Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Ren Young

I started my morning with a groan. What time was it? How long had I slept? Did it matter today? I don't think I had any critical plans. I rolled over and covered myself with my thin, worn blanket. Then I tossed the other way and forced myself to sit up. The light that was beginning to peer through my cheap curtains was starting to darken. I closed my eyes and fell back into the bed. I would get up as soon as the shadow passed over our zone.

A knock at the door interrupted my plans of going back to sleep. The knock was light; I could be sure my father hadn't come to wake me up today. He tended to bang on the door even when he tried to knock softly.

"Ren, dear, are you awake?"

"Yes, Mom, I just woke up."

"Oh good, Andrew was looking for you. If you have time, you should see him today." I sighed and climbed out of bed. It would've been a sorry sight for anyone watching to see me drag my feet as I approached the door. I opened it to greet my mother in the hallway. Like always, she wore a smile. Her hair was tucked back into a bun, and she had already dressed for the day in a loose t-shirt and pants. She was shorter than me, she had been for years, with a thin figure and grey hair. My father always talks about how pretty she is, but I had only known her with the appearance that many years of living had weighed on her.

"Andrew said you should wait for him at his place."

"Okay, Mom." I walked past her through the hall and down the stairs. Our house was small, so it would only take a minute to be on my way.

"Oh Ren," my mother yelled to me from upstairs, "would you be able to pick up some soap on the way home; I helped the McCarren's make some yesterday, but I couldn't carry it all home."

"No problem," I yelled back while walking into the kitchen. I grabbed a bruised apple and took a bite. "I'm heading out now."

"Okay, be careful." My mother's voice had grown fainter. She had probably walked down the hall to wake my father. I quickly scoffed down the apple and went out the door. Before leaving, I looked down. I had fallen asleep in my jeans last night, no need to bother changing before leaving.

The streets were empty at this time of day, and only a few early morning workers shuffled along. Today was no different from any other day. The roads were the same, the workers the same, the mountain in the center of the town with the glowing city on top was the same, just another day in Autarkeia. Though I always wondered how the freaks on the mountain kept the city so white and clean all the time. The shadow cast from the mountain had just about passed over our home. I could see it slowly creeping away.

I sighed and continued to walk. I was starting to wake up and realized I wasn't paying attention when my mother told me where Andrew was waiting. At this point, I couldn't go back and ask her. She wouldn't get upset, but I knew between my father and her, I wouldn't hear the end of it for a while. If I wandered long enough, I would find him. He always seemed to show up, even when I didn't want him to. However, I had no idea what he wanted today. I may have skipped out on him a couple of times when he would give me a lesson, but that was par for the course now. We both expected me to do it, so he wouldn't be looking for me for skipping out on him the other day. I guess I would just find out once he found me.

I stopped and stared at the glowing, white city. It seemed like a nice place to live, as opposed to our cobblestone streets and grey buildings with occasional splashes of color. At the very least, it was nice to look at as it stood high on the smooth mountain in the middle of town. Of course, I knew better than to want to live there. From a young age, our parents would tell us 'the monsters in the city would eat us if we ever tried to enter.' Naturally, it was a lie to keep kids from becoming too adventurous. They would probably only get a beating, at worst, if they even found a way into the city. Some adults were, seemingly, never told and continued to think that way well after their childhood ended.

"Admiring the city again, Ren?" a squeaky voice interrupted my thoughts. Surprised, I spun around with my fists ready. I started to swing one at the person who spoke to me but stopped it short of hitting his face. The squeamish man who had snuck up behind me stumbled back and fell on his rear. Once I had processed who it was, I put my hands down but left my fists clenched.

"York, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Haha, sorry, I always forget that Andrew taught you with... that thing..."

"He called it Marine training."

"Mar-ine. Yeah, that's right." I sighed and loosened my fists. I held out a hand to the sad man who was still on the ground. He pushed my hand away and stood up. York was a man with a thin build and a face that could only be described as ratty. Unkempt, dirty, large teeth and beady eyes were accurate descriptions of his appearance. He always stayed pale as a ghost from never going in the sun for too long. The rumors around the whole town were that he never worked a day in his life, only jumping from zone to zone when he had some new scheme.

