Chapter 11 - Encounter: Morning Haze

Eric opened his eyes, it was still dark out. He could feel it was the next day, and a look at the clock beside his bed confirmed that gut feeling. He sighed and sat up. He looked at the windows and saw the red LEDs glowing around the handles. He slid out of bed and stepped up the pressure sealed window. Beyond it the Haze of the City Air hung thick without the sunlight and purifiers to burn it up.

One of the last, and worst, reminders of how far Humanity went to try and snuff itself out. The Haze, 深い霧(ふかきりい), Туман  No matter what you called it; it meant Death if you were out and unmasked at night. It traveled the world and snuffed out the city lights. He could be looking across a street to what should have been a blazing billboard, but instead see nothing but billowing grey and black.

If he was sealed that is. If he wasn't? He'd be dead within, He tried to recall the Big Three's. Three weeks without food, Three days without water, three hours in The Haze, three minutes without air.

He'd rather be without air.

And he'd rather walk out into The Haze than cross the line he'd been presented with yesterday. Damnit, did Julia and Amanda not know what asking a guy in for drinks could lead to?

Sometimes a drink is just a drink. Sometimes neighbors are just neighborly. He sighs and squeezes the sinuses under his eyes. Damn it the pressurizers were working overtime. Was the Haze that thick tonight? He went over to a small device in the wall, part of the Air Conditioning control for his unit. No, outside Pollutant rating was only 215.... Damn it something was wrong with the pressurizers? That was a bad time waiting to happen. 

He rolled his shoulders to chuck off his jacket and slipped out of his clothes as he walked into the main room. He saw Drip, sleeping in her bowl. He smiled at her and took a brief shower before getting dressed and making himself breakfast. He came back into the center room to see Drip in the topmost part of her Habitat, quiet and looking out the window at the Haze. She turned to look at him as he approached, and made a soft sound.

Fluurb. She cooed and Eric set his food on the Kotatsu and knelt beside her habitat to look at the little Slime.

"See something, girl?" He asked before looking out the window.

Red.

He stepped back and his hand was on his hip before the light was gone. Then it was back and he realized he was looking at a beacon at the edge of the street, atop a light post. It was dimming in and out, pulsing on the odd seconds. He relaxed and gave Drip a reassuring smile before he turned to eat his food.

He slipped on his work shoes and was in attire that would fit under a pressure suit. He opened his door carefully and closed it slowly. He didn't realize how quietly he was creeping until he'd reached the elevator. Damn was he trying to avoid waking people up, so early? Or was he guilty?

What do I have to be guilty for? He frowned as the doors closed in front of him, and the elevator rose toward the roof access floor. So I misread a situation but my intentions weren't bad, or wrong. Just... left them standing there, after they offered me their hospitality. The doors opened and he was in a room that resembled the entrance into the workings under the apartment. This sort of thing was typical, and Donna had mentioned it 

Well how did they think that would go? Belle told them what happened to me, shouldn't they have been a little more tactful? And speaking of that, what the HELL was up with that tongue to tit display yesterday. He slipped into a suit unlike the one he'd worn going to hunt the Slime. This one had a more robust air system and was made of different materials. More those resistant to airborne toxins and corrosives, over what lurked under the ground. He walked up to another airlock 

I've been trying not to think about that, but seriously. What are they thinking? Are... are they actually trying to cheat on their husbands? Who are each other's brother in law... I think? Damnit it'd be confusing enough if they weren't twins. The airlock cycled and he walked out with tools carried in a bag slung on one shoulder, and a short rifle hanging over the other.

The Haze wasn't the only dangerous thing at night. So we did end up walking out here, so we probably did fuck up.

He walked over to compressor sensors. If they weren't calibrated correctly, they'd build up extra pressure. Not only would that lead to health issues for the tenants, but it could put the system at risk. That's not the only thing building up in pressure. Damn it, what's Maz going to think, or Gene? or Cornelia... He frowned deeper inside his sealed hood.

A massive tri-sail turbine spun atop the roof, and beside it there were various devices, covered and protected from the elements and compounds. He knelt beside the one he was concerned with and set his bag down. Eric pulled out two other sensors and started a program to test the air as a comparison as he opened up the panel to access the sensors underneath the roof. Maybe we should go talk to the ladies after this? I mean, clear the air, once the air's clean? He sighed. I take it back, that brain cell is still fired.

"Okay, let's focus on the now, shall I?" He looked at what the building sensor was picking up and what the mobile sensors were picking up. He frowned at the number: 265. What the hell? Was the air that intense up here? He picked up the sensors and moved them around roof. The fog was thick as he followed glowing yellow lights on the ground to lead him to various spots. He stood over the transparent material leading into the green rooms; 204. See, that's normal. He walked back toward the sensor and watched the numbers rise: 210, 223, 245, 280? 

His eyes shot up and he saw those red lights again. A pair of them, set in a shadow that sat atop the wind turbine.

There was a lot that lurked in the Haze. Very little could be called 'Good'. Eric forced his pulse to slow as he kept his hand away from the rifle he carried.

"Regulator." He nodded his head at the shadow. The red lights nodded back

Citizen. You are out of doors during curfew. State your business.  The voice echoed in his head more than his ears.

"The building's pressure was higher than it should have been for the current pollutant rating." He began. "I'm one of the building's technicians." He continued and the lights grew brighter.

Technician. Are you qualified to maintain a Regulator? The voice prodded and Eric nodded his head. Military training including that lovely civic duty.

The shadow dropped from the turbine and Eric got a better look at it. The grey-black muscles, the silver steel bones, the red optic sensors, and the sheer material that spanned its bat-like wings. Something was wrong with it alright, its skin was missing, or not working right. He saw patches of the black material shifting over it's body, covering critical components, and moving to cover wherever Eric was focusing. It loomed over him as Eric's face was level with its abdomen, and both were standing upright.

This Regulator has a significant... exterior fault.

"Your skin, your mantle, is malfunctioning." Eric stated as he knelt down to set the rifle down. A silver white blade was at his throat, pressing close to the suit's material. "Putting the rifle down, Regulator. I need both hands to repair the fault." He watched the blade pull away and when it was a resonable distance he finished setting the rifle down, and began to pull out the tools he'd need.

Regulators could be maintained with basic tools, but you had to know what you were doing. As the regulator stood before him, Eric nodded, and it grabbed its rib cage with each hand.

You also needed a strong. stomach. SNAP. CRAP. SLIP. SNICK. SLURP. The Regulator's eyes glared as it opened itself up for repair. Eric worked quickly with the small tools, seeing the problem, a clogged component. He pulled it out, removed the blockage, and slipped it back in. As soon as he did, the material of the Regulator's skin began to reform.

The black material soon covered its body and a less terrifying form stood before him. Still, the red eyes glowed from the dark eyes.

Thank you, Citizen. The error in the sensors was a side effect of exposure to this Regulator's malfunction. You may go inside now.

"After I close the sensor pad and collect-" He started but the red eyes glared. "I'll get them back after curfew lifts." He nodded and started to back away. The Regulator followed him, and Eric managed to get the controls to let him into the airlock without taking both eyes off the Regulator. As the doors closed between them the Regulator bent at the waist and rotated its head so it could watch Eric until the last minute.

Right before the red light was cut off, Eric heard the voice one more time.

Have a good day, Citizen.

The THUD and CLANK of the Airlocks were quiet pops compared to the pounding in his ears. And the WHOOSH of the clean air being cycled in was a whisper compared to the sigh Eric exhaled.

A good morning from a God Damn Reaper, he laughed. "God Damnit," He laughed as he fell against the side of the interior and sat there, panting.