Chapter 3

Ren Young

It was a long climb up, a really long climb. I pulled myself up the last rung of the ladder and pushed open a hatch. Light. There was sunlight. I was finally at the top of the mountain. I let the hatch fall out of the way and climbed out. I laid back onto the ground. It would be more appropriate to say I collapsed onto it. Damn that, York! He was right about entering a large opening. It appeared to have been some library at one point, and I imagine it was where he'd found the book as there were plenty in there. In the back was an ornate looking spiral staircase.

It was a mistake to go up the stairs. The next thing I knew, I had walked through a door, and it somehow slammed shut. I had no choice but to climb and climb some more. Staircases, ladders, ropes, poles, some walls where the original method of climbing had been lost. It was almost as if there was a mini-city within the mountain and whoever designed that place was clearly not right in the head. Damn that, York. I was beyond tired.

Now that I was here, I could rest. I don't know how long I would need to lay here. Where was here? It seemed like it was still morning, but I had been in the mountain so long that it was not possible. Not unless I climbed for a whole day and night. I turned my head to one side. It was a wall. I turned my head to the other side. It was a bush. The wall looked fairly tall and smooth. I doubt I could clear it, nor was I sure it was the best idea to try. That meant I would have to climb over the bush—more climbing. I hated climbing. I think I may have been traumatized.

Unsteadily, I tried to pull myself off the ground by using the bush. I didn't move. I just weakly pulled on the bush. Maybe I would be able to pull myself upright like this? Or maybe not. I made an effort to pull. It would be dubious to call it a good effort. After a few minutes of pulling, I finally gave in and sat up. Then I stood up and grabbed the bush with more determination, so I could adequately begin climbing over. It was sturdy and easily supported me as I pulled myself up. I'm not sure what kind of plant this was. I'm not sure I want to know. In a few moments, I had reached the top. I stopped to take a breath. It now occurred to me that I might have been able to crawl under rather than climbing over. Was I really so excited to climb that I overlooked that? What's wrong with me? I tried to carefully lower myself down on the other side but failed. I fell from the top of the bush right on to my back.

I didn't know how I was going to get out of here. I didn't know what I was going to do after I got out. Whatever the case, I was not going to climb another thing. I landed on grass, but it didn't feel as soft as back home. It was like it wasn't growing out of dirt. I stared up at the sky. It was a perfect shade of blue, like looking at a jewel. As wonderful as it looked, it gave me an uneasy feeling. It was almost too good to be true. Considering that I had gone up the entire time, I had no reason not to know where I was, but I wanted to deny it. I would deny it for as long as I could get away with it.

"Damn, should have crawled under," I said before I pushed myself off the ground and began to look around.

I was in some kind of park, but the plants were so well kept and green they almost seemed fake. Beyond the park was a magnificent, white city. I never thought I would see it up close. The city of gods or monsters, depending on who you asked. Do I go and try to explore it? It surely wouldn't end well, but I had come this far. I could try to go back down; chances are that there were more ways to get out than I had tried. Did I just want to come up here and use being trapped by that door as an excuse? I continued looking around until my eyes met those of another person. Or at least it looked like another person, but the markings on its face told me otherwise.

It was peeking out from behind a tree but retreated into hiding when I looked in its direction. I had been caught, but I seemed okay for the moment. What exactly should I do here? Do I go and say something to it? Would it know my language? I would certainly get nowhere standing here thinking about it. I started to walk to the tree. It could probably kill me easily, but with luck, I would only end up with a broken bone or two at the worst. I hope that was the worst.

"Hello," I spoke in the friendliest way I could. It was worth a try. The person-like creature didn't respond. I walked up until I was standing on the other side of the tree. It would probably be best to keep something in between us.

"Hello," I said again. I'm not sure how the tone of my voice sounded. I think the second time, my voice may have sounded less friendly. That might prove to be fatal, so I had better be careful.

"Please go away," it spoke back to me. The voice sounded almost fearful. Was I really worried for nothing? I began to walk around the tree slowly. It didn't seem like I would be attacked, at least for now. As I rounded the tree, she, or rather it, suddenly took a step back and stood with its back straight. It looked like a girl. A human girl with red hair that flowed down her head like flames. It had bright blue eyes that put the sky above us to shame and creamy, clear, and pale skin that seemed to match my mother's. If not for the markings on her face, I would think she was a normal human and not some synthetic creature. It was enough to confuse me, and I think I took a step back myself. She was still clearly scared but putting on a false sense of courage as she faced me.

"Where is your insignia? What model are you?" She spoke firmly but avoided making direct eye contact.

"Well, err..." How exactly do I answer that? It seemed to be trying to entertain a false hypothesis. I could tell by her shaking hands and unwillingness to look directly at me that she didn't believe I would give her the answer she wanted. I guess I would just tell her who I was.

