Cloud Cent Chronicles: Part 2 Chapter 5

 

Village Life

    

    “Y’know, I’ve been to The Village a few times before.” Shadow commented as they approached the horribly outdated gate.

    “Yeah?”

    “I like it here. It’s quiet. And no one cares about who you are.”

    “‘I’ve been a couple times myself. I like it too. Everyone here just does their own thing. It’s nice. Simple. As much as I love the city, it’s so...complicated. Which is a good thing. But those complexities clash and collide with each other until eventually one ideology reigns.”

“That’s what you and the rebellion are trying to change, right? Get rid of the singular mindset and make it more individual?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm, making the city more like The Village. I can get behind that.”

“Never really thought about what we were doing like that but, yeah. That sounds nice.”

Shadow and Yun walked up to the gate and were greeted by a man with an archaic weapon. What is that...a gun? Oh...no… wait, is that...

“Stop! Don’t come any closer!”

“Wait,” Yun put her hands up as she said it, “I’m w-”

“Oh, I know who you are. You’re not welcome here. Leave or else.”

“Clyde! Clyde stop!” Shadow cried out, stepping between Yun and Clyde. “It’s me Clyde! Shadow!”

“Shadow...wha-what are you doing here? Why are you with her?”

“You mean Yun? We’re working together.”

“Huh?” Clyde didn’t sound right. Oh great. He’s drunk. And pointing a gun at me. Awesome. Modern weaponry is much more sophisticated than the kind Clyde held. Some are mods while others are just external devices, but they all have security checks in place to prevent tragedy, like the a-check. Every (legal) weapon has a scanner that can check the holder’s blood alcohol level, and if it is above a certain level, it prevents the weapon from being used, disabling the weapon for a few hours. You can technically get around it with enough technical know-how, but there’s no way you would be able to do it drunk. 

The Village is also one of the only places with actual alcohol. Alcohol is extraordinarily expensive nowadays, so most bars just use cralodine. It’s basically the same thing, just fake. Shadow’s had both plenty of times. He always made it a point to get some drinks when visiting The Village. In his experience, alcohol gets you drunk much faster than cralodine. And by the looks of it, Clyde had had a lot to drink.

“Huh? Working together? I don’t...what?”

“Clyde, we’re friends. Yun and I are friends.” Yun smiled a bit. Shadow looked over at her, but noticed something in her eyes. She was smiling, but she looked almost sad. 

“You’re...friends?”

“Yes. Friends.”

“Oh...okay. You can come in." Well that was a bit too close for comfort. Clyde let Yun and Shadow into The Village and returned to the gate.

The Village was as beautiful as ever, with green as far as the eye could see, so about a square mile. Shadow couldn’t help but smile despite their dour situation. The Village made him happy. It was a space where people could be themselves without having judgement thrown at them. Everyone minded their own business. No, that’s not quite right. Over there, that guy’s delivering materials to the shop, but he’s not just doing that, he’s laughing and talking with the owner. And at that restaurant too. Looking at it now, I don’t see just individuals. The Village is a community. Everyone works together to make The Village thrive. If anything, the city is more like the loner’s paradise I was thinking of. But, I like The Village a lot.

“Y’know Yun, I always really liked The Village.”

“Yeah, you said.”

“The thing is, it isn’t really like I remember it.”

“Really? It looks the same as the last time I was here.”

“No no, it is. The Village hasn’t changed,” maybe I have, “I just looked at it differently before. I said that no one cares who you are, and that’s true, but I thought that it was just because people minded their own business, but that’s not true. They don’t care about who you are, they just care about you.”

“That...that sounds nice.” Shadow noticed Yun’s frown this time.

“Okay, what’s been going on with you? Ever since we’ve gotten to The Village, you’ve been different. And weird shit’s been going on. First with those Sergeants, then with Clyde. What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain later.”

“No. Yun, you keep telling me that you’ll explain everything later. We’re partners now. I’ve been trying to trust you, and that’s not easy for me. I know I haven’t been perfect, but I’m trying, I really am. Please, trust me like I’ve been trying to trust you. Tell me what’s going on.”

“...Alright. In private though. Let’s get the program started and I’ll tell you everything.”

Shadow led Yun to the computer cafe. It was a small building near the center of The Village. Normally you’d have to reserve a time to use one of the computers, but Shadow once helped the owner with a mod removal, so he had a favor to cash. There were about twelve computers total, eight desktops and four laptops, lined up in three rows. On the left side of the single large room was a coffee stand. The owner led Shadow and Yun to one of the desktops.

“Do you mind if we actually use one of the laptops? And can we use it in the back room? This is kind of a private matter.”

“Oh, of course dear,” the owner replied, “let me get it all set up for you.” She walked away with one of the laptops.

“You want any coffee Yun? It’s pretty good. It’s like the fermented energy back in the city, but tastes way better.” Yun didn’t answer. Shadow looked over at her. She was holding herself, trying not to shake. “Yun, are you okay?”

“Hm?” Yun looked up at Shadow and composed herself, returning her arms to her side. “Oh yeah. I’m fine. Just a bit nervous about the mission is all.” 

“You’re nervous about the mission?”

“Of course.”

“Listen, I was a bit pushy before. If you don’t want to tell me about yourself, that’s fine. I trust you, whether I know about you or not.”

“I-I appreciate that, but fair is fair. I know all about you, so it’s only fair for you to know about me.”

“You don’t have to-”

“I’m not telling you because I want to earn your trust. I’m telling you because I trust you. Like you said, we’re friends.”

“Yeah. Friends.”

“Everything’s set up,” the owner yelled from the back room, “You kids can come on back!”

“Thanks! Are you ready Yun?”

“Yeah. I am.”

The two headed into the back room. Yun opened the laptop and, after a moment, the screen flashed to life. The computers in the cafe had no password, so Yun was able to start the program right away. She pulled a small device out of her pocket that plugged into the side of the laptop and navigated to the daily inquisitor’s website.

“A lot of the data is already on this usb. The program just needs to fetch the last of it. It should only take a few minutes for it to finish. After that, we’ll be able to read Cloud Cent’s unredacted articles.”

“That easy?”

“That easy.”

…

 

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Then, the screen flashed, and the usb glowed.

“It’s...it’s done! We have the articles!”

“Great! So, our work here is done?”

    “Yeah, now we just have to get back to base and upload these files. But before we go...I agreed to tell you about me, so here goes-”
    “Wait!”

    “What?”

    “Listen, I’ve been thinking. I know that it was me who wanted you to tell me who you were, but I realized...I don’t care.”

    “...What?”

    “That came out wrong. I meant that I don’t care about who you are. I just care about you. Why you joined the rebellion, how you talked down those Sergeants. It doesn’t matter. I trust you.”

    “...Thank you, but like I said before, I want to tell you. I want my friend to know who I am.”

    “You sure?”

    “Yes, I am.”

    “Okay. Then I’m listening.”