The Adventure

Posted on Thu Dec 7th, 2023 @ 3:20pm by Glitch & Ebenezer Winch & Kyleigh Arynson & Ombretta del Carlo

972 words; about a 5 minute read

Kyleigh stood next to her motorcycle double checking her gear while she waited for Cordelia and the others to arrive at the agreed upon spot. The two young women wanted adventure, and this was sure to guarantee that, and once this had run its course, they could break off on their own. For now, though, Sparky wanted to know if either of the people in the common room were speaking the truth, and that meant there was only one way to find out.

Elixer looked at Kyleigh in disbelief. "You signed us up for what?" she asked for the third time. She had gotten extra goods at the market and had double checked her hang glider material twice before stowing it on to of Kyleigh's fifth wheel.

Eb walked up to meeting place with a large satchel slung over his shoulder. He'd figured out some rationing of the food he'd bought at the market so as to not have to buy too much. Carrying water would be heavy enough for two weeks. No need to weigh himself down with extra food. He'd managed some time away from the recovery team, but would have to work some wretched hours and ridiculously long shifts when he got back to make-up for it.

At this point, his green hood was down, the respirator or breather hung around his neck, and the amber tinted goggles rested atop his forehead. He wore his green wasteland attire with metal accoutrements and pockets with filled with small balls of various metals.

He recognized the one woman from Common Grounds, but not the other one. He nodded politely to both anyway. "Name's Pulse."

"An adventure, of course," Kyleigh told Cordelia with a smile. She was just about to go into detail again, but a man's voice caught her attention. She turned her head in his direction and immediately recognized him from the Common Grounds. "Sparky." She would let Cordelia introduce herself as she wished, too. This was no time to make assumptions about which name she preferred he know.

"I'm Elixer," Cordelia said with a smile. "And I wouldn't waste too much of your weight limit on water."

This was the most uncomfortable Ombretta had been in recent memory. For years, she'd only known her garden and her apartment. In fact, she could not recall the last time she'd left the building other than the market. The idea of seeing new plants beyond what she knew was enthralling, but she was concerned about the ones she was leaving behind. No one could care for them like she could, and certainly no one would understand their songs.

Flora had no choice but to trust her fellow dwellers that they would sustain the vegetation long enough for her to return. After all, what better testament to her care and training for the garden would there be for it to thrive in her absence?

She finished her preparations and made her way to the area where the other travelers were gathering. Aside from a large knapsack filled with some extra clothes, toiletries, food, and some salves and gardening tools, she also carried a few seeds and small items in a tool bag hung off her waist.

"Sparky, Elixer," he nodded in each of their directions. He acknowledged the other young lady and turned back to Elixer. "Not wasting too much of my weight limit on water? Why is that?"

"I can make all the water we'll need," Cordelia said with a smile.

It wasn't long before Breaker and Pyra assembled their two vehicles, Breaker's being a steam powered locomotive style machine but with large wheels and lots of metal attached to the outside of it.

Pyra had more of an old bus of some type with a massive steam engine on the back of it and six wheels on each side and an equal amount of steel plates attached to it with what looked to be extreme heat welds.

"If you're coming with me, come on!" Breaker boomed.

Pulse half grinned at Elixer. "Now that sounds like a real nice power to have out here." When he heard Breaker's voice call out over sounds of the machines, he gave the two a polite nod and headed to the locomotive.

Kyleigh looked toward her companion. "We better keep an eye on things... make sure Breaker and Pyramid keep with the straight and narrow," she said as she mounted her bike. "Hop on."

"If you want to ride in style, ride with me," Pyra called out.

Flora eyed both vehicles, unsure of either's safety rating. To be fair, both looked to be extremely uncomfortable, and not too friendly on the plants she carried, much less the moss growing from her arms. Knowing she had to choose the lesser of the two evils, she selected Pyra's bus.

Of course, she hadn't expected anyone other than Elixer to ride with her. They were unfamiliar with each other, and her bike didn't leave much room for multiple riders. Still, despite not knowing Pulse or Flora aside from names, she planned to look out for them.

Tremor went and got in the locomotive with Pulse and Shine gave a shrug and got in the bus with Flora.

Elixir looked at Kyleigh. "Looks like it's you and me, huh? As soon as we hit the open road, I can get my glider up and do some scouting."

"I had a feeling it would be just the two of us, but mostly because my bike only seats two," Kyleigh said as she began to make her final preparations before departing. "Just let me know when you're ready to go up, and I'll do my part."

With that, a few other people joined in the new quest, some to get away from the Hometown and some to see where it would lead.

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