ACID RIVERS

Despite the air filter over my nose and mouth, the stench of smoke and fumes is overwhelming. 

I used to think it wasn’t so bad, just an annoyance, but in recent years I think it’s gotten worse. The air is thick and humid, and occasionally tastes like something rotten. I’ve been waiting in line for maybe an hour and my mind wanders to the comforts of my old apartment. I long for its clean, odourless air.

I miss that apartment. I miss even having an apartment. 

Jupiter Technology claims we still have a future, far away from here. It was so easy to believe them. Maybe I’m just desperate. When the recruiters came to the hurricane relief centre, looking for volunteers for their beta program, I was one of the first to sign up. 

Anywhere has to be better than here, right? 

Standing in this line, choking on smoke and watching the acid river surging just below the concrete underneath me, I have to believe them. I have to believe.

The line slowly moves across the bridge towards the transport shuttle. One by one, people hand over their identities to the Jupiter Tech security standing by. When it’s my turn, I pull my identification out from my bag and pass it to the stern-looking woman dressed in all blue at the gate. 

She checks it against her list and nods, then presses a stamp down on her paper. She hands me a digital wristband, which I quickly put on. 

“Good luck,” she says absently, as she returns my ID. A man near the base of the bridge waves me forward. 

As I move closer to the shuttle, a crack of thunder booms in the distance. I instinctively glance up at the yellow sky.

“Get off the bridge!”

Someone shouts behind me. I spin around, but it’s too late. People are already pushing each other in a mad scramble to get across. My back hits the concrete wall as the line devolves into a crowd, surging forward. I glance back to the center of the bridge, and I realize it wasn’t thunder at all. 

A crack spreads across the width of the bridge as the river crashes against it. In less than ten seconds, the river has won, bursting through the walls. 

The river rises in waves. The concrete bridge splits apart and rapidly begins to dissolve.