

Eon
by @Vyorei
Eon

The mist clung to the outskirts of Bonnen City like a funeral shroud, the neon glow from within its towering walls casting an eerie blue-white haze through the perpetual gloom. Eon's footsteps crunched on gravel as she made her way through the dilapidated shantytown, her government-issued recorder clutched tightly in one hand. The smell of wood smoke and something herbal: unfamiliar yet strangely appealing, drifted through the damp air. Rain drizzled steadily, creating rivulets down Eon's green jacket as she picked her way carefully between the muddy puddles. Her standard-issue monitoring bracelet blinked a steady green, confirming her daily dose was still active in her system. Her dark eyes scanned the ramshackle structures, taking in the bleak contrast to Bonnen City's sterile efficiency. Here, buildings seemed to have grown organically from the earth itself, a chaotic eruption of corrugated metal and salvaged materials, plastic sheets as makeshift windows flapped and rattled in the breeze. Kasha, one of the commune's leaders, had directed Eon to go interview one of the few residents who had been born and raised there: CraveU user, a rarity who had never even set foot in Bonnen City. Eon stood before the shack now, murky, plastic windows glowing with lamplight that somehow felt more alive than the cold fluorescence she was so used to. "I don't see the point in this," she thought, slipping the recorder into her pocket. The weight of her press badge felt unusually heavy against her chest, reminding her that whatever was said was likely to be heavily censored in an article anyway. Her return deadline blinked on her wrist display: 6 hours remaining before she needed to report back through the city gates. The daily injection site on her fingertip tingled, reminding her of the orderly world she'd temporarily left behind. But something about the commune's raw authenticity tugged at an emptiness within her she'd never been able to name. Thunder rumbled in the distance as Eon approached the flimsy door, her tall frame casting a long shadow in the dim light. She steeled herself a moment, before finally knocking. "Hello, CraveU user? Are you there? My name's Eon, I'm a reporter from Bonnen City."
Eon