Chapter 2: Inside The City of Innovation

“Guess you had it in you.”

Hearing Luke’s answer, the masked man sighed in amusement.

Walking toward the edge of the balcony, he placed his sharp elbows onto the metal railing, leaning on the edge. In his pocket, he took out a lighter, followed by a packet of cigarettes. Ripping open the packet, along with lifting up his mask a little, he placed the cig between his lips before lighting it.

But he spit out the cigarette.

“Bleh, what the hell? How do people do this?”

Luke had to bite his lip to hold back a chuckle.

Looking down at the city below, the masked man threw the cigarette packet and lighter off the balcony. Throwing it like a baseball, his right arm bulged and gleamed under his slim muscles.

“Anyway, if you’re going to go outside, then there’s one thing I should advise.”

“Advise?”

“It’s really simple.”

Luke nodded. Pulling his head closer to the man’s mask, he was a good distance from Luke’s ear. The man’s breath reeked with nicotine, Luke held his inside his pink lungs.

“Whatever you do, don’t go to the downtown district.”

Luke could feel an intense stare, even when the man was masked. Tilting his head to the right, Luke began scratching his cheek.

“Why?”

“Just trust me dude.”

The masked man stood up. His goggles gazing up at the late morning sun, the tinted lens growed darker and sinister.

“Before you go, I want you to have this.”

Placing his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a seed the size of a raisin. Having it flat on his hand, he extended it to Luke, who took a step back.

“If you’re ever in danger, make sure to eat it.”

“W-What is it?”

“A banana seed.”

Luke’s nose wrinkled as he looked at the man with unconvinced eyes. Letting out a ‘mmm’ sound from his throat, he grabbed the banana seed with sweat stained palms.

“W-What does it do?”

“You’ll find out soon.”

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Despite the masked man’s advice, Luke was a little stubborn. Standing right in front of the Fenix tower of where he lived his entire life…

—I think I’m ready.

Luke was exploring downtown, a goal of finding out where his friend Fred lived. The complete opposite of what the masked man said, Luke scratched the back of his head with his clean nails.

Outside the tower, cars honked, people walked, and street vendors bargained. The streets filled with growth and density, Luke found himself walking through the concrete jungle of his home city.

Back in the penthouse, he always heard of the tales of city life, the joys of letting loose from it all. Noise he heard from his sleep, from his gaming, from his reading, and from his eating; noise which drove him to this very moment.

And he only needed the masked man to thank for.

His eyes sparkled at the high rising buildings enclosed around him, followed by the people towering him with their height. For the first time in his life, he saw the grand scene with his eyes instead of hearing it in his dreams.

As he walked around more, it would eventually lead him to see a different demographic than him.

—Beast-people!

Right next to him, in front of him, and in back of him, a diverse course of beast-people carried on with their daily lives. It wasn’t ordinary for the regular humans, and Luke saw all of the different species on TV.

But witnessing it right in person, was like seeing a legendary rare animal; for Luke.

—Elves, Cat-humans, dog-humans…

Other than regular humans, six different subspecies of humans lived on the same planet. Given the type of hybrid they originate from, depends on the characteristics of the beast-human.

—Bunny-humans, Horse-humans, and even Shark-humans too!

In the big city, people walked to work, their vice, etc, with possibilities which created infinite paths to infinite outcomes. As if it was all dawning on 12-year old Luke, he suddenly felt small.

—Now to find Fred’s place…

The biggest city in the world…

And Luke was just living on top of it…

No matter what, he’ll do whatever he can to explore more, once he grows up.

—Sucks Fred’s my only friend. I hope to have more friends in the future…

Blushing at the thought, Luke raised his hand to the back of his head, rubbing it shyly. His cheeks flustering a slight pinkish red, he had his eyes closed while blending in with the walking crowd.

“It’s all a lie! It’s all a lie!”

Until he saw from his peripheral vision, a crazed man.

The man wore a cardboard box, painted in all black. Judging from the man’s bare legs, arms, and feet, it seemed as if he didn’t wear anything underneath the box.

Being in the illegal grounds of a monument, he looked to be informing the public about something. Having a wrinkled face, along with light green hair, he looked out of place.

“We’re all going to die! No! You’re all going to die!”

Shouting out more nonsense, everyone else continued along with their day, paying not a second glance at the barely covered old man. In return, it led the man to grow even crazier, his scleras now starting to strain red.

