Part 2: Priority Of Existences

Behind reddish and gravel-hills located on a school at foot base. Many metal-frame buildings spread from there in tight-space, sparser as they traveled far.

The towns interconnected with main and huge roads passed several small stations on the way. No matter what building, it didn't have much improvement other than comparable soil-orange material. However, coming into Steam Reality the spaces had been turned into dried-rivers, roads, and some deathly radiation zones to match the reason.

As overall inside brushed-city, it crawled out with thirsty-ground. This made the city strangely appeared out of nowhere on top magma zone, moreover, an unsuitable site for a living. It could be proof by strange corrosive aspects around landscape such as mountain which had smooth-edge like saber or rocks that shaped into sharp-arc.

Only a few trees were still recognized; outside-city had lesser. Broad of bestial-mountains cluttered in eastern and dying-nature developed to western with barely grasses uprooted, sand dust gathered on the top layer by layer. Right, even it seemed like a desert, if someone digging with a shovel, its head will reach dirt and rock after one-foot distance.

However weird it might be seen, this city had life, breathing every day to their habits at most as it was a usual day. Many travelers believed something off about never-heard Aivena City under the Veizralia Kingdom, ruled under government.

The roads and buildings were proceeded from a compound of dirt solution, genert(some sort alternate concrete), glittered between sprinkle of orange and blue. It had a surface of a combination between soil and sand, wiped orderly.

Clockwork mechanical rotated aloud from wasteland area, a bit further from the city's core. Numerous thick and dark sandy-smokes were steamed from factories until the sun was ― seldom known ― born; a clear azure sky had effectively hidden, trapped behind smoky-clouds. Despite contamination, the air had a color of darkened-sand rather than black.

Sun didn't out yet, only its flare announced its arrival in few minutes. Giant cogs that spread out from factories turned slow and suspended. Though, engine and metal knocks started arising from shops such as Motorcycles Garage, Bromuter Engineer, Heval Prospector...began awaking at the earliest preparation work.

Bulbs switched off as night was about to over. Several people raising increased, while workers went back to their homes from exhaustion at factories. Sun began phasing at first visibility, everything started to look nauseous, a tiny flair glanced over hill.

A small lizard who stuck on smelly-truck fell off when the huge wheel bumped over rock. The lizard's head penetrated straight to sand as though about to dig down. Wrangled out in hurry, it was searching a spot to shelter when uncomfortable pouring on top its sticky skin. White smoke releasing in its body grew faster and transparent over the brightness of the sun's portion.

The lizard stepped alarming at a drastic change in warmth, pattern behavior became uncontrollably as its long juiceless tail. Blur vision conquered its bulgy yellow-eyeballs aimed toward a house that constructed on the city's outskirts. Like water danced on a hot pan, the vapor pissed on top lizard soon emerged on uneven-sand and burnished-rocks. The whole land gradually became lit.

A helmeted factory worker, an adult female, exited from the back of the house through a heavy door and a little farm. Cold pressure could be seen ― like dry ice ― squished out when the door shot open. The woman left the door, paced toward truck which in the middle of checking dustbin.

"Sorry for late." The woman said.

Helmeted also, the cleaner picked the garbage, "Don't worry," and threw behind the truck. "Just return home? Work hard, hah?"

"I couldn't just leave everything to Siqura. The girl deserves a better life."

"By the way, have you heard about an unknown disease haunting world? My son seized one last night. The newspapers published soon everyone needs to participate in a vaccine injection."

"Will it going to become like Black Plague?"

"Harmony is never really holding that long." The cleaner inspected bromuter ― a portable clockwork mechanism device ― hugely fastened on his wrist. "Safe period is about to end. Better spare colrald for a better situation. Sigh. Even today, many staffs had been infected, I had to ride alone while free all garbages. Hopefully, I could finish this before night."

"That sounds horrible. I think my workplace factory also had lessened-people than yesterday."

"Well," the cleaner opened seat, "I see you tomorrow if I could make up today."

"Yeah. See you later."

The truck drove away into the city, the lizard that shielded under shadow had flung off the wheel. Once again, panicking, it boosted toward woman's boots. Every time it surmounted, torn off again as the boot bowling strong.

