Station 2-14: Chapter Two
Ley races to register for the Games
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Chapter Two: Ley
There are parts of the station that have been forgotten over time. Swathes of the population lost to the fringes of the city with nothing but the desert stretching out beyond them. While the centre flourishes with high-rise buildings and advanced infrastructure, the fringe is left in the same state that it was first established. Some shacks have been pulled together with leftover scrap from the Station’s centre, while others still lived in the evacuation tents that the army left them.
It was never meant to develop like this.
Station 2-14 was supposed to be temporary - a few months at most.
But those days of temporary housing soon turned into decades and the fringe became the only reminder of the Station’s fractious history.
Ley runs through it all, pockets heavy with cash as she races home without looking back. She knows that she lost Voss back at Fernleigh’s Pub and no one would dream of following her into the fringe but she doesn’t stop. Not until she makes it inside her home where she leans against the door to catch her breath.
She made it.
No, she didn’t just make it, she won and not a moment too soon.
‘Ley?’ Her mum calls. ‘Is that you?’
‘Yeah - just me.’ She quickly grabs the box that she keeps hidden with her clothes and stuffs the cash inside and out of sight. Then she pulls back the curtain to find her Mum in bed, just where she left her. She can barely leave her bed at all anymore, it’s a topic they both avoid that’s quickly becoming unavoidable.
She tries to sit up and Ley rushes over,
‘I’m okay,’ she says smiling.
‘Here…’ Ley helps get her comfortable, noticing the sores on her back that are more red than they were yesterday. But when she spends a little too long fluffing her pillow her mum laughs.
‘Alright, what is it?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re hiding something,’ she says, pinching her arm. ‘Out with it.’ Ley heaves a sigh, she’s not going to like it.
‘I’m entering the games,’ she says.
‘Ley - ’
’No, I’m going to - I can win! I have the form all ready, the entrance fee is sorted - ‘
‘How did you do that??’
‘It doesn’t matter, I can do it. I’m going to win. I’m going to registration tonight and then when I win, we can use that money to get you the treatment!’ She can hear herself shouting but she can’t stop herself, she needs her Mum to understand.
‘Ley…’
‘Then when you get better,’ she says. ‘We'll put all of this behind us and I’ll get us the biggest house in the station - got it?’
‘Ley…’
‘No, it's going to happen because you’re not going anywhere.’ Her mum goes to wipe away Ley’s tears but Ley roughly smudges them from her face. She’s not going to cry. It‘s going to work. She sets her face like she’s looking at an opponent. ‘Okay?’
Whether or not she believes her or is simply too tired to argue, her mother nods her head.
‘Okay,’ she says and pulls her into a hug. Ley settles onto the bed next to her, listening to the slow and steady breaths of her mum as she drifts off to sleep.
The registration booth is in the centre of the Station, around the corner from the stadium itself. It’s a small booth, barely the size of a cupboard, at the base of the tallest tower in the Station. As if they found a ticketing booth and built the tower around it. All year it stands closed to the public except for one night:
Registration Night.
Ley had walked past the booth a thousand times on her way to glimpse the stadium where the games were held. Often imagining herself signing up for the Games or the officer pleading with her to register as she past. Begging her to compete just this once. That was back when she wanted to compete for fun.
Now she had to win.
She arrives at the booth and slaps her registration form onto the counter:
‘Ley. Number 4381. I want to register for the Games.’ The ticket agent heaves a sigh and taps the sign in the window:
Sold out.
‘Registration is closed,’ he says.
‘What? I’m not even late, it’s only been ten minutes - I have to compete.’ He shrugs,
‘Spots have already been filled.’ Ley looks around at the other hopeful contestants, all of them holding registration forms that haven’t been filed.
‘That can’t be right,’ she pleads.
‘Next time.’
‘Please…’ But it's no use. He leaves his desk and disappears into the building taking her last chance of helping her mother with him.
If she can’t compete, she can’t win.
If she doesn’t win she doesn’t get the money.
And if she doesn’t get the money…
Her breath catches in her throat and she fights to breathe. It feels like the earth beneath her feet is moving, rumbling with her struggle. She can’t compete but she must.
