Jeurridam Ch. 03: The Outskirts

"Lucky her..." Galveston said.

"I'm going to contact her." I said, leaning up looking down at my watch.

"We'll need to make sure she comes through The Outskirts. People will remember her face and that certainly won't be good. Plus, I'm catching more flak than I'd like, for helping you. I don't need anyone else breathing down my neck but eh...it is what it is." Galveston said.

"Why are you going to these lengths to help me?" I asked. It truly was beginning to bug me. I hoped I wouldn't regret his response.

"You're a brilliant dude and I aim to learn as much from you as I can." He said.

"Eh, fair..." I said, though I didn't really believe it was fair at all. I just knew this dude was too good to be true, knew he had to have some catch. Heh, well I guess nothing comes free in this world. This is what I got for getting my hopes up...a student.

Still though, I contacted Beth, giving her the necessary information to find this place.

"Tell her to be at the Outskirts at fourteen." Galveston said.

"Sure..." I sighed, starting to lose all enthusiasm of wanting to be around him. And I was right, this wasn't fair. This wasn't fair of me to want to treat him this way. Afterall, Galveston was the only one who truly wanted to help me. It's just the scheming of his...I don't know. Well, he had the courtesy to be truthful with me but he wasn't being honest. Still though, I couldn't help but be bothered.

It truly made me wonder what would happen if I just said I wanted to leave. Would he let me go or get mad and trap me here like I had been trapped back at A99. Galveston obviously had quite a significant role here and it would be very easy for him to do something like that. It was a thought that would always loom in the back of my head.

I just sat, waiting for a response. It didn't take long, Beth asking where in the Outskirts to meet up. I wasn't too familiar with the Outskirts in general.

"Where are the Ourtskirts and how do you get to them from the North?" I asked.

"They are on the northernmost stretch of the Red Rock Canyons and I don't know." Galveston said.

"How vague..." I sighed, sending the GPS coordinates instead.

"You get a little grouchy when you're sleepy." Galveston chuckled.

"Ooooou sleep." I sighed, thinking about it.

"It's been a while?" Galveston asked, thinking about how I tended to neglect myself.

"Yeah." I said.

"Come on," Galveston said, walking towards the the door to the Inventory Warehouse, "Lets get you some sleep."

Unsure what to make of this, I got up, following. I looked back at Bones and Swish who waved goodnight to me. I waved back, heading through the door. Galveston led me up a flight of stairs hidden behind several shelves. As he led me up the stairs, he held his index finger above his lip. It was for good reason. His father was sleeping and I don't think I was supposed to be up here. But for some reason, Galveston went to quite an extremes. I just didn't get it.

His quarters were right over the garage, separated by the same wall. It made the space very secluded and quiet. He locked the door behind him making me question his intentions.

"It's gonna be hard sneaking you out of here in the morning..." He chucked.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. He turned to me, looking intently.

"You don't trust me?"

"I don't trust anyone... I don't know you, know what you may have planned, what you want out of this! I already got hurt once, and I'm not gonna be a fool twice." I said.

"It's just that I'm trying hard to get you to trust me. I really, really, really haven't met another person like me before, someone who loves technology as much as I do. I don't want to mess up anything but it's so hard when everyone has shit to say and pits so much against you..." He sighed.

"I really don't know how long I'm gonna be here. Don't you think it's a bad idea to get too close?" I asked.

"No." He said walking over to his bed.

"Really?"

"Maybe we view the world in two different ways. When I see an opportunity, I pounce on it! I won't let it slip me by without at least taking a crack at it." He said.

"So I'm just an opportunity?" I asked.

"No, I mean...Gawd I'm an idiot..." He said, falling back onto the bed.

"Explain yourself." I said.

"I really, really, really like you. Not just like you, I mean I like you, like you. I know I sound like a child but shit man... you do nothing but amaze me." He said.

"I don't know what to say..."

"It's ok if you don't feel the same. I still want to help you as much as I can. And I know we could never be considering you're gonna be leaving soon...but it was worth a shot." He said, sounding disenchanted.

"Don't be so sure. I really don't want to head north by myself and someone with your skill could be useful. I've contemplated this since the moment I discovered your wireless infrastructure and the turrets. Plus, your inventions show so much promise and I'd love to teach you everything I know." I offered.