York stood up and brushed off his backside with a smirk that seemingly never left his face. It almost made me believe a face can get stuck for staying the same way for too long. He motioned to me that he wanted me to lean in. I turned and looked to make sure no one else was nearby. Fortunately, there was no one around who would gossip.

"What is it, York?"

"Aw, come on, Ren, you're looking around before speaking to me? You know, I don't think you appreciate our friendship."

"We both know you would sell me out in an instant if it benefited you." It certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd done so.

"Don't be so rude. Here I have something you'll find interesting. Want to see?" He gestured to me as he took a few steps back. He wanted me to follow. He was a pain and untrustworthy, but he always did find interesting things around town. It was against my best judgment, but I had no work planned today, and Andrew probably didn't expect me to find him early. I decided to follow York to see what he had today. What was the worst that could happen? Do I get chased around town by an angry mob? The ratty man had caused his fair share of mobs in the past. The only reason people tolerated him and had not thrown him out in the wasteland years ago was that he entertained people, in a twisted sense, with all his schemes and finds.

So, I followed the ratty man through the streets to the back alleys of the back alleys. The buildings were increasingly worn the farther we went. Eventually, we exited the narrow streets into an open space and out to the other buildings' backs. We were on the outskirts of town. Just a little farther, and we would walk into the wasteland. It was made all too clear as a sandstorm, that had been raging for days, and showed no sign of stopping, was pelting against the invisible wall that seemed to keep it out. There was no barrier, at least that the eye could see. Some technology was keeping the wasteland from spreading to the town. No one really knew if it was one of the many machines in town that were built long before anyone currently alive was born or if it was those on the mountain that kept the storm at bay.

York gestured for me to enter his house. If you could call it a house. It was clearly a condemned building that no one bothered to fix up or demolish since it was so far from town. It was likely one of York's many houses in town as he was known to move around. The building looked like the roof would fall in on us the moment we entered. Still, I followed him in anyway.

The house was filled with junk, piles of it scattered around. Some piles were stacked to the ceiling. I wondered if they were holding it up. That would seem likely enough with the state the house was in. It was not a simple matter to walk across the room. I had to weave around the piles of junk, being careful not to knock anything over as the whole house seemed like it would bury us alive if I did. York, naturally, weaved through the piles of junk to the other side with relative ease.

"Come on, Ren, nothing's going to jump out and bite you, or at least I hope it won't." York badgered me as he waited for me to reach him. When I finally emerged into the opening where he stood, he confidently pointed down to an object on the floor. A book? Did he bring me all this way for a book?

"You brought me all this way for a book?" I was hung up on that point as I picked it up. The cover had an image of a man, or at least it looked like a man. The marks on his face indicated he was another one of those freaks, in a white robe smiling cheerfully with a cover that said:

"Early Science," I said aloud.

"Oh, so is that what it says? Good, good, I knew you would be able to help me out."

"What is this?"

"It's a book. Ren, are you sure that priest is teaching you right?" he asked with a tone that expressed almost legitimate concern.

"Yes, I've read many books with Andrew; I want to know what this book is, in particular. Where did you find this?" I opened the book and flipped through it. It appeared to be talking about the basic scientific principles that Andrew had taught me long ago.

"Well, it fell off the mountain. I found it buried in the dirt."

I closed the book and looked at the cover again. It was definitely from up there, but I had a hard time believing his story.

"How exactly did this fall off the mountain?"

"Ah, good question. I wonder..." the rat-man said with a smirk. "So, what do you say? I'll let you read that book, and you help me with some problems of my own?" I set the book back down and began to walk out of the piles of junk. He was trying to bait me using my interest in the book, but he didn't realize there was nothing there for me to learn.

"Sorry, York, I'm not getting involved with another one of your schemes."

"It's not a scheme. It's an educational trip."

"Not listening." I began to push my way through farther.

"Wait, Ren, I was at the mountain the other day..." He grabbed my shirt from behind to stop me. Startled, I grabbed some junk to keep from getting pulled back; it was a pointless action. I was not going to get yanked back by him grabbing me. Instead, I took the pile of junk with me, and a large crash interrupted York's sentence. He stopped for a moment, long enough for me to turn around. "Anyway, I was checking out the mountain when I found a strange hole. So naturally, I checked it out, and you won't guess where it led."

