Seen

Coolness caressed Audra, bringing with it the scent of the sea. The sun rose from the horizon, shimmering the water orange-gold. The accompanying glow stretched into the sky as far as she could see.

She'd never seen anything quite like it.

Back in Portland, she was too far inland to see the ocean. The few times she and her parents had visited the coast, they'd never arrived early enough to catch the sunrise—one of the downsides of being a family that always slept in.

Audra inhaled deeply, letting the salt of the breeze temper her melancholy. It tousled her hair and rustled the trees up the slope that overlooked the rest of the empty beach.

Signs of the storm still lingered amidst the swell. Despite it coming and going over a month ago, the sand was still littered with driftwood, seaweed, and small debris that'd been washed ashore. It was surprisingly clean given how bad it'd been though. The city's maintenance drones had been in overdrive for the past few weeks after all.

Her eyes lingered on one of the curiosities that'd washed up: a large piece of twisted metal. It lay partially submerged, gleaming dull in the light.

A part of her pondered its existence. Where had it been before this? What was it from? What was its story?

In a way, she was sort of like it. Although for her, it'd been two months since her world had turned upside down and a month since she'd been washed up on the Bygone.

Warmth rose in her heart as she reminisced.

After the storm passed, Zeph had delivered the VR pod to Sheryl—just the start of their combined effort of getting Third Chances' finances back in order. She'd done her role as much as she was able, working out a stable budget, organizing inventory, and making a marketing plan that didn't suck ass.

Zeph wouldn't budge on some things of course, but that didn't matter too much. She'd made him see reason on the important ones, and it was paying off. Despite just a month of work, the store was now set to climb its way out of debt in a year. It could be even less if things kept improving and they ironed out a few more kinks.

All it'd taken was the sensibility of an orphan and a non-masochistic mentality.

Audra brushed away a few strands of hair with a muted smirk.

She still had no idea how Zeph had managed to keep Third Chances running like that for over four decades. It was crazy! Her best guess was that he'd tapped into savings from his mysterious past he seldomly mentioned, or maybe Minerva propped him up. Whatever the case, he was far too generous to everyone but himself.

She looked back at her monstrosity of a late Christmas present—an example of said generosity, the thing she'd drove here, and what'd formerly been her electric bike.

Saying it'd changed would be an understatement.

Just like the tweaks to Third Chances, there'd been a few growing pains to overcome—like the roll cage Zeph had added. It'd made the thing too top heavy, so to compensate, he'd put in the stupid minifridge she'd joked about before.

Yet every addition made a new problem that needed solving.

Weight distribution problem? Add a third wheel to the rear and make the frame longer. Handlebars too far away? Extend the front forks. Too many electronics? Bolt on some battery packs to the side.

As a result of the constant race between problems and solutions, what'd once been a sleek bike was now her low-riding motor trike—affectionately dubbed 'Sleipnir' by Zeph after Odin's eight-legged horse.

Audra on the other hand called it 'the Upcycle'. Sure, it had a unique allure that 'Sleipnir' matched, but 'Upcycle' fit way more in her opinion. The thing looked like an escapee from a mad scientist's garage, not some mythical equine.

Regardless, it attracted a ton of stares on the drive here. Though, the stares could've been aimed at her instead of the trike. Like her stupid bionics or her, erm, 'driving'.

She innocently whistled, remembering her overly violent swerves and close encounters with a few nasty potholes. She didn't have a license yet—only a permit—but Zeph didn't need to know that little tidbit. At least she didn't hit anyone. That was what mattered, right?

She gulped as she imagined a peeved driver reporting her to some traffic cop.

Audra continued her walk, doing her best to not let that theoretical get to her. Zeph insisted that most on the Bygone were good folk and stuck to themselves. She believed him—the past month she'd met a ton of his regulars. But still, Audra couldn't help being a bit wary, especially with the fact that she was 100% listed as a missing person. And while it was unlikely anyone on the Bygone would recognize her, it still made her nervous.

What if somebody took her away?

Her fists tightened, thinking of the possibility.

No, she shouldn't. Right now she just needed to enjoy the fresh air and the view. So long as she didn't draw attention to herself, everything would be—

A seagull startled her with a grating screech.

"D-damn it! Stupid bird."

It landed next to her on the sand, eyeing the glint of her bionics expectantly. She pulled her sleeve up to cover it more.

"For the love of—I don't have food, so kindly scram and screw off."

