The Urimine Effect

by Matthew Fortuna

walking down the mostly deserted street, leaving the burn sight behind. She continued down the street for about twelve minutes, Marcus following close behind, when she spotted an odd Male, peering out at her from behind a doorway.

  "Come on." Yin said to Marcus.

  The Male pulled back into the doorway when Yin saw him.

  "What are you doing in there?" Yin asked, pressing her eye through the crack in the door.

  "Nothing. I was watching people passing through the streets. There was a fire at the Tower and now it's been destroyed." The Meregal shrank back from the door. "I didn't mean anything by it."

  "Of course you didn't." Yin said. "My name is Yin and I'm not sure where I am."

  The Meregal looked confused, "You don't recognize me?"

  Yin examined him closely, "I honestly can say that I don't."

  "You met me on the outer limits of the shopping area. I came out of the grass while you were preening."

  "While I was preening?" Yin huffed to herself. "Why would you do that? That's rude!"

  He blushed sheepishly.

  "I still don't remember who you are though. Will you help me?"

  He seemed pleased with her question, but he kept his excitement to himself, afraid to scare her off. "Sure, you're in Jasper."

  "I already know that much." Yin glanced back at Marcus who was staring distractedly at the almost imperceptible column of smoke coming from down the street.

  "How?"

  "He told me." She gestured back at the robot. "He's been following me ever since I woke up almost an hour ago."

  "An hour ago? Does life go back any further than that? You're in Jasper and you can't even remember."

  "I can remember plenty!"

  "Like what? Tell me something that happened to you yesterday."

  "I don't know! Tell me something that happened to YOU yesterday."

  "I met you behind the shopping area, remember?"

  "So? How can I even trust that I know you."

  He shrugged, "I don't know. Try trusting me and see where it goes."

  Yin fumed silently to herself, "Fine. Where to?"

  "Where to, what?"

  "Where are you going? I'm completely disoriented and I need somewhere to go."

  "How about back to my place. There's plenty to do there."

  "Are you serious? This sounds like a stocker just asked me if I want candy."

  "So? Maybe the candy's worth the risk?"

  Yin shook her head and sighed. "Spoken like a true moron."

  "Alright, follow me if you want, but if you're ever out of sorts, just go away. I'm not here to hurt you, okay?"

  "Okay." Yin replied, "Marcus, can you do anything other than follow me around? I'm going someplace I've never been and I doubt you'll be able to follow me."

  "Why do you say that?" The Male asked.

  Yin shrugged, "Intuition."

  "I can use my arms like legs." Marcus replied.

  "Good. Do that if you ever have to climb over anything."

  Yin opened the door and pulled the male from his hiding place. "Lead on." She said, dragging him in front of her.

  "Okay. Geez." The male pointed to a street branching off the main road. "We're going back toward the shopping area. After that, follow me through the grasslands on the outskirts of the city. I live about a mile in."

  "Any chance you could live any closer?"

  "Ha-ha. Very funny. Follow me." He started walking in the direction he'd pointed, crossing the street to the sidewalk on the other side.

  "So what do you do for fun?" Yin asked.

  "Me? I watch my siblings while my parents are out scavenging."

  "Why do your parents scavenge? The city is right here. Can't they get a real job?"

  "Obviously your memory loss goes deeper than the average joe." The male sighed. "Jobs in the city are given out to Meregals. Those who go searching for jobs will always run into a dead end because you can't earn one. The city holds all the records and if they think you can handle a specific task, they'll find you and offer you the job. If you never get asked, you have to find your own way out in the wilderness."

  "Does a home in the city come with the job?"

  He nodded, "That's one of the perks of being chosen. If the government thinks you can't handle the work and you don't know how to live off the land outside of the city, you'll end up dead or picked up by another group. Sometimes though, some Meregals get too close to the outer limits, and the humans come and take them away."

  "Has that ever happened to you before?"

  "Being taken? Or getting moved to another group?"

  "Both. But I meant, have you ever known someone who was taken?"

  The male looked at the concrete at his paws as he trotted along. "I've known a few. But, none of them have been close enough to really care."

  Yin tried changing the subject, "Do you know why it's getting so cold?"

  "Eh, I'm not sure."

  "Is it strange for this time of the year?"

  "Not entirely."

  "Then why is this happening?"

