Chapter 2 - Cerulean City

“Yeah mom, just reached the city.” George yawned and stepped off the train. Phone tucked between her ear and shoulder. Bag in one hand, scooter in the other. “Hey yeah, I just got off the train, lemme call you back, okay?”

She hung up the phone and started following the flow of traffic. She had to rise up on her tiptoes to get a good look at the signs. She made her way through the gates, and out the main entrance where she found herself standing on the city streets.

“Whoa…” Her mouth fell open. The city was bustling. Thousands of people all around her, hailing taxis, entering and exiting the station. She saw dozens and dozens of people riding scooters in the scooter lane beside the main roads.

Skyscrapers loomed overhead, their architecture a wonder. George had never been out of her small town before. She’d seen pictures of course, but they didn’t- couldn’t do it justice.

Even as she tilted back, trying to see the tops of the buildings, she felt dizzy. Now that she was in the city, she needed to make it to her next stop.

Brightfare University.

George watched as a few others around her, flipped out their scooters and hopped on them without even breaking their stride. They zoomed off down the scooter lanes along the road and disappeared from sight.

It took her a bit longer, and with a little less finesse, to get the Mark-IX out, but when she did, she noticed the people around her glancing at her. At her scooter.

“Dude, check it out, a Mark-IX, that’s so cool.”

“I gotta get me one of those, so sleek.”

“Just imagine, that black color, and all golden gems.”

George made a point not to leave her scooter in public, and hopped on, zooming along the road. She was nervous at first. She was still getting adjusted to riding, and the last thing she wanted to do was crash into someone else.

Following the map on her phone, George scooted across the road, and under the shadows of the looming towers. As she felt the breeze in her hair and across her skin, she noticed all kinds of people. Androids, human like robots wearing suits and carrying briefcases. There were people with skin colors she’d never even imagined before. Some with a red skin color, others a soft blue, or green. There was even an abundance of people with various kinds of animal ears and tails.

Street vendors called out to passersby, crying out the latest edition of the morning press. Toasted bagels with all the toppings. Hotdogs, falafel, donuts, and more. The smells and sounds wafted past, making George feel giddy on the inside.

The city was so cool! There was so much that she needed to explore, so many people she needed to meet, and so many foods she needed to try.

As she got deeper into the city, she began to notice a growing number of parks. Green trees and gardens as far as she could see. Pets bounded across the green grass catching frisbees. Couples walking the trails held hands.

All of a sudden, her phone beeped. George slowed to a stop and stepped on to the sidewalk, checking her phone.

“Uh oh,” George muttered to herself. She’d been so caught up in awe and missed her turn. She looked out across the busy street and felt trepidation. She didn’t feel comfortable at all seeing the rush of cars. She tapped her phone and it began to reroute.

It rerouted straight into a dark alleyway between a row of buildings. 

“Um…” George blinked. Frankly, she didn’t like either option. She swallowed nervously and walked her scooter over to the edge of the alley, stopping where the light ended, and the shadows began.

She peered inside. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad would it? The alley couldn’t be that long, right? Sure, it was crummy. There were dumpsters piling over and spilled trash cans strewn along the way. There were a couple of stray cats, and in the distance, an angry dog barked.

George glanced back at all the passing people. They weren’t paying her any attention. So, steeling herself, she hopped back on her scooter, and entered the alley. George pretended it was an obstacle course. A chance for her to practice weaving around puddles, ducking under low hanging fire escape ladders. 

The deeper she got into the alley, the more relaxed she began to feel. She had been overthinking. No doubt coming from the countryside, she had all sorts of wild ideas about the city and how dangerous it could be. Surely it wasn’t that…

Ahead of her, a shadow appeared. It was someone else on a scooter, and they were whistling a slow toon. 

George slowed to a stop, swallowing hard, and cursing herself.

Two more shadows appeared behind the first, both of them swerving to a stop on their scooters. 

“No, no,” George cursed under her breath, “not good.”

“A Mark IX, huh?” The first voice called, he strode into the light, and eyed her up and down. “His cut off sleeves and tattoo, the greasy hair style, the grime along his pants and elbows. “What if you just handed it over darling? Stuff like that could be sold for a pretty penny.” 

