Beyond the Crystal City

by Logan Brookfield

  The man pushed the paper away with his hand. ‘There’s no bigger criminals than the ones I see standing in front of me right now,’ he said, slowly moving his hand under the table and wrapping it around the grip of a crossbow.

  The Black Hat’s expression changed and he took a step forward raising the butt of the rifle above the man’s head.

  ‘Stop that now!’ the other Black Hat shouted walking over. ‘We need information, which is why we need them on our side. They’re not going to talk if you beat them to death.’

  His colleague lowered his weapon and walked away to another stallholder.

  ‘I wish you’d keep your animals on a shorter leash, Commander. They come here throwing their weight around and it just gets people angry,’ the man said.

  ‘We have a job to do and we’ll do it as quickly and painlessly as possible. Can’t I tempt you with some fresh rations to help me out with these faces?’

  The man shook his head and spat on the floor. ‘I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than help the devils in the towers.’

  The Black Hat leaned forward. ‘You won’t need eyes if you’re withholding information. Just give me a name and location and treat you and your family to some nice things for a change.’

  The man spat on the floor again and relaxed his grip on the hidden crossbow.

  The soldier shook his head and stepped back. ‘You’re a waste of time. Carry on eating dirt and starving to death. Don’t come crying to us. We gave you the opportunity to make things better for yourselves and you threw it back in our faces.’

  The man shrugged. ‘Suits me, I’d rather be a dead Wretch than a snitch for the Cloud people.’

  ‘Be careful as that can very easily be arranged.’

  The Black Hat signalled for the others to regroup and vacate the area and they walked back down the street, leaving without any useful information.

  Chapter Ten

  The sun had gone for the night and only a hazy dark sky remained. Carl started to climb the broken concrete steps inside the deserted tower as Amy followed closely behind. The building was now a twisted frame of metal and cement. Partly destroyed by the Cloud people, it was one of the early settlements, now abandoned and left to decay. The Wretches were forbidden to make a home there and regular drone patrols rooted out any makeshift camps. However, at dusk the drones were busy preparing for their gas patrols and they never seemed too bothered about Carl’s frequent trips up to the top to see the view.

  The building was now in such a poor state it was becoming more and more dangerous to navigate the staircase. Ropes and planks of wood became makeshift bridges connecting the gaps where the concrete steps had crumbled away. They paused halfway up, coughing heavily as their lungs fought for air.

  ‘How often do you come up here?’ Amy asked.

  Carl bent over placing his hands on his thighs. ‘Not so often these days. The drone patrols make it risky but it’s still a good spot to relax and think while watching the world below.’

  ‘Do you usually come alone or do you bring all your women here?’ Amy said raising her eyebrows.

  ‘I don’t have any women unless you mean Mum and she’s too sick to leave the house these days.’

  ‘Yes, I know, I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I just wondered if you ever brought anyone else here.’

  Carl shook his head. ‘Nope, not even Pete. To be honest there’s nothing here but a view of the city that you can’t get anywhere else.’

  They continued upwards stopping every now and again to look through the vacant rooms where people once lived. Large square windows onto the city now became wind tunnels for the harsh environment to batter the interior, the protective glass long gone along with the residents. Every dwelling had been looted of anything worthwhile and all that was left was dust and rubble.

  Amy looked at a picture of a sunflower still hanging on the wall. ‘Mum would love that. Can we take it?’ she said lifting it off a nail.

  ‘We need to be really careful taking stuff from here as it’s all classed as the property of the Cloud people. But if you really want it we’ll collect it on the way back down, as I don’t want us weighed down with stuff on the way up.’

  Amy placed the picture on the floor, leaning it against the wall. A clean square area revealing brightly coloured wallpaper now showed where the picture used to hang. The rest of the walls were covered in a thick layer of grime blown in from the outside world.

