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--donation bonus (day #7, post 2/5)--
Hector looked at Gina. “Mr. Roman is just giving this to me?”

“Yep.”

“Ah--wow...”

“There should be some gas money in your clothes, by the way.”

He felt his waistcoat and found a small roll of bills in the inside pocket. “Th-thank you.”

“Sure.”

‘I didn’t realize that guy was so generous,’ said Garovel. ‘Hope he doesn’t care about this bike too much.’

‘Um. Third time’s the charm?’

‘Chyeah, right.’

‘This one’s not a Revenant.’

‘I don’t think the manufacturer was the problem, Hector.’

‘I’ll just blame you, then.’

‘Delude yourself all you like.’

Gina opened the garage door for him.

He favored the riding helmet over his helm and mounted the bike. He kickstarted it, and the sound of the engine filled the chamber. Gina gave him a wave. He returned his own and rode out.

He stopped just short of the first intersection, before riding out into traffic, and blinked. ‘I just realized something,’ he said. ‘I’m not in pain.’

‘I restored your body long before waking you up,’ said Garovel. ‘I needed extra rest, so I used the opportunity to let your pain be relieved, too.’

He turned his hands over in front of his face. ‘My body feels so light...’ He smiled inside his helmet. ‘This is fucking great! Oh, man! I forgot what this was even like!’

‘Ha. You’re welcome.’

He went to turn onto the road but stopped himself again. ‘By the way, uh... where the hell do I go?’

Garovel gave him instructions, and he soon found the highway leading south.

Mountains lay across the horizon, the very same ones he passed on the way to Sescoria. At this distance, however, he could see the occasional snow-capped peak.

‘Let’s go around those,’ said Garovel. ‘I’d rather not see you ride off a cliff.’ A beat passed. ‘Okay, yes, I would like to see that, but it’d still be really inconvenient.’