TA Chapter 1 Arrival

  Bantu continent, Dugavu state, Mazi city

  12th Blue, 2:03PM

  Ril Milena(POV)

  What I wanted was simple. To sink into my mind and start thinking of ideas on how to improve the observatory. For example, how many glass lenses I could add onto the telescope, the angles that could bring about greater visual clarity, an upgrade to the software, or maybe even try my hand at improving the massive loud computer that was clunky and slow, yet I was failing.

  Because of the rough road terrain, the seat underneath me was constantly transmitting every bump right into my butt, sometimes even almost having me alter my posture. How could I retreat inwards when the vibrations were a constant disturbance? There was an urge to sigh, which I stifled.

  Even if the vibrations hadn't been a constant problem, the other things would have still derailed that plan. Like the warring fuel and lemon scent that were a constant irritation on my nose. They were fighting for dominance, yet none was winning, because apparently, the engine was running, and some idiot had also probably wasted an entire can of freshener on the seats! Apparently, the air conditioning unit that was supposed to pump fresh cool air into the vehicle must have died, or the driver was enjoying all its attention since there was a partition between him and the back seats.

  Someone would argue that maybe I could lower the glass on the side, but that would be an even more dangerous proposition since brown dust particles were in the air. We were being driven upon an unpaved road. Development hadn't yet reached this far.

  Then there was the sound of the engine. It wasn't loud by any means, just that even at its current belch, it's sound was grating my ears. This was why I loved my dear old bicycle. There were no emissions that could kill, no sounds that sook to slaughter the eardrums, and most of all, I felt free!

  I raised one of my hands from where it had been placed above the other in my lap and brought it my collar. I pulled at it, lowered my lips, and blew into it.

  "Come on, Ril! Lowering the glass would have been better." chastised Ravena, my mother, drawing my eyes to her.

  There was a warm motherly teasing smile plastered upon her face, making the lines of age etched upon it more prominent. Just like me, her hair was golden, cascading below her shoulders to end in the middle of her back as opposed mine, which was jaw length.

  She was a mature beauty, one who had ripened well as opposed to me, who was still young and fresh. It was a pity that I hadn't managed to get a copy of her beauty genes as my face was just a plain mask that wouldn't stand out in the crowd, except if you added my golden rimmed iris and hair.

  "This dress already disgusts me. How do you think I would feel when it becomes caked in dust? I will do that when we reach tarmac." I explained before shifting my gaze to the side, through the glass.

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  What entered my eyes was red soil, mostly bare, having been baked by the sun to the point that even a multitude of cracks had appeared. Sparse tenacious shrubs appeared here and there, yellowed leaves with a hint of green, waiting for the rains to liberate them from the fury of the sun. After a few minutes, the vegetation started taking up more of the land, starting with a few patches of dry brown grass eventually giving way to green, with even some small trees appearing.

  Then, we stepped onto the tarmac and I lowered the glass, inhaling deeply and exhaling, to get rid of the previous cloying smell. The road was now raised above a swamp, where all I could see were the green heads of the reeds, numerous to even fathom.

  Since the scenery was getting monotonous, except for the occasional groups of people heading in the same direction as us, I was about withdraw my gaze and try to once again sink into my mind only for my eyes to shrink as something unbelievable entered my eyes.

  "What is that?!" the sharp question simply slipped out of my lips without conscious thought as my mind was occupied by the spectacle before me. Many others were also crowding the side of the road, looking at the demarcation, within which no papyrus was in sight, instead, it was endless muddy water and some sort of green aura shrouding everything.

  "What do you think?" asked mother.

  The emerald aura gave me a feeling of familiarity.

  "It's the same as the flame energy." I answered, having managed to finally figure out the feeling of familiarity. But, what were they doing, having aspected the dark energy above this particular piece of land? My eyes pierced through the gaps in the gathered crowd, falling upon a few shoots peeking out from the watery mirror. Was that rice?

  Even though the traffic had gotten a little heavy, and the convoy escorting us had slowed down, we still managed to put that spectacle behind us in mere seconds, yet my thoughts were still circling back to that aspected dark energy.

  "They should have discovered yet another frequency." my mother directly brought my thoughts into reality. My heartbeat sped up in excitement, and giddiness enveloped me, making my fingers fidget upon my lap. My idol had taken yet another step in enhancing humanity!

  When I failed to calm my racing heart with a breath regimen, I once again directed my eyes outside. The side of the road was filled with people in a festive mood. Various stalls of snacks and accessories, toys, and clothing, were lined up, each with its own unique charm aimed at enticing the people into purchasing them.

  T-shirts that were emblazoned with, 'Five years of peace', were everywhere, coupled with bandanas, scarves, pants, dresses, and everything else that could be worn. Toys of humans, heroes who had either sacrificed themselves, etching themselves into the annals of history, and the famous beasts that had been slain by an army, or said heroes.

  Something warm bloomed within my heart and my lips curved upwards as I caught the glittering bright eyes of the little boys and girls tugging their parents towards the things that had caught their attention. Those vibrant expressions were now everywhere as opposed to five years ago when humanity had been at war.

  When I focused my attention, I even managed to pick out the veterans, the people who had faced monsters and walked away to tell the tale. Some weren't whole. Shirts with empty sleeves, wooden canes replacing lost legs, and others with scars, burns, plus a myriad of other things. But what truly gave them away was their eyes. Whether they were all smiles, weighed down with gloom, or even indifferent, their eyes were the same as my mother's, weary.

  "I am lucky that you are still alive." I spoke, a heaviness having settled upon me, dousing my earlier excitement.

  Fingers picked up my right hand and interlocked with mine. My eyes turned to my mother, whose eyes brimmed with warmth. I squeezed her hand, keeping it within mine while my eyes once again fell onto the people outside. It was good to have family around you. That was why I always stayed around my mom. She needed me more than I needed her sometimes. Seeing the few veterans that looked like they had no one, I wished them well.

  Just a few minutes later, darkened crimson walls towered in front, rising a few tens of meters into the sky. I had heard that when you stood near them, you could smell the stench of iron, as if it was yesterday that the beasts threw themselves at it and failed to walk away intact. We were about to finally arrive within the fortress city of Mazi, our destination.

  It was a looming behemoth that sucked the breath from my lungs. This was the first time I was seeing it in person, and honestly, I was blown away. It was a crouching beast whose hide had stopped all the hordes from getting into its innards, where the fragile humans had taken refuge. When I squinted, I could even make out the silvery gleams of the canons mounted atop the walls, the instruments that made up the crouching beast's teeth and claws.

  "We have come a long way!" I commented, breathlessly.

  "That's the power of civilisation. And we will only continue to trudge ahead. Maybe, we might even get strong enough to claim Kisol as our own one day." mom said, her tone filled with hope.

  When the car was passing through the massive open maw of the crouching beast, I poked my head out and took a clear look at the crimson walls. Years of battle had continuously coated the previous grey concrete in red, which had now become a permanent stain that could never be removed. Scratches and missing pieces, were the scars littering the behemoth. Though, to me, it served as a testament to the endurance of us humans, ultimately culminating into the victory of five years ago.