by Will Wallner
2 TECH CITY
Tech City, Middle Continent
Day 5 Month 2 Year 2037
Far away from Valley Village, stood a futuristic urban metropolis known as Tech City. Skyscrapers pierced the sky and the cityscape was a tribute to the technological advancements of mankind. Tech City wasn't an old place. In fact, it was the youngest city on the planet of Eros. It had been meticulously planned from inception and executed to perfection. A huge artificial lake completely surrounded the city. From a great distance, the lake resembled a moat protecting a medieval castle. The water was always perfectly still with artificial ripples created at regular intervals. At night, underwater lights would create a soft,white glow. It truly looked like a city from the future. Four bridges were built over the water to access the city. The bridges pointed north, south, east, and west. The city stood on an island in the center, and from above, Tech City looked like a giant target.
From street level all you could see in any direction were neon lights, people, advertisements, vehicles, and gigantic buildings. If you looked up the skyscrapers were so tall that you could barely see the sky. The skyscrapers were covered in huge panes of glass, which reflected the lights from the city streets. There was constant energy and stimulation for the senses. The exact opposite from Valley Village.
The southern bridge leading into the city was strangely quiet on this summer evening. Daylight was fading away, as the occasional vehicle drifted along the highway. South Bridge was the least busy of the four bridges leading into Tech City, especially later in the day. To the south, there were only small towns and no areas of large population. South Bridge could be considered one of the least interesting parts of Tech City. Except today, two people were walking across towards the city center.
A tall man walked with a shorter boy at his side. The boy held a piece of rope wrapped around a dog's neck using it as a leash. The three of them walked steadily towards the city, as the cityscape burned in the horizon in front of the setting Sun.
"Taz let's walk a bit faster. I want to get there before the shops close."
"Don't worry Hunter, we've got plenty of time. Also, Moja's paw has started to hurt her again. She's limping a little a bit."
"Damn, I thought it had healed. I've got some of Mary's cream in my bag. When we get to the city we can put some more on her paw." Hunter took a piece of paper out from his pocket.
"I still can't believe how huge this place is. Do you really think we'll find that store?" Taz looked at the cityscape in awe. He’d never seen anything like it.
"According to the truck driver’s directions, it's right on the other side of this bridge. It should be there as soon as we enter the city limit." Hunter listened to the city noises, which echoed across the water beneath him. It sounded so foreign and unusual to him.
"I wish he could have driven us all the way there. This bridge must be twenty miles long. My legs are killing me." Taz moaned.
"Taz, we're pretty lucky he drove us as far as he did. I don't think it's far now. Look at that sign."
WELCOME TO TECH CITY
WHERE DREAMS MEET REALITY
POPULATION 15,000,000
The three approached the end of South Bridge and stood at the outskirts of Tech City. There were mostly industrial buildings and a few cars driving through the streets. On the corner near the end of the bridge was a small commercial area with a few stores and a café. It was a place catered for travelers entering or leaving the city. One store was of great importance. It had a large red neon sign, which read ‘Lizzy's Pet Supplies’.
"Just like the truck driver said. I'm sure they'll have what we're looking for. Let me check if we can bring Moja inside."
Hunter entered the store, while Taz stood outside with Moja. He rubbed her ears as she sat, patiently waiting. She was surprisingly well behaved for a wild dog. That was, until she was startled by a fast moving car, which came too close. She lunged forward and barked loudly at the vehicle, as Taz tried with all his strength to hold her steady.
"Moja, shut up! It's just a car." Taz pulled her back towards him.
"Taz it's ok, bring her in." Hunter waved them into the store. They immediately started looking at the different collars and leashes available.
"I don't see why we have to buy her a collar, this rope is doing just fine." Taz said.
"I know Taz, but I don't want to take any chances. If she has a nice collar, then I don't think anyone will suspect she's actually a wild dog." Moja stood inquisitively, looking at the leashes. She had her mouth open with her tongue slightly hanging out. She was panting just a little a bit, which made it look like she was smiling. "What about this one?" Hunter asked.
"It's bright pink with sparkles." Taz said, very unimpressed.
"She’s a girl. I think it's perfect. Look how cute she looks." Hunter held it against Moja's neck. She sniffed it and her tail started wagging. She gripped it in her mouth and started tugging it from Hunter's hand.
"It's not a toy, Moja." Hunter pulled it from her mouth and picked up the matching leash. He proceeded to the cashier to pay for the items.
