"Um, where are we going…"
Elliot followed the sarcastic man, his brows knit in concern, forced to carry a weird suitcase in his hands with his number written onto it.
Rusted shipping containers formed the walls of makeshift skyscrapers.
Solar panels, haphazardly mounted, clung to rooftops like ivy.
Giant LED signs flickered half-lit news reports in ten languages, stitched together from outdated AIs and forgotten corporate servers.
They walked across long, rusted metal grids that bridged these towering homes, the sky above as bleak as the steel around them.
"You'll be calling me 'sir' from now on, kid."
He didn't even bother to look back.
With a quick hop down the steps, he vaulted over the corroded railings and dropped to the floor below.
The landing rang with a dull, metallic thud, kicking up a cloud of dust—and something darker.
Filthy water, maybe.
Or the residue of something worse.
"Sir?"