His eyes slid up her body. He licked his lips.

“You’re not too bad yourself.” He sneered. “You got a nice pair of legs, sweetums.” 

They began to advance on her. George spun around, ready to get out of there, when she someone behind her. Blocking her escape route. There was nowhere to run. 

George gritted her teeth. She wasn’t gonna go down like that. She spun her scooter around, twisted the accelerator so hard her tires began squealing and shot out of their like a bullet, back the way she had come. She fancied her chances of riding past one person instead of three.

The thugs were in hot pursuit though. They were close behind, shouting obscenities at her. 

George braced herself as she approached the final figure. Only, instead of blocking her, trying to stop her, he just… moved out of the way? 

As she passed by at breakneck speed she caught a glimpse of him standing there on his scooter. Atop his head was a worn gray wizard hat. No sooner had she crossed the threshold than he drove straight towards the oncoming attackers. 

George couldn’t help but glance back as he barreled straight towards them, his foot stepping on one of the gemstones in his scooter. The gemstone began to glow, then so did his scooter, bright blue lighting up the dark alleyway. In an instant, he was surrounded by a hexagonal sphere.

There was a yelp as two of the scooters hit the shield like it was a solid wall, their scooters stopped dead in their tracks. However, the first thug was able to dodge around it. He had a gem of his own, he activated it, a flash of green invading the blue, and a bright hologram in the shape of a saw appeared around him. 

The holographic saw dug into the shield, grinding until both it and the shield shattered like broken glass, before disappearing. That left the two boys back where they had started. They quickly reacted, each one stepping on their gems. 

The thug activated his saw again, but the guy in the wizard hat was too quick. When he activated his gemstone, he and his scooter leaped high into the air in a tall back flip. Then he came back down, except now he was positioned right above the thug. 

He landed back wheel first, right in the thug's face. Then they both went down. 

George stopped, seeing them both fall. She didn’t want to get in trouble with the thugs, but she also couldn’t bear to leave behind someone who was trying to help her. Before she could think too much about it, she spun around, zooming towards the boy with the wizard hat. 

As she approached, he was already getting up, dusting off his pants. 

“Are you okay?” She asked, swerving to a stop.

“Well, I didn’t stick the landing, but I think I’m okay.” He adjusted his hat, then righted his scooter. “I should be asking if you’re okay.” 

“Yeah, no, I’m fine.” George nodded. “Thanks for that I’m… new to the city.” She fell quiet. Unsure what to say, the held out her hand quickly. 

“Sorry,” she scrunched her nose, embarrassed. “Where are my manners, my name is Georgina Batten. I’m here to attend the university.”

“Nice to meet you miss Batten.” The boy shook her hand and tilted his canvas wizards cap. “My names Linus, and…” he trailed off as the thug began to groan and stir. His wobbling arms trying to push him up. “And we should probably get out of here.” 

“Lead the way,” George said, sticking her tongue out at the thugs, and then following Linus out of the alley. They drove across the sidewalk, and before George could protest, Linus was dipping across the street, dodging honking cars. 

George’s heart lurched but it was too late to turn back now. She zipped past, squeaking as she narrowly avoided scraping a taxi. Screaming a little as it honked, and made her wobble. 

Out of fear, she hopped off the scooter and ran across the rest of the way, carrying it just off the ground. When she made it to the sidewalk on the other side she felt her heart beating, a little sweat beading on her forehead. 

“You really aren’t from around here are you,” Linus casually mused. “How long have you been riding your scooter?”

“Today…” George grumbled, blowing at a few strands of hair that had fallen in her face. 

“Ah,” Linus nodded in understanding. “And you said you were here for university?”

“Yeah,” George let out a calming breath. “Brightfare University.” 

“Oh, are you serious?” Linus raised an eyebrow. “Me too, actually.” He pointed down the road, “I was headed there myself before I saw a certain someone in need of assistance.”

“No way,” George’s eyes widened. She didn’t know Linus, not really, but he didn’t seem like a bad guy. He had just rescued her after all. To find someone who seemed trustworthy, and went to the same school, George was halfway to finding herself a friend. “Would you mind if… we went together?” 

“Yeah, no problem.” He smiled. “Follow me!”