The sun gleamed down at Swifi, one of the cities in the western continent of Kinerik. The blurs and streaks zooming past the streets, across all those homes, small markets, and fields, were a common sight as it was in all the Kinerik cities across all of Kinerik.
There were no vehicles or machines to aid with transport apart from the off world fliers and ships coming in and out of Kinerik, but those were only limited to exports and trading across worlds and the occasional traveling of the Kinerik council, descendants of the great nobles of Kinerik's ancient past. They still serve as the leaders of Kinerik just as their ancestors did before them. Apart from those exceptions, the only form of transport that was universally common across all of Kinerik was that of the feet.
If you had a place you needed to go, you had to make the trek down; you had to run. That was the unspoken rule in Kinerik, a rule they followed gladly. For they were people of motion, and the thought of standing still for even a second was agonizing for them.
To them, moving was life, and speed was the only way they could.
It was just another normal day in Kinerik.
"Hey, wait. Where the hell is my food? It's been twelve whole seconds," an enraged man yelled as he sat on a table in a restaurant waiting for his food.
Seconds later, a streak zoomed towards him and delivered his food to his table.
"Your order Black curint soup with a side of white Siric flakes," the tired, slightly frustrated waitress spoke as she kept her plate down.
The hungry man then looked at her, his eyes reaching her arm and seeing the limiter on her wrist. His eyes then flickered upon the number flashing by the side of the limiter.
"Gear one," the man smirked as he grabbed his bowl of black curint soup. "That explains why it took you so long, little slugha,"
The woman, upon hearing the man's words, instinctively covered up her limiter.
The man, in an instant as though to taunt her, moved his body in a hasty blur of speed. Moving far too fast for the woman's eyes to comprehend any more than a flurry of hands stuffing food into mouths that seemed to vanish from one spot to another as the hands fed food into them.
*Burp*
The man emptied his bowl and then tossed a single coin on to the empty bow. He then rose up from his seat and then made his way to door.
The woman then looked down, at the single bowl. A trickle of cold sweat then flowed down her brow before she opened her mouth to speak hesitantly with trembling slips, "Er…sir, the meal cost ten swifcens, this…this is just one,"
The man, about to reach then the door when he her speak, turned to face her. Then in the blink of an eye, he moved like a blur and appeared right in front of her. His speed so immense that it caused her to fall to the ground.
The woman, now on the floor, her eyes finally able to see the limiter wrapped around his wrist and the number flashing from it.
Two, just a single digit above hers, but…
"You should count yourself lucky I even bothered to pay you at all you lousy little slugha," he spoke with disdain in his voice before darting away out the restaurant, moving at that speeds she could only dream of as she watched go.
The woman, watching him leave, could only hang her head low and slowly get up. Yells and screams muffling through her surrounds as the impatient customers waited to be served.
The woman than took a breath before darting away to kitchen and then mere seconds raced out with all their meal, serving them all within the span it took blink and still they complained.
They yelled and screamed that she moved too slowly.
"Slughas are all the same. You can't even deliver food right," a woman complained as she pinched the bridge of her brow.
The woman just watched silently, listening to her as she continued with her head bowed.
"I… I apologize, miss; I promise next time I…" The woman was cut off by the woman yelling, "Great Yaseki, it even takes you ages to apologize. Just leave my sight. Surely you should be able to do that fast enough before you make me lose my appetite."
The woman remained silent and just bowed her head, her eyes spotting the limiter on her wrist, two just like the man before.
A tired sigh left her lips.
The rest of the day followed a similar pattern of insults, ridicule, and mockery.
"You filthy Slugha,"
"Can't you do anything right,"
"I ordered this ten seconds ago,"
"Damn, you really are slow."
She heard their voices, their whispers, their taunts constantly. It never seemed to end; they never seemed to grow tired of it.
*Sigh.*
A heavy breath left her lips right before she collapsed on the ground beside the wall right next to the back door out the side of the restaurant.
It was late at night, and she was right about to take her finally; they could finally go home away from…
Her eyes darted to the limiter on her wrist, the single lone digit flashing in her eyes as her eyes sunk down.
One digit.
That was the difference between her world and theirs. Just a digit, and yet…
"That explains what took you so long, little slugha,"
… It was all it took to make her different from the rest of them.
She shut her eyes tight and lowered her head onto her arms.
It wasn't fair.
A single tear made its way down her eyes.
"Rushina," a single, lone voice called out for her as the door next to her opened up.
A young woman, about the same age as her, then stepped out.
"Rushina, there you are," she spoke with a beaming smile upon seeing her. Her smile then immediately faded away upon seeing Rushina down on the floor with her head hung low.
