Ash to Ashes

Ace had told me not to speak to anyone, even when spoken to. I had found that it wasn’t such a problem. People avoided Ace and I like the plague. The bustling streets of Downtown were all one bright, rambunctious, cacophonous jumble. The people were surprisingly meaner than Ace. They bumped into me, sneered at me and openly critiqued my clothes. I couldn’t comprehend why. I looked exactly like them! I guess cruelty was trending on the Pop Roster or something. Downtown made the orphanage appear tame, and I suppose it was.

Ace had done a spectacular job on my make-over. Every girl had the same choppy bob haircut, sapphire jumpsuit and bizarre, geometric jewelry. He was right when he said that I was conformed. He even covered up my freckles with make-up and put in a colored-contact lens to cover up his brown eye. Now he had two blue ones. But in the end, he could not disguise my stutter. I was forbidden to talk to anyone.

The blindingly neon florescent lights illuminated everything. The main colors seemed to be violet, electric blue and black lights. The strange lighting casted shadows across the faces of the pedestrians, blurring wrinkles and sharpening features like cheekbones and noses. The effect was surreal and gaudy. The combined buzz of conversation, music, and electronics surged and crashed upon me like a tsunami, engulfing me completely. Lost in the throng of the crowd, I lost sight of Ace. My throat constricted with fear. Panic and hysteria bubbled out of me and a frantic gasp. I was lost in the stampede of Downtown without Ace. The thought alone was enough to send me into coronary arrest.

“Hey, babe,” A smooth voice said to my right. I startled and flinched away from the noise. I relaxed a little when I saw that it was just a boy in a sapphire jumpsuit, his hair spiked to resemble a hedgehog. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, pretending to be brave instead of cowering like I wanted to. I had to be strong for this disguise to work.

“My companions and I noticed you from a distance, and I must say that you look quite celestial. My name is Sprocket, what’s yours?”

I crinkled my nose at his lingo. Celestial must be a word trending in the Pop Rosters, because no one in their right mind would use it out of context like that. I eyed him warily.

“So, whaddya say, angel? Care to take me to your cloud?”

“N-no thank y—ou,” I said while flipping my hair out of my eyes. “You’re f…ar too raunchy for me.”

The word felt entirely stupid on my tongue. Ace would be proud of me for recalling it. With a feeling of dread, it dawned upon me that I wasn’t supposed to open my mouth in the first place.

“Woah,” Hedgehog boy said incredulously, eyes wide. His eyes are a shocking shade of violet. Colored-contact lenses, of course. “Did you just stutter? That’s so…”

I gritted my teeth and waited for the trouble to begin.

“… original. Did you think of that yourself? I wasn’t aware that you were a trendsetter! Wow, good-looking and original. I gotta hand it to you, babe, you’re a two-in-one deal!”

I blushed at his strange compliment and murmured, “I’ve g-gotta go.”

“S—see you l-l-later?” he grinned. I can’t believe it! This boy thinks that I’m faking my stutter to gain popularity! He started tapping away on a small device and said into his ear-receiver,”Cad, Faction! I’ve got the latest scoop: stuttering is in, and I’m one of the first to know about it! C-c-cool, right-t?”

I left him to his gossiping and bumped into something solid. Peering upwards curiously, I find that it’s Ace. He was seething.

“What did I tell you about talking to strangers?” he snapped. “And about wandering off? You’re useless! Follow me!”

He grabbed my hand and started moving through the traffic, tugging me along behind him. I grimaced and tried to tug my hand from his, but he only gripped it tighter. I narrowed my eyes at the back of his head and hoped that he could somehow receive my disdain. The feeling of Ace’s hand wrapped around mine was warm and exhilarating. I wiggled my fingers against his palm, and from behind I could see a muscle in his jaw jump at the strange sensation.

We navigated Downtown for what felt like hours, waiting at stoplights, winding through alleyways and avoiding recognition at all costs. Ace was gripping my hand the entire time, and soon our hands were clammy and sweaty from the contact. With wide eyes, I absorbed what freaks the citizens were. Spiked hairdos, angular jewelry and crazy gadgets. There were people who whizzed by on rollerblades that hovered instead of sporting wheels. I flinched away from them and kept walking.

“Ace!” I huffed indignantly. I stopped dead in my tracks and that made him stop too, because our hands were still inked together. We were in an empty alleyway a few blocks from the buzz of Downtown. “Where are we… going? Just-t tell me—e already!”

