Zone 25 (standard:science fiction, 1757 words)
Author: Dark River	Added: Dec 02 2003	Views/Reads: 3286/2107	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Do you also hate crowds?

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

made me pass through Zone 25? 

“Hey you, kid, come ‘ver here! Take 10 kharzes and buy some cold water.
Buy me a half and keep the change for yourself. See you don't come 
back! I swear on God I'll raze you to the ground, you hear me?” 

“Give me the money and don't cry over 10 kharzes. Do you want water or
not?” the kid asked me. 

I felt like punching him in the face. He's telling me! He's got some
nerve and the tone he uses! But I thought I was too thirsty and, after 
all, 10 kharzes made not a fortune. Hardly had I given him the money 
when the kid disappeared in the crowd. 

I look about to analyze the crowd. I seemed to be in Hell. Shouts,
horrible smells, suffocating heat. On brief it seemed as if I were 
right in the middle of Hell. Where the hell is this kid with my water? 
I dried up! I hear some gun shots on my left and I quickly look to see 
what's going on. Two bastards might have started a fight, this happens 
quite often in Zone 25 so it wouldn't be much of a surprise. These have 
nothing to eat but they have plenty of guns and munitions. The hell! To 
my mind I would shoot them all! But I didn't have time to think because 
something was happening on the ring. I was struck dumb. A hands raised 
giant of two meters high and as much breadth stood on the right side of 
the ring. Damned me this must be Griko! I've seen a couple of Khamals 
in my life but this one beats it all! This bulky has definitely about 
two hundred kilos. If he gave me one blow, he would level me with the 
ground. The cyborg who was on the opposite corner of the ring wasn't 
half bad, but the bulky khamal was obviously superior at least in 
weight and height. They both had their hands raised while the crowd was 
cheering. The guy in the middle of the ring fired a shot, and the two 
faced one another keeping a two meters distance between them. That guy 
showed them a red card, he got off the ring and fired another shot. The 
fight began. The two mingled their eyes then rushed into the fight. I 
could see nothing but fists and feet. Damn if this fight didn't remind 
me of those movies called cartoons. I had a movie like that from my 
grand-grand-grand...parents. It was about a dog fighting with a cat and 
at a certain moment the two were like a whirl and nobody could 
understand anything of it. The same thing was on the ring. The two were 
caught in a whirl and I couldn't see much. 

“You! Here is your water!” I heard a voice next to me. I glanced down
and saw the naughty kid holding a plastic bottle, half full of water. 

“Damned me! How did you managed to slip through these scamps? You skin
must be all bruisers!” 

“Not now! It's not your business! Take your water and leave me alone!
Thanks anyway for the water!” 

The kid slipped down and disappeared among the feet of the crowd who had
eyes only for the cyborg and the khamal. A son of the devil, this kid! 
I didn't believe he would come back with the water, I could bet on 20 
kharzes. I drank and life seemed different. Such a smart guy was the 
one who invented cold water, damn me if not. And I drank one more. And 
another and another one and so on till the bottle was empty. Now that's 
something else. I when I think I didn't want to give the money to the 
kid for the water! Such a fool would I have been if I hadn't given it 
to him. Now I would give double for it. This cold water is so damn 
good! Very good! 

When I woke up from the sublime moment of tasting the cold water, the
crowd of people was screaming like madmen. 

“Griko!Griko!” 

I turned my head to see the fight that I have completely forgotten
about. Griko was jumping like a lunatic on the ring holding the 
cyborg's head in his hands. Damn me! He pulled off his head! If this 
ugly face is so strong than why the hell they don't make him fight with 
one of his kind? Cyborgs are not weak, on the contrary, but this Griko 
is something! Whatever it's not my business. He may fight whoever he 
wants, or he may just die, it's all the same to me. 

All in all I had to get out of the crowd. They were still screaming like
madmen and they didn't seem to prepare to leave. Go to hell you, stinky 
people! If at least they washed themselves not to stink so badly! 

“Move aside! You bastard! Let me get the hell out of here! Don't you see
the fight is over?” I yelled at a guy, trying to elbow my way out. I 
could hardly slip through that crowd. I screamed my lungs out. They'd 
better let me pass if not, I'll give them one to remember. A horrible 
smell of sweat was getting out of me and I wished so badly to take off 
my coat! But I have ten meters left to cross. Who the hell made me pass 
through Zone 25? 

Written by Adrian Cadar Translated by Adina Marc 


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