Smuggler
Cli-fi | Dystopian | Child protagonist
Hello Story Voyagers, today’s edition brings you a short story about a boy uncertain about his future.
This shot story is placed in the same universe as my cli-fi series There Is Hope.
Smuggler
They call us the zombie children.
The Dust Road, Central Europe, approx. 2530 CEIt was summer and hot, and nothing was happening behind the pile of plastic junk that was his surveillance post. A gust of wind stirred the fine dust covering everything, and he adjusted the filter of his face mask. He was bored, thirsty and hungry, but rations won’t be distributed until the evening. You gotta work for your cut! That’s what Old Man Rami told them. He gently brushed away the fine dust particles from his blue and white kite, a papalotl or butterfly made by the tribes of the water pyramid that Old Man Rami had gifted him. This is worth more than your skinny ass, don’t lose it! Losing his precious papalotl meant losing his job, and his place with Old Man Rami and a thirsty mouth with nothing to do was worthless on the Dust Road.
He felt a throbbing behind his ear where the sound amplifier was implanted in the bone. He turned up the volume, and myriad dessert sounds filled his ears: the hissing of the wind, the whistling of the sand, the cackling of vultures. He filtered through the natural sounds until he identified the unmistakable sound of electric vehicles and the chitter-chatter of humans. It was nothing new on the Dust Road, but the sound of these electric vehicles was unfamiliar. They sounded big and heavy but, at the same time, smooth and fast. Two heavy-duty trucks from the other side! By the sound of it, the trucks were still a few good hours away, which was great. Old Man Rami didn’t like it when his sentinels didn't keep their eyes and ears open.
He unfurled the flyline of his blue-and-white papalotl kite, guiding it in the sky. Then he looked at the abandoned dome city waiting. A few minutes later, a green papalotl sprang above the ruined train station building. That was his sign! With the agility of a desert rat, he leaped down the plastic pile and started running.
The metal structure of the old dome enclosed the abandoned city like the skeleton of a giant dinosaur, each of its silver steel bones worth at least half a liter of drinking water. The ruined Tesla Dome City - Sky Train Station placed at the outskirts of the dome city, had a relatively intact façade, giving a hint of its former glory. But behind the façade, the former train station was in shambles, having been attacked and destroyed 30 years prior at the end of the Data War. The circular Tesla Dome City had been the main European headquarters of one of the Data Moguls involved in the war. Now, it was all gone, as were the last natural habitats of Central Europe.
‘Reyansh, here!’ His friend, Badgar, a willowy dark-skinned boy with a machine gun strapped across his body, summoned him. ‘Two heavy-duty trucks from the other side are coming in!’ Reyansh said, shaking his friend’s hand. ‘How many people?’ Reyansh stumbled on a chunk of pink marble but kept his balance. ‘I heard two adults and two children.’ His friend ducked a few scavengers busy freeing a block of pink marble from under the rubble. All around them, men, women and older children were harvesting marble blocks and piling them in wagons. Smugglers transported scavenged goods rescued from the ruined European cities over the Dust Road into the North Colonies Alliance, where the wealthy paid plenty of water and food for these rare resources. ‘Well done,’ his friend said, patting his back. ‘Wait here!’
Reyansh sat on the edge of the crumpled sidewalk beside the other children. The heat emanating from the concrete city was suffocating, and Reyansh wondered about the people who built the sprawling ghost cities of Central Europe all those hundreds of years ago and changed the climate. He felt like the heat was melting his thoughts, and he closed his eyes, trying to rest for a moment.
‘Hey!’ Reyansh looked dazed at the dark-skinned girl with spindly limbs who had just kicked his leg, waking him up. The sky behind her head was painted red, and the sun was lower on the horizon. ‘Here!’ She tossed a little parcel with his daily food ration in his lap while holding the hose extending from the mini-cistern on wheels with the other hand. ‘Come on!’ Reyansh scrambled for his water bottle, and the girl filled it in one long swoosh. ‘For your mom,’ the dark-skinned girl tossed a second parcel in his direction, then moved to the next person in the queue. Double rations! Reyansh took a small sip of water and looked at the other kids drinking and chewing on their daily meals. Then he closed the lid of his water bottle tightly and put the rations in his bag. He’ll eat later with his mother.
