The dawn of the sun on the Kinerikan skies ushered in a brand new day, one that the Kinerikan welcomed and greeted with racing feet, darting away almost as fast as the falling golden rays from the day.
The new day brought up, with at least that, just like every other, a chance to live life moving as fast as their legs could push them. To feel the rush of the wind blowing against their face, the heart pumping burning blood through their entire body that ignited their very soul. A chance to live.
At least that was how it was for most, but for others…
*Sigh*
Rushina stood before a massive building with a massive sign on it that read 'Speed Check,' clutching on to a small box filled with her life's saving.
… It brought something else.
She watched as other Kinerikan, each with limiters flashing the same digit as hers , entered with desperation and fright. Hands shaking as they held probably everything they had and entered the building.
She watched from the massive, clear glass windows them pay and then took off their limiters get on to some kind high tech mechanical wheel.
…a very slim chance but a chance none the less to be…
Then they began running, at first slow, they began speeding up and up and up until they became an unperceivable blurry haze. As their speed kept rising, their bodies began heating up and glowing as they failed to contain the power building up inside them.
Then alarm bells began ringing, and massive cannon sprung from all sides of the machine and then fired hydro-coolant gas. Forcing those running to slow down as their bodies cooled before eventually coming to a full halt with a shivering and shaking body.
They were then given a report of his level of speed and how much power he was producing when he ran. She watched him as their eyes sunk down with despair as they saw the report before they were given back his limiter that still shone.
In with that very same single unit.
…free.
She looked on at the building, watching the bowed heads of those who dared to step in with everything they had, just a tiny sliver of hope. She watched them live with empty eyes, lifting heavy feet one step at a time, moving slowly while the whole races past them.
Furthermore, she then looked down at the box on her arms.
It was a gamble, a great risk, one with the odds stacked against her.
She then looked down at her limit.
In the entirety of Kinerik's history, they had only been one person with a gear one limiter who had managed raise the rank of his gear.
She looked down at her locket with sunken eyes.
If it happened once, then maybe…
She raised her head and watched yet another kinerikan step out with hollow eyes and unchanged limiter.
This wasn't the first time she came to that building. She had come there over and over again for as long as she could remember. Each time, with a flicker of hope in her eyes, right before darting away at the mechanical wheel.
Those brief moments were the only time she felt a true rush of speed. Feeling her body pulse with overwhelming heat and rush like nothing she had ever felt before. Her body moved faster and faster with each step. And before she knew, she began glowing. Then, just as she was about to push herself further beyond, she felt a cold chill blast her.
After that, she was given her report. In clear letters, she watched it read "Kinetic energy build-up too high. Suitable limiter to avoid combustion: Gear one."
She was just a girl back then when she did her first speed check, and her family, upon seeing the news, was devastated and dejected.
Everything changed after that; people started picking on her. 'Slugha' might have as well become her second name. Her family became distant with them immediately cutting her off once she turned sixteen. Kicking her out of the house, saying that she is nothing more than a burden to them, and she should never ever try to contact them again.
"Get out of here, you useless Slugha," she heard her father yell at her as she lay on the ground right outside the door.
"Please, Daddy. Please don't," she leaped off the ground as fast as her legs could push. Moving so fast, time began to slow down around her. She saw with the furious expression on her father's face and the saddened and helpless look of her mother's as time stood still, just for her to take the expressions on their faces before…
*Bam*
The door was slammed in her face.
Rushina fell to the floor, tears seeping down her face.
Everything after was…
"You idiot,"
"Incompetent,"
"Can't you do anything right, you pathetic slugha,"
…hell.
Even though she managed to get a job as a waitress for a restaurant, she was pretty sure that the six eyes rats, who mainly eat trash and filth, had better food than they served. The pay was decent. Okay, enough that if she tried her best and only ate once a day, she could afford a livable apartment in the slow zones.
Plus…
"Hey, I'm Zoomie," her mind flashed to the first time she met Zoomie and the way she greeted her with a gentle, warm smile.
If it were only that, life might have actually been bearable, but…
"What the hell? I ordered fifteen seconds ago. Where the hell is my food?" she recalled an angry customer yelling.
"Next time, try to move those dainty little legs of yours a little faster, slugha," said the customer upon receiving the meal.
But the insults and mockery that kept coming.
"Slugha"
"Slugha"
"Slugha"
"SLUGHA!!!"
But that wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part of it all was having to watch the whole world racing past at speeds you can only dream of while you stay static and just watch them leave you behind in the dust.
She just couldn't bear it anymore. So time after time, crapping by the little she made each month, always came by to gauge her speed. She was deliberately going from days to weeks without having anything decent to eat just to be able to afford to take a speed check. But each time she was given the same old report and the same old limiter.
She then allowed the grip on the box to loosen.
After gambling it all for so goddamn long. Was she really about to take the risk again?
Motina had already deducted her already meager pay for the month. She barely had enough money to feed before, but now…
If she used that money, took the risk, and nothing changed, just like the other times, then…
She shut her eyes and opened them back up, and then looked at the building.
Was it really worth the risk?
She then looked down at the limiter. Seeing the number one continuing to flash on it before shutting her eyes once more and turning away.
Life was already hard as it is. Rushina saw no point in making a pointless gamble, betting the little she had on an outcome that, if history was an indicator, almost certainly wouldn't have gone her way.
She walked away, her legs feeling too heavy to run. Moving at a pace almost any Kinerikan would perceive as standing perfectly still.
As she walked, she failed to notice a pair of eyes watching her.
"Hey, slugha," she heard an unfamiliar voice call out to her.
Her eyes flinching at the call, she immediately turned and saw a man wearing dark shaggy clothes with a bandana covering his face.
"Who are you?" she questioned, taking a few steps away from the strange man. Her eyes then immediately make it to his arm. Seeing a limiter wrapped around his wrist, but instead of a single-digit number, she saw an 'x' on it.
The man, seeing the look of fear etched on her face, just smirked before saying, "How'd you like to be able to run far faster than you could ever dream of?"
His words made Rushina pause. Her fear vanished for a moment and was replaced with a speck of intrigue as she wondered just who the man was.