"Rushina," she spoke, her words laced with worry and concern, rushed to her side.
"Rushina," the young woman called out to her once more. "Are you okay,"
Rushina upon hearing the woman's voice, raised her head and saw her limiter. She then gritted her teeth and forcefully pushed her away.
"I'm fine. Mind your own damn business," Rushina spoke with an air of malice in her voice.
"I…" The woman felt her words choke in her throat as she struggled to get them out. "Motina called for all the workers. It's payday."
Rushina heard the soft words from the woman and then let out a low growl before making her way to the door, leaving her just lying there on the floor.
A few moments later, Rushina found herself standing ina queue of all the workers in the restaurant, including the woman she pushed away. Their boss, Miss Motina, a large woman, a gear two limiter, made her way through the queue and out with sacks of swifcens.
She watched them all receive their full pay. She watched the woman, who stood next to her, receive hers right before it was finally her turn.
And then as she opened up her hands to receive her pay…
*Clink*
A few coin bits fell on her palms.
"This is…" Her eyes widened in shock.
"What did you expect? You've cost more than half my profit today alone," yelled Motina. "I don't even know who even hired you to begin with. The customers keep complaining about the service."
Rushina once again found herself bowing her head, enduring with her fist crumpled up and trembling quietly in frustration as yet another person yelled at her.
"Yaseki's sake, I know this isn't a high end or one of those classy places the elites come to dine, but I have standards. Our food is meant to be delivered to the table within the second of the order," she pointed, striking her finger onto Rushina's chest as her head remained bowed. "Even a sluhga like you should be able to manage that, or your tiny little leg is incapable of running that fast,"
"I…" she gritted her teeth. For a moment Rushina felt as though she was going to burst open and scream. Yell at her that she was trying her best, pushing herself as far as she should, to be faster, to be more, but…
Her eyes then made their way down to the limiter resting on Motina's wrist.
The digit number two is flashing brightly on it, and then…
*Sigh*
She was brought back to reality.
"I...am sorry, ma'am. I promise to improve and try to deliver the food faster next time," said Rushina, her tone low and words hushed, almost as weak as a whisper.
Nobody noticed the way her body shook and trembled as she spoke. Nobody noticed the ache in her words. Nobody except…
A familiar pair of eyes made their way to her. Eyes of the very same person she pushed away a while ago.
"You better. I'm losing good money fast because of you. I'm losing good money fast," said Motina as she turned away from Rushina.
"Now you lots have gotten your pay scram. I need to lock up," said Motina.
They all then began to make their way out. With almost all of them rushing out of the restaurant as hazy streaks and blurs out the door and on to the open streets.
Before long, Rushina found herself alone, about to leave, walking out the door with heavy footprints when…
"Hey Rushina," a soft voice called out to her.
Rushina, recognizing the voice, just let out a heavy sigh before pausing and turning around to see the woman she shoved away at the back of the restaurant, clutching nervously to her handbag.
"What do you want, Zoomie?" she spoke brashly and coldly, her words tired and low.
"I…uhm," she choked on her own words before finally letting out a dry cough to clear her throat and then spoke softly, "Well, it's kind of chilly out, and I was wondering if…you might be willing to run home together."
Rushina just looked at her for a good minute, examining her shy, nervous face. Her rose-freckled cheeks seem to glow softly under the moonlight. Before her gaze reached down to her limiter…
She then scoffed before turning away.
"I'll pass," she spoke coldly.
"Oh," Zoomie spoke with a soft and tender voice. "Alright then maybe next…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Rushina was off, darting away as fast as her legs could carry her.
Moving through the open streets of Kinerik, she raced through the streets, past the bright lights lit all around the city.
Rushina then looked ahead and saw them. Shifting streaks and hazes of blurs darting about through the city, moving way too fast for naked eyes to comprehend. But she could see them all clearly. Running around as free as the wind that blew through their hair as they ran.
She watched as streak after streak moved past her, almost complete in her eyes. But as time seemed to have come to a near halt for just a brief moment, she saw them. Kinerikans like her with light in their eyes should only ever dream of having. Watched them go, her feet feeling too heavy to follow, and in the blink of an eye they were gone.
Rushina's eyes just fell as she continued to dart away. In her mind, recalling what it meant to be gear one, fast enough to move from place to place like any vehicle or machine using a combustible engine. Gear two, fast enough to reach the sound barrier but never quite breaking it. In Gear three, you moved with a boom in your step, never seen while you ran, and even your shadows appeared as faint hazes that only last for a few mere seconds.
If you were in gear three, it was said to be no door in Kinerik that would shut to you. You could have anything, everything; you could even want. Gear two meant that you could live a decent life, work with dignity, and be respected. And then *sigh*, there was gear one.
