Shitty weather near Pine Ridge? Yeah, they weren't kidding. Winds howl once more; funneled into the valley of the once-lush hills.

  The rain was thin, yet blew sideways, forcing those taking shelter to go even deeper towards the insides for any reprieve.

  The pair didn't run, so much as drag themselves out of the main chamber of this new station, towards the outside. A new station that looked the exact same, with the same design, as all those before.

  In front of the two was a river of oozing nukage, flowing from a power plant nearby. It glowed a sickly green, revealing the sides of the roads which will lead them into the unknown. The rain that hit the nukage would evaporate instantly. The bubbling and sizzle of this nuclear lava made way to the speech of a lamenter.

  “Hear ye, hear ye!” The crazed bearded man shouted into the wind. “The end of days is coming! You are all too blind to see it! Open your eyes and see the light, the light contained from us above the clouds!”

  The man looked very old, ringing a bell in the air as he continued his crazed ramblings. Too old to survive in the modern day.

  “Ignore me if you must, my fate is sealed brothers! They are coming for me, and soon, I will be one with Archliege!”

  John stops dead in his tracks as they enter, holding Amy with him.

  “What's up?” She asks him, his face is blank as their encounter with the giant enforcer claws back to him. He stares at the ground, his eyes glazed over, the gusts soaking his face as he recalls those red eyes. Amy grows concerned. “John? John? John, what's up?”

  He finally answers, still staring into nothing. “Do you remember what that man said before he blew up?”

  A spike of anxiety digs into Amy's chest as she recounts.

  “...no. By the time I heard the boom I was already in the back.”

  John shakes his head to snap out of it and regain some composure. He looks to Amy while they resume their walk towards the autocab area.

  “Let's try to get out of here as fast as possible.” He leans in closer, picking up the pace. “Something really isn't right here. We've got to go.”

  John's digiphone shows the way to their autocab, through a parking lot where the vehicles were stowed. He scans his code to open the door, hopping in on the right and Amy on the left.

  After pressing a button on the center console which shuts the doors for them, it is as if, in an instant, the sound outside turned from a storm to a light suggestion. Amy inspected the inside, not a fan of the frost white trim and black interior. She looks up at John, annoyed.

  “What were you doing back there?! You scared me!”

  John straps his belt on, trying to explain to her the situation.

  “Look, that old dude? The crazy one? The one with the tinfoil hat?”

  Amy looks at him, judging intently. “Uhh… yeah?”

  He tries to explain. “That dude talked about the Archliege. I don't have a clue what it is but so did that other guy before he blew up.”

  Amy sees the justification he's providing, playing along with his concern. “Oh, yeah, no that is a huge problem then.”

  John continues from her comment. “Something is happening beneath our noses and we don't know what it is. And that enforcer? They don't just send such a huge guy for something trivial”

  “I don't like where this is going John. You should probably stop talking before you say something silly.” Amy's concern grows, feeling as if John is digging too deep into something that is not their problem.

  “What do you mean?” He protests. “It's not like anyone is here to listen.” Amy closes her eyes, the subtle beg in her voice audible.

  “Look, just please get the autocab moving. We can talk about it once it drops us somewhere else.”

  John sighs, but he understands the point. He grabs the ignition key from the glovebox and cranks the machine to life.

  The autocab speaks to them as the engine warms.

  “Hello, passengers John and Amy. We will be headed to North Platte City, departing Badwater Depot. Is there anything you must state before we depart?”

  The pair are silent.

  “Very well, please enjoy your ride, with music provided by KAT-Inc Sound Libraries? and—” John mutes the speakers before it finishes.

  As the vehicle begins moving, low to the ground and stiff as a rock; the pair opt to look out the windows to observe the scenery. It is a vein antidote for the mind overthinking. Yet it is hard to resist in a world of stimulation.

  The valley they're nestled within sprouts from itself many more of those neopine trees. Their cyan screens contrast with the nuclear green of the river and the dark red blood of the crimson clouds. Their autocab exits the parking lot, picking up speed for the winding streets ahead.

  They ascend through the neopine, the river flowing far below them now. The winds are growing louder than the rain, and Amy can feel as the gusts blow against the autocab so hard that they’re pushed slightly. She decides to talk with SERaMACs, which gives John an idea, who can feel the loss of traction too.

  He opens up Infodump, communicating in text mode.

  “Heyyyy, it's meeeee. I have a question.” John types.

  “What is on your mind?” Infodump replies.

  “Can you tell me more about James Mourner?” He asks.

  Three dots pulsate in a text box as the AI generates its reply.

  “James Ulysses Mourner, forty six, former Senator from Baja State, was an incumbent candidate of the Red Party seeking re-election.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Upon allegations from his former colleagues for serving special interests, he fled from the public eye. Eventually, he was tracked down to the outskirts of Detroit, where he was apprehended by enforcement.

  Tragically, he died of heart failure soon after.”

  John raises an eyebrow, absorbed into this conversation as the weather continues to worsen. “No, I was there. He was very clearly mangled by some tall dude with an army helmet.”

  The AI takes a moment to respond, a prompt saying ‘Memory Updated’ as it does. “According to the experts and anonymous sources, James Mourner died of sudden cardiac arrest. I, as your companion, ensure that the data and information I give you is well sourced and correct.

  If you feel you are a victim of misinformation, be sure to contact authorities at your earliest convenience. Or, alternatively, I can do so for you.”

  John frowns at the response, his suspicions only deepening. He looks to his right to see the nukage river flowing off into another valley, and to see the neopine give way to actual, real, sickly trees on the other side.