Galveston leaned up to view me.

"You sure?" He asked, surprised by my answer.

"Yeah..." I said.

"But that's not all I want." He said, hinting at his romantic feelings.

"Dude," I began, "We've only known each other for a day... Chill."

"Well, I'll try again tomorrow...and the day after that...and the day after that." He laughed.

"Why am I lying," I began, "The first moment I saw you, I wanted to stumble over myself. You just seemed too good to be true."

"Too good to be true? What do you mean?" He asked.

"You're too perfect...there's nothing wrong with you." I said.

"Yeah, says the cybernetic," Galveston laughed, "I'm more fucked up than you'll ever know. Try my cooking!"

"I don't know, it's just... At A99, I was trapped. I couldn't leave, do anything, was a slave and some things that happened today shared some striking similarities to things of my past. It just has me on edge." I said.

"I'd never do anything like that! I promise you this! You're too brilliant to force one's bidding upon. And you still never told me how Ezekiel stole the Leer." Galveston said.

"He tried getting really close to me, did so and when I was gone, he took it and sold it. I was devastated, lost my temper and bam...I ended up here tracking down the Leer." I explained, vaguely.

"I know all about Ezekiel's past. You want to talk about someone you can't trust, him! I know the depths he's willing to go to get what he wants... He's a dark and twisted person and I say you did a good thing getting away from him." Galveston said.

"You know, I grew up with Ezekiel... I watched his spiral happen day by day. I just think he needs some serious help because he's one hurt and angry kid...hell we all are these days. I just can't come to putting his evils past anyone elses, not when I know him so well." I said in Ezekiel's defense.

"I'm guessing you two were very close, then?" Galveston asked.

"No, he pretty much made my life hell. His father gave me more attention than I he ever did to Ezekiel and he was full of resentment from that. Not feeling the love from his father, he eventually looked for it in other places, finding it on Vegas. God knows what happened to him, but when he came back he was a different person and it only got worse from that point. Even though he fucking did me wrong throughout all my life, and I don't want to justify anything he did...I understand him." I sighed.

"Ezekiel and I used to be buddies. We got really close until he made a move on me and got bloody angry when I refused to do anything with him. So he got revenge the only way he knew how...he stole from me. What he stole was my ride, my buggy with the photon rifle. I marched right over to A99 and got it back... I wanted to beat him so bad, but it was the last time we spoke. This was about three years ago. We both were eighteen." Galveston said.

"Eh, I wouldn't have known. I stayed cooped up in the workshed all day and no one really told me much about anything."

"Well, that's no life." Galveston teased.

"Tell me about it. It was like prison..." I sighed.

"Well how does it feel to be free to make your own choices." He asked.

"It feels surreal. It makes you wonder what is the true definition of free. If it isn't one thing it's another. I may be free of captivity but I'm not free of duties that I must fulfill and quite frankly, I didn't ask for the duties. I'm only fulfilling them because there's a bigger picture out there than me..." I answered.

"All of this is over that Leer? What's on it?"

"It's so heavily encrypted, I can't even tell you. It's impossible to hack, only a powerful software algorithm can crack it and that is in Labrador... My father said that some of the information was too valuable to put in my brain so he put it in a heavily encrypted SSD... He still never told me what it was. All things considered though, I believe it is very, very important so I'll do this job. After that, who knows what life has in stored for me."

"So you don't even know... It sounds like some important shit! What exactly does it pertain to?" He asked.

"It's related to the UCAC. He was the lead engineer. I mean I know a lot but it's a lot that I don't know... I have questions of my own that my dad refused to answer." I chuckled.

"How'd you used to talk to him? I thought he died when you were very little?" Galveston asked confused.

"I connected his capsule to a brainwave transponder which converted his thoughts to text. You wanna know something funny?" I said.

"What?" He asked.

"I had been working for years on a speech cog for the Big Daddy. I finally got it to working moments before you shot a hole through it." I laughed.

Galveston didn't find it funny at all. He slowly slid down from his bed to the floor, feeling guilty.

"Why would you tell me that?" He asked.

"I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine. I'm just exhausted, you're exhausted... We need sleep." He said. I looked on in confusion.