The lowest of the low. Seen as lesser, slow, and incompetent. Ignored and ridiculed by everyone around you.
Rushina stopped. Her eyes looked on to the sight of a couple making their way into a fancy, high end restaurant. With both flashing the numbers on their limiter to enter.
Then, from clear glass windows, she watched the rest. People being served waited at speeds she could barely comprehend, serving their food without anyone yelling, mocking, or insulting them.
She looked at them. Kinerikan, people, doing the exact same job as her and yet…
"You should count yourself lucky I even bothered to pay you at all, you lousy little slugha,"
She gritted her teeth before darting away.
She ran and she ran until the lights that surrounded her began to dim and the streets, once bustling with the screeches and zips from the feet of other Kinerikan moving at near supersonic speeds, stopped. Then she finally stopped, having reached her destination.
The still zone, another name for slums in Kinerikan. There are quite a few of them scattered all around Kinerik. They were the displaced Kinerikans who had nowhere to run to and end up.
The streets there were empty and almost seemed dead. Filled with buildings and homes that looked like they were a breath away from collapsing. Everywhere, almost every corner, shadows shifted slowly. The homeless, those who could not do the one thing that made Kinerikan, those who they were…
Rushina walked past them, seeing their bowed heads and those hidden dead, hollow eyes. Her eyes making contact with the limiter secured and wrapped tightly on their wrist. The single digit flashing on their wrist, zero.
…stripped of their speed. They laid down on the floor, the streets, and within dark alleyways. The cold air was blowing past them, but they never shivered or shook. They remained still and motionless, and simply waited for everything to end. For a Kinerikan with no speed, they had already stopped living; the only death remained to make it official.
This was the only fate worse than being a gear one. Gear zero, which meant you were denied the very essence of life itself as a Kinerikan, the ability to run.
A tired sigh left Rushina's lips as she made her way into her apartment complex. Making her way to her apartment. She snapped on the lights only to see six eyed rats and mice, along with critters, bugs, and insects with limbs far too numerous for her to keep track of, scurrying about once the light came.
She took a glance at her room. A single small mess bed by the corner of the wall with sheets with a mysterious stain she had given up on washing. Too far from it was a small mini fridge.
She then made her way to the fridge, bent down, and then opened it. Finding it almost completely empty apart from a single plate of boiled runikan beets, which was starting to grow black spots.
A tired sigh then left her lips.
"Maybe I'd get food poisoning and finally die," she spoke with a weak and empty voice before grabbing the plate and then making her way to the kitchen.
Heating up the food in an extremely cramped kitchen, on a small electric stove.
Once she had something in her belly. She made her way to the bathroom, which felt like a box, then a room.
She stripped herself bare of everything apart from the limiter on her wrist and then turned on the water. Feeling the ice-cold water rain down, she felt a chilling jolt flow through her as the water hit, but instead of feeling uncomfortable or shivering from the cold, she found it relaxing.
The intense cold reminding her cool air she felt blow past her while running, making her wonder if the air would feel just as cool if could run even faster.
Feeling the water splash on her short dark brown hair, flow down her face on to her bare skin and through the rest of her body. Rushina couldn't help wonder:
'Is this what they feel while running? This cold rush, the roughness of the chilling winds blowing past them. It…'
Her head lowered down.
'It must be nice'.
After taking her bath she made her way to the bed. Lift the mattress up slight to reveal a small box under. She then brought it out and looked inside. There she found a small bundle of swifcens, her entire life's savings.
She then reached in to her pocket and brought out the little she had made that day and added it in to the bundle.
Looking at the amount inside, a heavy sigh left her lip.
It was barely enough but with this maybe…
She was cut off by a ping from her limiter.
She then looked down and found a picture of none other Zoomie followed by a short messaged.
"Just made it back home. How about you?"
Rushina just rolled her eyes in annoyance upon seeing the message before turning off her limiter.
She then turned off the lights and proceeded to collapsed on the bed.
Letting out a tired sigh Rushina.
'Today was pretty rough but then again so is every other day'
She raised her limiter up. Seeing the single number flashing on it.
She then pressed it.
A holographic list of contacts then appeared on it. They were short with only two names, that being Zoomie and…mom.
Rushina then tapped on mom.
She watched as the limiter attempted to connect before it flashed, "Call rejected"
A low sigh then felt her lips as tears began slowly making their way down her eyes.
Rushina cried herself to sleep that, just like she did the night before and night before that and so on for so long that could remember a time laid on her bed to sleep without shedding a tear.
A slow agonizing fate alone and looked down upon. That was the fate all Kinerikans with a gear one limiter. And to escape it, they were willing to do absolutely anything.