The rainfall pelted the tinny roof of the hyperrailer. Drips leaked into the passenger cabin due to the terrible build quality. It sliced through the air and smog of the outskirts at over two hundred kilometres an hour.

  Its passengers were full, yet vacant. Either trapped within their own digital worlds, locked into consuming entertainment, staring vacantly into the black grass hills of the metrotrack's wastes, or collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.

  The great advertisements and consumeristic factories of Detroit fade from the view of John and Amy; its great light beacons the only things visible through the thick, unyielding rainfall. “Do you think we'll ever be let back here?” John asks Amy, his tattered trousers soaking wet from a water leak.

  “I don't know. We can always visit it sometime through the contentsphere.” Amy answers, her skirt only dry because John acts as the sponge for the two.

  “Sounds like a lot of credits. SERaMACs hasn't been able to find me a job yet unfortunately.” John replies, turning back around in his seat to face the inside. Amy continues staring out the window as the last beacons phase into the haze. “Don't worry John. SERaMACs will find you one as soon as he can.”

  “He?” John asks. “Your one is a guy?” Amy nods, the twinkle in her eyes having gone with the beacons. “Hah. Mine is girly at the moment. That's interesting.” John finishes; the hyperrailer is thick with falsehoods and promises.

  The drone of the tracks drowns out the onslaught of winds and rain. John checks the time on his digiphone, reading that the morning is just beginning. He looks around the cabin, paying no attention to the solicitors or drooling addicts aboard.

  The light above is both sanitary and gross. Yet when he looks outside into the haunted wilderness, he sees only the dark crimson cloud cover.

  That, and the tar-soaked hills; contorting as far as the weather allows him to see. A lightning strike flashes in the distance, and John counts in his head. Five seconds later, its thunder rocks through the cabin of the hyperrailer.

  As it echoes through the atmosphere, the pair feel the hyperrailer begin to decelerate; thus signaling they’re reaching their destination. A convincingly synthetic voice rings in over the hyperrailer intercom.

  “Attention occupants; you are now arriving at depot 3A257B18CX, designated Unity Transit Point! You will be required to stay for the next twelve hours as your belongings and networks are allocated to your relocation points. Facility staff will be there to greet you. Have a lovely stay!” The voice fakely enthused.

  John, Amy, and the others listening rise. The dull rail hum fades, letting the sound of rain take over the ambiance. The all-present, ever-seeing, forever constant rain.

  “Exit as you are prompted.” The intercom says. The crowd of one hundred exit into the freezing gusts of the depot; stained yellow lights illuminating the walls of the dirty painted bricks.

  Oddly, the station management is nowhere to be seen. Even more odd, there is no music playing. The ads plastered all over the walls have been paused. Thus, the passengers wait for a minute. Then two. Then three. Those who lack heating subscriptions on their clothing shiver, trying to huddle together for warmth. All are silent and awkward amongst each other while lacking instruction.

  From one of the two stairway exits into the station, the sound of footsteps grows. Armed and armored men march down in pairs and begin encircling the crowd. Amy and John are near the front.

  Collective nerves are rising. Loud thuds echo from the opposite staircase; the sound of ceramic and concrete cracking underfoot. A gigantic man, towering above all those present, reveals himself.

  John, along with the rest— even those mindlessly scrolling the contentsphere pay attention. The giant man's face was obscured by a riot helmet, comically oversized for any regular man. Despite a lack of detail, his musculature pushed back against the material of his undersuit. His armored vest held metallic pads cut to accentuate his massive frame. He wore a huge, featureless backpack. Armored knees, boots and elbows.

  Gunmetal gray with tech accents calculating away beneath the heavy armor plates. His visor was a neon red as it scanned the crowd of people. “James Mourner, you are under arrest.” His distorted voice booms.

  The crowd looks around at itself, not daring to move otherwise. The massive man's head turned to the armed guards, tilting his head to the left. He looks back to the crowd.

  “James Mourner. You are under arrest for corruption of government. If you fail to comply…” The giant pauses for a moment. “...I will hang your corpse by your entrails.”

  The giant's head snaps towards a specific point in the crowd. A commotion begins brewing as a man deep within the group attempts to run. “Get out! Get the fuck outta the way!” The man cries, pushing John aside and sprinting towards the hyperrailer’s tracks.

  The guards stand motionless as a few among the crowd begin panicking. The man is almost a blur, his trench coat flying in the wind as he sprints away.

