Monday, February 29, 2016

100 Words a Day 797

The door slide halfway open. I pushed it the rest of the way and entered the shop. It managed to shut of its own accord after I was through. The red wind continued to blow outside and, looking around, I saw that the aging prefab building did little to protect things from the refuse of industry; everything in the shop had a rust-red tint. I declined to remove my respirator.


I didn’t recognize the proprietor’s species; nor did I speak his language. Fortunately, he had a small droid that was able to translate. Turned out he didn’t have the part.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

100 Words a Day 796

“You need to learn your place,” the youth said.

The older man was unfazed. “If you are going to do something to me, do it,” he demanded.

The other passengers moved as far away as the train car would allow. The young man didn’t back down, continuing to eye the older man.

“I’ll wreck you, old man.”

“Let’s get off the train then. You can do anything you want to me.”

The young man let the doors close. “I’ve got somewhere to be.”


“That’s what I thought,” the old man said, resuming his seat on the train, ignoring the youth.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

100 Words a Day 795

It was raining on the underside again. I looked up and saw the underside of the continent above us. It was doing an imperfect job of hiding the source of the rain, some dark clouds. I could see the precipitation we were experiencing had begun as snow. It drifted slowly past the underside above before melting and then plunging through the ether, ultimately landing on the rocky mountain path we were traversing. The smooth rocks became slick, making what would have been an easy walk potentially hazardous. The climb was neither steep nor narrow, but over the side was infinity.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

100 Words a Day 794

I stepped out of the docking bay and found myself on a narrow, dirty street. I was immediately grateful I purchased a respirator from the urchin, no matter how expensive it had been. The air was hazy and irritated my throat despite the breath mask. Everything had a rust-red tint, the same color I saw covering the whole planet.


There were few people in the streets, and they all looked like the dregs of society. Few of them had breath masks, and all of them were dressed in tattered clothing. A few extended weak, begging hands, most just sat unmoving.