Abyss

Sometimes, at night, when the world goes to sleep, I climb out of my bedroom window and onto the roof. I’ll sit there, curled up, and watch the moon and the stars and listen to everything around me. It’s the only time when everything seems to just stand still. The only noise I can hear is the sound of crickets chirping and my own slow, even breathing.

Outside, I’m brand new. I’m at peace. I don’t have millions of distractions or worries. It’s just the air, the moon, the stars, and myself and I can finally put my mind to rest. I can just be.

Tonight, I’m not as lucky.

The streets are lined with hundreds of people, all participating in The Celebration. I sit there, mesmerized by the bright lights and decorations that adorn the buildings and sidewalks. I’ve never enjoyed The Celebration. What is there to celebrate? President Mal?

A scowl forms on my face at the thought of him.

The ignorant dictator is a fraud. He’s promised so much to people and has delivered on barely any. He claims to have united a nation in need, but only has divided us even more.

The textbooks in school say that he put an end to the struggles amongst what used to be the United States of America and that he empowered a dying nation that was drifting apart. I can’t imagine living in a country more separated than we are now. Hexian Mal is nothing more than an imposter who thrives on overexerting force and bloodthirsty power.

But then again, I’ve never had to witness first hand this cruelness. I've only heard the murmurs during my trips through Metropolis, whispered words that fall on my curious ears.

I turn my face up to the night sky and close my eyes, letting a soft cool wind brush my cheek, before descending the slope of the roof and crawling back into my room. With less than a half hour to go until the party, I slip out of my jeans and shirt and pull on the gown Mother had set out for me earlier.

Mother has some of the most expensive and regal taste out there. While her exquisite eye for color and detail marvels me, I’ve never been able to fully feel comfortable in the dresses she chooses. Then again, I’ve never felt really comfortable attending any of these events I’m forced to go to either.

With the Celebration tonight, Dad’s all about business. He works very close with the upper ranks of the government in some job I’ve never quite been able to figure out, but either way, he’s always trying to impress the wealthiest of the people at these parties.

I glance at myself in the mirror. My auburn hair is pulled up, save a few strands of curled hair, with a few parts intricately braided in a unique woven pattern. The dress is a royal blue, almost electrifying. With the silk material barely covered by a lacy fabric, it’s amazing at how tame this dress is compared to what Mother normally picks out.

The dress hovers right above the ground, even though I’m in heels. I twirl, watching the shining, almost glittering, fabric sparkle around me. I can’t suppress the smile forming on my lips.

“Beautiful.”

I gasp, snapping my head to the doorway where Dad is casually leaning against the frame, his arms folded across his chest. I stumble as I try to regain my balance.

“Oh, Dad,” I murmur on a breathless whisper. “You scared me!”

He let out a soft chuckle. “Sorry, princess.” His steps are long as he walks toward me. Carefully, he reaches in the pocket of his black suit and pulls out a velvet box. I look up at him, my eyebrows rising quizzically.

“What’s this?” I ask as he hands me the smooth red box.

He smiles at me. “Just something I picked up.”

Lifting the lid slowly, I peer down at the box and my eyes widen in amazement at the beautiful diamond pendant hanging on a crystalline silver chain. A single diamond, cut beautifully with a dazzling sparkle, sits in the center of an intricately woven silver heart.

“Dad,” I whisper, not quite sure my voice could work. “It’s…. stunning.” He beams at me and plucks the necklace out of the box before gently securing it around my neck. “What’s the occasion?”

He stares into the mirror at me for a second, admiring the way the diamond glitters against my skin. “You are not my little girl, anymore, Lex.” I look at him through the mirror, blue eyes meeting brown. “With the party tonight, I have no doubt you’ll catch the eyes of many young men.” My face turns a deep red from the thought. He laughs lightly. “I’m being serious, Lex.” I just nod, averting my gaze. “I guess…. I guess I just wanted to remind you that I’m the first man to ever love you, Lex. That you’ll always have a piece of me.”

I turn around and throw my arms around his neck, giving him the biggest hug I could possibly muster up. “Thank you, Daddy. I love it.” I kiss him on the cheek. “You’ll always be the number one man in my life.” His face turns a rosy red.

“We leave soon, Lex. So finish getting ready, and your mother and I will meet you downstairs.” He turns to leave, but just before he can walk out the door I stop him. He peers over his shoulder.

“Thank you, Daddy. I love it. I love you.”

“Love you too, Lex.” He smiles at me and continues out of my room.

