Chapter 1.

He was at the edge of the huge mining pit, its pitch-black gaping maw showing the true definition of oblivion. Was the fall endless? Was it as black as the spaces between the stars? He couldn’t tell either, only being able to keep staring at… Nothing. He raised his head, not knowing why, since there was little to search in this place of forsaken abandonment, bet it turned with unknow intent, filled with such natural certainty that bordered on instinctual.

There, at the edge of the mechanical arm from unknow mining equipment, it was there. Who? Couldn’t say, but… Someone. Someone that was important to care about.

-There are only two possibilities for you, Nikola. – was it a girl or a boy? Sounded like neither. Made him shiver – Either you are alone, or you are not.

It paused, and them he was there, in it’s place, looking down at the endless darkness beneath of the industrial contraption, avoiding the fall only by the tiptoes of his feet. A cold sweat trailed down his face.

It was behind him, he felt it, he knew it, and it… It…

-And both options… - it resumed its speech, the unnatural voice by the side of his ear – Both scare you, don’t they?

It touched him: gently, but firmly, and he moved forward, his feet losing the ground. He turned midair, falling, wanting to scream but being unable, as the world with was already shady increasingly turning into complete darkness. The last thing he was able to saw was that…Person. Maybe. Looking down as he felt into the endless pit, filled, as he suspected, with alien satisfaction. Why? Why?

Why couldn’t he scream?

Why he couldn’t hit the ground and simply end this torment?

Why the only thing he could hear was the screaming of wind all around him?

And in the complete darkness:

He woke up. Drenched in sweat, laying on the ground by the side of his bed, the fan being noisy. Although as noisy as the alarm. He breathed heavily, his head hurt like it was hit with a heavy book, and his back made him scream when he slowly sited to find his phone on the bed. He turned off the annoying music and checked the hour, feeling sour with the knowledge he suspected as his reality came back.

Late. Again.

-Darn it. – said to no one in special, sighing – He is gonna lecture me again…

It was another day like any other in the rock: monotonous. He’s morning was being like most others: tedious. Alone in the apartment, Nikola packed his nutrient efficient food and dressed in the school uniform with the speed of someone who has done it a thousand times… With was close to reality. Bag on his hand and phone on his other, he casually walked past their room, slowing his pace until he stopped, close to the exit. Backing down a bit, he stopped in the entrance of their room, actually, what was their room.

All was in place: the double bed neat and tight, the office desk with the turned off computer, the dresser and wardrobe with many of their clothing. Maybe he should have give them back to the commissariat, but to what purpose anyway? Who would need new clothes? Who would want to dress dead people’s synthetic cotton? And even if there were, why should he care? One step inside, just one, and it became harder to not remember the flood of emotions and memories of that ruinous night. Or was a day? Why he cared anyway? Every moment was the same in that dammed station? Nikola knew well that if he gave another step inside, he would skip school, and, although ultimately, school may be meaningless, at least was something to keep his head away from that nightmare from earlier. Plus, he could spend more time with his friends, with was a nice and God knew he needed it as much as he could.

He also didn’t need to be lectured by the class representative more than he would be already.

So he stepped away from their room, and resumed his routine: just like before, but…Without them. Opened the apartment door, entering the dimly lit corridor, closed the door, turned the keys, and took a deep breath: when he came back, he would watch a movie or play a game, homework be dammed. He’s heels turned and he moved forward by the quiet halls, trying to focus on the flickering lights rather than on strange voices from beyond or people who would never come back.

The tram was on time as always, with was cool, and gave him time to play on his phone while he waited to reach the school station. Staring at the cute pictures was a relief, taking him away from that horrible ordeal from earlier. Nikola would occasionally rise his head to look outside of the wagon’s window, viewing as the block buildings that stood on top of one another passed by, occasionally viewing a maintenance crew making whatever repairs of chores on said structures, or maybe the rarer maintenance or delivery drone going by in the air, breezing as those animals with he learned in class. What were their names again? Biblos? Borks?

-Oh yeah, birds. – said to himself, memories coming back slowly – They would fly through the skies on some planets, right?

He leaned closer to the window, looking upwards, towards… The ceiling of the station: darkish-grey rock, visibly ragged, with the occasional human structure reachable only by bots, elevator or the small civilian helicopters they have… Or had, hard to know these days when he never saw any of them other than in the station’s museum or the video tapes. But he got carried away: maybe he should just be thankful that he was there to even think about nothings, since, as he was well aware, as anyone was well aware, every night was a toss of the dice to simply… Be gone.

The door that connected his wagon to the one on the front closed loudly mid travel, almost gave him a heart attack as he looked in the direction and saw the old janitor from his neighborhood station, Nikola relaxed, watching as the old man’s mop worked it’s way in his direction, cleaning as it went.

-Good morning son, - he said, not looking at him – late for school?

-Good morning… -he would answer, shy, looking downwards to his phone – Yeah… I overslept.

-Try sleeping earlier, school is important. – as he went, he never looked towards him, and this polite small talk slowly drifted away, the door to the next wagon opening – Good classes for you. – and he left, as transient as he arrived –

It was kinda funny to think about it, if Nikola would find himself in a more fatalistic mood: a lot of old people are left, while so many people younger than himself went missing or, never were born in the first place. While he was there on his way to waste away his youth in the meaningless that school has become, the old janitor, who he never learned the name, was heading towards the same place perhaps in a more dignified way, doing his best to keep something that everything pointed out it would end sooner than later. Why study them? Why try? Maybe he should have skipped class after all, staying at home and doing something even if meaningless before he too, inevitably, would simply… Disappear. Sooner than he probably wished, and later than he probably should have.

Nah! No! No, no, no, no! Not these thoughts again! He looked downwards to his game, determined to focus on more cheerful things. So what that school’s curriculum was at the end, meaningless? It gave him more time with his friends, and what was left of his teacher’s body: all good people in their own way, even if flawed as anyone. Star’s knew he was more flawed them most, and being with them maybe helped him become a better person. Just like before, he needed to focus on the now, not on the endline.

But his try at keeping his mobile gaming session was ended shortly, as the electronic but feminine voice of the tram’s speakers announced his destination, just as the transport itself slowly stopped.

“Current station: School-Three Station. Please disembark in an orderly fashion.”

He walked unto the desert platform, lights just as dim as most of the city. Everything was empty, save for himself, and the out of place cheerful instructions and announcements to… Stuff. Simply stuff, since there was no-one to be instructed or anything to actually be announced.

“Dear passengers, please remember to avoid staying outside at high hours.”

Now this was a good message, he thought.

But meaningless in the end: staying outside or inside meant little when your time to disappear would come. But for now, school was just a short distance away, and he was already late enough. Nikola traversed the nearly ghost station, looking at the empty booths, the deserted ways, and listening to the constant low buzz of electrical lights, wondering if there would be a lone soul or maybe a drone coming from around some corner, but nothing came, and, as he left, the artificial light of the streets hit him without a single strain of comfort.

If only these artificial lights truly helped.