This seemed like it was going in a direction that I wouldn't like. "See, it was a path, and I climbed all the way up." I think I had heard enough. I began to walk past the piles of junk again. "I ended up in their city."

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There it was, I knew this was where this story was headed. I stopped. He couldn't be trusted, but he wouldn't leave me alone until I humored him. I kept my back turned to him but quit trying to walk away. I could feel his self-satisfied look behind me. Perhaps I should have never pulled my punch this morning.

"So what? You're lucky they didn't catch you," I said.

"So, I looked around for a minute, but I didn't head in. I was going to make another trip to check it out, but then I remembered you had that Mar-ine training." He wanted me to go up to the city myself. I admit it was an interesting proposition. York told lots of stories, but I had never heard him ask someone to help him. If he did so, that would mean he would be caught lying. He didn't need anyone to go around telling others about how he took them on a wild goose chase. This was different, probably. I doubt he'd found a way into their city. Even if he did, he wouldn't risk going up, but he must have found something. It was against my best interest, but I was curious to see what he may have found. I turned around. I hope I didn't look too interested. His smirk told me I did.

"You want me to go to the city?" It was a stupid notion. If I truly could get there, they would immediately recognize that I wasn't some synthetic test tube creation. I would probably be beaten unmercifully and thrown back on one of our streets in some zone I often don't visit. Yes, this was a bad idea.

"Yes, yes, check it out for me and bring any valuables back. I'll examine all the stuff and let you keep 50 percent of the valuables."

It wasn't a convincing lie. York would find some way to keep 100 percent of the valuables if I even found any. Still, the fact he thought I would find something valuable means there really must be some truth in his story. Andrew would likely discourage me from going along with it if he were here. I could practically hear him already. But why not see what he found? It probably would end up being nothing but a waste of time in the end anyway. I could play along, right?

"Show me this entrance. I want to see it."

"Ah-ha, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist." The tone in his voice pissed me off. I suppose it was earned though; he had gotten me hook, line, and sinker.

We exited the house. The hustle and bustle of the day could now be heard in the distance, even from where we stood. It would be harder to avoid being seen with York now, but I guess it couldn't be helped. We began our walk back to the main roads. Once we slipped back in, we were greeted by the typical morning crowd. It wasn't too heavy of a group to try to walk through, but it made following York difficult as he charged ahead. I doubt he even realized he was losing me. His thoughts were probably full of the potential value of what I might find. At least it wasn't clear that I was following him as I tried to avoid bumping into the many passersby.

We walked closer and closer to the mountain, and the town grew denser, both in the number of people and buildings. In the distance, I saw York slip into an alleyway. He probably noticed I had fallen behind since his head stuck out a moment later and looked around. He fixed his gaze in my direction for a moment and then slid back into the alleyway. I was walking at a normal pace. I had no reason to hurry after all.

A hand gently tapped my shoulder from behind. Clearly trying to get my attention. I stopped and turned to see who had greeted me. It was Andrew, of course it was.

"Hello, Andrew." York would have to wait a little while longer.

"Ren, I've been looking everywhere for you," he said. He didn't seem upset, just relatively calm. Per usual for him, after all.

"Have you? Well, I've been around." I gave a weak reply. Andrew sighed.

"I suppose I should have come to expect this." He put his hand up to rub his temple while closing his eyes. A habit of his. Typical of Andrew, he wore a plain, black robe. It was beaten up from years of wear; I swear it seemed like he only owned the one outfit. He was slightly shorter than me, and around his neck, he wore a dull metal cross. Some claimed that it was gold when he first arrived in town; others claimed it was silver. Who could say at this point? The most striking feature about Andrew, of course, was on his round face. He would appear to be a plain-looking, fair-skinned, bald guy, if not for a nasty burn that covered the right side of his face. It started at his neck and ran up to his scalp, from his right ear to his nose.

"So, what were you up to?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just headed to find some work for the day." I had forgotten what I intended to do today, but I couldn't tell him I had been with York most of the time since I had left the house. Come to think of it, didn't my mom tell me to see him?

"Ren, your eye." I reached up and touched near it. Apparently, when I lied, my eye would twitch. Andrew was the first person to tell me about it. Evidently, my parents also knew but decided never to say.