I glance back at my reflection in the mirror. I’ve never seen a more beautiful piece of jewelry. I clutch onto the pendant.

My smile falters slightly. You don’t deserve this, my mind tells me. And it’s right. I don’t deserve my dad’s generosity. What have I ever done to deserve this life so many don’t have?

“Alexia!” I hear Mother’s shrill voice coming from the bottom of the stairs. “It’s time to go!”

I tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ears, grab my silver clutch, and walk out of the room. Descending the staircase, my mother’s eyes gleam at me. “Oh, Lex!” she cries. “You are stunning!”

I can feel my face brighten again from the compliment. As I reach the end of the stairs, Mother looks me over from head to toe and smiles in approval.

“Come on, ladies,” says my dad, extending his arm to Mother. “We’re going to be late!”

Mother playfully smacks him on the arm and I follow behind them.

Although I’ve never fully understood either of my parents, there is one thing I’ve never doubted about them: their love for one another. I can see it, just as I do as Mother takes his arm. I’ve always told myself that there has to be someone out there for me, but in all honesty, I’m not sure I’ll ever meet him. How can I when I’m restricted from most of the population? How can I truly meet the right person if I’m bounded to only the people of my own Division?

Stepping into the sleek black car, my thoughts consume me. This party hasn’t been something I’ve been looking forward to. Lots of makeup, sparkly gowns, fake smiles, and inane chatter have never been my thing. My only hope is that I’ll be able to leave quickly.

We pull up to the entrance of the gate to the boarding station. A silvery chrome structure, the boarding station is intimidating to look at to say the least. My dad offers me his hand as I step out of the car. Reaching down, I gather up the skirt of my dress and walk up the silver steps and into the building.

The boarding station is nothing new to me. I’m a frequent traveler, always looking to break out of the confines of Division I and enjoy what I can of the other parts of the country, although I’m heavily restricted from those too. Aside from a few vacation destinations, the only place I’m granted access to is Metropolis, the location of the Capitol and the central hub of the country, which is where we are heading tonight.

I’ve never been to another Division. I’m strictly prohibited, and even if I wanted to go to another one, which I find myself daydreaming about occasionally, I wouldn’t be able to. Every time you enter or leave a Division or another section of the country, you’re required to provide various forms of identification, including a fingerprint, eye verification, and an actual id. Not only that, but each gate is heavily secured by many guards who don’t tolerate any type of misbehavior or illegal activity.

I hand the guard waiting by the boarding dock my id and place my index finger over a glowing green scanner. The scanner flashes a lighter green, signaling a match, and the guard asks me to stare directly into the lens of the eye verifier. Staring straight ahead, it’s not hard for me to resist blinking as a red light slowly traces the shape of my left eye. I’ve done this way too many times.

“Welcome aboard, Miss Caen,” says the guard, handing me back my id and stepping aside to allow me onto the dock. Once both my parents are granted access, we make our way to the pods.

In my history textbooks, they’ve often talked about times when people would travel by various means of transportation. From gasoline powered automobiles, coal burning trains, and massive flying planes, all of which seem so foreign to me. Other than walking, I’ve never known too many other methods than taking a pod for long distance travelling.

Lining the walls of the boarding dock are thousands of capsule-like pods.

All three of us make our way to our own pod, keying in on the touchscreen keypad just outside the door that our destination is Metropolis. Looking over to my parents, I smile briefly before stepping inside. I turn around, facing out the door, and lean against the soft, leathery interior that lines the walls and floor. The door closes and the pod goes dark for only a brief moment before light illuminates it once again.

I feel the pod descend into the ground and I know I’ve begun my travel through the long, intertwining canals of the pod system underground. Mother once told me that what would take us hours to reach Metropolis only takes us minutes in the pods because of how fast they travel.

I intertwine my fingers as a few minutes pass by. My stomach feels slightly nauseous as I think about tonight. I know how to handle myself amongst the elite. I’ve done it my entire life. But no matter the eighteen years I’ve spent amongst this crowd, I’ve always felt like an outsider. I know there will be plenty of familiar faces, all of which will smile, kiss my cheek or wrap their arms around me, and feign interest in whatever I’ve been up to recently. It is how the story goes every time.

The door to the pod slides open and I step outside, immediately seeing my parents to the right of me. Dad smiles at me slightly and we continue making our way out of the boarding station of Metropolis.

Dad ushers me into the car waiting for us. I take my seat by the window and stare out, admiring the sight before me. And I thought Division I was heavily decorated.