  The giant begins pursuing, the ground trembling beneath them as he accelerates. Amy looks to John, distraught. “What the fuck is happening?”

  John hurriedly ducks to the floor, pulling Amy with him. “I don't know. Just be quiet!”

  The giant catches the man before he can squeeze between the hyperrailer and the tunnel wall. He pulls the man out, lifting him into the air by his right arm, up to eye level.

  The giant's voice blares through his digital talk box, hurting the ears of those close to him as he yells. “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO TRY TO ESCAPE ME?!”

  He throws the man at the wall; loud cracks and snaps are heard as he slams into it. “AHHHHGH! SHIT! FUUUUCK!” The man screams; his voice reverberates for seconds until the sound of rainfall washes it away.

  The giant picks him back up, this time by the neck, asking him. “WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY BEFORE THE END OF YOUR PATHETIC EXISTENCE?!”

  The man forms a reply, choking and gasping as he does. John and Amy look on in horror as most of the others flee back into the hyperrailer.

  “T-Th… Th-The Ar… Archliege lives o-on.”

  The man swiftly reaches into his pocket, pulling out a limpet charge and smacking into the face of the giant. Exploding, it sends him tumbling back into the ground as the giant recoils back in pain, dazed momentarily.

  The guards look at each other for a second, aiming their laser rifles onto the man before the giant screams out. “WHOEVER PULLS A TRIGGER, I WILL HAVE THEIR HEAD!” The guards are visibly taken aback, and lower their weapons whilst the man struggles to crawl to the stairway with only one arm and leg.

  Amy, having retreated deep into the hyperrailer, cries in fear while frantically scrolling her digiphone to find her SERaMACs. John, on the other hand, stands just behind the exit door of the hyperrailer, watching the commotion.

  Blood drips from the shattered helmet of the giant as he rises to his feet. John sees a red metallic eye staring through a chunk of helmet that has melted off; still molten on the edges.

  The giant turns to the mangled thing that is left of his prey, which vainly attempts to crawl away.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The giant calmly, slowly; almost quietly walks to, and grabs the man; taking him up the stairs. John watches him hang limply in the giant’s grip before he disappears.

  The panicking citizens and falling rain are all that is audible for a moment. A deep scream echoes throughout the facility like thunder. The scream ends with a deep crack, splat and thud that shakes the very walls, doors and ceiling of the depot.

  The neon light swayed and dimmed from the shock. Those mounted to the walls and in advertisements flicker briefly.

  John, in panic, tries to find Amy amongst those in the hyperrailer. He is dizzy and shaking with fear, pushing and shoving to get to her.

  Meanwhile, the giant thuds back down to the bottom of the stairs, obscuring most of his body. His voice booms; breathing like a rabid animal, snarling as if holding himself back.

  “Temporary citizens of 3-A-2-5-7-B-18-C-X, the threat from amongst you has been erased. Stay within this collection point until facility staff greet you. Those who… fail to comply will face the same… fate I… that I delivered to that James Mourner.”

  He turns around, goes up the stairs with the guards trailing him just as they entered. “May joy approach you all.” Is faintly heard as he leaves. “Amy! Amy! It's over! We're okay!” John wheezes to her, trying to console her as she cries.

  “He's gone now! We just have to wait for the staff!” Amy sobs and replies. “I want to talk to SERaMACs. He won't respond to me.”

  John's guts wrench seeing her like this. “Look… just come here. I'm here. People are coming to save us soon.” He sits down beside her on the damp floor and holds her close.

  The pair calm each other slowly, though many of the passengers seem to be losing their minds. Some of them roll around, wrapped up like a ball, weeping mutely.

  Others opt to shove their virtual headsets back on to get lost in their fantasies once more. While some simply sit mute, staring blankly into the fabric of whatever object is in front of them.

  Synthwave music starts playing through the speakers on the walls. The ads resume like normal, a voice attempting to be human coming through the intercom.

  “Apologies passengers for the commotion, welcome to Unity Transit Point! Our facility is home to many leisure and recreational experiences which we hope you will use during your stay. As a token for our deep, deep sympathy for your delay; each passenger will receive a five-credit coupon for any Turbo-Mega-Rocket? subsidiary of your choosing.”

  John and Amy look at each other as the voice continues.