  ‘I wonder who lived here,’ Amy said brushing her hand across the back of a sofa frame. ‘It might have been a young married couple or maybe one of the Black Hats. I presume they’re human and have families once they take their masks and guns off.’

  ‘I doubt it,’ Carl said. ‘I hear that they aren’t human. They’re created by devils and have black blood and feast on young children they catch in their traps.’

  The staircase ended as they reached the twenty-fourth floor and they stepped through a broken doorway and onto the roof. To the left a large gaping hole hid in the shadows and offered a quick but fatal route back down to the ground. Carl was aware of it from his many visits and steered Amy away. They clambered over rubble and the rusted frames of furniture and beds discarded by the previous occupants until they reached the edge of the roof.

  Amy’s mouth dropped open. ‘Wow, that’s incredible.’

  The sky was now ink black. The Crystal City was lit like multi-coloured jewels rising high in the sky until the towers disappeared into the mist and clouds. Below, the lights of the drones could be seen as they darted in and out of alleyways at low level hunting for their prey. To the right was the sprawling mass of the old projects and the shanty towns. A scattering of tiny, dim lights could be seen radiating from those dwellings lucky enough to be able to produce some electricity.

  Carl sat down with his feet dangling over the edge. ‘Quite a sight if you’ve never been this high before.’

  Amy sat down next to him. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. It all looks beautiful and peaceful from up here.’

  A drone approached from the direction of the towers. It flew past at the same height as the roof then stopped and came back.

  Carl held Amy’s hand. ‘Stay very still, don’t move a muscle,’ he said.

  The machine beeped and whistled as it surveyed the rooftop and transmitted data back to the city.

  ‘Has it seen us?’ Amy whispered.

  ‘They have really poor vision at night and rely on movement. Just stay still and we should be OK.’

  The drone sped off in the direction of the projects.

  ‘That was close.’ Amy sighed.

  Carl rubbed his eyes. ‘It’s the first time one has taken an interest while I’ve been up here. We might not be so lucky next time. Maybe we should stay on one of the lower floors if we come again.’

  Amy nodded and looked at her hand which was still holding Carl’s. ‘It’s nice up here. We’ve got the whole building to ourselves and we’re away from all the problems down below,’ she said.

  Carl reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a small extendable telescope. Its brown leather covering kept it low-key and stopped light glinting off it, and the brass edges added to the quality feel. ‘Here, take a look through this.’

  Amy took the scope and held it in her hands, feeling the weight of it. ‘It’s beautiful. Where did you get it? Is it one of Cody’s big ticket items?’

  ‘No way.’ Carl shook his head. ‘I found it somewhere else, a secret place that nobody knows of.’

  Amy closed her left eye and placed the scope to her right. ‘Where?’

  ‘Not sure what it was or why it’s there but I think the ancients called it “Ondo”.’

  ‘Ondo? What the hell’s that?’ Amy said scanning the glass towers with the scope.

  ‘I’ll take you there soon. It’s top secret though and not even Pete knows about it.’

  ‘OK, can’t wait,’ Amy said adjusting the scope’s focus ring. ‘The Crystal City really is beautiful to look at,
isn’t it? You can almost see people moving around on different floors with this thing.’

  ‘It’s quite a view but also a little bittersweet, I think. It looks great but then reminds you of how much you don’t have.’

  ‘It must be wonderful to have all those riches. To have everything you need,’ Amy said.

  Carl shrugged. ‘All wealth does is give you more choice, like the clothes you wear and the food you eat. It doesn’t make you happy or give you friends or keep you company. It’s an empty currency and they’re still not free to leave this place or do as they please. A rich slave or a poor slave is still a slave.’

  Amy gave the scope back and Carl placed it back in his bag. ‘So how often do you come up here? I love it.’

  Carl smiled. ‘It really is special and one of the few safe places left. If I can get up here once a week it’s good, maybe a bit longer when the storms are raging. But I’ve heard rumours that they’ll be demolishing this sector soon so we need to enjoy it while we can.’