Thousands of lights are strung from the tops of buildings, and the walls and windows are covered in posters and streamers. People are everywhere, dressed in their fanciest and most outrageous costumes, all for the Celebration.

Loud music sounds all around and many people are dancing or moving to the beat. That is the kind of party I want to be a part of. Not some fancy gala where people sip champagne and wine and talk about business and fashion.

“What time is it dear?” I hear Mother ask Dad.

“A quarter past nine,” he answers quietly, looking down at his watch.

Mother lets out a sigh of relief. “I thought for sure we were running later than that!” She looks out the window. “Oh, look! We’re here!”

We pull up to a grand palace-like building, designed to be President Mal’s office, as well as event home. The building is a complicated mixture of silvery chrome metal and shiny marble, all creating this modernized version of what I would imagine a fairytale castle to be.

I take the hand that is offered to me by our driver and step out of the car, still staring at the marvelous structure. I’ve seen the building before, but never has it looked more intimidating than it does right now.
“Come along, Alexia,” beckons Mother after noticing my stalling. I trail behind both of my parents as we are escorted through golden halls adorned with thousands of artwork. Light illuminates every corner of the long corridors.

After making our way down several stretches, we are finally brought to a large room filled with hundreds of people, all dressed in the fanciest fabrics and brightest gems. A live classical band is seated in the center of the room and plays a soft beautiful tune, while spectators listen and couples dance around them.

Many people are immersed in conversation and well-rehearsed laughter echoes throughout the room. Mom and Dad are immediately greeted by Sebastian Lynch, a co-worker of my father’s, and his wife, Daniela. Their son Blaze trails behind him, although he doesn’t seem to see me hidden behind my parents.

“Well if it isn’t the most notorious couple in all of Division I,” greeted Mr. Lynch, extending an arm out to my dad. His wife envelops my mother in a hug while I watch. “Quite the Celebration this year, isn’t it?”

My dad lets out a light chuckle and chimes in. “It sure is. Definitely one of the most elaborate to date. Mal sure has outdone himself yet again.”

Mrs. Lynch turns to me after hugging my mother and nearly cries out with excitement. “Well aren’t you the belle of the ball, Alexia?” I smile as best as I can while we embrace. She turns to her son behind her who seems uninterested in the conversation in front of him and pulls him closer. “You remember Blaze, I’m sure.”

Blaze’s eyes light up when they meet mine and a smirk spreads across his perfect face. I fight the urge to smack that confident smirk right off of him. Blaze reaches down to grab my hand and kiss the top, a tradition that you would have that would have died centuries ago. His eyes never leave mine, and he murmurs, “How could one ever forget?” His voice is so quiet and direct, that after I look around me, I am sure that no one else but me heard him.

I reconnect my eyes with his and place a smirk to match his on my own face and murmur, “Was actually quite easy, really.”

His expression falters and I notice a little gleam in his eyes as his eyebrows quirk upward.

Both of our parents walk off, immediately heading towards the closest bar, leaving Blaze and I alone. He offers his hand out to me and I know that in such a crowded room like this many would notice if I reject him. I slowly place my hand in his and he escorts us closer to the center of the room before placing one hand on my hip, still holding the other. I rest one hand on his shoulder and we begin to slowly sway with the rhythm of the music.

“It’s been awhile, Lexi,” says Blaze as he studies me for a moment.

“Alexia,” I correct him. “And it didn’t seem that long to me.”

The ever-present smirk on his face seems to grow and he leans in slightly before saying, “Still bitter, I see.”

“I’m not sure bitter is the correct description,” I counter. “More like over it.”

Suddenly I’m being flung out into the crowd and twirled and once I’m brought back, his arms circled around my chest, he murmurs in my ear, “You weren’t over it last summer.”

I force us apart again, but this time spin myself so that I’m back into our original position, space between us now. “Things change. People change.”

I’m really not in the mood to do this with him right now, but I know Blaze isn’t one to just let everything go. He never could quite get over the fact that I’m no longer interested in him as more than an acquaintance. He’s always been used to having every girl fall at his feet, and at first, I wasn’t any different. The more time I spent with him, however, the more I saw who he truly was.

“I haven’t changed one bit,” he challenges.

He’s right. He hasn’t changed at all. He’s still and will always be the self-absorbed egotistical rich kid who can’t look past societal expectations and personal appearance.

“You’re right,” I explain. “You haven’t changed at all Blake Lynch.”