"I, uh-"

"Just don't get into too much trouble, Ren, I will need you to join me for the children's reading lesson, and I can't have you somewhere else." A child's reading lesson. That must be why my mom told me he was looking for me. There's no problem with that.

"Oh- okay, where and when?"

"The day is still to be decided. I need to let all the parents know you will be joining this time." I felt like I made a smile. I didn't mean to, but I couldn't stop myself from saying:

"How many children did you make cry last time?"

"Those... are not details you need to know right now." Andrew turned away slightly while saying that. He had paused mid-sentence for a moment. It was all of them. He made all the kids cry just by showing up. One of the unfortunate effects of his face looking so mangled. In all fairness, he scared some adults too. After all, when I was younger, I was the only one whose parents let Andrew teach regularly. I think the only reason I wasn't scared of him was due to the fact that he spent a lot of time with my parents while I was growing up. Some parents were now starting to realize that having someone who knows how to do things, like read and teach their kids, was a good idea. I guess I was the test case for most of them.

"Alright, let me know when you do, and I'll be there."

"Great! Be good, and God bless," Andrew turned and began to walk away, "Oh, and tell York I hope he has a good day as well." Andrew loudly yelled back without turning to look again. How does he know?

"That damn priest," York suddenly appeared next to me as soon as Andrew disappeared into the crowd. He must have slipped out of the alley when I didn't show up right away. "How did he even know I was here?"

"Andrew's always been like that. He tells me he just knows a lot since he's old."

"Well, it's just creepy." We stood quietly for a moment as the crowd passed around us in all directions, "Come on already!"

York pulled my arm as he began to walk back to the alley. I shook his hand loose and continued following him. We weaved into the alley and started walking through a maze of other alleys. It always appeared that the buildings closer to the mountain were built first, as they were often the most worn down and in need of repairs. It was commonly believed that they were made without any planning and coordination, which led to long mazes of alleyways where there were spaces between buildings. Unlike on the outskirts, these mazes often only had one entrance that also served as its exit. On rare occasions, they would have two entrances. There were many stories of people getting lost and dying in the alley mazes, but, in reality, most mazes could only trap people for a few hours at most before they found their way out.

I continued to follow York, who confidently charged around every turn until we finally reached a large, white, smooth wall. Or that was what it appeared to be. We were, in fact, right up to the mountainside where it met two buildings. I looked up and stared at the mountain. Up close, it always looked even more gigantic than one might think. There was no telling how long it would take to climb the side, not that it would be possible, as the mountainside was completely smooth.

"Come on, man, stop staring." York pushed me to get my attention. I looked at him and then to where he was pointing. The building on our left was built at an angle that gradually guided the wall into the mountain's side, where it appeared to have been cemented to the mountain. This left a space that would become narrower but was big enough for a person to slide down. Naturally, it appeared it would be a tight fit for a grown person.

"If you crawl through there for about three meters, you'll find a hole in the mountain. You won't be able to go too far because it's where the building meets the side."

"Why is there a hole there?"

York would never try to open a hole in the mountain, nor would he be able to alone. I was somewhat surprised he would crawl that far back in the first place.

"I have no idea; it was overgrown with plants when I found it, though. I imagine it's been years since anyone had crawled through it. Anyway, when you reach the hole, it will be tight, and I'm not sure how far you'll have to crawl."

"Hmm, so what will I find after I get through?"

"Go see for yourself. The mountain is actually hollow and built with metal supports, and there is a staircase that goes all the way up."

"Did you actually go all the way up?" I might believe he found an opening, but for him to climb up that far... it seemed like a stretch any way you put it. York ground his teeth and walked over to the plant at the start of the path. He kicked it over with ease, revealing a path within the overgrown plants. He must have stood the first one up to hide the way.

"Come on, man, you're going to need time to climb all the way up. Get going, and I'll wait here for you," I sighed and bent down to look down the path. I would have to lay on my side and inch my way down the path even to fit. I started to lay down when York gave me encouraging words, "Remember, bring back as much interesting stuff as you can find!"

I began to slide down the path. It was already starting to feel tight as I pulled and wiggled myself down. Still, I pushed on. Headed to whatever awaited me. 

 

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