Chapter 21

~TEN YEARS LATER~

The radio on the floor crackled to announce the daily news one of them was that Saber had declared war with Europe and they were looking for recruits. Since the others nations were not interested these monstrosities had to go to war without them. They came for extra food but was told that they will only have the amount they agreed upon. The limit will not be exceeded. Since other nations had to eat as well. Green dale and Native lands are the only farming nations. The Natives refused to hand over the werewolves and vampires colonies. They said they don't hand over their citizens to others. Texas hated Saber for killing innocent people so they refused flat out. Texan guys are seriously armed to the teeth and they have larger population so Saber couldn't do anything. They couldn't invade Scrapes or the salt flats since they would have to pass through Machine city. Saber had no choice but to sign a peace treaty with Europe and they were pissed that they were denied the opportunity to advance themselves.

I found out that the now leaders of Saber nation killed the entire chain of command and they declared martial law. They enlisted everyone into the army. If they refuse to serve in the army they are turned into slaves. If they are physically unable to do any work then they are killed. Only the healthy and able are allowed to live in there. They are policed by FBI and the CIA. Their nation is relatively small and yet they act like they are the size of Jupiter. They still haven't given up looking for me. As I see wanted posters of me pasted on the bulletin board when I go to the central office to pay taxes. I had changed my look so no one would know. I was introduced as a new family member. It happened before the wall was completed. Cain only recognized me from my scent.

The laborers know about me being a vampire once every two weeks so they didn't mind that much. They volunteered to donate blood. They wanted to thank me for helping them. In their mind it was the least they could do. Some of them had gotten married and bought land to start a life for themselves. They swore to keep my identity a secret.

The kids have grown up and now had jobs too. Angus was working as a member of the land acquisition office. His sister Angela was working as a nurse. Richard and Mei Ling got married and they live next door. The other kids live on the farm and they are looking for jobs too. As for me I am single. I have many proposals but I turned them down. I was getting bored and the others could sense it. They teased me saying I wanted to explore the divided states of America. I told them that I will think about it.

I have to be honest. I did want to explore the country and see what the place was like. So I packed my stuff and left. I didn't need any food so I packed light. In my bag was my travel documents, two pairs of clothes for winter and summer, a machete, a small jewelry box, a first aid kit and a taser. I am not taking money with me since paper money has been made redundant. The currency was different for each nation. I will have to get used to it.

I left a week after all the kids got married and had stable jobs so they will be safe. I walked out in the middle of the night. I didn't need a car or a train. I ran fast and saw my surroundings blur for a moment then everything became clear. I mean 4k quality. I saw greenery for few more minutes and then the scenery changed to gray. Light gray fog was seen at a distance. That cleared up to expose ruins of buildings most likely a result of demolition. I saw trees that were burnt and piles of dead birds and other creatures. Not far was a building with people standing in a queue. There were people with guns guarding keeping an eye on the newcomers. I thought that looked out of place. I realized that it was a military bunker that doubles as a border patrol. A few paces away was a detention center and a fully stocked armoury. They were searching the people who were passing through the border. I walked to the border to the most hated nation called Saber. Thankfully I am not going in. In fact I was passing through. I got to use echolocation and sense what was immediately in front of me. There were mostly ruins and some buildings that looked like they are closed to collapsing. I waited in line till it was my turn to show the officer at the counter my paperwork and they checked with the head office of Green dale before they let me pass. They looked at me with suspicion but did nothing. I didn't stay in Saber since these are people that act on suspicion very quickly. I felt like heading towards Machine City would be a better idea. I had to walk there like a normal person otherwise the trigger happy people will riddle me with bullets. I had to make sure to move as human as possible since they date stamped my travel document. I can't be seen in a place that takes three days to reach. They will get suspicious and I will be detained. I was getting strange looks from people so I decided not to interact with anyone. I guess you can sense when a person is different subconsciously. I just keep my head high and eyes wide open for those that would most likely harm me.

