The sky was so deep blue Helen had to stare at it for a second longer just to make sure it’s real. And everything was so bright, with the snow cover bouncing the golden rays of the sun right into her eyes. Squinting, she touched her helmet to close it up and auto adjust to the glare. “I guess nature is reclaiming this land,” she muttered to herself as her gaze got lost over the white blanket covering the land, making it all unrecognizable. Helen did not go high up in the air but slowly started to circle around their farm fifteen to twenty feet up. The snow has slowly started to recede, and she carefully moved in the expanding circle, looking for any traces in the ground. It’s been two months since her father had disappeared, and she was hoping that she would not find his body. Her heart almost stopped when she saw something dark under the snow, but as she flew a few feet away, she was able to breathe again as she realized it was just a dead piece of wood. She opened up her hand radio and called her mom, telling her the good news. “That’s…” her mom sighed with relief, and Helen knew she dropped the tear of happiness as she spoke in the mic, “That gives us hope. Please, be smart. I know you want to find your father more than you are going there to purchase needed supplies. But, please, be careful. Don’t ask too many questions. Don’t draw attention to yourself.” “I know, mom, don’t worry.” “It just occurred to me, if you ask someone if they saw your father, they may think that you are alone. Might paint a target on your back. So, please, be careful.” “You’re right. That’s good info, mom. I will be smart. Relaxed and composed. I have to go now. Don’t want to hover around and use up the energy on the flyer. Will call you when I get back. Don’t open the hatch to anyone, okay!” “Love you! Please, can’t afford to lose you too.” “Mom, please, don’t worry. I love you too!” Helen said but felt an urge of anger steering inside. She felt her mom’s fear. She did not need fear. My mom should know better. She should know that fear will only make me weak. I can’t be afraid. Not now. They will smell it as soon as they see me. I should behave like I owe this place. Maybe better still… pretend I don’t exist till I know I can own this place. But certainly can’t let them smell my weakness. Remembering that she was all happy that her father did not lay dead there, she slowly raised her flyer up, enabling encapsulation to close herself in. The open market was not in the open at all. It was in the few top floors of Semstron Corp Building, one of the tallest buildings in the City of Dove, forty minutes of a flight time if she decided not to push it and go at a steady two-hundred mph speed. She, for the fiftieth time, deliberated if she should go up or fly low. Both options had its cons and pros. From up high, she could see further and avoid going into any area that did not seem right. But up there, everyone would see her too. On the other hand, if she goes low, she could become easy prey even for a stunt gun that could knock the power off her engine and then all bets would be off. In the end, she decided again to better raise her flyer up, pick the wind to her back, scout the land. Use her up time to see as far as she can, record it all with multiple cameras she placed all over the flyer, and learn what is around. Knowledge is everything. At times of ignorance, more powerful than a sword. Fifteen minutes in, after flying without any distractions, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She got company. The back camera clearly displayed a flying object inside her helmet’s screen. And it was flying hard, closing in on her every few seconds. “What do I do now?” she asked herself, the possibility of something like this happening almost too scary to even contemplate before. “Well, I can’t outfly them. They are definitely a custom-made flying vehicle. I could accelerate. But, they probably have triple engines there, and it would be just a matter of time then. No. I do not want to fly scared. Better face it. Show no fear!" So, instead of waiting for the fv to reach her, she turned her flyer around and headed straight at it. “You’re fucken crazy, Helen!” she told herself as she chuckled like a lunatic. They approached each other fast. Helen did not want to speed up, but steadied her engine at notch 3, expecting that she might need to power it up to the max and do some fancy air acrobatics if they start to shoot at her. She was useless to defend from the distance. All she could do is take her pistols out, open the encapsulation. And fire. Yes. That’s the only thing she could do. “Cabin down!” she issued the order and the cabin around her folded to her right side. But then a funny thing happened. About a few hundred meters away, a mere seconds before they were to reach each other, the fv suddenly made a sharp turn to the right and dived down, away from her. “So, you don’t want to play?” Helen said all excited to herself, feeling as if her heart could not pound any harder. “Well, maybe we'll see you next time.” She instantly turned the flyer around, not ready to entertain the idea of following the fv that suddenly dived further down, turned to the right toward the tops of the trees that looked nothing more than a twigs planted in snow. Helen forced herself to take a few deep breaths. “I need to relax. I’m not here to fight. This is adrenalin talking. Need to compose myself. That was reclass. But what else could I have done? If they thought I was a pray, who knows what would have happened.” For the rest of the trip, she did not have anyone trying to sneak up on her. She did see a few fv flying around, but they all seemed just minding their own business and stayed out of her rote. And a half an hour later, she parked her flyer on top of the Semstron Corp Building and walked down. A little surrpresd not to see more than another flyer and a cargo fv, but she thought that must be on account that