/lit/ - Literature

The carriage of the sky rail shook violently due to the sudden storm. In a murky corner a girl, around 16-17 years old sat staring blankly at the clouds occasionally illuminated by lightning. Across from her sat a muscular looking man, he had many different prosthetics and augmentations, he was reading a blank covered book. He giggled, the girl peered over, the man perked up and looked at her, his robotic eye flashing.
“What are you reading?” The girl said, she had been sitting across from him since the trip began two hours ago, she was snuggled up in a warm fur blanket eating cashews before the storm hit and rocked the train.
“A story. It’s about a bartender and his interactions with customers.” The man smiled, despite the scars on his face and his augmentations he seemed polite enough. “Ten talking Shiba’s clad in business suits are ordering drinks.” The girl looked dazzled.
“Talking dogs?”
“Helvetia is the city of the future… You look like a country girl, what’s your name?” The man folded the edge of the page he was on and laid the book down in his bag.
“Maria.”
“Hmm… What business do you have in the city Maria?”
“I’m going to be attending a school.” Maria looked at the man curiously. “You sure have a lot of… extras, what’s your name?”
“John.”
“You do have a ‘John’ face.”
“I’m told that often.”
“Do you live in the city?”
“Yes. I work as a… pest control agent.” Maria glared at him.
“What was with that pause? By pest control do you mean some sort of shady hitman for hire?” John was taken aback.
“Just because I’m only 57 percent organic doesn’t mean I’m a hitman… I hunt bounties and do security gigs.”
“Seriously? That’s kind of cool.”
“What’s cool about it? Work is work kid.”
“Rugged man with a dangerous past, works security to survive, hunts bounties to thrive!” John pulled out a flask and took a drink. “See! You fit perfectly!”
“It’s just water kid.” John sighed and looked out the window into the storm.
“This your first time to the big city kid?” Maria was slightly annoyed by being called kid, only because the adults in her village all called her that.
“Yes, honestly, I’m kind of nervous, I’m going to be renting out a room close to the school. But at least I won’t have to listen to my brothers annoying me.”
“Hmm…” The rest of the trip past without incident, Maria had been traveling on the night express in order to save money. The sun was just beginning to rise as she stepped off the train, John got off the train with her.
“Hey kid, here’s my number. This is a hard city to survive in alone.”