  "The time of the year I suppose."

  Marcus stepped in and changed the subject. "Yin, I have a slight malfunction.""Where?"

  "My motor circuits have become disconnected for one of my wheels. Can you fix it?"

  Yin shrugged and looked at the Male, who stepped in, "I can fix it, just give me a second."

  All three stopped at the next street corner while the Male undid the hatch on Marcus's back.

  "Where is the disconnect?" He asked.

  "You will find a cable in the bottom left corner of the main computer board."

  "All I see here is an empty socket."

  "The cable has fallen down."

  The male reached his hand in and found the cable. "Got it." He connected it to the board.

  "Are you guys done yet?" Yin asked.

  "Yep." The male said, leading them across the next intersection. "The shopping area is just down this street."

  They walked there in silence, Marcus trailing at the back and Yin nipping at the heals of the mysterious Male. They passed several stores and Yin itched the back of her leg when she saw a hair cuttery, feeling the naked patch of skin.

  The male stopped again by a wall that separated the sidewalk from a field of grass. "This is where I met you before."

  "Was it a pleasant experience?" Yin asked.

  The male blushed, "I guess so. You seemed pretty okay with it."

  Yin felt like she should punch him just then, but the urge soon dissapeared leaving her confused. "Why did I just feel like punching you?" She asked.

  The male coughed, "I don't know. But we'll be to my place in about fifteen minutes."

  Yin followed wearily and Marcus did his best to keep up once they'd started into the tall grass.

  The dry stocks brushed irritatingly against Yin's belly. She scratched hard as each piece of grass tickled her fur.

  "Why do you live in such a gross place?" She asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  "The grass is so irritating. Why would anyone want to live out here?"

  He shrugged. "I don't really think we had a choice."

  Yin shrugged back and pushed the grass away with her paws. "Well tell your ancestors to pick somewhere nicer next time."

  "Yeah, next time I come across a time machine, I'll do that." He said, rolling his eyes.

  The wind whipped roughly through Yin's hair, throwing her off balance and onto a flat rock along the side of the path.

  "Why is the wind so annoying?" She asked.

  "I don't know. Why are you letting it trip you up?" He countered.

  He moved off the path and nuzzled Yin back onto her feet.

  Yin pouted quietly and followed closely behind."Do you always do so many annoying, yet helpful things?" Yin began.

  "Do you always end every sentence with a question?"

  "That isn't fair!"

  "Is it?" He looked over his shoulder. "And no, you're just a rea
l nut case."

  "A nut case! You're the one who thinks it's a good idea to invite unsuspecting young Females to your home, and -quite possibly- a very unsatisfactory, early death."

  He laughed, stopping next to a large boulder. "You really need to get out more."

  "Hey! If you will remember, I have no idea where I am and my memory is shot through like a broken target."

  "Very witty of you. And I know, I'm just messing with you."

  "Well, mess with someone else. I'm already confused as it is. I don't need you putting any more on my plate."

  "'-putting any more on my plate.' You're starting to sound like an old book I once ran into."

  Yin pouted again but held her silence. A large domed structure had just appeared over the hill. Several kittens were busy rolling around in the dirt out front, play fighting from what Yin could tell.

  "We're here." The male said, loping quickly ahead. He stopped at the kittens and joined in, nudging the younger Meregals around with his nose.

  Yin sighed quietly to herself, but smiled at the Male's playful attitude.

  A female, somewhere in her middle years, came out of the domed structure dragging a pan with a rope behind her.

  "Lunch time everyone!" She said, eyeing the ominous clouds gathering on the horizon. "I'm going to need everyone inside once your done. I don't want you getting wet when the storm hits." She spotted the Male playing with the kittens. "Jerrem! Where have you been? I've been almost incapacitated since you left!"

  "Sorry mother!" He stood up. "I was out watching the tower once it had collapsed."

  Jerrem's mother eyed him suspiciously, "What are you talking about?"

  "The tower in the city. It collapsed from an electrical sabotage."

  "When? What happened? Did anyone get hurt?"

  Jerrem shook his head, "I'm not sure. I didn't talk to anyone, but I overheard that a few were found in the wreckage when everything stopped falling."

  Yin stepped forward hesitantly, "I found two Meregals in the rubble. One of them was dead, but the other had landed unconscious."

  Jerrem's mother's