This story is a work of fiction solely from the twisted mind of Chromex. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental. All characters are of at least 18 years of age unless otherwise specifically mentioned. Please do not copy/redistribute the story, in part or total, without the author's permission.
This is the first in a series of vignettes stemming from my earlier Transformation series and as such is not meant to stand on it's own and may not make sense without some familiarity in my earlier work. While I am unsure if I will fully continue the series I thought you might enjoys these snippits of the character's lives.
Phoenix early December 2067
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"Do you want me to wait in the car Ms. Riley?" He already knew what her answer would be but he still felt obligated to ask. He'd been her assistant for five years now and every year on this day they made their way here. It was the only thing on her calendar carved in stone and the rest of the world be damned.
"Please do Terry. This is my pilgrimage, not yours. No reason for us both to be out in the rain." Pausing for a moment in the shelter of the gull-wing door she flipped her jacket's hood over her head before opening her umbrella and stepping out into the rain.
The dark grey skies threatened a downpour but for now, the rain was a steady drizzle. Somehow climate scientists had never managed to predict that Phoenix was to become as lush and green as Portland had been back in the day. Growing up she never would have believed that December could become a wet month in Phoenix but she was grateful for it, grateful for the solitude it provided. There was anonymity in the rain and with her hood pulled up, she was just one more person visiting the memorial as countless others had done before her. Despite how things had ended between them she'd promised herself she would make this journey, this pilgrimage to say goodbye to an old friend and lover.
Seeing the list of names carved into the black marble she couldn't help but think back to the last time the three of them had ever been together. Wearing the dress Morganna had provided, desperately wanting to make a scene as Rob and Nathan sat there completely clueless as she got up and headed back to the hotel room. A part of her was glad the Hyatt was gone now, damaged beyond repair in 2033 during the short-lived campaign by the Shattered Sphere eco-terrorist group. She'd been on a date at Symphony Hall when the bombs had gone off and while, whatever the hell his name was, ran for safety she'd made her way over to try and help. There are plenty of nights where she can still hear the screams and remember the strange way the concert hall's acoustics had altered the sounds of the explosions but it was hardly the only terrorist act to happen in her home.
She let her hand run across the slick, wet stone before she began to walk among the pillars of black marble. Nearly eighty thousand lives lost in an instant to a senseless act of violence trying to promote a hopeless cause. She'd been stunned when she watched the events of 9/11 unfold on her TV but this was slaughter on a massive scale. More than three hundred million people had tuned in to watch Phoenix host the first Super Bowl ever have two teams from outside of the United States. If she closed her eyes she could still see Allison Moore standing on the stage ready to start the national anthem when everyone vanished in a flash of bright nuclear light. For months the talking heads just kept repeating how lucky everyone was that the device had failed miserably and only managed to destroy the stadium. Circling through the memorial she made her way back to her friend's names.
