5 The Drive

Lucio's dune buggy was mostly built by himself. The buggy had a bright yellow frame and brand new exhausts. He tells me that he initially bought the frame from an older car that was popular in the 60s. He took it out the body, which he referred to as insanely ugly, and started his buggy build from there.

He tells me the entire thing needed a truck load of time. Months felt like years to him, even centuries. All that tuning, exhaust, and then taking it to a local MOT center to make sure the entire thing runs smooth. He had a proud face on himself as we drove on.

I could understand if this was his pride and joy.

"It's all worth it." Lucio spoke. He seemed much happier driving the buggy as we were making a left turn, just past the Beach Market and getting out of Belmont. "The best thing about working on this buggy here was that I didn't have to make any other sacrifices."

"How so?" I asked.

"There was a survey conducted at the BCOAT". Lucio explained. "Apparently people who aren't married had a better chance of completing their work AND maintaining a far healthier state of mind. Also, by not having a spouse or having kids for that matter, pretty much that state of mind becomes intact. Some people the student interviewed admitted on the spot, that their unmarried status saved them a ton of energy."

"Really?"

"Basically, no marriage, no suffering."

I wasn't married myself, but I doubt that was indeed the case.

Life is an odd phenomenon, but it is continuous and full of development for each individual. You wake up in the morning and greet the day, completely forgetting what happened yesterday. You get yourself ready to say that, sometimes you think about what you might expect, what you'd like to do with your time, or maybe a certain group of people.

Maybe it's your family.

Maybe it's your friends.

Maybe it's that special someone.

"Before we entered the highway, we stopped at a military checkpoint. Two Decoun Military soldiers were armed with scoped AR15s. Both rifles had knife attachments on them, as well as a laser sight. The soldiers were wearing blue and black color schemes."

"Good morning, Decoun brother. Work in Midtown?" the first soldier asked. His partner was using a sensor to analyze the buggy, while a german shepherd sniffed the entire thing. Lucio didn't kill the engine, he put the buggy in neutral for the moment.

In addition, a tracker DataPod was floating above the car, tracking the faces of myself and Lucio. There was a small camera that was in front of the two of us for a few seconds, before he produced the results.

[Elotro Risas, age 26, Resident of Belmont Beach, Security Analyst at Saturn-Voyde]

[Lucio Gracier, age 29, Resident of Belmont Beach, Mechanic]

"Good morning, brother." I said. "Only I am working. My fellow Decoun here has other business in Midtown."

"Grocery shopping." Lucio said with a smile. "A Decoun must have all the basic necessities for the remainder of their lives here, at least before somebody thinks they need Blue Moon."

An awkward silence appeared, Lucio had said the Blue Moon part with a sour tone, but the soldier did not react much, instead he turned to the second soldier who simply gave a nod. "Clear." said the second soldier.

"You may take your leave, fellow Decoun." the soldier replied. "Great Health for you."

"Great Health to you, brother." Lucio said before we drove away from Belmont Beach, and made straight on highway 69, heading to Midtown. The concrete streets brought us to the urban jungle that is Midtown. I looked up at the sky while the air was breezing through my hair; I frowned at the lack of sunlight.

"You had a roof installed on the buggy?"

"Not yet, but I probably will today." Lucio replied as he made a turn into the city center, keeping his pace with other cars. He ignored the odd looks the urban community had, but they immediately looked the other way.

Lucio smiled at this sight. "The less people know; the better." He drove again by the time the red light had turned green.

"A left turn at the next intersection."

"Relax, Elotro, I've taken you before."

"Lucio, mind if I ask?" I spoke out loud. It was 10 minutes before I arrived at work.

"Shoot."

"You think Mortiqar is getting too much with Blue Moon?"

"Hah, Mortiqar? Sorry brother, but if you ask me, it's the other Decouns you should question; are THEY getting too much Moon in themselves, into their bodies, or their heads in some cases. Some people just can't be satisfied immediately."

We stopped at a street where Saturn-Voyde was just across it; the building was that of colossal size, with 50 floors in store. The first 20 floors were related to customer service, as well as security where my skills were needed. The remaining floors were where most of the action takes place. Saturn-Voyde was the nation's think tank, and they've been in league with the government, President Kharisma, and many other organizations dedicated to make life better here in Decou.

Said organizations also include Mortiqar.

"Thank you, Lucio" I thanked my neighbor for bringing me here.

"No problem. Mind if I ask you a question in return?" he asked in advance. He had a raised eyebrow on himself.

Normally I was open to discussion, but upon hearing Lucio's statement about Blue Moon users at that military checkpoint made me wonder what was going on in his own head.

I gave my answer with only a nod.

"Whenever the law does something, like manage somebody's healthcare, or maybe 'take care' of a Blue Moon user. Or maybe when any form of action is being taken in the city, you think people should still be bothered to get involved in it?"

"Public participation."

"Yeah, that one."

I scratched the end of my back head. "Well, I think we should." I started. "I mean, when you look at it from a social perspective, human beings are social creatures after all. I think it's basic human decency that makes us want to help others in their affairs."

"So if you were to say, help a Blue Moon user, some person whose life gone so down hill that they're consuming Blue Moon like it's an all you can inject buffet." Lucio started. "You'd still help them if they're say, on the verge of OD'ing?"

Overdose. I thought.

"Without any hesitation? Even if they're a total stranger?" Lucio added.

I finally gave my answer. "Yes, I'd help them without a second thought."

Lucio only gave me a grin. "I admire a Decoun who is honest with themselves. Take care of yourself brother, have a safe day at work. Great Health to you."

"And to you as well." I said to him as he drove off. By the time I entered the building, the place was cold, and I swore I heard a piece of thunder from outside.