Fresh Meat

Justin saw his Mongoose all-terrain vehicle bobbing up and down in the distance. The brown dirt tinged orange as it rose behind the treads and met the sunrise. Justin anticipated the new guy pulling up in the vehicle. He pictured a fresh, scared pair of eyes. Alone and wary in a new world.

And such a world to be new to.

He thought about walking up to the new guy as he pulled up, personally shutting off the ignition and grabbing him by the shirt collar to throw him off before driving away.

Justin was furious—a combination of his own, pitiful existence and the fact that his neuro-chemical balance was so out of whack from years of drug use. But no matter how much Justin already despised this guy whom he hadn't even met, he wouldn't let something so small completely undo him. Times here were hard enough, and he remembered when he first arrived on Traxus IX, remembered just how serious a situation could become in the blink of an eye. He also remembered that even in the darkest hour of his life there were still people out there of good will...however hard they were to stumble upon. Time would tell if he'd ever pay it forward.

For now, there were some ground rules to be set for this new "kid".

The day had fully arrived. The full circumference of the sun had broke through the lowest reaches of sky, and the vehicle and the rider on it gradually grew in size until the vapor-emitting spec on the horizon was no more than a gravball field away. Justin marched back inside to grab the kerosene jug, scowling at Pete as he walked back out into the cold, Pete flipping Justin the bird before falling immediately back into a deep sleep on the cot.

The ATV pulled right up to the spot where it should've been all along. Dismounting the vehicle was a young kid, slightly short with average build.

Justin realized his fist was balled up. He took a breath and let go of his rage as the kid killed the engine and set the brake, strolling up to him with an outstretched palm. "Hey, my name is Chris."

Justin shook it and eyed him more closely. "Name's Justin. And you're wearing my helmet."

Chris instantly undonned it, quickly placing it in Justin's hand. He had an optimistic disposition about him that Justin readily noticed. He stuck out like colors on this cold world, like a ray of sunshine himself.

"Nice to meet you." Chris said. "How long have you lived in this place? By the way, thanks for letting me use your ride."

"I didn't let you use my ride. Pete let you use my ride. And I've lived here for a long time, the longest out of anyone. This means you play by my rules. This is my place and my things which means you don't touch anything unless I offer. You can choose to accept that, or you can scuttle your butt back into town." Justin said, pointing way out into the horizon.

Chris swallowed as he looked back over his shoulder. He took in the barren vista: cold, empty and bleak. And beyond, the suffocating fallout of a smog-congested city. "N-no," Chris stuttered, "I don't think I can live there."

"Sounds like a deal."

"I mean, it seems fine to work for a few hours, but I don't think they enforce any of the UEG safety standards over there."

Justin didn't say anything more, only looked the kid up and down. Chris didn't belong here—that much, Justin knew.

Chris looked around awkwardly as Justin continued to stare at him. "So what is there to do here besides work?"

"Get high."

"Seriously?" Chris frowned.

"Seriously. What else is there?" Justin studied the new kid with more scrutiny now and figured it out. "You have no idea where you are, do you?"

Chris glanced around himself, a natural quirk of his when nervous or unsure. "Traxus Nine?"

"Okay, so you do know where you are. Why are you here?"

"Just knew that Traxus Nine was a good place to find work."

Justin smiled as he eyed Chris in what amounted to half pity, half amusement. "Oh man, that's great. I'm glad you came here because that is the best line I've heard in a long time. Who told you that, Family? Your friends back home?"

"…Yeah." Chris squared his stance at Justin.

"That's only half the story..." Justin said, casually brushing by and taking a seat on the Mongoose. "This is the best place to find work. Only thing is, you can never leave."

Chris looked around again, more erratically. A newfound look was coming over the kid's promising outlook, a look of fear. Justin reveled in it.

Chris then narrowed his eyes at him. "What do you mean I can never leave? I don't understand."

"This is our destiny, our prison. You've just been served a life sentence." Justin said with a sinister grin.

"Please…I'm new here and I don't feel like getting punked right now. I traveled here for weeks illegally and I just started my first day of work and I'm really tired, so with your permission I'd like to crash on the couch."

Justin lit up a cigarette, said, "Do I look like I'm trying to punk anybody? Does this face look like a funny face?"

Chris stared back at Justin with disbelief. "Okay, why is it I can't leave here?"

"Traxus Heavy Industries, the company you just offered up your services to, prides itself as the best shipping business in the galaxy. This means they love it when production is running smoothly. We work our asses off, and in return they drop off supplies to us on this ghost planet. Food, water, the essentials…you know."

"Tell me what this has to do with what you just said."

"THI will never provide you transport off this rock. And the only people that know this secret are the ones living here. There's no way out. They keep us here because everyone wants out. Planet's a cesspool. Has been ever since THI claimed the planet for their shipping business. What you and your friends back home don't know is that this place is under shared ownership with the criminal underworld, a kind of unspoken agreement." Justin smiled wider. "But now you know." He fired up the Mongoose. "And you can't have the couch. Ken is already sleeping on it."

"Wait!" Chris shouted. "Can I come with you?"