"Hello, my name is Ren. I'm a human from below the mountain." Was my voice shaky? I don't know why it would be. She gave me a curious look. It was a face that appeared like she couldn't comprehend what I had just said. It looked wrong for an expression like that to be on a face that was clearly manufactured in order to look perfect. I don't think I said anything too out of the ordinary.

"Human, but you are not human," she spoke back to me while slightly tilting her head. Her eyes still avoided looking at me. I couldn't really blame it. I wasn't looking at it either. What did she mean?

"I am clearly human." I didn't mean to say that out loud, but it slipped out.

"No, the only humans are living up here on the mountain, where it is safe. There is no way a human could survive outside of Hauteur without being killed by the monsters." She said a word I didn't know. I assume she was referring to this city. I imagine it was not considered a part of Autarkeia. More importantly, what was wrong with it? There were no humans up here as far as I knew. Could they also have ordinary people living up here as well?

"What monsters are you talking about? The most violent thing we have to deal with is an angry stray dog or two," I responded like she would understand me. I could tell it was a mistake. It was lost in thought, repeating the word 'dog' for a moment before snapping back to attention.

"But the only humans live up here. We began living up here to get away from the beasts!" The redhead was beginning to speak frantically. Its breathing had become irregular. It looked around for a moment before taking a deep breath to calm down. I was starting to get the feeling that my mere presence here was more of a shock to it than I initially imagined. Do none of the freaks up here know anything about our city on the outside? No, that couldn't be true. There was minimal trade between the two cities; not that ordinary people were ever involved. The common people of this Hauteur city must be kept in the dark. I imagine if the city were not towering above us, our city officials wouldn't tell us about them either.

It couldn't possibly think it was human, but that last sentence seemed to suggest it did. It was rapidly looking in all directions, unable to figure out where it should fix its gaze. Its red hair was waving around. I guess I would ask for clarity. Surely it must mean there were other humans up here too.

"There are humans up here too?"

It froze, looking off to my left. It turned its head and finally looked directly at me. Her eyes were wide with confusion, or maybe it was just horror. Either way, it became clearer that she could make other expressions than the one she had been making.

"What do you mean? I am standing right in front of you," she said with unnerving calm.

I gritted my teeth. I think I've shattered everything she knew about her world. How could I explain this to her? Had she honestly been raised thinking she was a normal person?

"No, I'm human; the people below are human. You are... something else." I tried to say it in the friendliest tone I could. Her brows still furrowed as she glared at me. The shyness she had before was gone. She was ready to argue. I was starting to appreciate the expressions on her face now that I had grown more accustomed to them.

"No! I am human, and you must be a monster. That is it! You are a beast disguised as a human to deceive me." She spoke with passion, taking a step forward. She quickly closed the distance in between us and began to pull on my cheeks.

"Ow, ow, what are you doing!" No question about it; she was stronger than she looked. Another effect of being artificially produced, I suppose.

"Taking off your mask, you monster in a human's skin."

I slapped her hands away and took a step back. Did she think I was wearing a disguise? What the hell was wrong with her? No, I knew exactly what.

"Monster? You're just a test tube chimera," I snapped back. It was better when she was shyer and more distant. Now, she was just annoying. She puffed her cheeks, closed her eyes, and looked away from me.

"I will not be fooled any longer by a creature like yourself." She turned to walk away.

This was getting out of hand. I should just let her go, and I needed to figure out how to get out of here after all.

"If you're human, then what's your name?" What was I doing? I was just adding fuel to the fire. How could I be sure she didn't have a name anyway? She stopped and turned back to me with a smug look. That was the only way I could describe it. Puffing out her chest and standing tall, all while smirking.

"I go by 2968442, monster," she spoke confidently and proudly. Now I felt terrible about bringing this up. Maybe I shouldn't make the obvious response.

"That's not a name; that's a number. Humans don't go by numbers; they go by names." I couldn't shut up today. I think I was taking out my frustration at York for getting me into this mess on her. She glared at me and walked closer, stopping an arm's length away. Perhaps she still thought I might be able to do something to her.

"What does it matter what I am called? You think it makes you more human because you are called Ren? What does that even mean?" I blinked. Did I tell her my name? Yes, I did when I introduced myself. I'm surprised she remembered that. I forget names as soon as I've been told them.

"My parents named me Ren after someone they knew in the past. I never knew the guy, but he was supposedly my Dad's best friend." Why was I telling her this? I had just met this creature, and here I was, acting like we were close. Did I take pity on it now that I had spoken to it?

"Your guardians named you," the girl said softly. "Do you creatures always name each other?" Wait a minute, her expression just changed. It was almost instant. Now she looked very pensive. What was I supposed to do about this girl, creature? I took a breath before replying. She had calmed down, so I couldn't respond as angrily as I had before. I swear I'd never met anyone as challenging to keep up with as her.