Door house unlocked, pressure blew out with snowflakes current. Ecstatic sucked into its body, the lizard forget about the boots and determined to jump inside.

Too late, the door clasped in, the lizard toured around the door, looking for a way in with its unnatural movement.

Sun, bit by bit, made an entrance with hot blaze blinding at a horizon of mountain sands, clocked up faster than normal rate. Some sand had turned into kind of partial-glasses, getting even more unsighted as if a collection of lights formed knife that thrust straight to eyes, knocked brain out at back.

The lizard stopped in pursue, hurried moving up to the second floor. Every step in touch left a sticky substance of gelatin behind. Most of its skin had stuck and sheared along with the alloy door. Despite that, fleshes cooked to brownish crispy, until its leg chopped off and melted on the middle way. Whatever liquid it had in body, evaporated far quicker than the lizard's helpless against the sun. Soon skin dried out, bones teeth-glued to the door as if historical fossil.

That was fate to an organism that stood under the sun.

All happened in a few seconds, morning a while ago had turned to noon already. Once it hit the highest, the sun moved at the slowest rate. Therefore, no long shadow was visible as a whole. Despite a million of black clouds, the sun hissed through without trouble.

Siqura supposed to live in Blueprint Reality, presently. However, she was sleeping in bed, inside the house on the second floor.

Gears were ticking beside, groaning louder as her senses rousing. It vibrated with beeping and gassing sounds, air fused up.

"Hmm...I wake...," grumbled in a muffled tone, "Mom," she clicked steam clock as soon as it was ringing. The sound invoked hatred, disturbing her dawn-dream for years, her hand lost control inside dark. She knew she had to wake up, at some point she didn't want this feeling ended.

She brought her heavyweight to the bathroom, fuzzy-eyes rummaged toothbrush; funny flavor (or a nice word for worst). Somehow, it was cold again. She washed teeth while sunbathing through protective window glass. Pressed button, gears rotating at outside, pulling a front cover-up. Scenery around toned a bit in the dull purple due glass material.

Even it was morning, sun lived in brightest, as its flare would penetrate the window's glass. It was manufactured to reduce radiation level from direct light, decreased scorch toxic.

Long roads folded between jammed-shops, waded paths for motorcycles and cars. The engine shifted from small gears, transferred into giant gears right on wheels. Some of them used steaneum ― the third stage of energy ― rendering heavy vehicles above ground. Three stages: steam, steasis, and steaneum.

Siqura took a moment before her toothpaste felt strangely disaster. When she returned to the bathroom, it said expired.

After spat as far as her concern, she stepped back and hopped into overflow-bathtub. Yep. While in her pajama. Her skin shocked by sudden cold. Squirming out, she rushed toward the wall, find out the heater was broken.

Done bathing in cold, she stood in front mirror. It cracked a bit when she tried getting a good look at her face.

Her school uniform was made from some sort of leather, another mixed from various ores to give into resistance in all kind radiations. Raising her short hair to back, she slid goggles on the top head but it split half without indication.

<Are these forecasting of bad luck?> Siqura stared the half-parts of goggles, one per hand.

Moved down from genert-stairs, she looked around the living room that connected with the dining room and kitchen. Without walls in between.

A woman chuckled in still after saw on Siqura's head the goggles had plastered with tape.

"Good morning..." Siqura said in tired. Her face exhausted in that instant when finding today breakfast was a gipple (mutant apple) pie. She stepped over polished-floor, cooled her feet. The table had many tapes and tiny holes as if it was picked up from the garbage site. It was the same with several utensils around the house.

A mechanical bot floated beside her, following since in room. Like pet. Though, it was one big scrapped-iron ball, rounded with a scanner. No eyes or light appeared inside. It could fly continuously with a high-speed fan below, facing toward the ground. Purplish-steasis warmed and noised behind the fan, showed its cheapness.

"There is a rumor about a new disease," the helmeted-woman said.

"Is it something to be anxious?" Siqura reached for a chair. "Probably, made-up stuff to rack us our hard-earning money. Did they have nothing to do other than sucking blood?"

