chapter 2
The day started with Ellie being late for work, as usual. It happened regularly because she put off leaving her home for as long as possible. She had to board an aerial train that passed right over the Bottom to get to the warehouse.
Surrounded by the ocean in the south and jagged mountains in the north, the city expanded only upward. Enormous black mega-blocks reached the clouds. Bridges, rails, and even concrete squares connected these monoliths, casting a permanent shadow over the lower levels. All city residents dreamed of moving higher to escape the gloom, but Ellie was content with her modest salary as a warehouse supervisor. It afforded her a tiny apartment on the level just above the Bottom.
The Bottom was precisely that: the ground level. With no patrols, residents had to board their windows to keep out crime and radiation dust. Constant smog absorbed the remaining light that sifted through the shadow of the concrete jungle above. Over time, the Bottom became a vicious and dangerous place. Only the evicted were sent there for non-payment of rent. Some daredevils descended by themselves in search of the degraded, former residents of the old town who had become monsters by radiation. But no one ever returned from the Bottom to tell if the rumors about the monsters were true.
The gray fog above the Bottom cleared in some places, revealing the deserted streets of a once-thriving town. Mountains of garbage, broken windows, and dirty rivers of sewage added to the desolation.
This was the worst for Ellie. She preferred riding above the impenetrable fog to peering into that darkness below. Her gaze scanned the gaps in the mist until it caught a dark silhouette, barely discernible against a granite wall. She stared at it so intently that it stared back at her. Or was it her imagination? Frozen in place, the girl couldn’t take her eyes away. Suddenly, the dark silhouette waved at her. This movement jolted her out of her daze as she hurried to avert her gaze, trying to blend into her chair’s back. She spent the rest of the way to work speculating about whether she had imagined it and whether she should mention it to her psychoanalyst. If this was another manifestation of her psychological illness, she would lose her job. And it meant eviction. She shuddered at such a prospect, deciding to keep her mouth shut and act normal.