"A fine choice, sir. What brings you to Tech City?" The cashier spoke with a thick accent. Before Hunter could answer, Taz interrupted.
"Some creepy guy in a black cloak told us to come here. We’re looking for something important. Is there anywhere to eat around here?"
"Hmm, there's a café just opposite," the cashier replied.
"Thanks for your help." Hunter smiled, then firmly put his hand on Taz's back and pushed him out of the store. "Taz, it's not a good idea to tell people why we’re here. I don't want to make people suspicious."
"How are we going to find what we're looking for unless we ask questions? The man in black didn't give us much of a description of what we're looking for."
"Taz, don't worry, we'll find it. I'm certain." Hunter put the new collar on Moja and handed the leash to Taz. Moja felt proud to have such a fancy looking collar. She was still a little chubby, but had a sense of elegance in the way she posed. She stood next to Taz, loyally waiting for their next move. They walked over to the café and sat down outside.
"This is the plan. Let's eat something and then go to the hotel the truck driver suggested, the 'Dolphin Inn'. We should possibly think about looking for work. We have enough cash to last for a short time, but we don't know how long we're going to be here."
"I wish I didn't have to sell my treasure," Taz sighed.
"Taz, you should never have taken that jewel from the temple. But at least now we don't have to worry about money. I still can't believe that jeweler paid us as much as he did."
"I was going to give it to Sister Mary." Taz pouted his lips, as the waitress served them a bowl of rice noodles with catula sprouts. She even poured some water into a bowl for Moja. Catula is a green vegetable, which grows in this part of Middle Continent. It's a local delicacy in Tech City and surrounding regions. Taz definitely did not like its unusual sour taste.
"Ugh, this is gross." Taz said.
"It's a bit strange, but I sort of like it." Hunter tasted a small piece of catula sprout.
"You can finish mine." Taz pushed his bowl towards Hunter.
After their small meal, they walked a short distance to the Dolphin Inn. As you might expect, a neon sign with a dolphin hung at the entrance. Truck drivers frequented this place because it was much cheaper than the high priced accommodation in the city center. The rooms were simple, but served their purpose. Except for a few bars and convenience stores, they were surrounded by mostly factories and large storage buildings. Hunter and Taz entered the small reception in front of the hotel. A tall skinny receptionist stood behind the counter, silently smoking a cigarette. He completely ignored the new arrivals.
"Good evening, we would like a room with two separate beds." Hunter tried to sound as friendly possible. The reception took a slow puff from his cigarette before replying.
"It's fifty woolongs a night, plus twenty-five deposit for the dog."
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"That sounds great, we're might be here a long time, is that alright?"
"As long as you pay, you can stay for as long as you want, pal." The receptionist replied.
Hunter handed the receptionist some cash, who in turn, handed Hunter the keys to room 101. They left the reception and entered the small, but affordable room. It had two beds, a television, a small table, and a bathroom. It was everything they needed and nothing more.
"Well, I'm beat, time for bed." Taz jumped onto one of the two beds. Moja sniffed every corner of the room and examined her new surroundings.
"Not so fast Taz. We need to take Moja on a short walk before we got to sleep. I don't want her making a mess on the carpet like she did at your Uncles house. Otherwise we'll lose our deposit. But if you're really tired, I can take her by myself."
"No way, I wanna see the city." Taz stood back up.
"We're not going into the city center. We're just going to walk around this area. We're right on the outskirts, so we can walk along the water. I saw some docks on the walk over here, which might be interesting to take a look at."
Hunter and Taz took Moja by her new leash and walked around the industrial area on the southern side of Tech City. It was now late in the evening and the city looked even more exciting at night. Even though they were on the outskirts, they could feel the energy coming from the city center. The neon lights illuminated the night sky. They were all were excited by the thought of exploring this urban metropolis, including Moja.
They walked around one of the docks and looked at the water as it rippled like a metronome. There was no one around at this time of night.
"Hunter, have you ever seen a city like this?" Taz asked.
"No, at least, I don’t think I have. What about you? Does it remind you of Tiberia?"
"I don’t remember much about my life in Tiberia. I just remember little snippets, like a picture puzzle with some pieces missing. I can't even remember what my parents looked like. It's all just a distant memory."
Before Hunter could reply, a loud bang exploded in the near distance. Hunter and Taz looked at each other confused. They stood completely still and then Hunter realized what they had heard.
"Taz, give me Moja's leash and follow me, it's not safe around here."
