To the City

Half of the tree was dead.

Scorched.

Its trunk was covered in black blotches, while the lowest branches had been stripped bare.

But at the top, fresh bundles of purple leaves sprouted.

They flowed and waved us on.

We trudged down a narrow ridge.

Scorched trees, dead grass and bare bushes dotted our path.

The front of the chain-gang had descended quite a bit.

But not enough to plunge back into the mist.

We were still quite far from the city.

A floating rock drifted past us. It was the size of a dinner table.

It had a few tufts of pale blue grass and a bush full of purple leaves, streaked with luminescent blue.

I looked to the dead bush by my foot.

It seemed that below a certain line, everything just… died.

My thoughts went to the mist…

So, it can climb this high…

I trusted the barrier would hold, but it was another blow to any escape plan.

Though where could I escape to?

Surely a Cult like this had enemies?

But what could I offer them?

I sighed.

Flash. Flash. Flash.

It came from below.

There were more platforms. I realized we weren’t alone.

My head swept from left to right.

A quick count tallied 20, no, 30 platforms.

Then about a dozen more chain-gangs emerging from the mists, in similar barrier tunnels.

All heading in one direction.

Flashes came from the new arrivals on the fresh platform.

A similar scene played out there too.

Rehearsed to a tee.

Any rebellious elements were quickly eliminated.

An argument broke out below, with a guy smacking a Cultist’s spear away.

Others saw a chance and began shoving and throwing punches.

Order was quickly restored.

The first guy was stabbed through the chest, and with incredible force, flung upwards out of the dome.

A Ketoi quickly snapped him up, while others waited in the wings.

Commotions on the platforms never went unnoticed.

Soon the others were fed too.

How many times has this happened?

How many ‘harvests’ does it take for animals to learn the domes are a source of food?

The ridge levelled out.

From here it was a straight march to the city.

The woman in front of me had been fidgeting a lot.

It had started since we walked out of the mist, but now she was getting more frantic.

She kept shrugging and moving her neck in strange directions.

Has she gone insane?

But after a few seconds, I saw it.

I saw what she was desperately trying to hide.

An infection on her neck.

Yellow and red.

I could barely make it out myself.

But her frantic movements exposed it briefly.

Ravenna was walking towards us, having inspected the front.

Her sharp eyes swept across the line.

My chest tightened, any second now…

Just as her eyes lay upon the woman in front…

I coughed.

Her crimson eyes instantly locked onto me.

She raised an eyebrow but said nothing and moved on.

- - -

We were close to the city now.

Its defenses were double layered.

A shorter outer wall, with an inner wall overlooking the space between them.

Some groups were ahead of us, already walking through the outer gate. Other groups snaked in from the sides. All being fed into the city.

The shining tower’s height only grew.

I felt much smaller.

My eyes climbed up each stone brick, until I saw a dancing girl.

She was on the floor just below the light.

Bounding from foot to foot, she spun and unfurled her arms like wings.

The rubies on her dress sparkled.

She’s blessing our arrival…

I hope.

As our group entered the outer wall gate, we met by the full force of the Cult’s military.

Cult Warriors lined up on both sides of our path.

Full armor, heavy gas masks.

Their spears were horizontal, their bodies already in a striking position.

Some had capes, and flared helmets.

Above, the ramparts of the inner wall were lined with archers.

More were on watch towers and guard houses.

There were subtle differences in their aim, each one had already picked a target.

It seemed like overkill.

No-one had even attempted to interrupt the commander earlier.

No-one had tried to assault any Cultist on the way here.

But then I understood.

For such a heavily fortified and isolated city like this, now was probably their most vulnerable moment.

Thousands of strangers, well… prisoners were entering their city.

All harbored a level of hatred for their captors.

The Cult was not taking any chances.

Thousands had walked through this gate.

Any Harvested who believed in ‘strength in numbers’ had to contend with this display of force.

One wrong move, and they’d be cut down.

Standing tall at the top of the inner gate was a mountain of man.

Not even distance shrank him.

He was the leader.

3 people stood to his side, 1 to the left, 2 to the right.

His lieutenants, his elites.

Was one missing?

It all made me wonder if this display of force wasn’t just for us.

Maybe someone else was watching… beyond the mist.

Someone or something that could actually exploit this vulnerable moment.

Ravenna slowly walked up to me.

Her robes almost touched the points of the line of spears.

But she didn’t seem to mind.

She leaned in, ever so slightly. “It looks invincible, but in reality… the right person can unravel all of this…”

I knew not to look at her.

I stared above.

She pretended to inspect the line.

“It just takes one,” she said, walking forward.

Looking back, I could never have known what her plans would turn out to be.

The chaos she would unleash…

Upon the Cult…

Upon the world…

All I felt was relief that there was someone…

Someone within the Cult who wasn’t happy with how things were currently.

Someone who wanted to change things.

Just as I thought the inner gate would open to let us in, our line was led to the side.

We descended down a path to the left, that curved around perimeter.

There, a colosseum awaited us.

Not a city.

Not a home.

A proving ground.

We would come to call it ‘The Pits’.