Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson ❯ Escape ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Esperati plowed her way through the page of figures. Quadratic factoring, solving for 'X', parabolic functions, linear equations, elliptical graphs... she knew them all. This wasn't only pointless, it was tedious and time wasting as well. She could name about half a thousand other things she could work towards right now, all of them more worthy of her time than Algebra. The textbooks did absolutely no justice to her hunger for knowledge. She even found several mistakes in them. How careless people were these days...
A new tower was being placed near the Central Facility of Education. It could be seen through the classroom window easily. Just what the city needs, another worthless monument of metal and concrete. The officials probably haven't even figured out what they were going to do with it. The project to build the city's size up to 10 tiers was ridiculous. Esperati already calculated that the feat would be impossible without expanding the city borders at least 14 miles in each direction. That would mean taking down the wall and rebuilding it. The lazy bums wouldn't bother to take down anything. And even if they do, they wouldn't bother cleaning it up. If she had a nickle for everytime a government official did something stupid, she could probably buy a mega-quality laptop in less than a year. The things that idiots do... so funny to watch, but dangerous if anyone really thought about it.
"Is there an Esperati Nero here?"
Esperati's head shot up, her mind piecing together the image, easily matching up an identity to the picture. 'Guy in a suit and tie, well groomed hair, clean-shaven face, perfect skin, middle aged, big smile that says 'I'm pretending to be lovable, so fall for it and love me, damn it!' What does the goverment want with me?' Something about the person wasn't quite right, however. She looked carefully at him. No rings on his fingers, no tie pin, no expensive looking watch and a small silver ring on his ear. 'That's a pretty poor disguise. He should've at least worn a fake tie pin and removed that ring on his ear. A fake name-brand watch wouldn't be a bad addition either...'
The proffesor nodded to her, giving her permission to leave. Who was she to question the motives of the authority? Esperati looked at her test. There were two problems left... might as well do them. She scribbled down the work and circled her answers before setting down her pencil to turn in her paper. The man by the door waited with a genuine patience, another abnormality. Esperati was sure that he was not part of the Mayor's Cabinet now, not if he didn't constantly hold up that stupid smile. He wasn't likely to be the FBI if he actually uses a false smile. That didn't leave any choices... Who was this guy?
"Miss Nero, would you please take your things?" Esperati suddenly snapped her head up, looking at the teacher with a penetrating calm, but as if she didn't understand. Her proffesor clarified simply, "This gentleman informed me that you should be dismissed."
A hollow, sinking feeling terrified her to the bone. Esperati showed no fear in her body, as if she were a steadfast soldat figure. The trip to her desk seemed to take hours, and gathering her things took another few years in her mind. When she walked towards the door, every step took an eternity. She looked up at the man in the doorway with a pure, icy gaze of apathy. To her surprise, his eyes met hers and returned its counterpart, giving her strength to change forever back into brisk moments. The classroom door snapped shut behind them and the two figures made their silent and solemn way down the hall.
After a few awkward moments, the man rubbed a hand across his face, rubbing something like liquid latex off of it and turning his slightly wrinkled face smooth and young again. "I figured you knew I wasn't a politician." He explained to her hidden shock. "You were thinking how bad my disguise was." He grinned, showing fangs.
Esperati swallowed her amazement, knowing he probably knew she was baffled. "I am sorry for thinking about the truth. Now tell me, where are you taking me?"
The man smiled, shaking his head. Esperati noticed that he wasn't more than a year older than her. "All in due time."
"If you want me to do something big, I'll tell you I'm out NOW." Esperati's eyes narrowed. "I don't want to deal in large projects or anything. I want to be left alone and to stay alone."
The man just smiled, looking up at the ceiling with his hands in his pockets. "Hold your horses. You see, unlike the government, we actually give you a CHOICE. It's your decision whether or not you'll take our offer. We'll probably never bother you again after that."
"And why should I trust you?" Esperati asked, "If you erase my memory, you can just keep on coming back and ask me again and again."
"If you don't remember, then would it really matter?"
"But it's still a broken promise."
"If you don't remember the promise was made, would it matter?"