"Yes, people give names to their children." She stood in place, frozen. She was lost in thought. I suppose she was thinking about our conversation. I guess, for her, it was a lot to take in. Still, she may be a little eccentric, but she seemed decent enough. If I had met her in town, we probably could have gotten along.

"Well, what if you gave me a name?" It would be weird being friends with her, but it could prob... My thoughts were interrupted, and I think I jumped back.

"Wha- what, what train of thought brought you to that?" She wanted me to name her after only knowing her for a matter of minutes. Never mind being friends. This thing was plain weird.

"Well, you seem to think it will make me human to have a name," she spoke in an arrogant and uninterested tone. "So, if that is what it takes to convince you, I will have you select a name for me." She closed her eyes and turned her head like she was trying to avoid a bad smell. A slight curl on her lips betrayed the cold demeanor she was trying to display to me.

"Um, well, um."

Now she'd done it. She had put me in a tough situation. I was never good with names. I once named a spotted dog 'Spot,' which was the naming level I was at. My mother once told me she felt sorry for her future grandkids. We had a good laugh, but I think she may have been seriously worried.

"How about Cynthia?" I blurted out.

"Cynthia." She spoke the name slowly as if savoring it. She turned her head to look at me. It felt like she had inched a little closer, but I couldn't be sure. "Why that name?"

"That's..." Now I've done it. Since she was synthetic, the name just came to me. They sounded similar, after all. I couldn't tell her that after that argument we just had, could I even call that an argument? I needed to think of a better name before she became sold on Cynthia. What are some girl names... Chloe, Catherine, Charlotte? Dammit, why can I only think of C names now?

The redhead, whose name was about to be Cynthia, tilted her head with wide eyes. I think she was excited to hear the explanation behind her new name.

"You there! Monster!" someone yelled to us—finally, an excuse to get out of this conversation. I was saved. I felt a hand on the back of my head, and before I realized it, I was face down on the ground. I was so relieved not to explain the name that I didn't realize the people yelling would be trouble for me. Whoever had me on the ground twisted my right arm to lock me in place with one hand and pushed down on my head with the other. I tapped on the ground with my left arm.

"Mercy, mercy. I give. Come on. You have me outnumbered here." I tried to plead. It felt like my arm could snap at any second. If I made one wrong move, it might. I didn't even know if they had me outnumbered with my face firmly pressed in the grass. This grass was most undoubtedly fake. Someone stepped on my left hand to keep it from moving.

"Stand back, citizen; this thing might harm you," a new voice farther away spoke. It seemed like there were at least two of them here. I had no chance.

"Wait-"

"Do not worry. We will only be sending it back to where it belongs."

The redhead was going to say something but was cut off. I felt something, like a ring, going around each of my wrists. Both my arms and head were released, but before I could react, the rings buzzed and suddenly snapped together behind my back. The sudden twist caused my left shoulder to burn. I hope nothing severe just happened to it. So, they were handcuffs. As if to add insult to injury, the person behind me pressed my head into the ground again. Then there was an impact on my side. A kick? I have no idea. It was lighter than I would have thought. Only hard enough to sting a little. They were either holding back not to do too much harm, or they might be weaker than I had thought. It was probably the former.

"Filthy beast. We do not know how you got here, but we will not allow you to stay."

With that statement, I was pulled up off the ground. My arms were being held from behind. I looked around. The redhead was gone. They must have taken her elsewhere. One of them walked in front of me and bent over to look at me in the eyes, another human creature with markings on its face. It was bald with a marking that went up to its scalp. It did not seem very friendly. Another was still holding my arms behind me. The one in front of me delivered a punch to my stomach. It held back; I could tell since Andrew always held back the same way. In this case, it probably had to not kill me. I gasped for air. A blow like that probably should have knocked me unconscious, but I could tell from its twisted grin that it had only wanted to make it hurt.

A silver bird flew in from the sky above and landed on the ground. It was my first time seeing one up close. I had seen plenty fly over town before, but up close, they were something else. It was larger than I thought and looked nothing like a bird from up close. Instead, it looked like a seamless reflective shell in the shape of an arrowhead. The side seemed to crack and broke apart into the form of a door. It slid open, and another human-looking creature stepped out. Its face appeared to be locked in a permanent sneer. Like the last, it did not have any hair, and the markings on his face stretched up to his scalp. The markings were similar, but I noticed a star shape under its left eye that wasn't on the other. Without saying anything, it walked up to me, the sneer never leaving its face. It would have normally pissed me off, but right now, I didn't have time to think like that. Nor would it be in my interest to be thinking like that. When it reached me, I had to look up. It stood at least three heads taller than I was. I felt something press into my stomach. I tried to look down, but everything went dark..."Filthy beast." I thought I heard but no longer could tell.