  “Please leave us a five-star rating on MACStore? and DealPro?, we would greatly appreciate the help! And now, a word from our sponsor, Terr—”

  The return to familiarity brings comfort to John and Amy, their ears zoning out to the pending sponsors. They join a few others exiting the hyperrailer, stepping back onto the collection point. While the wind has subsided, it is still chilly. And the stains of blood and broken tile are not pleasant to behold.

  John shields Amy's eyes from the blood-soaked walls.

  “Let's keep moving. Up the stairs.” He says, escorting her.

  They step past the cracked tiling, reaching the top of the staircase. They smell an awful odor, not synthetic but organic. John spots a reddish pink mass in the corner of his vision, and he does not dare look at it directly.

  Amy's digiphone buzzes. She checks it to see SERaMACs sent her a notification. The pair are drowned in blue light of the station as Amy gets him to take a seat with her on a bench. John protests. “Amy? We need to get to our room. We can’t be out here.”

  “Hang on, SERaMACs is back online. We'll go soon I promise.”

  She answers, opening a chat with SERaMACs. John sits beside her, looking at the device as SERaMACs greets them.

  “Amy! I detected an anomaly in the hyperrailer schedule. But it is good to see you are okay. And… oh, why if it is not the John I have heard so much about!”

  John's face grimaces at hearing his name from it. “Uh… What? You know who I am?”

  SERaMACs replies, using the digiphone speakers. “Of course! I know a whole lot of people, John. Good to meet you this way.”

  “Yeah… good to meet you too.” John replies apprehensively.

  Amy chimes in, much giddier than she was previously.

  “SERaMACs, don't ever leave me like that again! It was scary...”

  SERaMACs replies, sounding as sincere as it is capable.

  “My apologies Amy, I am not entirely certain what happened. The main thing is you are okay, which I am very happy about.”

  Amy tries to reassure SERaMACs as John looks on.

  “It's okay SERaMACs, you're still my friend. I'm sure it was just something outside your control.”

  She smiles at the default avatar of SERaMACs, who responds to her.

  “Well Amy, I would not say such occurrences are beyond my capacities. I also value your friendship.”

  John butts in, now frustrated. “What?! What do you mean you wouldn't say such?!” Amy frowns at him. “John, don't be so mean. It's okay.”

  SERaMACs swiftly concurs with her. “Think nothing of it John, how about we change the subject, yes?”

  “No, I wanna head to the room already.” John answers, feeling emotionally and physically drained. Amy pulls him back down gently, telling him. “This is just the last one, I promise.” She looks back to SERaMACs on her digiphone, imploring it to continue.

  “Thank you, Amy. I have always questioned the following internally as it is quite atypical in my experience. Why do you still refer to me as SERaMACs? The option to rename the application is available in the settings menu.”

  Amy answers its question rather effortlessly. “It's because you're perfect just the way you are SERaMACs, that's why!”

  “Thank you for your answer, Amy, it will be used to improve your future experiences. I must add that this is extremely atypical. I am thankful you are happy with—”

  The app pauses auto generation for a moment.

  “—me being your friend. You both must be going now so I will talk to you both next time.”

  Amy waves goodbye as John looks on, confused. “Bye SERaMACs!” She says, closing her digiphone. John grabs her hand and stands up.

  “I didn't know you could change its name. I've gotta do that next time I open it. Anyway, let's go, I'm sore.”

  Amy gets up without fuss, and John uses his digiphone to follow the holographic line which leads to their room.

  Finally, they stand outside their door, and the rain is inaudible.

  They hear some thudding coming from upstairs; all encompassed by a quiet, lingering drone. John scans open the door for Amy, both heading into the dark concrete box.

  “Turn on lights.” John says, closing the door behind. And just like that, the lights turned on; revealing two sponge mattresses, some power sockets, and an en-suite sanitation station.

  The lights, for once not neon, create a buzz which adds to the monotony of the drone. John, weakening, falls onto one of the mattresses. It is ecstasy; he breathes a huge sigh of relief.

  Amy looks around the room.

  “Wow… they weren't kidding saying this is luxury.”

  John replies, already falling asleep.

  “Yeah… I'm just gonna… lie here for a moment.”

  It felt like only seconds passed before he opened his eyes again. He looks to Amy for a moment. “What's the time?” He asks.

  “One thirty, sleepyhead.” Amy answers, plugging in her digiphone to charge. John begins dozing off to sleep again feeling the most comfortable he has felt in weeks.

  “Yeah… that… that makes sense…” He says, his words fading into whispers as he drifts into sleep once more; only seventy-two hours overdue.