They crouched behind a stack of wooden crates and peeked through a small gap. It was completely silent. Moja made small muffled noises, as Hunter held her mouth shut. Hunter looked over the crates and saw a man dressed in a black suit dragging a body across the dock towards the water. The man pushed the body over the edge and hastily walked away. A car started in distance and then there was silence again.
Hunter had no idea what he had just witnessed. It all happened so quickly. He looked at Taz, but couldn't say a word. He was completely speechless. Hunter placed his hand on Taz's shoulder and gave him a signal to stay still. He handed Taz Moja's leash and stood up slowly. After looking around in every direction, he cautiously stepped out from behind the crates. Before he could check the area was safe, Moja let out a loud succession of barks and howls. Taz tried to hold her mouth, but it was too late, anyone in the area would have heard her. Luckily for the three of them, no one was around. Hunter slowly walked towards the edge of the dock.
"Oh shit!" Taz exclaimed.
"Taz, what are you doing? You were meant to stay behind the crates."
"Sorry, I wanted to see for myself." They looked down into the water. In the glow of the underwater lighting, they could see the silhouette of a body.
"We need to leave right now." Hunter said.
They hastily left the dock and after a short distance, saw a black sports car with the driver's door wide open. It had been abandoned. Taz and Hunter looked up and down the empty street. They approached the car very slowly and checked there was absolutely no one around.
"Could this have been the dead guy's car?" Taz said, as he looked through the rear window. Hunter climbed inside the driver's seat. He leaned over and tried to open the glove box, but it was locked.
"You might want to try these." Taz said, as he handed him a set of keys.
"Where did you get those?" Hunter asked.
"I found them on the ground right here, Moja was sniffing them." Hunter opened the glove box and took out all of its contents. There were three items; an address, written on a scrap piece of paper, a business card for the ‘Tech City Piano Bar', and a strange looking key. On the key was a double sided keyring. One side said ‘A9', on the other, ‘1853'. The numbers didn't mean anything to Hunter. Taz opened the trunk, but there was nothing inside, except a black leather jacket with empty pockets. Hunter got out of the car and made a bold decision.
"Taz, we need to find out who that man was and why he was killed. I'm not sure if it's connected to the reason why we came here, but I would like to find out."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Taz was hesitant, as he thought about the man in the water."
"Taz trust me, we're not going to do anything dangerous. I promised your Uncle I'd keep you safe."
"Alright. Solving a murder does sound like fun."
"We're also taking this car."
"Um Hunter, are you sure that’s a good idea? Do you even know how to drive?"
“I don’t know, lets find out.” Hunter examined the dashboard. He put his hands on the steering wheel and the car started automatically. Taz put Moja on the back seat and then sat next to Hunter. Hunter drove slowly and carefully back to the Dolphin Inn. When they arrived, the receptionist walked up to the car.
"Nice vehicle, it's another twenty woolongs for a parking pass." The receptionist held out his hand and Hunter gave him the cash. Hunter took the three items from the glove box to their room, so he could examine them further. Although their adrenaline was still pumping, they were exhausted from their journey to Tech City. They fell asleep easily and there were no dreams for Hunter that night.
The next morning, Taz woke up with Moja sleeping at the foot of his bed. Hunter was already awake, looking at the clues from the glove box. Just like when he lived in the artist’s cabin, he started the day with a cup of fresh coffee.
"Good morning Taz, I have good news. We're going into the city center today."
"That's great," Taz yawned. "What are were going to do?"
"We're going to visit this address." Hunter held up the scrap piece of paper.
"Ok, but first I need to take a quick shower. I don’t think I washed since we left Valley Village. What about Moja? Is she coming?"
"I think we should leave her here. I just put some cream on her paw and she could use some rest. I gave her a nice walk this morning. It's funny, I went back to the docks and it was full of workers. In the day light, you can't see anything in the water. You'd never guess there was a murder there last night."
"Hunter, what about the police? Shouldn't we tell them?"
"We probably should… but seeing as we drove away in the dead man's car, we might become their prime suspects. Someone will eventually find the body. When that happens, we can go to the police and explain what happened. First, I want to investigate myself."
They left Moja sleeping on Taz's bed and drove off towards the center of Tech City. Even though the city was densely populated, there was hardly ever any traffic. The cities infrastructure was perfectly planned to avoid congestion. You could drive from one side of the city to the other within thirty minutes, even at rush hour. As they drove through the streets, Taz looked out of the window in awe at all of the neon signs. He'd never seen anything so bright and vibrant. It was like a different planet compared to Valley Village. As they approached the city center, Taz stared up at the skyscrapers.