A Flight To Rest

The darkness had never been so silent, even though there was commotion all around. “Come on,” Rei said, gesturing to her bike. “Get on.”

“Where—?”

“I’ll take you to see the stars,” Rei replied. “There’s nothing left here anyways.”

Haze climbed on behind her and held on, and she started the bike’s engine, and input a destination at the edge of the city. “Hold on tight,” she cautioned. “No helmets today.”

And so they drove off.

The chaos that they passed by, Rei’s heart hurt for it all, but she kept her eyes on the road ahead, because she sensed people fighting back, and winning. Just because the city had never taken care of her didn’t mean that the city couldn’t take care of itself.

Near the edge of the city, the world had quieted, and her eyes had grown used to the complete darkness around them. The night was nearing its end, anyways. Just a few more hours, before the sun rose…

There was only one guard manning the exit, snoozing in her booth. When Rei rapped on the window to ask her to open the gate, she opened an eye, looked them over, and waved them through.

“No ID or anything?”

“Aw, forget about ID and status. People can do what they want, no? And I’d rather leave myself…”

“Well, have a nice day.”

“You too, dearies. Have fun!”

And so they continued on.

Rei did not know the way to the countryside, but she felt that if she drove on the highway long enough, she would reach somewhere. Where did this road lead to, anyways? Other cities? Towns? Countries? Sights that she had never seen before? No one had ever told her about the outside world, and she could only assume that it was beautiful.

There were shadows of mountains and trees lining one side of the highway, and on the other she could see the clear sky, and the stars dotting them. There were so many, clouds drifting in between them, and she would have loved to look at the more, but she told herself to keep her eyes on the road, one dim headlight carving out their curving path.

The wind was cold around her, rushing fast, and there was just the sound of her bike in the night air. Only once they had gone farther out, and passed more unintelligible street signs, was there an occasional vehicle, and she knew that they, like her, were wondering what the other was doing up at so early before the morning.

Haze pressed close to her, and she could feel his faint warmth through her jacket. Was he hungry? Would she have to get breakfast for the two of them? Or would the stars be enough? How much farther did she have to go? But the road didn’t end, so she didn’t stop either. She didn’t like the look of the roadside here, and the further from R’veno they were, the better.

Oh, to be able to ride her bike like this, not on a job, not for a destination, not for anything, just to soar down the highway on it, in an air more refreshing and bloodless than she had ever known, how freeing it was, and her shoulder felt light from the weight she no longer carried. To go as fast as she wanted without worrying about inner-city street limits, to be able to see the way before her clearly without that suffocating helmet, obscuring her vision with the best routes and ways, to be able to do whatever she wanted without being chained down by those artificial lights on every street corner, illuminating the blood she spilled with her own two hands.

She could laugh, and there was only her voice echoing in this wilderness. They had said that there was nothing out there to see, nothing worth leaving the city for, but right now, this was all she could have asked her.

She knew that once upon a time, things hadn’t been this way. There hadn’t been so many lights in the city, and crime hadn’t been so rampant. Once upon a time, life had been nice. She remembered two years ago, when she had actually wanted to leave and move somewhere else, all the work and research she had done to try and find a route out of this place, everyone had told her that it couldn’t be done, and that she was foolish for trying, and that R’veno was fine, why would she ever want to leave anyway?

They veered off a ramp and left the highway, and Rei spotted a 24/7 diner open, and she drove up to the drive-through and ordered some food, burger and fries, and split it with Haze.

“Tastes different at this hour in the morning, no?”

There were only two employees inside, and they both seemed half-asleep. One of them leaned out the window and chatted with them as they ate in the parking lot.

“What are you two doing out here so early?”

“Going to see the stars,” Rei replied.

“Well, the sun’s going to be rising in a few hours, so you’d better hurry.”

“Do you know any place with a good view?”

“Hmmm…I think if you go right around the bend through the forest over there, it should open up into a grassy field. I heard the view there is pretty good.”

“Thanks.”

“Where are you two from? We usually get the strangest folks at the strangest hours.”

“From R’veno.”

“Oh, from the city, eh? Heard a lot of things about that place. You out here for a breath of fresh air?”

“Yeah, just for a change of pace.”

“Well, that’s nice, isn’t it. If I were to go visit R’veno, where would you suggest?”

She told him about the ramen shop she frequented. “City flavors different from out here.”

“Well, I’ll certainly check it out if I ever go. Thank you.”

They waved goodbye, and Haze and Rei got back on the bike, and headed down the way that the young man had pointed out to them.

This night was almost over…