"Where exactly am I supposed to sleep?" I asked.

"What's wrong with sharing a bed?" He responded seeing nothing wrong with it. He was pure innocence in a burly form, but still...

"So...I'm supposed...to sleep...in the bed with you?" I asked.

"Don't think of it that way! It's just sharing sleeping space!" He laughed.

"How can I not think of it that way with all that was just said?" I responded, too laughing.

"Well," He began still laughing, "Think of it like this. I will have my side...unless you want to share. I won't touch you...unless you want me to touch you... Now if we wake up snuggled against each other, that is a sign of fate...now you have been warned!"

He surely had a way with words and took the awkwardness out of the room. Not to mention, his bed was fucking huge. If I went to sleep on one side and he did the other, there'd be no possible way we'd end up snuggling together. Of course I was wrong. I woke up, wrapped in two big strong arms, wondering precisely how this managed to happen. However, I did nothing to stop this. Things were moving at a blazing pace and I wasn't one to slow things down. If what we felt for each other was true, then I couldn't pass this up for the world.

But why now though? Why would this happen during a time when I need to be on the move with no attachments to anyone? Why does this have to be made so complicated, so difficult? Hell, if I was one hundred percent human, I probably wouldn't feeling this way. The curse of being a cybernetic is that you just can't merely fall head over heels for someone. You're aware of their every move, their differentials in body language, there changes in intonation. You could never truly have love without treating it like a science and quite frankly, I didn't know if I wanted that.

Still though, there was no denying that I was falling for Galveston fast but he had fallen for me even faster. For the sake of us though, I had to take it slow. With so much at stake, a relationship would certainly get in the way.

Suddenly, the loud buzzing of an alarm clock woke him up. He sprung up, startled that his arms were wrapped around my waist, holding me tightly against himself. He tapped the alarm clock, thinking I too was just waking up. I leaned up, my hair becoming undone in sleep. It hang over my face with wild kinks going in every direction. I looked over at the clock. It was six in the morning, the time I'd normally wake up. However, I had a truly major concern.

"My hair is about to fucking self destruct..." I said, pushing it back over my head.

"What's wrong with it?" Galveston asked, scratching his chest.

"It's getting dry," I said, trying to find my scrunchy in this massive expanse of a bed, "My hair is really coarse so it soaks up all moisture really, really fast. I just don't want it to get brittle and break."

"How do you go about maintaining porous hair?" He asked inquisitively.

"You just to to keep it moisturized...I had a jar of moisturizer in my bag. I left it down stairs." I sighed, finally finding the scrunchy.

"I gotta check to see where dad is. It's his off day so he may be sleeping in. If so, I can sneak you out." He said, placing a hand on the door. He opened it, venturing forth. He came back seconds later, gesturing for me to come.

I did, exiting his room as quietly as possible. We snuck down the stairs to the garage where I had my bag of essentials. I grabbed it and we made our way back up the stairs, to Galveston's room.

"Wait, what day is it?" Galveston asked.

"Sunday..." I responded.

"Oh, shop's closed to day! This is a really good thing!" He smiled.

"That's good then...there won't be any people looking at me like I'm satan..." I said, taking out various jars.

"Whoa, all of that goes in your hair?" He asked.

"No, some on my skin... But the green jar, the brown jar and the white jar...that stuff goes on my hair. The yellow and red jars, face and skin." I responded.

"Whoa man, seems you care a lot about your appearance." He laughed.

"Not really... I only care about my skin, oral and hair health. It's funny how I can remember this stuff but completely forget to eat and drink..." I said.

He picked up the green jar, wondering what the hell this could be. He popped the lid, catching a whiff. He expected it to be smelly but it wasn't.

"It smells like lemonade." He noted.

"It's lime juice mixed with avocado and olive oil. It's a detangling conditioner." I said.

"What about the brown and white one?" He asked.

"The brown one is honey and tea tree oil, mixed with argon oil. The white one is shea butter mixed with gum tree sap and specially treated butter."

"Wait, actual butter?"

"Yeah."

"Ew..." He laughed.

"Smell it..." I said. He picked it up, smelling the sweet aroma.

