Ryde's eyes flutter open as he hears his phone buzz, and light up. He doesn't even read the text, he just rolls over in his old bed to try to get some sleep. After a few more buzzes, he sighs and nabs his phone from the nightstand. After reading Elena's text, Ryde groggily responds to the text, "Alright, I'll be there.". As soon as he sends the text, he gets out of the bed, walking down the hall of his short apartment to his bathroom to get ready. Once he gets ready, he walks out the door of his dingy apartment to his destination.
Elena responds promptly.
"I'll pick you up at the station closest to the house,"
The quality of subway cars and stations are poor in Providence. The cars and stations are lined with graffiti. The homeless take refuge in the subway station's stairwells in an attempt to stay out of the evening rain. If it weren't for the heavily armed policemen manning the station, you'd have run a high risk of being robbed. There is also litter everywhere, and the station smells like slightly of smoke and mildew. The cars have trash in them. A busted screen scrolls through news headlines on the wall.
"ART GALLERY OPENS IN SALUS, DISPLAYS ARTIFACTS DREDGED UP FROM OLD CITY"
It is accompanied by a picture of the barges that sit in the bay near Saint Carmichael, with leaning high rises and broken buildings rising up to break the waves. The barges have been at work for years, tearing down the old city underwater to make for a more picturesque ocean view for the residents of Saint Carmichael.
The next panel displays artifacts. A mangled and sea life covered bike, a chair of barnacles, a washing machine overtaken some kind of aquatic plant. None of it is particular beautiful. All of the artifacts are decades old.
The next headline reads, "GOV'T: AVERAGE INCOME ONLY GOING UP"
There are a few people in the car, as well as an armed conductor.
The labyrinthine tunnels have the occasion graffiti on the wall, as well as the occasional homeless taking refuge in the cubbyholes.
Upon receiving this second text message, Daniel rolls out of bed, making and absent-minded hand gesture, which would prompt the blinds over his window to open. He takes a look outside, the soft orange light shining through and just barely illuminating his studio-apartment. Outside, he takes a look down at the street, which is a bustle with the usual mid-day lunch rush. He looks out to the greyish-brown river, a trash-filled barge floats south toward the mouth on the coast.
He turns back around to face his nightstand, and reaches for his phone. The motion activates his alarm clock's HUD, Daniel grimaces at the sudden appearance of the bright white light, and turns back around, tapping away on his phone. Elena would receive a reply, "When and where?"
He sets his phone back down on the charging pad, and walks to the bathroom, where he begins showering.
You get a return quickly.
"Location attached to previous message. I'll be there in maybe an hour, depends. I'll let you know."