"Hopefully, we can withstand until the end of the month." She said, her mother ― Rizera ― still had a uniform since yesterday, just returned from night work factory in the wasteland. Unsealed helmet, she placed on the table.

"Mom." Siqura leaned her bag next to the table's foot. "We will. No need to worry."

Rizera pitched dusty-sugar and sprinkled on top baked pie, then put on the table. Her fork sliced a crusty-piece into Siqura's dish.

Having one good glance on the dish, she shoved into her throat, gripped her sleepy eyes down, reciting pie numbers to forget about how a real pie looks like. Even with an attempt to ignore a bland taste that enriched with sweet appetite, a portion of piece broke, glandular-gipple chocked back of her mouth. Some water had sloshed through her nose while having trouble coughing nonstop.

"Siqura!" Rizera lifted the mineral-teapot and poured a treated drink ― zero radiation ― into aluminum-cup. "H-H-Here!"

She repeatedly hit the table, gulping the drink. The depth of pain heightened, tears born from her reddened eyes. She took one breath before sipped at moderate speed. Emptied the cup, liquid inside her body ended in her brain, attacked with a tickling blade at the inside of her bone-nostril. She loosed from misery, all her lazy somehow gone.

<What with this bad day? Did someone cursing me?>

The mechanical bot's top section elevated up like a hat as if to show confusion, the fan rebooted, it dived to the floor out of sudden. Quickly, it restored up before a crash.

"I'm fine." Siqura held her head, tried to rid water stuck under her brain.

"I have been thinking about doing overwork," Rizera said during breakfast, sitting opposite.

Siqura peeked at her with an unpleasant forehead, cleared her throat.

"Please having fun with school trip ―"

― Siqura coughed again, unprepared before drink the second time. "H-H-H-How Mom know?!"

Rizera unwrapped one piece of aluminum-sheet with words written on the exterior. The characters used many pointed-angles to give an illusion of gear-letters. The sheet was declined a bit as if someone had crunched and tossed aside.

Siqura averted toward vacate-corner. "N-Not big deal. Don't add more of my worry. If Mom collapsed at the workplace again, we're in catastrophe."

"If it ends like this, you will miss a chance. Besides, next year, you're going to be busy with study after all. That's why ―"

"― Mom. Get hold of yourself. It's just a school trip. I will not go. Plus, if I didn't work during those days, interest would boost again, and we had to wait a month. Another upkeep is not worthy of the risk."

"Are you sure," Rizera paused, "Siqura?" her eyes fell.

"D-Don't worry. We can always go somewhere, anywhere, after debt paid off. Stick to plan. Right, Mom?"

Rizera didn't move, didn't look.

"Mom!"

"Ah. Right. Of course."

They both eat pieces of cheap gipple pie at their phases until all done inaudibly due to not enough sleep. It was all to pursuit money for last month before debt that left by Siqura's father was over. Next two weeks, one day after the first day of the school trip.

Siqura thought perhaps if she went on the second day, she could join the carnival. However, what was the point? Hardly talking with her classmates, she would stand back again, looking unsure like desolate-puppy. At least, Erika would force an opinion on her. But she didn't like to raise another jealousy of Erika's friend, Ainari.

Picking the aluminum-paper, she crashed into a size of her grip, then thrust into her bag so her mother wouldn't bother nonsense again. The mechanical bot tailed behind Siqura, up and down to the entrance.

Coasting barefoot into a shoe, "Mom, I will leave now," she shook other for fitting. "Don't take overtime. And mostly, never neglect a pill every six hours."

"Alright, alright. I heard precaution." Rizera gave an honest smile. "Have a good ― uchk!" Eyes closed, she covered her mouth unconsciously, stock of blood splashed through crevices of her fingers, spluttered backward to her blue clothes. Instead of red, it had a rather odd dark tone that seemed not from original fresh blood. A nibble-bone stood out on the mat.

"Haaaah! Mom!" After stuck like rotted-gear, Siqura cast aside her shoes and caught Rizera before fell. Fondling toward her temple, an insane heat injected up into Siqura's hand from touching the face.

