The Rider (Complete)

Chapter Ten

Kade hit the open road. His new bike felt much lighter and faster than the one he previously had. With his oxygen cranked, he cruised through the night, relying on the sensors on his bike to navigate through the thick smog. Since people rarely travelled, not even by air, the highways were mostly empty, which was a bonus. The first two hours of the journey were not the dangerous part. The danger would come later.

His fatigued brain kept replaying the images of the attack from the night before. Now less than twenty-four hours later, it felt surreal that he was on the first leg of the trip that he feared so much.

***

It happened a little after midnight, Kade was awoken by a loud crash and the sound of men charging into his apartment. The door of his apartment had been kicked in, breaking the air seal. Kade jumped up and went for his gun, but was met with a boot to the chest. He flew back on the couch and before he could get up, three men were pummeling him.

As the air escaped his apartment and replaced with poisonous carbon dioxide, Kade began to gasp for breath. He scrambled toward his helmet, but was held in place by three angry men.

One of the men scanned every wall in his apartment until he found what he was looking for. On one of the walls were the greasy smears of hand prints, indicating there was a hidden panel that was operated by a touch sensor.

As his mind wandered, images continued to flash in his head.

One of the thug's broken into the secret stash and removed all his preciously preserved canisters. He returned to the living room where his cohorts were handily strong-arming Kade into submission. Any reservations from backing out of the deal were completely gone.

"I can't... brea—" Kade struggled with his words through a busted up jaw.

"Let him go," Saigon said, entering the apartment. "He's no use to us dead."

The man let Kade go and then kicked over Digi.

"I called you," Kade said, barely able to breathe.

"You did?" Mr. Saigon said. He then took his phone out and played the message.

"Playing message form Kade Casey — 'Mr. Saigon, I hope this message finds you well. I have reconsidered your offer and decided to take you up on it. I can leave as soon as possible.' — end of message. To replay message, press 1."

"Oh, I guess you did. So I guess all this was unnecessary then. Oops, my bad. In any event, it appears we're on the same page now. Oh and Mr. Casey... we'll hold on to your mother just in case you decide to change your mind. Deliver the package and you can see your mum again. Sound good?"

Kade did his best to block out those thoughts, but on these solo adventures, the mind tended to wander into the darkest corners.

***

"Mum, look at me!" Kade said, standing on the seat of his bike.

Kade's mother watched her son proudly standing in her perfectly manicured lawn surrounded by a white picket fence. Kade was in the street, on his bike, showing off all the tricks he could do. The sky was blue, the weather was warm, and a slight breeze kept them cool.

"Very nice, Kaden."

"When's dad coming home?"

"He won't be home until later. He's working a night shift again. You can see him tomorrow afternoon."

"Ah-man," Kade complained, taking a wide turn around the cul-de-sac before coming to a stop. "Okay, mum, watch this one. I'm going to jump off that curb and spin my handlebars."

"Okay, I'm watching."

Kade beamed with joy because he could show off to his captive audience of one. He placed all his weight on his front, setting the bike in motion. He furiously peddled toward the curb with a fierce look of intensity. His bike rocked back and forth as he rode high like a jockey. His front wheel hit the lip of the curb, he popped off, and became momentarily airborne. Maintaining his focus, he whipped the handlebars around so that it, along with the front wheel, rotated 360 degrees before catching it again and sticking the landing.

The bike came down with a thunderous crash and as the wheels touched down, the entire ground shook. With a look of shock, Kade settled the bike and came to a stop. When he looked back at his mother to see if she had witnessed his trick, she was looking up at the sky in horror. Kade turned his head around and saw a large plume of smoke engulf the sky.

The ground started to shake and Kade's mum quickly called him over to come back inside their pristine suburban home.

***

Kade snapped out of his daze and focused on the hazards ahead. On either side of him were hundreds of kilometres of scorched Earth. Since the eruption of Eldorado super volcano nearly two decades ago, the world, along with civilization was forever changed. The once luscious planet, with green trees and blue skies, was in a desperate state of decay where nothing grew, and nature resembled a mars-like surface.

The initial blast wiped out everything in a hundred-kilometre radius, but what happened next did even more damage. The sky turned black, restricting the sunlight. This sent the world into a cataclysmic shift, which killed nearly every living thing on the planet.

The remaining survivors quickly scrambled, gathering food, supplies, and finding safe refuge. Some had prepped for a disaster such as this and retreated into their underground bunkers, while others seal their windows and doors, and relied on air filters to keep them alive.

With time, the dust began to settle and people started venturing out into the world. Essential services such as grocery stores and hospitals resumed operation. People left their houses only when necessary, ensuring they covered their mouths with anything from coffee filters to diapers just to filter the particles out of the air.

Adjusting to a new normal, the resilience of humans found a way to carry on. New manufacturing plants and services emerged. High-tech masks and helmets became as ubiquitous as smartphones. People now breathed out of oxygen canisters and had home filtration systems installed. Along with these changes in lifestyle, people also saw old systems and governments collapse, giving rise to new power dynamics. Mr. Saigon had become the richest and most powerful man in the city.