Short Passages

Nine Henderson

The day to come would be busy, yet for some reason, Nine felt surprisingly calm and at ease as he strolled down the immaculate-paved streets. The sun had just emerged from the horizon and shone luminously as it slowly progressed higher into the air, spreading a tangerine glow that tinted the vast pane of the sky and lined the fluorescent clouds that swiftly drifted by. A variety of hover cars and bikes, some more rickety than others, appeared from around all corners. They followed the magnetic rails smoothly and stopped steadily for other hovers or people to pass at each intersection, the passengers calm behind the protective windshield.

Nine went through the list of things he had to do as he proceeded to walk smoothly towards where he knew were the market stores that were currently well-known for their grand sales. He walked past buildings of all sorts of designs, shapes, colours and material, past numerous people commencing their mundane lives, and continued to walk past as hovers waited patiently until he walked up to one of the open stalls set up with fancy touches of gold embellishments that glinted in the rays of blinding sun. Behind the display that offered an impressive range of foods, was a woman. She seemed to radiate a welcoming, warm aura even when she wasn't facing a single customer at that moment.

"Hello." Nine greeted first, flashing her a perfect smile that displayed his flawless rows of pearly white teeth.

"Hello darling," her voice soft and kind, her genteel smile reaching her electrifying blue eyes, "what would you like to get?"

His eyes immediately scanned over the array of foods. "Could I get two golden-rose apples, and one organic potato please?"

"Of course you can, darling." She smiled again, the corners of her eyes crinkling. She was quick to pick up his order and have it ready in a bag. "Payment?"

"Via Ultracard please."

The woman tapped on the small tablet.

"Your name?"

"Nine Henderson."

She began typing out his name on the tablet, saying his name in time.

"Nine Hender-" Her fingers froze in mid-air.

Assuming she had missed his name, he repeated it patiently. "Henderson."

She looked at him, and seemed to inspect him carefully. Her eyes started from his neatly combed mob of black hair, trailing across the features of his face, his bone structure, down to his well-built body and plain, fitted clothing. Then, it seemed to hit her at once. Her eyes suddenly dimmed, not electrical anymore, but a dull, steel blue. Her smile wiped clean off her face, as though that had never existed in the first place.

"Are you ok?" Nine asked in a concerning manner, wondering what had happened.

"No." She answered without hesitance, her voice monotonous and seeming almost lifeless. A stark contrast to her lively and kind behaviour before. "I'm sorry, but could you please leave? I need to serve the waiting customers."

He looked behind him, and sure enough, there was now a short queue behind him. How had that happened in such a short period of time? His eyes met the girl's pair behind him, and immediately her gaze flickered elsewhere. He frowned and turned, but her whisper was loud in his ears.

"That's the ninth one." Judging from the tone of her voice, she almost seemed bewildered. And disgusted.

Not understanding her words, he ignored the random girl's statement and diminished his curiosity, instead looking back at the peculiar woman.

"I haven't paid for my food yet." He said in response to her unforeseen declaration.

"You can have it." She quickly said, a grimace tilting one corner of her mouth up as she shoved the bag to his chest forcefully. He just managed to grapple it in surprise when she said, "Oh, and tell Professor Henderson to never come by this store again." Before he could enquire why and ponder much on what had happened for that matter, she had already yelled next and pushed him out of the way.

He stumbled back at the force of her push, and failed to notice the steps behind him. Causing him to slip and tumble down the stairs in a yelp and onto the road. It all happened too quickly. One moment, he was wondering what had gotten into the saleswomen, and the next, he was rolling down the stairs, onto the road, eyes wide as he comprehended the sight before him. As the rickety, unstable hover began to let out warning beeps loudly, yet it didn't stop as it continued to accelerate down its path. And right in the middle of its path, was him.

He thought he heard a shrill cry of fear right when the shock came, but he couldn't be for sure. Everything became unclear as soon as the old hover crashed into him. He couldn't prepare himself enough for the sudden impact that sent his body flying down the other end of the road, and he was sure he was dead as soon as his head collided with the floor and a deafening thud echoed in his ears. His vision flickered, a buzzing sound entered his mind. Pain. But there was no pain. He felt nothing, he could feel nothing. No motion, no emotion, no... connectivity. What was this feeling?

Then, suddenly, his vision seemed to be bombarded with text. Scrolling text that covered his sight. Glaring red text. Confusion muddled his thoughts. His heart beat began to accelerate. His vision flickered again, but the text remained, even during that temporary blackness. He struggled to read it.

WARNING! Error spotted. Virus detected. Potential hazard identified. WARNING! Risk found. Generated heart beat reaching dangerous levels. Automatic shutdown will take place to avoid potential hazard.

No! He frantically began to think. What was happening to him? What was happening? Why?

Shut down in 5...4...

No! Stop it! He tried to force the words in his mind. Don't shutdown!

3...2...1

No.

Blackness prevailed.