The gull tilted its head as if registering her non-food-possessing status. After another blink of beady eyes, it disappeared with a flap, illuminated by the last of the rising sun.

Audra let out an exasperated breath. Dawn was all but over now. It was probably time for her to head back, before she caught the eye of something besides some flying rat.

Sand crunched step by step across the shore until she noticed something ahead.

"The hell…?"

A uniformed figure was leaning against the Upcycle in the parking lot. She couldn't make out their face this far away, but she could tell that they were tall. Very tall.

Her heart picked up pace as panic set in.

Was it the police? Had they found her?

She glanced around, looking for an escape route, but there was nowhere to go. The only exit was up the slope.

Audra backpedaled on instinct. Unfortunately for her though, the figure had already noticed and waved as he approached in long strides.

"Hey, kid! You the owner of this trike?" the man said, pointing at the Upcycle.

"What's it to you?" Audra yelled back. Something about him was weird.

The closer he got, the more of him she could make out. His skin was dark, and his eyes were a striking hazel. Short black hair with buzzed sides framed a clean-shaven face. His uniform amplified his imposing stature even more, a mixture of red and gray with an insignia on the chest.

At first glance, he looked like a jacked paramedic, but the symbol wasn't familiar. It looked more like a bird, rising from fire.

He replied with a smile. "I was uh, just wondering what kind of bike it was. Never seen anything like it. Did you build it yourself?"

Her eyes narrowed at his 'banter'.

"Yeah, I did," she lied. "Why do you ask?"

"Because it looks pretty cool and has a vibe I'm familiar with. Ah, sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"

He warmly held out his left hand. "My name's Neph. What's yours?"

Audra eyed the outstretched palm warily. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out and gave it an awkward shake with her bionic. A shiver ran up her spine on contact, jolting her back.

"Erm, you can call me Audi," she said, sourness invading her throat.

"Audi, huh? Pleased to meet you." He stroked his chin pensively. "Say, that sounds sorta familiar."

"My name? Uh, I guess there's probably a few people with—"

His fingers snapped loudly in epiphany.

"Audra Gen. That's it."

Blood turned to ice, freezing her.

"W-who are you talking about?"

"Hm? Oh. A girl missing from Oregon. You uh, know her by chance? Seems like you might from your reaction."

Hazel eyes scanned her from head to toe, taking in every single detail.

Static crawled up Audra's arms as she gulped. Sweat dripped. White noise buzzed in her ears.

"N-no, no relation at all."

"Really? Are you sure, Audi?"

Damn it, she should've come up with a better alias—really wasn't good at making up names on the fly.

She swallowed, desperate to not make herself seem suspicious.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Sounds like a shame though. Poor girl, I um, hope they find her soon."

"Indeed." He pinched his temples and shook his head in an overexaggerated fashion.

"Well, um. If that's all—"

"Say, Audi, are you a local?"

Her fists curled at her sides. "Y-yes," she stuttered, looking for an out. The conversation definitely felt like an interrogation now.

"That's surprising. I've never seen you around, and I've been living here for years."

"Yeah, well. The Bygone isn't some tiny bum village. There's hundreds of thousands of people here. Now if you don't mind—"

"Fair enough. I was just curious. You're an interesting girl after all. Like, you must be talented to make that bike, and I don't know too many with prosthetics as extensive as yours. You're like a… one-in-a-million kind of thing."

She cursed her bionics. Of course it gave her away. It always would.

A smile crept up the man's face. "That brings me to something I'd like to ask. If you don't mind, could you—"

"I-I don't want what you're selling!"

The words tumbled out loud, stunning Neph just long enough to slip past him. By the time he processed things, she was already at the trike.

"Wait, Audi. There's been some kind of misunderstanding. I just—"

"It's been nice talking to you, but I really have to get going now."

His hand reached out slow, as if in apology.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It's just that… I know things must be tough as a runaway. If there's anything you need help with, I can give you some advice."

"I'm not a runaway, and I'm not a kid either! Go bug someone else!"

"I'm serious. Please don't—"

Without another word, she activated the Upcycle's powertrain and pulled the throttle hard, spinning its rear wheels and kicking up dust in a cloud.

She glanced back in the mirror as she lurched down the road, focused on shrinking the man's silhouette as quickly as possible. Every once in a while she could check again, making sure he wasn't following.

She would be fine. She had to be.