I kept walking towards the second hallway without stopping for anything. Why did I snap? Why did I say those things? Thoughts were racing through my head. I didn't feel as if this were me. I felt like m1]y soul was confined in another person's skin. It was unsettling. I remembered how her face twisted into alarm. Fear. I, then, remembered her eyes, and her look of pity gazing at my naked soul. I shivered. Today was not going the way it was supposed to.
I managed to trudge my way to the sliding doors that opened a path to the underground station. I could hear footsteps as I neared, but I could find anyone except two siblings sitting on a bench. The footsteps were from the ground above us. The bullet train would still take a couple of minutes to get to this station, so I found another bench was as on the opposite side of the station from the siblings.
They were identical twins with one key difference. One of them had a thin scar that curved around his eye, and the other did not. Under the sterile lights of the station, they both looked very out of place. I mean, so did I. Both of them had dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes that looked like storm clouds. They had tall and sturdy statures that I guessed were due to hard work on some construction site. Because of my assumption, they had almost no body fat on them whatsoever, and their muscles were lean but hard. I could make out these features under their shirts.
One of them saw me scrutinizing them. He gave me a warm smile that revealed even more of his features. A strong jawline, kind eyes, and ruffled hair. I smiled back. I might as well get acquainted with them as they were most likely going to the same place that I was going.
The still air began to turn into subtle breezes. The fliers on the cement pillars that lined the station began to flutter. The bullet train was here. It was quiet; if not for the air, I don't think I would've noticed it. The twins stared at the upcoming lights in the pitch-black tunnel. It was coming from behind me. I waited until they got up, and I followed suit.
The amount of wind generated from the bullet train was amazing. The clothes on our bodies rippled in a volatile manner. I was pushed forward a bit when I underestimated the strength of the gale. The train wasn't made for the outer sector; even though it was over a hundred meters away, the whole station began to shake. Subtlety at first, but then it became more aggressive. One of the twins almost fell down but was saved when his counterpart saved him. I resisted the urge to fall; I didn't want to show them any weakness. What if they were fated to be my competitors?
The train gradually slowed down until it stopped right at the station. It had a sleek, white build which was maintained daily. I mean there was no way that a white train like that would stay white after going all the places that it would have to go. There were no windows on the bullet train. It looked like a sophisticated, thin caterpillar. The difference was that it could go three hundred miles per hour. It was a fast caterpillar.
The only window that existed, or at least could be seen from the outside was the operator. He had dark skin and a bald head. His uniform consisted of a navy blue t-shirt and light blue pants. He wore sunglasses on the top of his forehead but still had on a pair of glasses that seemed to be very, very thick. He stared at the twins and then me. The twins followed each other, and I quickly followed them.
We all reached the train and climbed a couple of steps until the operator told us to stop. We all halted. He said in a gruff voice, "A assume you are here to participate in the Evolution Games?" We all looked at each other and nodded our heads in unison. He continued, "The usual fare to go to the inner sector is two hundred and fifty credits, but the Grey Corp. seems to be really desperate about this. So, they offered to pay seventeen percent of the fare for all applicants." Well, that was good news.
One of the twins in front of me asked the operator a question, "So, how much would that be, sir?"
The operator gave him a condescending look before saying, "What? You too stupid to do the m-"
I interrupted the bastard, "Two-hundred-seven point five credits per person per fare." The twins looked back at me with astonished eyes. The operator pouted. I walked up to him and paid my due. I, then, proceeded to walk towards the back of the train.
The train itself was completely empty. It was smelled like antiseptic, like a hospital. There rows upon rows of seats. They all looked the same. It was narrow in some areas but then widened out in others. To me, it looked like a poor design. But, that's just me. There was a long yellow bar that extended to the back of the train on the ceiling; it was for people to grip when they couldn't find a seat. From the inside, windows were crystal clear. I could see the entire station from just one of them. The windows were really big; they took up the width of three rows of seats. The lights on the train were much warmer; they contrasted heavily when compared to the station's lights.
As I contemplated on which seat to pick in an ocean full of them, I overheard a conversation that was slowly turning into an argument.
The twins spoke first, "Mister would it be possible for you to let one of us on for free?"
The operator sneered, "Ha! You rats can't even pay the fare even after it's been reduced. Serves you right! Winning the games, my ass!"
The twins looked severely disappointed. I kept thinking that I should help them, but credits weren't exactly expendable. Especially for a person like me. The operator pushed the twins out of the train with his words, "Now haul your asses off the train! You sorry pieces of shit should have never even been born!"
This motherfucker. I intervened in the one-sided argument, "I'll pay the other half."
The twins, once again, plastered on astonished expressions. The operator, too, was shocked. I paced myself over to the start of the bulled train and gave him one of the twin's fare. He took it reluctantly. The operator spoke to me, "No one asked you to play hero, you know."
I glared at him before saying, "No one asked you to be a bitch, either."
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Micheal Grey POV:
Angela reported back to my office after her long day as the head of advertising. I playfully mocked her, "All hail the queen of advertising!"
She blushed before she said, "Thank you for giving this op-"
I cut her off, "Please, save the niceties. Speak freely when you're just with me. That's what Flin does too. It makes feel like a human and not a fucking god."
She started over again, "Mr.-"
"Call me Micheal."
She paused for a second. Why does everyone do this? Is it that hard to get someone to call you by your first name? She stuttered, "M-Micheal, I would like to report t-to you the results today."
She was cute. I keep saying that over and over again, but she really was. Like an Angle. Get it, 'cause 'Angela' means angle. Messenger of the gods? Forget it. I noticed I was talking to myself again and snapped back to attention, "Sorry, go ahead."
"Well, we have confirmed that twenty-three thousand one-hundred and six people have officially been registered. There will be a couple of stragglers that will register tomorrow, but there will only be a few. Including the seventeen percent of the fares that we have deducted, and the twenty thousand promised to each one, that will be given out to each one, the grand total will be..." Her voice was replaced by her tapping the calculator in the search for answers.
I chimed in, "Nineteen billion, six-hundred forty million, one-hundred thousand credits."
She kept punching in numbers in her calculator. Most people would have looked at me and said that I was a genius. Which I am. Was she...verifying my answer? "You don't have to double-check it. I know I'm right."
She lifted her head to meet my eyes; she revealed an embarrassing expression. She said, "I'm sorry." She's really pulling on my heartstrings.
"No problem, but get used to it. I don't wanna brag, but..." I cleared my throat, "I am a genius." I got out my checkbook and ripped out a page. Checkbooks weren't used anymore, but something about ripping the page out of it made me feel even more important than I already was. I wrote down the number and gave it to Angela. She took it with care and clipped it down in her notes.
"Just so you know, the check isn't worth anything."
"..."
"I just do that a lot 'cause it elevated my ego. You can just head down to the finance department and ask them to fund you under my name," I lowered my voice as if I was telling a secret, "It works better."
"..."