  Amy took a deep breath. ‘There doesn’t seem to be much pollution up here. The air seems a bit cooler and easier on the lungs too.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s weird, isn’t it?’ Carl said. ‘It’s almost like the air is kept bad on purpose near ground level where the rest of us have to live.’

  Sirens wailed and swarms of drones began to leave the city. Swooping down at low level they began to spray their noxious gases as the humans below ran for cover. A cloud of green mist now hung over the streets and makeshift shelters below.

  Amy placed her head on Carl’s shoulder. ‘I wish we could stay here forever. There’s nothing good for us down there. What do you think is beyond the wall?’

  Carl looked over his shoulder in the direction of the perimeter fence. ‘It’s impossible to say. Cody always thought there were other cities like ours. No idea what made him think that. He always thought everything was a conspiracy of some kind. Smoke and mirrors to stop any ambition of leaving this place, he used to say.’

  ‘Do you know if anyone has ever left the city?’

  ‘No idea.’ Carl shrugged. ‘If they have they never made it back to tell anyone, or maybe they didn’t want to come back. I’d take my chances out there if I could get out. There’s nothing but hunger and death here for us. We’re the dead, just ghosts living short, unimportant lives.’

  Carl turned back to Amy. Her long blonde hair moved in waves in the breeze and her beautiful face was gently lit by the distant searchlights that scoured the towers and nearby land for intruders. He leaned forward slowly, giving her the chance to move back but she didn’t. As their lips met she gasped and gripped his hand tighter. He felt his neck tingle and everything around them just melted away as they were lost in their love and affection for each other.

  ‘You’ve no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,’ Carl said.

  ‘And I’ve wanted you to.’ Amy laughed. ‘I kept giving you enough eye contact and making excuses to visit your house but you never seemed interested.’

  Carl gently kissed her neck and cheek. ‘Oh boy I was interested, but just frozen with fear every time you came near me. I wish I was more confident like Cody used to be and some of the others.’

  Amy squeezed his hand tight. ‘I don’t want you to be like Cody. He’s dead and his confidence doesn’t do any good now, does it? I want you to be you, I like you just as you are.’

  Carl felt so tall he could almost touch the hazy moon; he’d never been so happy. He savoured this moment and only wished he could package it up, keep it and replay it whenever needed. He was the happiest Wretch in the city and quickly forgot his hunger pains; everything else seemed unimportant.

  Chapter Eleven

  Benjamin Ford’s body lay on a stone slab in the dwelling of the Spiritual Guide. The room was peaceful with candles illuminating the interior of the shack and incense burning to disguise the smell of decay. Lita was older than most people she knew. Her long, flowing white hair contrasted against the black robes she wore, and her necklaces and bracelets glistened in the flickering light.

  Anyone who passed on in this part of the city would be looked after by Lita. It was her job to ensure the body was disposed of quickly and that the necessary spiritual passage rites were performed to guarantee transition into the next world. Depending on your beliefs that could be reincarnation, another dimension or heaven. Either way, Lita would perform the correct ritual and offerings according to your wishes, and she enjoyed the small amount of goods you gave her as payment for the pleasure before you died.

  Two assistants who were also dressed in black robes wrapped the last visible parts of the body in a thin cotton shroud. Only the head was left exposed. Two highly polished flat stones were then placed on the eyes. In ancient times these would have been coins to pay the ferryman for the journey to the afterlife, but in a world without banks or money this was now purely symbolic but still widely practised. The body was now ready and Benjamin’s final journey would begin.

  Outside the crowd swelled in size. Some were angry, some crying and some thankful for the life he had, but all shared the dismay over the nature of his death. They looked on him as a de facto leader of sorts. A rebel with a cause and the inspiration for growing resentment of the ruling elite. His frequent preaching and fire-in-the-belly speeches had brought the Wretches to the brink of revolt. The feeling had swept through the city and had taken on a life of its own. It was like a spirit, drifting through the neighbourhoods and permeating every pore until it became something you could see and touch. Like a lightning storm it had physical properties and the clouds of dissent were now building. Years ago the community was split into those who wanted change and those who didn’t want any trouble, but now every man and woman seemed to share the same goal. Even if they couldn’t participate directly they would give their support and help in any way they could.