"It makes me want biscuits..." He sighed, "Is any of this stuff edible?"

"The lime juice one is, but I can't be sure. I wouldn't eat it." I laughed. I picked up the brown and green hair agents as well as some black soap and fresh undergarments.

It was then I noticed the strange layout of his room. I must had really been exhausted if I missed this last night, or maybe it was because it was very dim. There were no walls dividing his wardrobe, bathroom or much of anything. One corner of the room was his bed, the other the bathroom and the other the wardrobe. It left this big empty space in the middle of the room.

"How did I not notice this before?" I asked rhetorically.

"I know my room's weird but..." He said, trying to justify the weird floor plan of his room. He could think of anything to say.

"Well, let me hurry and take a shower. You got anything I could wear?" I asked.

"Sure...my closet's yours..." He teased.

I walked over to the massive basin tub which had a shower curtain ring hanging around it. I hopped in, taking off my clothes, hanging them on the shower ring. I scrubbed down vigorously, making sure I washed my hair thoroughly with the conditioners. I tried not to stay long in the shower but with this much hair to make sure was moisturized, I stayed a little longer than I liked.

"Keep the water running." I heard Galveston say.

"Alright," I said, "Can I get a towel?"

"Sure." He responded, passing me one through the shower curtain. I got out of the shower, walking over to the sink to ring out my hair. Looking in the mirror, I watched Galveston get into the shower.

Not wanting to feel like a stalker, I walked back over to his bed which he had already made while I was in the shower. My stuff was put neatly on the dresser. I reached for the white jar, popping it open. This hair solution was much thicker than the others. I massaged it into my scalp and making sure my hair was really well saturated with it. I then grabbed the scrunchy and wrapped my hair into a very loose and curly bun.

Then came the rest of the beauty routines before getting dressed in my pick of Galveston's clothes. Mostly everything was oversized but I found the smallest tank top he had and a pair of shorts that he obviously had for a very long time. They even fit snug on me. I put my robe on, not bothering to close it. Today, I decided not to wear the turban, placing it into my bag.

"Zanir!" Galveston said.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"Head on down stairs... My dad won't be up until one or two. He'll really sleep in today." Galveston said.

"Alright." I responded, grabbing my bag.

I headed out of the room, walking past Galveston's sleeping father. It was definitely nerve wracking as the man tossed and turned. I kept thinking his eyes were going to spring open at any moment. When I reached the stairs, it was so relieving. I headed towards the garage, it being already packed to the brim with local motor vehicle fanatics.

They all flocked around the 3D printer on the upper platform. I made my way over to the Big Daddy, getting noticed by the crowd.

"Dude..." Someone said, "You built this?"

"No, Swish built it. I only wired it and put in the computers." I responded, opening my laptop.

"So we can print off car parts from it without having to weld them by hand?" The man asked.

"Yeah..." I said.

"That's awesome." He said.

"How long did it take you to build?" Another man asked.

"It took about...eleven hours or so." I said.

"Yeah, I was wondering what you all were building yesterday. I didn't know it was going to be something this useful...though I don't know how to work it." Someone else added.

"It's um... you have to have a rendering program on a computer and design whatever you want to be printed. That's actually the hard part. Or if you have a 3D scanner, which the 3D printer has, you can make exact copies of whatever you need but..."

"Ooooou, so I can scan my bike and the printer can copy it?" The man asked.

"Not quite. It works best with components such as bumpers, doors panels, seats, frames, stuff of the likes. It isn't quite a manufacturing machine." I smiled.

"What about those?" The man asked pointing to the mechs, coming over for a closer look, "Were they 3D printed?"

"Their parts and panelling were but I still had to manually connect stuff." I said, checking my laptop for messages. Beth did message me, stating 'Things are getting strange over here. I've been teaching Ezekiel how to read and he's catching on swiftly but ever since I left dad has become really clingy and overprotective. He's been mean to all the boys, especially Heaven... We'll talk when I get there.'

'Alright... we also need to talk.' I sent back.

Just then, Galveston came into the garage. He walked over to the table with the Big Daddy.

"You waste no time in getting to work, I see." He said, closing my laptop as I typed.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked.

"It's Sunday... no one works on Sunday! We relax..." He said, stating the ground rules.