no way I was getting through. Luckily I didn't need to, I put the gun back in my pocket and turned to the crimson door marked EMERGENCY, the urgent words floated a few feet from the round door. The holographic LED told me of the proper procedure for evacuating a pod full of desperate, frightened people.

The back of the pod tore open as finger long flachettes ripped through plastic and flesh alike, fear became anarchy and I turned the yellow bar and stepped back as the door separated and plummeted from the track and vanished into the cloudy void, air escaped the cabin and panicked screams reverberated through the pod like a banshees wail. Heat licked at my side and I covered my eyes as plasma was poured on the pod, death and fire was at my back so I jumped.

I fell through a black cloud that tasted like burnt rubber, the golden streets of the city a few hundred feet below me. It was almost peaceful, the blinking lights and racing headlamps reminded me of the alpha-grid, that shining beautiful place that I spent so much time in. The flaming pod disappeared and I heard a muffled boom as it passed through another tunnel.

I fell feet first and looked up at the moon, a great white sphere, pockmarked with craters and protruding with little towers that looked like whiskers. It was the first good look I ever had of it, usually clouds or a building obscured it, most times I couldn't be bothered to look up.

I fell through another cloud and waited for the ground to rise up and break my legs, crush my spine and destroy my brain, ending my short, dreadful life. The only thing I regretted was not having looked at the moon more often.