A smoke of purple evoked from Rizera's skin, her breath raced in unstable condition like a raddled-engine. The mechanical bot studied the pattern, a thin lever hand-crank exposed out and then poured emptied-teapot into the just-washed cup before offered to Rizera. Of course, they were too busy to notice the smartness-ish.

Since most Siqura's part-time involved physical effort, she hoisted her mother in a bride position, ran to the upper floor, and laid her into bed without a sweat. Serviced her mother to pajama and added wet-cloth to her forehead, she went out after Rizera calmed her down that nothing bad was going to happen.

Siqura couldn't relish the premonition. She didn't want to accept the fact it had to do with gossip about a new plague which had been appearing lately in an engineer's research lab, shooed aside as a scam or liar from the government.

Engineers claimed the disease didn't yet kill anyone. Though, they had been doing full-scale to find treatment before undesirable occurrence came. This demonstrated that the disease probably had serious damage that had been hiding by the government. She had the feel.

But among this mess and trouble, even it was little, Siqura accidentally wished she preferably hung herself first than attending her mother's funeral. Of course, it looked normal to be with the love one, but it started to become unhealthy when she bought a small portable knife with the thought in mind. She denied by convincing herself, it was a lucky charm.

In spite of poor life, Siqura didn't blame her mother and father. She believed herself that it wasn't their fault it had been like this but instead because she was born. Since when she had been changing her opinion toward a father who inhered his family an unreasonable amount of debt?

Settled to downstair, she complained to the mechanical bot as it went haywire and throw cheap-cups to a cabinet, tried to make a drink. Cleaning all for about ten minutes, a heavy puzzle smashed to her head when blood at the entrance had vanished without a footprint. Although, the bone pieces were still there on top {welcome} ripened-mat when she stepped on it.

Siqura rubbed her hair as if to generate fire, became even more hyper at a clock showing school about to begin. She tossed the whole subject away.

A packed-door peeled and spun out, the sun pricked eardrums. It was shrilling and creaking for few seconds with a vivid glow, blowing eyes to spicy-red.

To fix this, she had to wear her air-filtering mask, a tiny shaking was creeping on her cheek to chilling sun blaze. She stood at the door for about one minute, let colrald gas sipped into her lungs.

Emanating gas from {bromuter} on her wrist, many levers and mechanical lights formed a complex mechanism into simple visual, that could be used to display various information. The lever pulled a plate screen from its pocket and put the printed layout to front. Several other plate screens: time, humidity, temperature, radiation level. Every plate screens had different texts and arrangement of tiny bulbs for changeable variables. Whenever it moved or calculated, it radiated a sound of gears as if grandfather clock.

Of course, comparing to a computer from Science Reality, it seemed like the oldest model computer, probably even back there like a telegraph. But in this reality, bromuter was as common as a cellphone. Everyone had one. But, it had no function of calling or contacting anyone from distance.

Beeped like metals hit together for an end of the session, aristocratic-blue gas sprayed out as she pulled off the mask. Soon, the bright environment slow down a bit, became normal. In other directions, the inside house became unmerciful, brightened as blue as over-radiance when sun reflecting river. The reason had to do with a body adapted to extreme hot only.

Stored the helmet into the bag that made from hard cloth, Siqura slipped on secondhand-goggles and ran toward the street. Her bot hovered about neck level, swung behind.

From outside, windows, shops, and doors all pitched black; eyes were barely see the shadow. Some people in the city wore a complete armor suit with a helmet on, so there didn't need to wait one minute before entered to or exited from buildings. Few of them had bigger bots which function as assistance for various tasks. The armor-man stopped at a meat shop. At the most expensive armor, it outfitted with a thin and light suit.

Next to the shop, ground patted with sand and dried-rocks, few thin cows spotted behind fences. Chickens grumbled inside a coop, barely had good feathers. Some spots had a burn mark on the skin.

Siqura moved to pass her part-time restaurant, as three motorcycles braked at a parking lot. At the corner of the lot, there was a big road lead straight into mine and another direction to the next town. Due to many ores and a tremendous maze down there, kingdom ― which under government ― decided to let any people in with a fee instead hired workers.

