A young boy walked down a crowded hallway with his two friends. There was a weird atmosphere between them.
" Are you guys still hung up about what that hag said?" the boy looked at the faces in front of him.
Both of them were his childhood friends, Ema and Jake. Ema was your typical 'girl next door,' but she seemed to have a strange interest in hanging out with boys. She had a delicate face with dark long hair and bright blue eyes. While Jake, although his name didn't sound like it, was a huge nerd. He had the same color of hair and eyes as Ema with a somewhat muscular stature. The only thing that gave away his identity as a nerd was the frame of glasses gently resting on his nose bridge.
" Not really, I just think we should be more cautious."
Ema glanced at the boy.
" I can't believe you actually believe her." The boy sighed while looking at her.
"You do know she's just trying to scare us right? There haven't been up to 30 students who've received the curse throughout this school's history," He added.
" Better safe than sorry Grey." Ema shrugged.
Grey shook his head disappointedly then turned to Jake.
" What about you Jake, what do you think."
" Actually, I don't even understand why anyone would be afraid of being cursed. It's as much a blessing as it is a risk."
" I mean come on, imagine having the abilities cursed have. They're basically superhuman."
Jake said with an excited look on his face.
Grey facepalmed " I should have expected that from you."
" Either way, you guys up for hitting the VR hub this evening?" Grey said trying to change the topic before Jake would continue ranting about how awesome the cursed were.
Ema replied" Not really, Our parents said we were going shopping. To replace the 3d printer that "someone" broke!"
She shot a glare at Jake, who sheepishly scratched his head and pretended not to know what she was talking about. Both siblings looked at Grey for back up.
" heh, would you look at the time. I should be on my way. We'll go to the hub next time."
Grey lamely excused himself, as he hurriedly rushed away from the siblings to avoid getting involved in their argument.
He had seen enough of those to know that it wasn't a wise idea to get dragged into one.
" Wait Gr.."
He ignored the voice trying to call him back as he finally passed through the exit.
As he stepped out of the school, he was greeted by a complex metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers, each more imposing than the last, that seemed to touch the gloomy "sky" above them. The city was a bona fide labyrinth of concrete and glass, with the constant whizzing of sleek hover cars zipping through the air. The streets were almost empty though, as people rushed to find shelter from the incoming simulated storm.
' tsk...if they can manipulate the weather, why in the world would they ever make it rain.' He sighed, exhaling the stale air constantly produced by the city's filtrators.
Despite his thoughts, Grey had to get home before it started raining.
He quickly used his holo screen to hail a cab.
By the time cab arrived, it had already started raining.
' Oh great, now I'm wet, and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse."
He quickly jumped in the back seat, giving the driver his destination before finally slumping onto the seat.
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Midway through the drive, Grey was violently awakened from his sleep.
As for the perpetrator, it was a sickening feeling that seemed to be climbing up his body. Slowly diffusing into every area of his body. Immediately the feeling reached his throat, it activated his gag reflex. He hadn't eaten anything since morning so he could only dry heave.
"Are you ok boy?" The cab driver looked at the retching Grey.
The frequency of his dry heaving slowly reduced as the morbid feeling that possessed him, in the beginning, seemed to slowly dissipate.
" I'm good, just take me home fast," Grey replied the concerned-looking driver.
" Alright, if you say so kid."
' Damn it, now I'm gonna be sick.' If Grey was in a bad mood before, it just took a turn for the worse. Come to think of it, his day started going downhill right after he left the school.
' Sh*t, I should have just stayed with the twins.' Grey cursed in his mind.
In the end, he could only blame it on his shitty luck.
Since he wouldn't be able to sleep again, Grey peered through the window to get a view of the retreating City. The rain was still beating on the quickly retreating buildings that seemed to be getting more and more dilapidated the further cab went down the road. If one didn't know better they'd probably think the car was going back in time.
Grey lived on the outskirts of the second ring of The Bastion, humanity's last stronghold. There was basically only a non-existent line between his house and the slums.
He wasn't one to complain though. He felt he had had a pretty good childhood. Well, that was as far as how good one's childhood could get in a cursed world.
For one he had loving parents, friends, and a roof to sleep under. As far as he was concerned, that alone could be considered a blessing in this era.
The cab finally stopped at the entrance of a dilapidated apartment. Grey quickly transferred the fare to the driver. Before quickly running inside the building, to avoid getting drenched.