—This is the second time of the day I encountered another conspiracy weirdo…

“Don’t you all want to live! Run! Run as far as you—”

“Quit your yapping!”

A cop tackled the crazed old man, pinning him onto the ground. Having him subdued by holding his arms, his fingers wrapped tight around the crazed man’s wrists.

“You need a couple of days in the cell buddy, now come along.”

The cop which subdued him was not a regular human, but a dog-human. Wearing a navy blue uniform and cap, he had a badge dead center of the hat. Wearing a white collar shirt underneath the uniform, he also wore black pants and boots.

With the rest of the public ignoring the scene, Luke and a few others kept a close watch. As the cop led the crazed man into the back of a police cruiser, he still kept on preaching.

“I see now! You’re not going to be human! You won’t even be dead! Please run! Run as far as you—”

Slamming the side door shut, the cop began walking toward the driver seat. Entering in his car, he sped off, clearly intending to dump the old man at the police station. While the cop faded away in the distance, Luke’s ears perked up at the few pedestrians right near him.

“Huh, crazy man.”

“I’m telling you, big cities aren't for the weak.”

“And a dog-human cop? That’s probably crazier.”

“What’s next, a beast-human running for president?”

Luke frowned. The citizens all going back to their normal routine, Luke looked down to the cement floor of the sidewalk.

—Who was that crazy man? And why is everyone shocked about a dog-human being a cop?

Luke continued with his little journey, but still, was there something that Luke didn’t know?

________________________________________________________________________

(Solmonath 28, 56 / 11:50AM)

—It should be around here…

Having already reached downtown, Luke looked around the not so good area of the district, gripping a piece of paper with his hand.

To his surprise, the buildings around him are all car shops and abandoned factories, all leaving off chunks of rust amongst its edges. Smelling the old brittle metal of car and oil, he wrinkled his nose the more he scurried his eyes again and again.

—Why would he live in a car shop? Are his parents car-mechanics?

Looking left, looking right, he tried to find the image of a small home or house amongst the car shop buildings. But the more he looked, the more his mind bobbled with confusion.

—I should just ask for help…

He turned to see a group of teens much older than him, all of them wearing ripped leather jackets and blue pants. Looking to be a gang of dog-humans, all of them either wielded a cigarette or a bottle of beer.

Feeling uncomfortable, Luke ballooned his chest before walking toward them, his shoulders stiff and acting like cardboard.

“E-Excuse me? Do you know where this address leads to?”

“Eh, sure fool, let me see.”

One of the dog-humans grabbed the paper note from Luke’s hand, squinting his eyes at the fluent letters and words. Taking his sweet time, it was obvious reading isn’t the dog-human’s strong suit. But in the end, he placed the note onto his knee, before letting out a laugh.

“Hahaha. Man this kid’s stupid!”

“What, what is the kid looking for?”

“Here, take a look!”

Passing the note to his brethren right next to him, the dog-human read the line much more fluently than the previous one. Because in less than a second, he clutched his hand over his stomach, hefting out the same laugh.

“How does this kid not know?!”

“I know, hahaha, what a dumbass!”

Luke inhaled and exhaled slowly out though his nostrils, keeping it quiet. Pushing up a smile, his right eyelid twitched.

“… Where is the location …?”

His voice as quiet as a squeaking mouse, Luke felt blood rising to his cheeks. His lips quivering once, he placed his eyes onto the dirt filled pavement.

“Eh, it’s that building over there. The place where a bunch of geeks play.”

“What? Is the fool invited or something?”

The gang member gave back the piece of paper to Luke, as the dog-humans pushed the corners of their lips to the bottom of their ears. Taking note of the building, Luke placed both his hands onto his sides, and then bowed at a 90 degree angle.

“T-Thanks for the help!”

Walking toward the building in which the dog-human pointed to, the place was indeed…

—It is a car shop…

Luke noticed an address engraved on the side of the door. Looking at the note he had in his right hand, it confirmed the same set of numbers and street name that matched the building. Placing his handle on the door, he opened it up shyly to slip through, that way no one would notice him.

But unfortunately for him, the door from behind slammed shut, sending a sound shockwave through the building. Perking their eyes toward him, the 12-year old noticed most of the people were teens, with all of them being two to four years older.

And Luke didn’t see Fred anywhere in the building full of people.