  Lita walked out of her shack with head bowed and hands clasped in front of her body. Benjamin followed behind, his body laid on top of a wooden rack and held on the shoulders of four Wretches. The crowd clapped as they caught a glimpse of their hero. The funeral procession walked slowly through the dusty, rubble-filled streets and the mass of people parted to make way. At the end of the road, in a ready-made clearing and in sight of the old cathedral ruins, the funeral pyre sat waiting. A high stack of just about anything combustible reached into the air and waited for ignition. Garbage, bits of rare timber and rags made up the pile and as the procession drew closer the locals threw more onto the heap.

  The baying crowd formed a circle around the pyre as the Wretches placed Benjamin high up on top, securing the rack and the body to make sure it stayed in place.

  ‘Steady, steady,’ John Rikard said stepping out from the shadows. ‘All will see and what will be will be, but you’ve got to stay back. Those too close may find themselves reaching the afterlife sooner than they thought. Keep your distance and respect our fallen hero.’

  John was a muscular man in his thirties whose job in the community revolved around fire and therefore his nickname was the Fire Striker. He took on this role as a volunteer as did his father and his father before him. His tasks included creating flames when needed and putting them out when it wasn’t. His torso and the left side of his face showed severe scars from burning and half of his hair was also replaced with lesions and melted skin, such were the dangers of dealing with and tackling the various blazes that broke out in this area. Everything was combustible during the dry season and the intense heat and strong winds created the ideal environment for ignition.

  Lita stood in front of the pyre showing her palms to the crowd. ‘Thank you, thank you, citizens, for coming here today to witness the passage of our great brother, Benjamin. Never before have we seen such a large gathering, and this I’m sure reflects the feelings of love and admiration for our fallen friend. But our friend was cut down and murdered by those who choose to rule over us,’ she said pointing at the glass towers in the distance. ‘The evil cloak of totalitarianism
and division has poisoned this land for so long. The evil devils that live in the Crystal City have blood dripping from their hands. Not just Benjamin’s but the countless missing ones who have been taken, never to be seen again. The Cloud people have built their glass towers on the shoulders of our ancestors and buried them in the foundations below them. But this is the last straw, my friends, no more, no more can we take this and the time for change is upon us.’

  The crowd roared with approval and surged forward while the few tasked with marshalling the event pushed their backs into the melee in a vain attempt to stop them moving too close.

  Lita nodded to John who walked to the edge of the pile and raised a small piece of iron in one hand. In the other he held a small shard of flint and struck it hard against the metal. It took several attempts but the sparks created a small flame at the base of the stack. This quickly grew into a tall column of flames that engulfed the pyre.

  Two drones arrived overhead. Alerted by the noise and the large gathering they transmitted video and information back to base so the situation could be evaluated. The crowd booed and jeered at the arrival of the metal machines. A youth picked up a rock and threw it in the direction of one drone. It narrowly missed causing it to correct its course and altitude. Others followed suit and threw anything they could get their hands on.

  ‘Even in our time of grief, the bringers of doom won’t leave us in peace,’ Lita said pointing to the sky. ‘They bully and harass and remind us of our pitiful life of servitude. This has to stop and only we can stop it. Kill them, kill them all.’

  The crowd surged forward and roared more approval. A large group of them broke away and headed towards the Crystal City. ‘Kill them, kill them all, kill them, kill them all,’ they chanted punching the air with their fists with their faces contorted and needing revenge.

  More drones gathered overhead and the city security was alerted. Wave after wave of heavily armed soldiers took up positions inside the main gate and on top of walls and sentry towers.