Paradise Among Metal

Chapter 1

Mara didn't know how she got to the Metal City. All she knew was that she was there, and that she had to get back to the Paradise City before she was crushed under the platinum skies of Metal.

Metal City, or Metal, was an utter wasteland, faded to shades of black, white, and gray. No color to be seen. Heavy, gray, cloudy skies hung over the city, always looking rainy, but it never rained here. Not ever. Metal buildings the same shade of gray shot toward the gloomy sky, as if to trap people. Black piles of garbage were everywhere, almost the same size of the buildings.

Mara looked to the right of where she had appeared in Metal. She could barely make out a swirling, somber sea, lifting up and down boats that looked as if they were made of newspapers. To her left, barely visible through the unsmiling buildings were mountains.

The worst thing about Metal was the cold. The bitter, never-ending cold that seemed to chew on Mara's heart. Her soul. Her mind. She knew what the cold was, of course. The grayness.

She looked down at herself. Paper-white hands met her; her very hands that used to be full of warmth and color back in Paradise. What did I have in Paradise? Mara wondered to herself. She knew that she had to get back there, but she couldn't remember what was important about it, or why she needed to go back.

She knew that there was color and warmth there. She knew that was where she belonged. Besides that, she didn't remember much, except her name, Mara Tussen, and her age, 16.

Mara ran, her ink-black hair, once a vivid color, desperately trying to escape the gray hood she had on.

She wanted Paradise.

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Lucy didn't know how she got sick and ended up in the hospital in the Perimeter. All she knew was that she has been there as long as she had remembered. And all she wanted was Paradise.

The Perimeter was the edge of the Metal City, dipping towards Paradise City. Even though the Perimeter was as close as you could get to Paradise, no one knew exactly how to get to Paradise from Metal.

Lucy, however, was certain that she would be the one to find the path to Paradise.

The Perimeter, at least, was more colorful and less cold than the rest of Metal, even though a salty chill still hung everywhere. Here, there was a bit of sepia, and occasional bursts of honest-to-goodness color. A touch of lime. A bit of maroon here and there. A splash of azure.

The Perimeter was not bad, according to Lucy.

She stood on a stainless steel window frame on the tenth floor of the endless hospital, overlooking a crimson beam. Behind her, her friends, the children in her ward, cheered.

"Come on, Lucy!"

"You can do it! Walk the beam!"

"You aren't chickening out now, are ya?"

Like any other eight year old, in Paradise or in Metal, Lucy was going to prove her worth to her friends and peers.

She was going to walk the beam.

Taking a deep breath, she placed her foot on the scarlet beam, as careful as she could be. In the distance stood the black mountains that towered behind Metal, almost as if they were guarding the black-and-white city.

The children screamed encouragement as Lucy put her other foot down and walked, as careful as she could be, to the edge of the beam, where she sat down, high above the concrete ground. Her black and white hospital gown blew in the freezing wind, and Lucy shivered, brushing her short, sepia hair out of her face.

The wind screamed in her ears, blocking out all sounds. Lucy liked it, because it made it seem peaceful for once. She gazed down at Metal City, tears welling in her young eyes. She couldn't remember why or what it looked like, but...

She wanted Paradise.

And she wanted to find it.

What will happen to these two girls as they seek Paradise? Stay tuned, and don't forget to comment, share, and vote! Thanks for reading!