Chasing Time

Finding Others

Central Market, Middle Terragon.

12:00, 13th July, 3000.

"Where exactly is it?" Travis asked in an irritated tone. Julia sent him a glare. They were trudging through the central market, in search of the eco-friendly grocery store Layana told them to shop from. Julia lived in Middle Terragon before she was kicked out of the Defenders Training Academy, so she knew her way around. Melinda was supposed to follow her to get the goods but she did not want to leave Travis alone with Layana. It was funny to Julia that Melinda was acting so jealous, she knew her brother would kill for her.

"Stop complaining so much, it's so annoying," she retorted.

"You're annoying," he said lamely and silence followed for a while "so, how are you holding up?"

She looked at him quizzically, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Since Travis came around and believed her, he had been acting like she was going to go crazy at any moment which annoyed her to no end. Her worries were big enough already without having to deal with his questions. It was almost mid-July and they still haven't found 'the others', what if they never did? What if everything was just a big set up?

They had stayed with Layana for only two days and have not gone for a lot of searching but she had hoped that they would be well on their way to finding the gate by then.

"I'm fine Travis, you don't have to keep asking me that every two seconds." She snapped.

"You've got such a short fuse, you know that? Anyways, if you need to talk or just...I don't know, do anything, let me know okay?" He said and she had to smile. Even though she hated being babied, it was oddly comforting knowing that her big brother would always be there for her.

"Thank you. Now stop being so sweet," she said and he laughed.

"We're here," she announced when they turned a corner to face a quaint little shop. Middle Terragon's central market was were everything was. Even Uppers visited the market to get whatever they needed. The market was divided by goods. Each division had a specific thing being sold. The food division was the biggest. What most Lowers ate was the packets of semi-liquid food substitutes that were available for all and any type of food. Middlers also ate the packets but they could also afford to get real food, fresh ingredients and fruits. Uppers did not eat from the packets at all. Most Lowers went their whole lives without eating anything other than packets.

The day they moved into Layana's house, she prepared a meat meal for them. It was the most delicious thing any of them had ever tasted. After the meal, Julia insisted that they stopped eating packets completely. After all, money would not matter after the world ended.

"Le Frais. What a fancy name," Travis said and Julia snorted rudely.

"Whatever, let's go in," she said and they made their way to the entrance. The glass doors slid open automatically. It was so amazing how much of a difference there was better Middle Terragon and Lower Terragon. It made her wonder how much different Upper Terragon would be.

"It's so clean," Travis whispered to her. She shushed him and they made their way to the cart train. They pulled one out and started walking through the ailse. The inside of the store was bigger than they expected. Everyone there went about their way just picking things off the neatly stacked shelves. It was a far cry from the stores in Lower Terragon. There, you had to be fast and discreet about everything or you could risk getting jumped. Julia found herself pondering about who created this order and why it treated some people so unfairly.

"Whoa, look at this. Real strawberries," Travis said and grabbed the package "have you ever had this?" He asked Julia and she shook her head. His wide grin dropped and soon as he turned to check the price tag.

"Wow, that's steep," he said and placed the pack back. Julia frowned and retrieved it again then dropped it in their cart. She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back.

They took their time exploring the entire store even after they had gotten everything Layana requested for. When they reached the check out, the attendant gave them an impatient look as they placed all their items on the counter. The pricing was automatic and a display system showed them what they owed. Julia reached into her fanny pack and started to count.

"Wow...hey, Erik, check this out. They're paying with actual cash," the attendant said and shared a laugh with Erik. Julia looked up and the woman such a nasty look that her laugh died on her lips immediately.

"There you go," Julia said, slamming the money on the counter. Travis quickly grabbed the bagged groceries and followed his sister as she marched out of the store. Similar things have been happening. Everyone seemed to know that they were Lowers and it irked Julia.

"Slow down," Travis said. She turned around and he saw just how angry she was. He groaned because she could stay in such a mood for a long time and it was people around her who suffered the most. She was not looking even as the automatic doors opened and she stepped out.

"I am sick and tired of-" she was cut off when she slammed into someone shoulder first. The person held her elbows to steady her then shoved her back roughly.

"Watch where you're going!" He yelled. She looked up and saw his brown eyes scowling down at her. He looked familiar.

"You saw that I wasn't looking, you could have avoided me," she argued. They were now standing in front of the store, causing a ruckus. Travis held her hand and tried to pull her away but she pried it away.

"Excuse me," someone said to the three of them, so they moved away from the entrance.

"You weren't looking? Do you realize how stupid you sound? Last time I checked, humans face forward when they're walking so they don't bump into other people like idiots," he snapped.

"What the hell did you just say to me?" she said and Travis groaned again. If this continued, it could get very ugly because Julia never let anything go.

"You heard me," the guy replied.

"Okay, okay. There's no need for this to get aggressive. Julia, let it go okay?" Travis said to her.

"No. I won't let it go. People like him are the reason why we're in this mess. Entitled pricks who think they own the world," she said and pushed past her brother to face the guy squarely "wait...I know you," panic flashed on the guy's face as soon as she said that. He tried to walk away but she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and yanked him back.

"You're that Upper asshole who got me kicked out of the Defender Training Academy," she said in shock. He frowned and looked at her again, then he laughed and pulled his arm away from her.

"Well, well. If it isn't jumping Julia,"

"Don't you dare call me that,"

"Look, I don't have time for this okay?" He said and tried to move past her but she blocked him.

"You and I have a lot of unfinished business, you entitled bastard," she said, memories of her days in the academy came flooding into her head. She was the best of the students in her year. The teachers tried to discriminate against her because she was a Lower but she ended up winning them over with her skill and prowess. She did not have such luck with other trainees though, most of them did not associate with her and the ones that did mostly just asked her for favors.

"Look, what happened, happened. It's more your fault than anyone else's and I see you still have the same problem you did then...you're not likeable," he said with a casual shrug, side stepped away from her and started walking away.

"That was my one chance to make something of myself! I don't know if you realize, but not everyone was born with a silver spoon. Some people had to fight tooth and nail to get somewhere, people like me. And you took that from me! I hope Gaya wipes you out the harshest!" She screamed to his back. She was attracting a crowd already and some Defenders were already looking at them in case of any trouble. Suddenly, he turned around and walked back up to her.

"I need you to help me get out of here," he whispered to her and she frowned.

"What? What are you-"

"Hey! You there! Can you please turn around sir?" A Defender said to him. His eyes widened as he looked at Julia, begging her silently.

"Why should I help you?" She asked. The Defender was moving closer to them.

"What if he's one of the others?" Travis said to her. She snapped her head up to look at her brother, then back to the arrogant man in front of her.

"Please..." he whispered.