That was reason. Esperati shut up like a clam, unable to find an arguement, leaving them to walk outside in silence. The sun came out of the clouds, beating down on the world below from its dust covered throne in that smog-ridden sky. This is the lord over the world, ruling over the children of filth, scum of its kingdom, watching dimly at the worms from a distance 8 light-minutes away, to far away to right the wrongs. The sidewalks were perpetually covered with dust. No matter how many times a machine runs over it, the dust comes back. Like the Persian Army of during the Persian war, the army of ten-thousand immortals. When one falls, another springs up to take his place. There was no end to the madness of this world. The government may be one of the only things that remained the same: corrupt. What happened to their promises to keep the starving full and give homes to the homeless? Circumvented by giving free food to the rich. The hungry stayed full off the wealthy's trash. The increasion of rail tunnels meant more choices of dirty holes to sleep in. Life was just wonderful, wasn't it? How many real greens were there in this city? Three? Four? Five? Every blade of grass and every leaf was identical. Finely tempered plastic gives off the perfect, uniform, waxy sheen. Almost every tree or shrub looked exactly the same... just as every human roaming the city is ignorant of the earth's cries for change.
"Yes... the earth does cry for change." The young man awoke her from her reverie. "It cries so much, it is prepared to destroy all of its inhabitants and start over."
Esperati seemed to understand his uncanny art of mind reading. She no longer showed surprise, nor amazement, to his every notice of her thoughts. "Is that why you want me?"
The man chuckled, "We were right on the dot when we found you." He led her to a navy-blue racecar, opening the door for her. "I won't force you to come... but I want you to at least consider this job before you erase your day's memories. We risked a lot coming up here to fetch you. Please, think about it."
To his surprise, Esperati got into the car without hesitation. He closed the door for her and walked around the other side to enter the driver's seat, his eyes inquiring the quaint child and her calm, composed face. Esperati sighed, "If you erased my memories, all the studying I did for my history exam would go down the drain. I would never be able to live down the shame of losing my class rank dominance to Icarus Portell. It's not like I care about this place. What do I have to lose besides my life?"
The man turned the ignition keys and drove carefully into the road, blending in with the world with the greatest of ease. He didn't even look old enough to drive. "Pride, sanity, health, sleep... among other risks and mental stress." He answered her question frankly.
Esperati gave him slightly baffled glance. "Do you want me to come with you or not?"
"Would you rather have me lie to you, and tell you about how you will live like a queen?" He shook his head, never taking his eyes off the road for a second. "I want to warn you that this new life will become dangerous. If you want to keep your safety, I can give you the pill and drop you off at your apartments right now." The frank way he spoke and the his flowing, melodic tone of voice seemed to reassure her a little... only a little though. Because the only reply he got back was a scoff.
The girl leaned back against the chair of the car, watching her companion's every move. He seemed a little tense during every intersection. Even for a cautious driver, he checked the rear-view mirror in excess. In this layered city, crime occurs most commonly in the lower tiers. The lower, the older. She was already looking at battered and beaten down houses that were long abandoned. They must be somewhat near Tier one by now...
Even the garages in Tier one were battered. The pavement had long transformed into cracked and uplifted brittle fragments, like gravel, but even rougher. Broken glass and sand was added to the mix of shattered concrete. It was clear that with acid rain, season changes, harsh humidity variances and years of wear and tear, that Tier one suffered greatly from heavy attrition over its usage strength. No one lived here but the dirt poor, homeless, food scrounging wretches... but many people worked here. Shady little bars hide in the corners with flickering neon signs on the verge of falling apart. Shattered windows displayed small repair shops and gun dealers' shops. Pretty little huts decorated with chipping murals of exotic flowers and a red, flower shaped lamp above the door were clear markers for women who did their business in one of the darkest ways. Tier one was the tramp's haven and the center of thieves. The regulars here were good-for-nothing scoundrels and shameless wenches. Either that, or they had no choice. Tier one belonged to the hopeless, the helpless, and the partiers.
