Natural Disaster ⚠Discontinued⚠

The Skyline

"Lily, you can drive, right?" Noah asked.

"Yeah?"

"What about a skyline?"

"Those have been out of order for months though. "

"No, not 'out of order', just unattended," Noah explained, "no one operates them anymore because there was a problem with the workers who did, apparently they all got fired."

"Why do you know all this?" Troy questioned.

"You learn to listen to people when you've been on your own for over a year. Even if that means listening to conversations they don't necessarily want you to hear. So, can you operate one?"

"I mean, I guess. I'll try."

"Fine but if I die it'll be your fault," Troy stated and Lily looked back at him, clearly annoyed.

"I reckon the boarding station is just up ahead," Noah informed. They all followed Noah through the rest of the trees until the soles of their shoes touched the pavement. There were only two houses that stood across from them and to their left was the cliff. The cliff that stood 500,000 feet from the ground, right above The Neon City. They walked closer to it, soon they were met with the sight of the lights. It was still daylight but the glow could still be seen. The city was created years ago after the earth decided to create a crater. It formed almost a perfect circle right in the middle of England. Some people who were alive to witness the event claimed it was an earthquake. The event killed over 2 million people and wounded 100,000 more.

A few years later, people started building towns there, trying to rebuild what was destroyed before. They were tired of living only on the outskirts, all crammed together in one place. Many believe that this is what caused the events of WW7. England needed supplies and technology. They were willing to fight for it. They went against America, Russia joining in only a few months later. Of course England won it and were able to create the glory that the city now is.

The edges of the outskirts were rough because no one took the time to remove the unneeded road that once led to the town before the fall. The people of the city complained about rocks falling from the outskirts but the city counsel never did anything about it. All they did was put caution tape hoping no one would be dumb enough to cross it, fall to their death, and have their family member sue the government. Though, abandoned places around the cliff, ones without skylines near or behind some buildings were very common places for suicidal activity. Some people wrote notes in the dirt, telling people things will get better, or that the war is over, considering the war was a very tough time for everyone, some people were just a little more affected by it's events.

An abandoned skyline rested at the edge of this particular spot where they had ended up. It was blocked off and no stairs led up to the platform. It had a car, similar to the ones on the London Eye, next to the boarding platform. The car could hold up to 50 people at a time and carry 10x it's weight. Power still appeared to be running as red lights glowed on the platform. It was roughly seven feet above the ground, only being supported by four, thick, metal poles that were buried deep in the ground. There was no ladder to get inside though. They had what they needed in front of them, the next challenge was figuring out a way to get inside.

"If any of you have the ability to grow really tall, now is your time to share with the group," Lily said sarcastically.

"We'll just have to find something to climb on," Noah said, "Emma and Troy, go look around, see if you can find anything. If you do we'll help you carry it over here." Troy and Emma agreed and started to search for something they could use. Lily and Noah waited patiently until they returned.

"There's a piece of an old roof behind that house's parking-garage. It's heavy so we'll need your help to carry it over here," Emma explained.

"Great, show us where," They led Noah and Lily behind the garage of the house farthest from the cliff. No one appeared to be home so they quickly all grabbed a corner of the piece and swiftly made their way back to the skyline. It was roughly a five minute walk there and once they arrived they all assisted in setting up the "staircase".

When they were completed, Noah, Emma, and Troy held the piece steady while Lily climbed her way up. When she was done it was Noah's turn. He hurried up and was met with Lily's hand who helped him get up the rest of the way. Troy went after as Emma steadied it on her own. When he was about half way up Noah realized Emma was starting to struggle and therefore used his powers discreetly causing Troy to appear lighter so he had an easier time climbing up. Now, it was Emma's turn. Lily was the tallest so after a few minutes of convincing she got to the floor and reached out her hand to meet Emma's. Lily was being supported by Troy holding the back of her calves so she wouldn't fall forward. After a bit, Emma grabbed hold of Lily and the three of them helped pull her up.

"That was fun," Troy said as Lily and Emma stood up.

"Come on, let's get going," Noah encouraged. They all walked into the car. There was a control panel that Lily was now in charge of. Luckily this skyline was attached to wires that extended from the city's platform to there they were now. Some newer models were built without the wire and just floated down to the city or up back to the outskirts. The reason why it was good to be attached to wires is that it didn't take as much training and all that is required to do is keep the car steady. Emma and took their seats behind Lily. Noah decided he would try to help Lily learn the controls. He couldn't drive the skyline by himself because he was only a child and didn't have a driver's licence. Skylines require some sort of identification to operate and if the picture on an ID doesn't make the face recognition then the authorities are alerted.

"Scan your ID there," Noah pointed to a small camera on the panel. Lily got her card from her pocket and showed it to the camera. Insistently, the car's lights came on and slowly started moving. Lily grabbed hold of the joystick in the middle of the panel and steadied the car.

"When we get to the bottom the car should stop on it's own," Noah hoped. They all enjoyed the ride down as the wind blew through their hair. Emma and Troy watched the window and pointed out things they saw below. Noah was a bit worried about what people would think when they saw them exit the skyline. If they got caught by anyone they'd be put into Ballestin and Noah really didn't wanna go back there unless it was to destroy the place.

They soon reached the bottom, got out of the skyline, and entered The Neon City.