I wasn’t planning on saying anything back, or even speaking with him, but a large roar coming from somewhere in front of usgave me a panic attack. ‘Where is that coming from? What’s happening?’ I asked, white knuckles holding on to my seat, though by the sound of it, we could be swallowed —car and all.
‘Don’t get your panties in a twist. It’s coming from the air vents.’
‘Air vents?’
‘This city is even more polluted than our own. You can barely breathe in the streets, so the Elite ordered some massive air purifiers to be built. They’re the size of apartment buildings, surrounding the wealthy part of the city.’
As Cole was telling me about the machines, we were getting closer to the deafening sound and the sky-high ventilators that were rising high into the sky.
‘I... I’ve never seen anything like this,’ I was shuddering, looking with a certain level of fear at the monstrous machines. I wasn’t raised in the woods. I’d seen strange tech before, but there was something utterly wrong with these purifying devices.
‘Nothing you will ever see again. This place is unique on this planet.’
‘But don’t these machines pollute more than they give in fresh air?’ It felt like such a tremendous waste of energy. If on one side, the air purifiers were giving life, from the other, it looked like they were taking it away.
‘They don’t pollute the Elite. The rest is irrelevant in their world.’
‘But doesn’t that mean that the poorer residents are even more polluted from the machines spitting out the heat and toxic residues at their side?’
‘What did I just say? No one cares. They could move if it bothers them.’
‘They probably don’t have the finances to get out of there.’
‘Listen, Mouse, the guys you’re about to meet are right on top of this food chain, so I suggest keeping your mouth shut. We’re here to deal with our problems, not theirs.’
As much as I hated to admit it, Cole was right. This wasn’t our fight, and it wasn’t as if we had even started solving our own problems. We were here for getting info on what we needed, not to pick up a fight. And for the first time in my life, I was putting all my effort to do it while being off the radar.
‘We’ll be there in an hour. The location is somewhere in the mountains. The chef and his staff just texted me. They already arrived at the cottage.’
‘I still don’t understand why they need a chef and staff at the cottage.’
‘Have you ever seen anyone from the Elite cook?’
He did make a point.
‘I didn’t think so,’ Cole shrugged, lighting himself up a cig. ‘Everyone was in charge of something. DJ’s, drinks, decorations, and who knows what else.’
‘This sounds like a lot of trouble for a simple party.’
‘They don’t really care as long as someone else is doing the work. It’s an honor to even be invited,’ he made some air quotes marks with his fingers, getting angry again for not benefitting from the royal treatment.
‘Just suck it up for the weekend.’
‘I’m not surewho’sgoing to do the sucking this weekend,’ Cole arched an eyebrow looking straight at me as my head instinctively turned to look out through the window. I was biting back my tongue, trying not to snap back at him, but it would have been the worse timing possible as we were going into unknown territory.
I never turned back to look at him. Not before we arrived at the cottage anyway.
Cottage— a hilarious definition of a two floors house with glass-made walls to show off every single piece of exquisitely furnished wood and rustic chandeliers.
‘Come, Mouse,’ Cole opened the door for me to get out of the car, then picked up our luggage from the rear trunk.
Was he growing manners? Because I was mentally prepared to drag my bag out through the snow.
‘You, dumbass, get his bag,’ a man in his early twenties pushed the entrance door open, gesturing to another guy to relieve my king of the weight of his luggage.
‘Camden!’ Cole faked the largest smile he could, and with open arms, he walked over to the man and caught him into a brotherly hug.
‘So glad you could join us,’ Camden exclaimed, making sure to oversee that his friend was taken care of, then directed his attention my way. ‘If I’d known you have pieces like that in Echo City, I would have come to visit sooner,’ he smiled, opening the door so I could get inside, ‘Ladies first.’