Suddenly, there was a commotion, and someone shouted in the crowd: ‘The trucks are here!’ And everyone hurried outside the train station where two huge trucks were stationed. Solar panels were attached to their rooftops and connected by a maze of cables to the electric engine and the storage unit. Reyansh knew about cars. He’d assisted the older kids caring for Old Man Rami’s automobiles. But that was a sorry collection of salvaged car parts welded together into a functional means of transportation, and these trucks were the latest generation technology from the colonies. Reyansh joined the curious children, inspecting the trucks up close when the door of one of the trucks slid open, and a short young woman in green overalls jumped out.
‘Nova Novikov,’ Old Man Rami said, walking out of the crowd. ‘It’s been a while, Old Man Rami,’ the woman called Nova said. ‘I brought a friend interested in purchasing the marble!’ A tall blonde man jumped out of the second truck and helped out two girls who looked identical. Blonde curls stuck out of their protective headcovers, and their overalls made of high-quality seaweed cotton were new and well-fitted. There was no doubt that these were people from the other side, the North Colonies Alliance, a rare sight around these places. ‘Meet Jon Yaar from the Scandinavian Seed Growing Colonies.’ Seed growers! Old Man Rami and Seed Grower Jon Yaar shook hands. Jon Yaar was a few years younger than Old Man Rami, and his body was plump and strong, not stringy and dry, and when he smiled, he revealed a string of shiny white teeth.
The twin girls gawked at Old Man Rami, the crowd gathered around the trucks, then one of them pointed a finger at Reyansh and the other children. ‘Daddy, are these the zombie children?’ Reyansh frowned at the girls. ‘We’re no zombies!’ he said. Jon Yaar touched his shoulder. ‘You must forgive my daughters, young man. They’ve been spending too much time in the virtual!’ Then he turned toward his daughters. ‘Alaska, you must apologize.’ The girl lowered her finger and pierced Reyansh with her blue eyes sticking her tongue out. Old Man Rami laughed and then looked at the crowd. ‘Alright’ let’s get the rescued marble into these trucks!’ Nova grinned and clapped her hands. ‘First, you have to unload all the goods we brought for you!’ A joyful cheer rose from the crowd. ‘I have a special delivery,’ Nova said, and Old Man Rami nodded. ‘Reyansh, go fetch your mother!’
Reyansh stood beside Nova Novikov’s truck, watching his mother hover over the dust in her wheelchair. ‘Eat something and wait for me here,’ she said before her wheelchair hovered into the truck’s cabin. He took out one of the parcels and started chewing, wondering what business his mother had with this woman from the other side when the blonde twins appeared. ‘What’s this?’, one of the girls said. The chatty one should be Alaska and the quiet one, Fanny, but Reyansh still couldn’t tell who was who because they looked identical and wore identical clothing. ‘Food,’ Reyansh said. Alaska took a sniff of his seaweed porridge. ‘You eat?’ The other girl, Fanny, blushed violently. ‘Alaska, you’re being rude!’ Alaska shrugged. ‘If they eat, why are the zombie children so skinny?’
Reyansh turned his back to the girls and watched Old Man Rami walking through the crowd. From time to time, he touched a child’s head, and young Badgar took the child to where Jon Yaar stood waiting. ‘Our friend here can offer safe passage to five children. Crossing on the other side is a dangerous business. Smaller groups are more inconspicuous. Plus, he can guarantee that all the children will be placed in good families that will take care of them. Ages five to ten, lighter skin tone that can pass for European and no enhancements. We’re doing our best, but we cannot help everyone. Be good and move to the side, like this, thank you,’ Old Man Rami said, walking out of the crowd, followed by a little girl and her mother. Everyone, young, old, abled and disabled, looked hungry and thirsty, all skin and bones with leathery skin burned by the relentless sun of the Dust Bowl of Central Europe. Since he was employed by Old Man Rami, Reyansh’s own tiny body was a little more plump with water and food, and he had a new pair of overalls. But compared with the well-fed twins with pink cheeks, there was something off about him and the other kids: the torn clothing, the ghastly thin, emaciated bodies, the earthy skin tone. ‘I told you we’re not zombies!’ he muttered, scooping another mouthful of seaweed porridge from his bowl.