Any person who interested had to give ten percent from earning they got from selling ores. Through this method, the king didn't have to pay any cost if somehow people dead inside while having money with zero risks. In spite of the danger, it was popular, seeming how easy to get quick money. The government demanded some sort of tax as a business profit.

True, the government had a higher advantage over the only kingdom in this country.

Crossing big road after lorry, she hasted toward school when Bromuter displayed a mechanical clock, beside the hour text of four bulbs, first lit up. Number eight converted to a binary system to reduce the number of bulbs usage. Though, analog watch lasted but not for her cheap bromuter.

Hammer clanked on a bell, school session started. But as she arrived at her classroom, she relieved that the mad-instructor was late to sign in.

"There you are!" a girl landed a surprise greeting.

She who sneaking around jumped and electrified by rushed heartbeat. "Erika!" She yelled for a retort, almost think that instructor was hiding somewhere.

"Sorry, sorry." Erika wore leather of long-shirt with brownish-skirt as well. Since she was a model student, the headmaster gave her a solely present of advanced bromuter; the size frame was almost like a bracelet, except multiple layers of plates served as a screen had been store cleaner and in narrow space.

Opposite of Siqura, her bromuter was a bit rusty, most paints had been warded off, and sometimes, it uttered an ill noise at background. It was the lowest version and probably the cheapest than everyone else.

Having talked to Erika, one student emitted glare toward Siqura. It reached into her, Siqura turned back to confirm her perception.

"What's wrong, Ainari?" a student said, not far from Siqura's position. She had a thick orange hair.

"Siqura, huh?" Another student was sitting on a chair. "She seems busy, always."

"No," Ainari replied a genuine smile to her friends. "Really."

Siqura tried not to pay attention, focus on Erika who kept muttering about a story she had read last night. Like her cousin, Siqura couldn't make her stop and hurt her feeling. Occasionally, she recalled about her mother, created many holes to story that Erika spread in front of her.

The one who supposed to attend had replaced with another instructor; she told the rest of the class that their instructor went to the hospital this morning because of sickness. The lecture moved on as self-study.

This news had made Siqura's thinking about to ditch class to take care of her mother at home. She changed mind when the sick instructor suddenly reported in halfway and mentioned his sickness was nothing serious but a joke. Everyone shocked because the man ― who eager to arrange overnight detention whenever saw student break rule ― spoke with an optimistic and forgivable attitude.

Somehow, he reverted to restrict discipline when it appeared all students justified his lateness. It was only an act.

During rest time between classes, Siqura became a librarian for one hour.

She picked a hovering cart, filled in with iron-books. Since books were made from coated-metal to prevent from destroyed or rusted, having a bundle of them required a strong cart to withstand. Without a lot of trees, the city couldn't sell enough to import a constant supply of plant-based papers. They used aluminum for cheap printing costs and rustproofed-iron to sustain the original.

Siqura and her mechanical bot deposited books inside shelf, one by one, carefully as they were heavy. Patted her hands, she turned around to pick another.

Suddenly headache boomed, all books transformed into plant-based papers including the one she held. The cart became trolley, and shelves into thin and light metal.

The confusion lasted for two seconds before everything reverted. Siqura realized something strange had fallen in front of her eyes. It was just, she didn't sure if she was dreaming or something, maintaining an invisible string that tried to pull away from her memory.

Couldn't withstand a heavy book, her leg hit the cart, book clanked hard, dropped from her hand. The bot caught it barely before it could dive straight to her shoe. It seemed the bot had learned a good pattern this time.

After one hour of part-time, Siqura packed her bag, ready to leave. Until once again, sismuter ― a big bromuter ― morphed into orb instead. Her bot transformed into staff, her body felt light from wearing a robe. The library overall became a bit darker with a short range of luminosities.

Erika had dumped her friends and sat behind the counter as if it was her home. Reading some books, asking and commenting about how the protagonist was too dumb. She stood also to leave when saw Siqura stopped at the library's double-door. "Hm? What's wrong?"