  He looks back to his device, choosing the words of his next response very carefully.

  “That won't be necessary. I will contact authorities once I arrive at my new place in North Platte City.”

  The AI replies speedily. “Excellent choice, I will add the local authorities to the contact list of A.H4279Z’s landline. Is there anything else I may assist you with, John?”

  “A.H4279Z?” John asks it.

  “A.H4279Z is the designation of the apartment you and Amy will cohabit. Is there anything else I may help with?” Infodump replies.

  Before he fully processes the response, he hears Amy talking to him.

  “John?” She asks.

  John looks at her and grunts in acknowledgment. “Mmm?”

  “I've never really thought of this up until now. But what do you see yourself doing in ten years time?”

  “What? I have no idea.” John answers. “I don't even know what I'll be doing in five minutes' time.”

  “I understand.” Amy replies. “But I mean like, what do you want to be doing in the future? What is your goal?”

  John thinks for a while, his hand on his chin in a deep contemplation.

  “Y’know Amy…” He tells her, staring at the center console. “I don't know. I’ll try and do like a million different things, but nothing seems to stick. It's always, like, always the same— kinda thing.”

  John continues, leaning closer, looking at her.

  “But… if there is anything I want more than anything else, it's to be in literally any other circumstance than the one I am in with you.”

  “With me?” Amy questions, which John tries to clarify.

  “No, not like that. I mean… just… day after day of just— nothing wrapped in a different piece of shit.

  Like, I'm always doing different things, being stimulated online, going places or whatever. Like… things aren't that bad for us all things considered but… nothing fucking changes.”

  While the weather gets worse, his words seem to strike something. So she ignores it for now. Not just because there is nothing she can do, but because he’s nicer to listen to.

  “You and I can go somewhere different, do all these different things, play all these games or study or watch videos and shit, yet it all just… means nothing. Like we have no sort of meaning in our lives. No direction. And it just never fucking changes. It isn't for a lack of trying. You know what I mean?”

  Amy sighs, looking out the window at the husks of trees near the roadside, illuminated by the neon road markings. “I dunno John. Maybe. Maybe the point is to find change?” She proposes.

  John answers, his frustration apparent.

  “Yeah… and I hope I find it rather soon. Because I am so, so tired of this meaningless shit.” The two are silent for a moment, reaching a long straight of the winding roads. John turns to her and asks.

  “So… what about you? Where do you see yourself?”

  Amy turns back to him as the weather calms slightly “Me? Well, I hope I can help others find their purpose. It's something that I think is noble and that I would enjoy.” John huffs skeptically, telling her.

  “That's… good, but I don't think our problem is a very common one. Everyone seems to be enjoying all of the weird shit they do. They're full of joy. But us? I want it to change.”

  Amy continues to look at him, searching his eyes even as he looks away. “I do too. But I think you'll be surprised John. Looks can be deceiving.”

  “Yeah right.” John answers, looking away to the outside of the autocab. “Well, I really hope you're right. And I hope you find success in that. I’m sorry for being such a downer but… I'll be happy once things finally change.”

  They continue forth in ominous, turbulent silence. The autocab is moving faster around the bends than any reasonable human driver would attempt. Its polymer tires grip to the wet asphalt like sandpaper, yet the winds continue to worsen and worsen.

  John notices an anomaly in the distant cloud cover. Far far off into the distance, he sees a small circle form in and below the clouds. Lightning strikes ring out from the thing forming like tesla coils. John unmutes the autocab and asks it a question. “Hey, vehicle, what language model do you run on?”

  “All Datsun autocab models have been updated to the latest automotive edition of the SERaMACs general language model. You may refer to me as SERaMACs if you wish.” The autocab tells him.

  “Oh... Great.” He whispers under his breath.

  “What the hell is the weather like in Nebraska right now?”

  The autocab answers, the turbulence getting exponentially worse. “Systems have detected a category three cyclonic tornado event manifesting in the west of Pine Ridge and north of North Platte City. Its trajectory suggests it is heading east. May I help you with anything else?”

  “Uhh… yeah!” John says, alarm sounding in his voice. “Where the hell are we right now?” The machine replies, soulless and sanitary. “We are currently in transit on Destiny road, Pine Ridge, en route to—”

  John mutes the machine before it can finish.

  He looks to Amy, who is transfixed on the anomaly headed rapidly towards them. It’s grown to a gigantic size, swallowing the valley in front of them like a menace. John shoves his foot into the some of the pedals, presses some of the buttons, yet nothing works. He never learned how to drive, because why would he? Even the steering wheel retracts itself.

  “Amy! Look at me!” John demands while they barrel towards it. “Everything is going to be okay, alright?!”

  The vehicle loses traction for a second, throwing the pair around inside. They see the dead, ceramic trees ripped from the ground and thrown back down like javelins at sonic speeds.

  “How do we get out?!” Amy yells, yanking on her door to no avail. John yells back, the winds deafening even in their sound deadened vehicle. “We can't! It's still moving! This is fucked!”

  The autocab, out of their control, continues sprinting blindly toward the weather event as it itself draws even closer. The deathly tornado consumes the sky in front; John feels the front wheels lift from the ground.

  He grabs Amy, forcing her to look away from it to distract from their airborne status. “Listen to me.” He says calmly.

  “Everything will be okay, you hear?! I’ll be there for you, and we will be okay.” Amy puts her hands on his, a tear coming from her tired eyes as she looks back at him. “I— I di— do— dunno w-what to s-say…” She says, near inconsolable.

  The last thing he sees is the twinkle of light in her eyes from the wrath of a thunderbolt. Then, all goes black in the inevitable crash landing.