the summer was just starting, and this open market was something they just heard about. Thinking that soon she will have to interract with other people made her stomach turn into a knot. She felt lightheaded but then she remembered how she handled the fv that was trailing her, and instatly she became more certain of herself as if she broke through the ice, passed her first test. The floor below her had about two dozen stands with what seemed like desperate people trying to make a living. She gave it all a good look and found only one that truly interested her. “You seem to be selling hardware,” Helen said as she walked to the man with fifty pounds of excess weight around his stomach. He is not hurting, she fought to herself. Without meeting his eyes, she looked at the trinkets he threw in front of him. Nothing too interesting. Probably meant to look like that. An electric saw, a few mechanical wrenches, some magnets - interesting, a bag of screws and bolts of all sizes. The man nodded his head. “Well, the little bit that’s left over, you know. Pretty much everything else is gone.” Helen looked at the mess as well as at the boxes that were neatly placed behind the man, covered almost completely by some old blanket. She wondered where he kept the weapon, behind his back or below the table. As his hands went to lean against the table, she thought that the latter was the more likely choice. “I have some leftover salt and honey,” Helen said the line she practiced repeatedly over the last few days, feeling as if there was a slight shake in her voice. That’s fear to you, mom. Never show fear! It’s like bleeding in front of a pack of hungry sharks. Still not raising her head to meet the man's eyes, she kept on looking at the useless trinkets and asked, “You interested?” “Can you at least open your helmet? Would love to see who I am talking to,” the man said while breathing heavily, and smiled widely. “Don’t be impolite, man,” Helen brushed him off. “I thought you were here trying to make a trade, not to look at my face. But if you don’t need no salt or honey, I guess-” “I didn’t say that. I could always use it. It’s about the best thing to trade with now. Salt that is. Honey not so much.” “Are you crazy??” Helen asked. “The honey lasts forever. Real honey at least. It raises your immune system, gives you enough calories. It’s about the most perfect natural super food you can-” “Fine, fine, fine… What do you propose?” “I don’t know.” “You don't know," the man repeated he words. "And where did you get it?” “I fucken told you, didn’t I? I just have a bit I do not need.” “And what is it that you need? Don’t waste my time.” “Oh, yeah, I’m sorry. I see people waiting in line behind me to buy your bolts and whatever else you have there.” “Hey, no need to be rude.” “Yeah, your words to god’s ears…” “No god here,” the man said, a bit of sadness in his voice. “We are left to ourselves now. Not that we did not deserve it, you know.” Wasting too much time here. Move along. “I don’t know. But this is what I need,” Helen said and took out of her pocket a piece of paper with all the supplies she was looking for. He looked at the list, his face frowning like an experienced salesperson would while already thinking the maximum he could charge her. “I can look into this. But it won't be cheap.” “Yeah, nothing is cheap these days.” “Except human life,” said the skinny, dark woman with sunken eyes who stood alone next to her own stand of useless trinkets. Helen looked at her. The second time that day. She had some worn-out baby clothes, old books, a plastic air-wrapper, insulation wool, nothing, almost nothing at all. Helen had dismissed her right from the door, but now she moved over. There was sadness in her words, a loss, a recent one. Looking at two kids that played behind her made it easier for Helen to guess. I can ask her how it all happened? Maybe her husband was taken just like my dad? No! Too early. Maybe next time! “You gonna be here tomorrow?” Helen turned her head to ask the fat man. “Maybe. Maybe next week.” Damn, why did I say tomorrow? Do I want to sound desperate? “Okay, I’ll be back next week. Same time. I guess we’ll see then,” Helen said in as nonchalant voice she could come up with. Then she sighed and stared at the space behind the skinny woman. "Hey, you, shorty," she called to the boy that must have been about a head smaller than her brother. Probably eight or seven. When he looked up, she slowly reached into her pocket and took out a small five-once jar filled with honey. "Catch." she said and threw it slowly to him. "It's good stuff. Keep it for a snowy day. And don't forget to share with your little sister." Why did I do that? she asked herself, not fully understanding her motif. "Thank you," their mother said, her glowing eyes thanking her more than any words could. Helen just nodded her head to her and turned around to leave. “Hey!" the fat man called her back. "I could use some rice.” “So can anybody else,” Helen answered him and was ready to move on after taking what seemed to be a disappointed sigh. But her heart was pounding, and she felt like if not for the the tight armor she wore, it would have jumped out. “That stuff... if I can get you,” the man screamed after Helen. “Will cost you fifty kilos of salt and hundred kilos of rice.” Pre catastrophe, the parts Helen asked would have the same value as ten times that amount of salt and rice, if not more. How the smallest specks of snow can change things, especially when they fall seven months a year. "Dream on," Helen told him, "You'd be lucky to get half of that." 'I, I..." the man suddenly started to stutter. "I'll see what I can do. And I'll be here next week for sure." Helen looked at him again, slowly, letting the camera inside her helmet record it all. She would have to think about all of this. Be better prepared. Certainly more in control over herself. And others. Or else, she'd never get to recover her father.