The panic rises along with the rumbling at her feet as she gasps again and again for air. She grabs a lamppost to steady itself but can feel it vibrating beneath her palms. She needs to calm down but she keeps spiralling on the things that are just out of her reach.
She can’t compete.
She can’t win.
She won’t get the money -
A high-pitched whistle breaks her trance. She looks up through blurry eyes and sees a man leaning against a bench across from her. When he catches her eye, he waves.
She steadies her breath, focusing on the man strolling towards her. Then she sees him clearly:
Voss.
‘I thought you'd be here,’ he cries, as if they were old friends. ‘I thought what would a young thing like that do with all that money?’ Suddenly a fresh wave of fear consumes her. She doesn’t know what to do - cry for help? Run? But Voss doesn’t seem to be angry and as she looks around she finds no one else following him. Maybe not a trap after all.
‘And then it hit me,’ he says stopping in front of her. ‘Of course! She’s going to try her hand at those bastard games. Hmm? Am I wrong?’
‘I won that money fair and square,’ she says, her voice breaking.
‘Well, you didn’t,’ he says, unfazed. ‘You lied about your ability and made me look like an idiot but that's all in the past now.’ He grins. ‘I’d really like us to be friends.’
‘Just leave me alone.’ She pushes off the lamppost and starts trudging home.
‘Look, kid, I’m not telling you I’ve got candy in the van - I can help.’
‘My name is Ley.’
‘Okay, okay, Ley. I know a way to get you into the Games.’
‘How?’
‘Ever heard of Avery Pangere?’ Ley stops, turning on him once more. ‘What am I saying, course you have - who hasn't, right? The most powerful woman in the Station, inventor of the Games itself. ‘
‘You know Avery Pangere?’
‘Yeah, I know her,’ he smirks. ‘I'll even introduce you to her.’
‘How much?’
‘Small price. Nothing really.’
‘How much?’
‘You’re entrance fee.’ Ley walks away, barely slowing down to roll her eyes.
‘Oh, come on,’ says Voss. ‘With eight bands you're a shoe-in. But nothing comes for free, right?’ Voss manages to step in front of her, blocking her way.
‘I need that money,’ says Ley.
‘I know but registration is closed, so without Pangere you’re not getting in at all.’
‘I’ll find a way.’ Voss throws his hands in the air.
‘Fine, I mean hey, just an idea, right? Forget about it.’ Voss pats Ley on the shoulder and wanders away. ‘There's always next year.’
Ley makes it home just in time to catch the Doctor. He smiles gently when he sees her which always means one thing: bad news.
‘Sorry I’m late, I was just — ‘ He holds up a hand, letting her catch her breath.
’You’re alright, don’t worry.’
‘So… better or worse?’
‘Much the same.’ He says. ‘Which isn’t bad news, it’s just…’
‘She needs the medicine.’ He nods.
‘Otherwise she will get worse, and fast.’
‘Can't I get some of it now? And then some later?’ She asks, already reaching for the cash in her pockets. He steadies her hands,
‘I’m sorry Ley, I wish I could but that's not how it works…’
‘There's nothing else - ‘
‘I’m sorry, without the medication, there's not much I can do.’ He rips off a copy of his notes and hands them to Ley. ’Look, at this stage, she's comfortable, she's not in any pain. We'll take it day by day. If you can get the money, come by my office and we’ll sort it out. Otherwise, I’ll come by after work tomorrow, okay?’
‘Okay, thank you.’
‘I’ve left some food for you - you need to make sure you’re looking after yourself as well, alright?’
‘Thank you,’ she says. She studies the note he gave her as he leaves and barely understands what it means. She trusts him and she knows that her mum is comfortable and not in any pain.
Still, it’s not enough.
She needs to win the Games. Which only meant one thing - she had to go to the source. She didn’t trust Voss and knew that there were many things that he wasn’t telling her.
But she had to try.
She pockets the note and heads back out into the station, determined to meet Avery Pangere.
I’m worried about Ley but I want more 😂