I first had to lay camp a day's journey from the bunker. A drone passed me several times as though it was spying on me. A family of five passed me a camper. The elderly driver gave me a few dirty looks. The children pressed their noses against the window as they pass me by. I heard the mother asked the children not stare. I laid down on the dirt till the sun rose. Then I got up and started to walk. I heard the drone and walked towards the trees. I managed to get in before the blasted machine found me. I started to walk till I got bored. I extended my senses to find my way.

It took me a week to get there. Machine city looked like a place straight out of a scifi movie. There was electric cars, some people were riding bicycles while the rest were walking. Bullet train took people to where ever it was engineered to go. There were sky trains as well as subways. The buildings had plants growing in the roof. The road had a few trees here and there. Children were doing complex math problems on the pavement using chalk. The adults were advising each about the physics of certain problems. Women were seen repairing cars and doing shopping. There were no people in suits. There were people with guns. I walked around admiring the place.

By dinner I found a place that sold barbecue. I sat down for dinner and a perfect stranger sat across me. He had long dark brown hair and a scruffy beard. He looked ex-military. I politely asked him what he was doing here. He said he wanted to know the same about me. I told him that I am from Green dale and I am here on vacation. I just wanted to see the country. He gave me an are you stupid look and was about to say something when one of my clients saw me. "Vivian! How are you? What brings you here?" I smiled, "Hello Howard. I am taking a vacation. I thought I would explore the continent. Did I make a mistake coming here?" He chuckled, "Nonsense. Have fun. It will be a real shock since you are from Green dale." The stranger listened to our conversation. He accepted that I am not a troublemaker. Howard left and the stranger followed him towards the door. I enjoyed my dinner and I asked him if there was a place I could stay in.

The owner gave me directions to a capsule hotel since I was on a budget. He kindly asked me to stay indoors during the midnight. I eavesdropped and heard that there is a troublemaker in town and they are trying smoke that person out. I quickly arrived at the capsule hotel to meet another client of mine Jasper. He was kind enough to help me fill out the forms. He wished me goodnight and I stayed in bed. The next morning the owner asked me if my bed was too hard. I asked her why did she say that. She says that there is a sensor embedded into each capsule that monitor the person's sleep patterns. I was taken by surprise. She smiled and asked me if would like to switch beds. I told her that I am leaving in the afternoon. So with the greatest respect I will not be needing to change beds. She gave me a look and asked me if I would allow her to screen me so I agreed. She took out a metal wand and passed it over me front and back. She sprayed a substance in my hand and she pursed her lips. She apologized profusely and brought me breakfast on the house. I asked her if it was possible to procure a map. She said that the public library sells maps to tourists around eleven am. I smiled and asked her for directions. She humbly pointed me in the right direction and she left to examine the others.

I walked out to see that people were more nicer than they were yesterday. I realized that they must have thought I was a killer or something but it turns out someone has stolen one of their inventions. It was something that wirelessly power all things without the need for a power plant. This device was the size of a desk lamp. I sense around and found it in a hotel not far from here. It was where Nikola Tesla like genius used to go. The invention was on the fifth floor. I used the binoculars that I had purchased at the electronic store. I pretended to find and asked the stranger that I met the other day if I could have one of those portable lamps to take with me. He grabbed the binoculars and saw with his own eyes where it was. He apologized and called it in. I was rewarded with one million Bitcoins. I thanked them and hopped on the bullet train and moved to the heart of Machine city. The capital city of Otonomous.

This place was even more weird than I thought. I wanted to laugh. People were actually eating at McDonald's while sitting on an exercise bike. They pedaled as they ate. This energy was used to charge their phone. The bike were chargers as well. Whenever the person is done riding it. They pulled out a battery and plug it to their house or somewhere else. The street lamps were solar powered. There were a lot of machanisms that clear looked like props from the tv series MacGyver. There was was even an astronomical clock in the city center. The library and the university were the largest buildings in the city proving that they value knowledge above everything.