Old Man Rami and Jon Yaar inspected the selected children by touching limbs and torsos and opening lips to check the teeth. ‘These are the strongest and healthiest we have,’ Old Man Rami said. Jon Yaar touched the curly head of a little girl. ‘She’s too small.’ The girl clutched at her mother’s skirt. ‘She’s already five, Old Man Rami, and very brave,’ the mother said. But Jon Yaar shook his head. ‘Next time,’ Old Man Rami said, touching the woman’s arm. Jon Yaar stopped before a skinny boy standing next to his grandfather. ‘Too old and undernourished, he’ll cost me too much water and food,’ he said. The grandfather pleaded with him. ‘Please take him. There’s nothing for us in this dust hell but thirst, hunger and death.’ Jon Yaar folded his hand in front of his heart. ‘I’m truly sorry.’ Reyansh looked at the towering man with a strong, well-fed body full of water and nutrients. How much must he eat and drink to maintain his body size?
‘What will you do with the marble?’ Reyansh said, chewing on some seaweed crackers. ‘My daddy is building a temple for the Goddess Jörð,’ Alaska said, and Fanny nodded. ‘What?’ he said, and Alaska scoffed at his apparent ignorance. ‘The earth-goddess. She’s taking care of our fields! ’ Reyansh licked his fingers. ‘I see. Are the fields green?’ The girls looked at each other. ‘Duh, of course!’ Alaska said. Reyansh contemplated the dry, barren landscape where only humans, rats and vultures survived. ‘At the start of the season, they are barren, like this desert, just that the soil is black and fertile, not dry and cracked. When the plants start to grow, the fields are green, but by harvest time, the plants grow yellow,’ Fanny said. The truck’s door opened, and Reyansh’s mother hovered down. ‘Would you like to see the green fields, Reyansh?’ Nova’s head peeked out of the truck’s cabin. ‘Please hurry, we have to leave soon.’ His mother cupped his face in her hands and looked at him with red, feverish eyes.
‘Listen to me, honey. You’re going on a trip with Mr. Yaar and his daughters to the Seed Keepers on the other side. Would you like that?’ Reyansh eyed the twins. ‘Daddy says that you’ll live with us!’ Alaska said. He shrugs. ‘Are you also coming, mommy?’ His mother shook her head. ‘It’s impossible for me to cross on the other side, sweetheart. Besides, I have to go on another trip with Nova. We have some work to do.’ His eyes welled up. ‘Why can’t I stay here with Old Man Rami and wait for you?’ His mother brushed her fingers against his wet cheeks. ‘I don’t think I will be coming back, honey. I want you to have a better life beyond just getting a mouthful of seaweed to feed your hunger and a spoon of water to still your thirst. I want to make sure that there’s a future for you. For us. That, there’s hope. Do you understand me?’ He nodded. Be a good boy and listen to Mr. Yaar, Reyansh?’ There was a sinking feeling in his chest. ‘Yes, mommy.’ Then she leaned out of her hovering wheelchair and hugged him. ‘Remember that I always love you, Reyansh,’ she said, then let go of him and hovered inside the truck’s cabin. ‘Nova, are you going to look for the Dust Pirates?’ Alaska said. Nova frowned and then gave out a laugh. ‘What are you talking about, child? There are no Dust Pirates,’ she said, then closed the door and turned the truck’s engine on.
Jon Yaar waved from the other truck where he stood with the five chosen children. ‘Alaska, Fanny, Reyansh, we’re leaving! We have a long journey ahead!’ Reyansh gazed at the truck holding his mother hesitating when Alaska took his hand and looked at him earnestly. ‘Let’s go!’
With all the children inside, the cabin of Jon Yaar’s truck was crammed. But they had water, snacks and cool air to breathe. Reyansh pressed his face against the window and watched Nova’s truck drive away wondering if he will ever see his mother again.
The crowd gathered in front of the abandoned dome city stood still as Mr. Yaar set the truck in motion. Soon, they, too, drifted away like a dream of sand.
‘Alright, everyone, take the rest of the night off. We’ll resume our work tomorrow,’ Old Man Rami said, looking at the dust clouds left by the trucks. ‘Our only hope.’
The end
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Some of the characters from this story are part of my cli-fi series There Is Hope. You can read their stories below.
The circular Tesla Dome City also appears in this short story.
Excellent world-building! I can feel the dust and grit in my mouth. The contrast between the two populations is also brought out well. To make it easier to follow who is speaking, try starting a new paragraph whenever the speaker changes.
Great piece, Claudia. I love having the character crossovers from your other CliFi posts.
Super workdbuilding as always. There's enough information here to feed the narrative, but not too much that it saturated. I really like that. Great job. Love the opening and closing lines, they're really strong bookends to the piece!