Miltons
The sky was filled with thick haze of rocket fuel and hybrid particles. The streets, or the lower level, was packed with people moving about to different places and what have you. Nelson strolled across the large park to 78th street. Buildings towered all around him. They rose high into the sky and in some parts of the city if one was low enough, the sky would be hidden by the Goliaths of glass and concrete. Here though, a park make it easy to see the sky as it widened the space of the buildings and gave some sunlight to the street floor. He opened the glass door to Miltons Malt Shop. It was a popular place in this part of the city. Some outside seating was set up past the large tall windows. The ceiling rose high and diner lights cascaded down. The whole place was themed like had been zapped in from the 1960’s. Complete with the retro bar that wrapped from the entrance to the back. Small backed stools lined the bar which had a red counter top with chrome lining. Booths lined the wall to the large glass windows, then small tables and chairs filled in the space before the bar. Nelson made his way past a waitress to a stool.
“Coffee and a ham sandwich if you could Mary” he draped his coat on the back of the stool and sat down pulling a small package of phantom cigarettes from his pocket. A small blue haze left the end of the cigarette and as he breathed out it filled into gray smoke. Mary, who was 5 feet all flame, set a mug of coffee in front of him.
“Mind if I join ya?” she said looking down the bar at the two other customers. It was the slow season and the slow time of the day, luckily.
He smiled “Sure” Mary was the sort of girl that always kept an eye on you and spoke her mind when you stepped the wrong way. Her fire red hair always bounced in curls and she had a mature look to her young looking face. Strong willed and even stronger body. She grabbed a mug of coffee for her self and leaned over the bar to join him.
“You know at one time those things could kill you” she pointed at the cigarette between his fingers which was trailing blue vapor. He took a look at it
“Well, it seems that the vice has become good for you” he took a deep inhale and blew the smoke off to the side. Phantom cigarettes were filled with all sorts of things that were supposed to benefit the body. Why they put it in that form, on one knew, but some say that the company used to produce cigarettes in the past and was almost ran out of business. Maybe some sort of middle finger to someone higher up.
“You see the news?” Nelson said
Mary took a sip of her coffee and licked her lips “No, but if I know news, it’s not good and if it’s coming from you, it’s probably worse”
Nelson leaned in “They found something on the 8th plane. Something big. I don’t know what it is, but it is important enough for me not to know. Remember the last thing they kept from me?”
“The E.T program?”
He snapped and smiled “Bingo. I bet this has something to do with those asteroids or space crafts that people have been seeing in the outer planes. They don’t look like anything we have and as soon as we seem them” Nelson made a swooshing noise and moved his hand quickly in the air “Gone, where though? We have eyes and ears, everything, all over the space planes. Ah, but the 8th plane is where it starts to get a little less covered”
Mary rose her eyes brows nodding with a smirk “mmhm” she backed off to the kitchen and return with his ham sandwich. “and I suppose your going to get to the bottom of it, just like the E.T program?”
Nelson took a bite of his sandwich “That’s right” he wagged the sandwich in front of her. “And I’m going to get all the way to the bottom of it” He finished his sandwich and down his coffee and before leaving left a note on the napkin.
It read “Vault box 21, if no call by Saturday” Mary sighed depositing the note in her apron. This time, she might actually find out what is inside vault box 21.
Inspired by Thoughts of a skyless metropolis