His lips begin to quirk into a smile.

“You’re still the same pompous asshole that can’t look past his own reflection in the mirror.” I watch as his smile falters and his lips turn down. I lean up towards him and murmur, “I’m the one that’s changed Blaze.”

I drop my hands from him and walk away, knowing I probably have a few curious eyes glancing my way, along with his shocked and fuming ones.

I make my way to the closest restroom, steadying my deep shallow breathing as I splash water on my face. Pride swells within me as I’m overtaken by the satisfaction of telling off a loser like Blaze Lynch, but now my hands can’t seem to stop shaking.

I stalk out of the ladies room and immerse myself around the outskirts of the room, not wanting to bring any attention to me. At this point, I’m already feeling slightly nauseous and all I can focus on is getting this party over with and going home.

My wish is almost immediately granted as my dad finds me and comments, “You don’t look so well, Lex. Something wrong?”

I take full advantage of the opportunity. “I’m just not feeling too well right now, Daddy.”

He nods in understanding. “Well, if you need to, I can excuse you from the party, seeing as President Mal hasn’t shown up yet. Why don’t you go have the driver drop you off at the station and go home?”

I nod and thank him, a smile fighting to creep onto my face, and without a second glance, I hurry myself out of the building.

Once I make it out into the fresh air, I’m immediately assaulted by flashing lights and people, as photographers huddle around the entrance, all aimed towards the approaching limo. President Mal must be arriving.

I hesitate for a second, knowing that summoning the valet would take some time since Mal has just arrived, so I decide to head home on my own. The station is only a few blocks away and nothing sounds more appealing than fresh air and a calm walk.

After I make it about a block away, and hardly anyone is around, I slip off my heels and carry them next to my clutch. The concrete sidewalk feels rough against my bare feet but I don’t mind, preferring it to standing in my high stilettos.

I weave my way in out of the crowds. Many people fill the streets at night for the Celebration, and I find myself searching for a quick detour around them all. Once I make it through a small alley, I recognize the area and continue my walk alone.

It’s moments like these that I live for. Rarely do I get the chance, other than when I’m on my roof, to just be alone in the outside world.

After awhile, I cross a man dressed in ragged clothes. His hair is unkempt and scruffy, and I can tell it hasn’t been washed in days. He holds an illegible sign, and I reach down into my clutch and pull out a few bills. I smile at the older man as I drop the money into the hat at his feet. “A beautiful heart that matches a beautiful girl,” the old man says and I thank him for the kind words before continuing my way to the station.

I’ve made it about two blocks away when suddenly I’m shoved from behind and sent face forward to the ground. I scrape my hands against the pavement while trying to stop myself from falling and my clutch and shoes go flying.

I turn up to see a young man, not much older than myself, grinning down at me with a sinister smirk. “What’s a pretty little rich girl doing on the streets alone tonight? It’s the Celebration! Aren’t you supposed to be drinking champagne with the rest of your kind?”

My eyes grow wide as I stare up at him. My heart races at a million miles per hour and I’m overcome with fear.

He stares down at me for a second before reaching forward. I flinch as he grabs ahold of the pendant around my neck. With a forceful yank, he snaps the chain and tears the necklace off of me.

I cry out and reach out for the beautiful gift I had only just received. A stinging sensation pierces my face as my attacker backhands me across the face. I cradle my cheek as it burns. I watch as he snatches my clutch and stands up. “Please!” I cry out.

“Stupid little rich girls,” he sneers. “You’re on my streets honey, and you should know, they aren’t safe for your kind.” He kicks me hard in the side and a cry I didn’t know I was capable of escapes my lip.
Just as he’s about to deliver another blow, he’s suddenly sent flying back from me. Tears blur my vision but I watch as a man much bigger than him begins punching and assaulting him.

The sounds of fists connecting with flesh last for only a moment before a figure hovers above my clouding vision. It’s not the same man as my attacker.

The dark figure leans closer to me and I’m taken back by the face that’s just inches from my own. Tan skin covers a defined jaw line and chiseled face and concerned emerald eyes meet mine. “Are you okay?” a deep, husky voice whispers. I open my mouth to say something but all I can do is let out a painful gasp of air.

Before I have the chance to take another breath, my rescuer is sweeping me up in his arms. My head feels heavy and darkness is creeping around the edges of my vision.

I see him carry me towards a motorcycle and place me down in front of him, my back against the front of the bike and my chest facing him. I meet his eyes one more time and murmur, “Thank you,” before all I can see is black.