Chapter 244: Mex, The Delivery Guy

Mex was all smiles as he stepped out of the Transit Hub’s portal. He rarely had time to just stop and talk to people, so an encounter like the one he just had with the strange alien was more excitement than he’d had in months.He stared up at the bright blue sky and whispered to himself. "Oh, Adrian, I can’t wait to meet you again."

But a quick glance at his beeping wrist strap brought him back to reality. He still knew what was most important. Duty called.

The Normat sector was quiet, as it usually was at this time of day. If one observed his surroundings, the would note how different it was from the small, cramped space that had been assigned to the Sparkborns.

The Normat sector was much bigger, though less organized. It also had tall houses built to accommodate the lanky frames of their people.

Most other things were the same, the grey colors, the lack of aesthetic design... But they had had generations to make it their own, to carve out a life. Most people were in their houses, and that was the perfect way Mex liked to work. No distractions.

He took off, his long legs eating up the ground, covering long strides in mere seconds. It was clear that his title as a "Runner" spoke to more than just his role as a delivery man.

He was the fastest Normat after all! Well, actually the second fastest, but who cares? He was still insanely fast

"Three sets of Nutritional Packs for house 968, one bar of toilet soap for house 918, a replacement light filament for house 1104, two Ice Colas for the twins in 732," Mex spoke to himself, the list of orders a familiar rhythm in his mind as he ran.

He never sorted the order list before he began. While not doing that made the task more stressful, forcing him to crisscross the district inefficiently, it also made it more exciting, a chaotic puzzle to be solved at high speed.

After picking out the first twenty deliveries on his mind, Mex increased his pace. In a minute, he was already before the first house, a chime sounding as he pressed the doorbell. The door slid open to reveal a kind, elderly Normat woman.

"Package for you, Aunt Delin!" Mex said with a cheerful smile, handing her the parcel.

"Oh, thank you, dear Mex," she replied warmly. "You’re a lifesaver."

"My pleasure! Byee!" Mex didn’t waste time and was already speeding off to the next house before her door had even closed.

This was the same process for Mex for the next four hours. A blur of motion and cheerful greetings. He would arrive, ring the bell, offer a kind word and a smile, drop off the package, and be gone in a flash.

By the time he stopped by the last house on his list, he finally had a moment to breathe as he pressed the doorbell.

This was one of the better houses in their sector, slightly larger and with a small, well-tended garden out front. The door slid open to reveal a younger Normat woman with kind eyes.

"Hi, Aunt Mia," Mex said, offering her the package.

"Hello, Mex. You’re here already?" she asked with a soft voice. "It seems this is your last stop?" she asked from his composure.

Mex nodded hastily, a tired but proud smile on his face. "Yep, you’re the last one!"

Mia smiled warmly. "Really? Then you’ve more than earned this." She opened the package, which contained her weekly luxury items, and retrieved a can of Ice Cola, its surface already beaded with a cold condensation.

She handed it to him. "A gift for your good work."

Mex bowed his head, his thanks deep and genuine as he accepted the precious treat.

As he drank his cola while walking down the lonely road, his mind, for the first time that day, was free to wander. ’Now I’m done,’ he thought, ’I wonder what I should do...’

He asked the question despite knowing that the only real option was to return to his own small house, watch the Galactic Clash broadcasts on the wall-screen, or play games on his PAD. It was the same routine, day after day.


He didn’t feel like spending the rest of his day like that once again. Just as he tried to come up with an alternative, a memory from earlier in the day, ignited in his mind.

"Adrian! I need to tell Papa Perez about him!"

The thought gave him a new surge of energy. He finished his cola in one long gulp and took off in a run, this time not for a delivery, but for a purpose.

He arrived at a small, unassuming house, identical to all the others, but with a wind chime hanging by the door. This was the home of Papa Perez, the oldest and wisest of the Normat, their unofficial leader.

Mex refrained from using the doorbell and knocked.

"Enter," a calm voice came from inside.

Mex walked in. The inside of the house was completely different from the others. It was filled with artifacts from their lost homeworld, neatly on shelves.

Papa Perez, an ancient Normat whose blue skin was pale and wrinkled with age, sat in a simple chair, looking at him with his large, intelligent black eyes.

"You seem excited, Mex," the old one’s voice was soothing. "Your run was successful, I take it?"

"Yes, Papa Perez! But that’s not it!" Mex said, barely able to contain himself.

"I met a new someone from a different race at the Mall!"

"Really?" the old Normat couldn’t contain his surprise.

Mex simply smiled and recounted his entire meeting with Adrian, the shock of seeing a newcomer, and how it’s their very first day. He talked about his strange calm, and smart questions, and the way he seemed to absorb information.

"... The only thing that felt strange was that he didn’t know what a nutritional pack was," Mex added with a shrug. "He asked me about it like he’d never seen one before. But aside from that, he’s a pretty nice guy!"

But the old man didn’t look pleased by the story; he had a confused, deeply troubled look on his face as he imagined the implications of Mex’s words.

’No race could be truly new... And why has Cero not informed me of their arrival yet? Something is not right here.’