Traveler

*Please note: This is my original work and has not, in any way, been plagiarized. I respectfully ask that readers do not plagiarize after myself. Thank you.

Prologue:

She stepped onto the cold, damp platform. Her bare feet stung with pleasure as she flicked the extraction lever to the on position.

​“Where would you like to go, Valon?” a voice boomed from the speaker.

​“Italy, please."

Valon grasped her ear piece and waited for the familiar, weightless feeling that would consume her as she travelled. She stood, as she always did, with her knees slightly bent to prevent blackout while her backpack fit snug against her back. She would need clothes when she arrived. Valon could feel the air begin to lighten while wisps of her short, tousled hair began to wave wildly. She closed her eyes and concentrated to keep the nausea down. Up. Down. Her gut settled seconds later, and she knew she had arrived.

​“You have arrived at port in Italy, Valon. Please, take this card to return to home port.”

A small, clear card protruded through a thin, almost invisible slot. Valon gently took the card and attached it to her backpack hook so she would have no chance of losing it. Though made of glass, her technologically advanced hook wouldn’t allow it to break off or detach—unless she wanted it to, of course. She undid her backpack from her back and proceeded to open the crystalline straps. From her backpack she pulled a light blue blouse and khaki shorts with plated underwear and a bra and quickly put them on. She tried to work quickly because, if she didn’t, Italy port would return her back home in America. She slipped on her leather gladiator sandals, carefully tying the back straps, and pressed the "open" button. The door screeched open as if no one had oiled it for days. Valon automatically assumed that it was because Italy had so many people that used the community port that even going a day without oil would roughen the gears. However, she was too intelligent to allow assumptions to catch her off guard.

Valon had only planned to be in Italy for a few hours; she desperately needed some Tuscan Tomato Sauce only found in Italy, and with the clash of trade that had happened recently between the countries, food was scarce and stretched too far across the lands for ordinary folk to obtain.

“Buongiorno,” a giant, burly man exclaimed from behind his small wooden porta-bar. His white hair shrouded his face and seemed to attach to his chest. She would have known too, if he hadn’t been wearing such a large coat.

It’s too hot for a coat, she thought.

Just then, Valon realized that she hadn’t turned on her earpiece. The man stared at her waiting for a response to his greeting, but Valon fumbled with her decoder. His puzzled look became a bright expression as he exclaimed, “Ah! Not a frequent traveler,” in near perfect English.

Valon smiled and gave a sigh of relief. Her earpiece would have been delayed another 30 seconds.

“How did you know I speak English, sir?” Valon proclaimed. Now she was the one wearing a puzzled expression.

“I have been expecting you for quite some time now, Valon”, the man said, “you had called yesterday morning to secure your order, and that you would arrive precisely at 330!”

Valon let out a chuckle. For a moment she had thought that someone was following her and relaying her every move to this strange man, but alas, she looked up to his bright eyes and saw the truth. She had also remembered that very call and scolded herself for not remembering. She took pride, though, that she was suspicious of everyone and everything, because if she had not been, well...that is how accidents happened nowadays.

Valon stopped for a moment to think about how the world had changed so quickly after news of the fallen world leaders had spread. Now it was easy for those with money to travel, without passport, without question, because “all belong everywhere,” as the Kaijimoto declared.

The Kaijimoto were a clan of world renowned hackers from who-knows-where, who had unveiled the corruption that those in power held over their people. During a time when riots and killing took over, the Kaijimoto were able to show The People why they were fighting. Those in power encouraged it to further their own political agenda, as well as their bank accounts. Soon, The People stopped fighting over nonsense because once Religion was uncovered as a hoax created by the wealthy to keep uprisings from occurring, The People found that there was no logical reasoning behind the fighting.

Valon came to, and again, the man was staring at her with a bit of impatience wearing on his face.

“Valon, if you are going to pick up your order, could you please do so now,” he said more sternly. “I have others coming to pick up their orders in five minutes and I haven’t got the time to wait.” Valon pulled her Kaijen—universal money—out of her blouse and handed every cent over to the man. He looked at her again and decided that it would be best not to count it in front of her and take her as a truthful person.

“My name is Everbard, and if you ever need anything else, please don’t hesitate to call again,” he said, handing Valon the lighter than air crate. “Now be on your way, I have others to tend to.”

Valon couldn’t understand the rush that Everbard was in because there was absolutely no one around, but she continued down the cobblestoned street to her next destination.