It's been about 10 uneventful hours since we departed Sivayas, we must have covered more than 25% of the grounds we had to. Our speedcycles sliced through the rugged landscape with unwavering determination, the sun slowly setting as it cast its golden rays upon us as we journeyed. The hours blurred into one another, our surroundings a relentless panorama of desolation. Conversation was sparse, none of it between me and Ash. Our focus is fixed on the path ahead and the countless miles still to be covered.
We rode on multiple terrains without stopping, the speedcycle being well engineered and built specifically for these applications. Although earlier the golden parasitic grass seemed endless, a sea of shimmering blades that stretched in all directions that whispered and rustled beneath our tires, we would find ourselves on rocky hills with sediments too solid for the grass to even grow on.
The landscape would shift subtly from a forest with trees sparse enough for us to ride between, rolling plans and rocky outcrops, to the field of tall violet grass we are riding on. The grass, although nearly shoulder height while we're riding, has been easily cut through smoothly without any complication. The moment we move near, most of the blades give way as it somehow sense our approach, while the ones that didn't have time get crushed under us.
The smell produced from the crushing was very sweet, to the point that it was sickening, similar to what a corpse would smell like. We were most likely going to endure the smell for a long while, if it wasn't for the unexpected stop we had to make along the way.
After going strong for hours, I hear sounds of mechanical groaning and struggle, followed by electronic sounds of the already low humming of the speedcycle going even lower, indicating a power down. Looking to the side and back, I was the first to notice the black bike slowing down and falling out of the pack.
Pulling on my brakes, the tyres of my bike threw up clouds of dust and gravel as it skidded to a stop. It took me a moment initially to realise what was up, calling out for the other two, "Everyone hit the brakes."
.
.
.
With the sun already beginning its descent, we had given it some thought before choosing to camp for the day instead of trying to push further. Although it was unplanned, it wasn't unexpected to face setbacks for this job. Under the slowly darkening sky, we set up our camp, our parcels forming a protective circle, and prepared to spend the night amidst the tall grass.
Once we had stepped off our cycles, we were introduced to a surprising sense of coldness while surrounded by the grass. The blades seemed to avoid us as we walked through it, and it was when the heater was brought out was when we realised why. The heater created a circular area for us as the grasses tried their best to distance themselves from it when it was activated, revealing that the grass tried to avoid heat.
For the next few hours, the 3 of them spent their time sitting in a circle around the heater chatting, resting, or whatnot. Meanwhile, I had spent that time crouched next to the failing speedcycle. It wasn't that I was asked to, nor was I much more qualified than the other 3, but I figured that someone had to do something before the next day comes, even if it came with the cost of me looking overconfident and humiliated when I can't figure out the issue.
With my basic knowledge of how these things are supposed to work, I followed and traced every tube and wire, opening panels and pieces that seemed to just be covers and nothing more important. Slowly I was getting covered in my own sweat despite the cold breeze, and the grease of the speedcycle. For a moment I left one of my tools, I seemed to have lost it as I turned side to side staring at the ground and unable to spot it.
"You're looking for this?" Said a familiar voice as I turned to my back to see the raven haired girl looking down on me, the tool in her hand reaching to me.
"Thank you," I replied, picking the tool out of her hand and went back to tinkering with the bike. I let out a sigh, opening up another piece of cover with a soft grunt of effort, finding a disconnected cable.
One the cable was a withering piece of golden grass, wrapping itself around it. Putting 2 and 2 together, I realised that this was caused by the incident earlier when the rain poured down on us, it must have wrapped itself too tightly on the cable while we were resting which loosened it enough for this journey to bump the cable completely off.
Reconnecting the cable into its port, the bike powers back into life, letting out its usual low hums which made me slightly smirk in victory. Finally, after hours of gruelling labour, it finally paid off. For some reason, this felt more rewarding than the years of delivering cargo.
"I'm sorry." I hear the voice coming from behind, unaware that Ash is still there. Was she apologising for leaving me that day? It was a shock to me as these were the first couple of times she talked to me, let alone acknowledge what had happened.
Without the full context of her words, I didn't want to assume what she meant, as it could only lead to a horrible misunderstanding. I turned around to question what she meant. "Hm?"
As I looked back, I realised that there was nobody there, only a wall of purple grass blades. Turning to the side, I saw that she was already back with the others, eating while having a lighthearted conversation. Was I just hearing things?
Getting up on my legs and wiping my hands on a cloth, I turn off the speedcycle to reserve its energy, slowly making my way to the circle. Hanging the cloth on my shoulder, I reported to the others about the situation with the bike. "It's fixed now."
Staying seated, Ash hands me a pack of rations to eat with them, voicing out her acknowledgement. "Thank you,"
Although I wasn't sure if the apology earlier was real or not, the gratitude she showed was legitimate.
"Of course,"