Ace snarled at me and tugged at my hand, trying to make me move forward. I stubbornly stayed rooted to the spot. Exasperated, he groaned, “Silence, Data. We’re going to verify your Info Card, which is highly illegal, so shut your trap unless you want the CopperBot to make a guest appearance tonight.”

That shut me up. I followed after him gloomily, sulking at how mean he was. He was such a jerk! I couldn’t tell of he despised me or not. He certainly acted like it. But if he hated me so much, why would he go through all the trouble of helping me? My thoughts were like a thunder cloud, pouring rain and drenching my thoughts in a torrent of negativity and cynicism. Ace lead us to an alleyway blocked off by a chain-link fence. The fence was rusted, and there was a wide section that had been cut with wire cutters. Ace and I squeezed through the opening and continued onward.

We eventually reached our destination, which was a shabby, abandoned apartment on a shabby, abandoned street. I was not impressed. “R—really, Ace? This is it?”

“Yes,” Ace snapped. “This is it, Speech.”

I rolled my eyes and inspected the archaic building. It looked structurally unsound, a fire hazard. “Are… are you sure it’s safe?” I asked doubtfully. The building looked like it was going to collapse at any second.

“I’m certain that it’s the exact opposite of safe, but that’s exactly why Thom put his business here. The city decided to just leave these buildings abandoned instead of rebuilding them. They figured it was a lost cause anyway. They sealed it off from public access and forgot about it.”

“So…” I trailed off uncertainly. Realization dawned on my, and with wide eyes I said, “W-we’re tres—trespassing!”

“Bingo,” Ace murmured with a signature eye roll. “Now, let’s go.”

“B-but we’re trespassing!” I cried.

“Data,” Ace said with a bemused expression. “We snuck through a chain-link fence on the way over here. What made you think that was normal? The fence was obviously there for a reason, and obviously been vandalized to gain access inside. You are so dim-witted.”

I huffed and stomped my foot angrily, but followed Ace inside that deathtrap of a building regardless. The room we entered was spacious and bare, all except for a desk, a chair, a machine and a middle-aged man.

“Thom! Long time, no see. How have you been?” Ace greeted warmly, and I instantly felt jealous. Why was Ace kind to everyone but me?! A scowl slipped onto my face and I crossed my arms over my chest self-consciously.

The older man had thinning brown hair with streaks of gray in it. He was an average man or average height and had average features. His warm brown eyes told me that he was kind and patient. “Hello, Ace. I’ve been alright. I see that you brought another rescue, hm?”

“A—another rescue?” The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. Ace glowered at me.

“A stutter, eh?” Thom grinned, and I felt myself warming up to the man. No wonder Ace was fond of Thom: Thom was the kind of person who accepted everything with a grain of salt and did not judge others. “Yes, you’re not the first person Ace has helped. He comes in every few weeks with a renegade in need of a certified Info Card. He runs a sort of salvation, rescuing illegitimates and giving them a second chance. This boy’s heart is in the right place, all right.”

“Ace?” I asked dubiously. “We’re t-talking about the same boy, right-t-t?”

“Aw, Thom! You weren’t supposed to tell her that! Now she’s gonna think I’m her savior or something.” Ace scowled ran his hand through his sleek mop of black hair.

I blink in disbelief. “You mean… the mean thi..ing is just an act? So that I won’t fee-el grateful?”

Thom tapped his nose, smiling again. Ace groaned loudly and told me, “You shouldn’t feel grateful. You don’t owe me anything. This is the only time I’ll ever help you! Grr!”

Thom scoffed, “the kid is a saint. He’s just too humble to accept anyone’s thanks. Let me see your Info Card, Stutter. I’ll have it certified in a jiff.”

I scoured my jumpsuit for the card and produced it from my back pocket. As I went to hand it to Thom, there was a rumble on the ground that almost knocked us over. The building swayed precariously as the sound of mechanics roared outside.

“What was that?” Ace demanded as he clutched at Thom’s desk to keep from toppling over. “What was that?”

I stumbled to the window and gasped. “A b-b-bulldozer and a crane! The ci-ity m-m-mus-ust ha..ave sign—ed a w-w—,”

“Signed a what?!” Ace hollered, as the ground rolled under our feet again. “Spit it out, idiot! Just say it!”

The panic must have cleared my thoughts, because I said the next sentence without a single stutter. In a clear voice, I yelled,

“They’re here to knock down the building!”