Their trip into the darkness was a noisy one, the tires of their car crunching heavily against the rough mixture scattered within the garage. Esperati looked around, growing tense. Why did he take her here? Was he nothing but a kidnapper with an above-average-intelligence? This place was much too dark for her liking... In this deserted part of town, no one would come to look for her. It's not as if she cared if anyone tried, she knows the police would give up if they couldn't find her in four days. It was the fact that she may be subject to very unpleasant things...
"I'm not that sort of person." The young man cut her thoughts off short. The car was turning around, facing a wall as it pulled into a parking slot with yellow lines that were barely visible. "But I'll warn you to not scream." He didn't step on the breaks and pull out his key. Instead, he reached into the CD storage box at his right side and pulled out a cell phonae. Esperati stared at the plain, black and blue phone in his hand. These things costed almost nothing. It didn't even have a colored screen... it must be a ridiculously old type of model, or an imitation of one.
Dialing a number quickly, he pressed the call button and closed his eyes. The ground opened up underneath them and Esperati felt herself falling into the depths of darkness. A scream threatened to tear from her throat, but she kept her mind in check. No screaming... It then occured to her that they weren't falling at all. A platform was supporting them from below, losing altitude at a tremendously fast pace. Her ears popped, rendering her nearly deaf with the force of pressure exerted upon them. Looking at her escort, she saw that he had his eyes closed, his head tilted back on his seat with an air of casualty on his face. He must be used to this... Attempting to shut out all feelings of fear from her mind, Esperati did her best to imitate him. If this were all a dream, she could wake up safe and sound, with no connection to this surreal experience on a highspeed elevator.
But then, she'd be waking up in the ignorant masses, as just another one of them. She would never be able to escape their clutches... and after learning of a life without such blatant ignorance, Esperati knew that she will never be the same again if this were all a dream. This was too good to be true... but why did she accept so quickly? Esperati shook her head... was she really becoming so desperate for change she would lose her caution and recklessly seek sanctuary for her mind from a stranger? She chided herself silently for being such a gullible idiot. All this might be a trap. She might not only live the rest of her life in suffering, but also in regret and the realization of her own stupidity.
When the platform finally slowed to a stop, Esperati opened her eyes. Darkness reigned. What little light in the distant garage faded into nothing but a speck of dim orange in the above, soon to be sealed off by a sliding structure above. The slamming door to her left alerted her to the departure of the man. Turning to open her own door, she noticed him already there, politely holding it open for her.
"Welcome to the vehical storage chamber of Sub-Zero." He answered the question in her mind with a smirk. The world around them was a wonderland of silvery metals. Cars of all kinds were parked in various circles all over the enormous room opening in the walls led to visible ramps into the dark unknown. Two steel towers gripped the front and back of the false concrete platform they were lowered on. This sort of technology seemed almost primitive to the above, where simple transport for both people and large objects are common and far more efficient than the complet joints and sockets of the platform contraption.
Esperati stepped out into a dream, ignoring the painful complaints of her still popped ears. She scarcely heard the man close the door behind her as she gazed out over the entire room. There were sports cars, normal cars, jeeps, vans, buses, trucks, even cement mixers... everything! Florescent bars along the wall lit up the room, the reflective silver surface of the walls helped with the illumination. This was heaven. No people, no false appearances, no pretending to be perfectly normal.
The man grasped her elbow, nudging her towards the direction of a row of air vents on a corner of the room. "We don't have much time. They're all waiting for you." He didn't wait for her answer, practically dragging her towards his destination. "By the way, it''s nice to meet you, Miss Nero. Forgive me for my poor manners. Call me Eridde." Pulling off an approximate two-by-one-square-meters vent as easily removing a painting from its hook on the wall, the man beckoned for her to crawl through. LIghts flickered on from inconspicious niches near the top of the walls as he pressed a button that she thought for sure was just a screw in the wall.
"Don't call me Miss Nero. I don't take flattery." She stepped into the space. She was short enough to fit through without problems.
"Then what should I call you?" Eridde pulled the vent into place behind him, catching up to her within seconds with his brisk, carefree walk.
Esperati swallowed hard. She had only let her closest companions call her by her nickname, meaning the imaginary friends of her childhood. But Esperati was so long to say. It didn't match with his flowing speech. It would annoy her if he called her that. Fine then...
"You can call me Satin."