The confusion lasted twice than before, robe turned to leather clothes. Right in front tip of flesh vision. But this time, she remembered the transition.

"Sorry." Siqura became mindless, didn't listen much, mixed with various emotions as if her existence was faux.

"Day after?"

"Sorry." Siqura gave the same response to the question, pondering a situation she had been put in.

Erika peeked from the side. "What is your name?"

"Sorry."

"Are you okay?"

"Sorry."

"Siqura, you late!"

"Ah! I'm sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry. I will back to work now...ah?"

"Hah, Siqura..." Erika pulled her hand. "Ever since I enrolled in this school, you seemed far and far away. What happens to you? Are you involved with a drug?"

"What?! No. It's just..."

"Is your family that poor? Or you need money for something else?"

Siqura didn't think she should talk to anyone about her family's debt. Not even to her cousin. "It's not like that. It's just...for experience. Yes. A hardworking real-life job experience."

"You know, Siqura, my father will finish his business soon. I'm going back to Jitfon next month.

<Jitfon?> thought Siqura. <Is Erika live there?>

"Are you sure, you don't want to do something together for last time?" Erika cuddled beside, walking closely. "At least, you will go to school trip ―"

― Siqura startled.

"What's wrong?"

"Eh! What a nice day." Her eyes wandered to windows along the corridor. She wanted to say she couldn't go but hard to spell out.

Instead communicate with other students, Erika always spent time with Siqura. Sometimes, she even waited until Siqura finished her part-time before touring a bus around the city.

But soon, Siqura's schedule was filled more black than white. Interest just kept piling up when she had late paid money to Gang Zer even one second. The gang didn't accept monthly payment, wanted the debt to settle in one go. If not, the interest would shoot up and Siqura had to spend a fee to increase the contact's period for preventing something bad happen to her and her mother.

That was why, if she failed to pay in the next two weeks, the interest percentage would be multiplied the whole thing and afterward no matter how many works Siqura and her mother did, it was beyond saving. In the next event, Gang Zer would own them as assets, illegal trading slaves.

"Erika." Absorbing considered-amount of air, she faced to her, "I'm not going ―"

― she made a sober face with realistic tears ―

"― will join school trip next week." Siqura blinked for a sudden turn. It was a trick Erika always played on her.

Even Siqura had to put herself and her mother as a priority, Erika had helped her a lot in the past. Didn't vindicate this matter and not come to the trip would damage her relationship with Erika that build since a child. That was why she tried to explain some sort of reason for not to.

"Is that true?!"

"No. It ―"

"― Woopy!" Erika who always received a negative response, "Wow!" hugged Siqura, jumped, running a wild. "Hey everyone, Siqura will go to school trip with me! I told you she would but you don't believe me."

Ainari turned toward Siqura without showing resentment.

Siqura knew what she was thinking about.  Moved into her seat, she buried her face to bag.

<Darn! Darn! Darn! Darn! Darn!> No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't imagine a school trip as something amusing. The price of fun could cost Siqura and her mother's peace moment.

Launching toward students nearby, Erika announced to different classmates, increased number of people with the fact, making it, even harder to retreat the statement.

Siqura didn't sure why Erika was so happy. Probably if not for this problem, Siqura would feel the same. Every time Erika yelled, Siqura couldn't accept that this wasn't a dream at all.

Choosing between herself and Erika, Siqura in a lost cause. However, she didn't want her mother to end someway far in an unknown land. Who knew what Gang Zer would do with them?

As Siqura blamed herself with guilt and numerous cursings, her mind began storming some ideas to get money quickly. Only then she could escape this cruelty.

In instant ― faster than a heartbeat ― she recalled about ore mine. "Is this the only way?"

To do so, she had to take out money for the entrance fee, and buy top pickaxe, strong bag, some protection, and lastly a better killing weapon. Because laws and rules didn't effective here due to how the uncaring government was, everyone at least had a pistol or knife for self-defense against mutant wild animals and wandering robbers.

It would be expensive, and if she failed to find valuable ores to minus the total cost...

Siqura in tight face stared at bot beside. <Can I do something to upgrade the mechanical into some sort auto killing bot?>