Antumbra - A Lost Cause

Boots - Chapter Thirty One

Things were happening so fast, Arva had hardly been able to process it. As she sat in the elevator, her modestly sized bag of possessions sat next to her, she marvelled at the size of the lift compared to ones she'd seen before. It was almost as big as her house, with rows of seats arranged in blocks rather than letting the multitude of passengers stand, most of whom seemed to be military officers like Marcus who sat across from her. He merely read a book, never once acting like the elevator was something special. It better resembled the buses she'd seen in the city, though she'd never rode in one. Yet for all its space Arva couldn't help but feel cramped and claustrophobic, knowing where her destination was. She mulled over the last few days, and how quickly things had changed. Sworn to secrecy once again, she couldn't even tell her friends who had been with her through it all where she was really going. Gramma was the only one who understood, even though Arva hadn't told her anything, somehow she understood. It had almost broken Arva's heart, even though she assured her grandmother she would only be gone for a short while. Leaving her home felt strange. She had never been away from home, never even slept in a bed that wasn't hers until just recently. Elia had promised, after a lengthy and tearful goodbye, to look after Gramma and Hannah, but Travis was the one who Arva had asked. He lived just across the street, didn't yet work, and could be at the house in minutes if needed. He'd instantly accepted, which made Arva very happy. People in the Lows looked out for each other, that's just how it was, but it still warmed her heart to know her friends were there, and hurt it just a bit more leaving them behind.

The one who handled it best was Hannah, much to Arva's surprise. Maybe it was because she was young and couldn't grasp it, or maybe she thought with everything that happened it was just another hurdle to overcome, but the small child had hardly asked any questions. That was good, as far as Arva was concerned, it meant Hannah was strong and could adapt. It made Arva proud. She had asked her to be brave, and to take care of Gramma, as well as their pet crustacean Josh, to which Hannah had confidently assured her older sister she would. Quitting her job was also hard, but Arva explained the circumstances to the fullest extent she could. Deborah was supportive, if disappointed to see her go. Arva had expected her first job to last a little longer than that, but nonetheless thanked Deborah for everything. She had given her a chance when no one else would, and Arva made sure she knew that meant something.

Then once again Arva entered the armoured car, now familiar with the procedure, only this time they drove to the city. It took hours as they went deep into it, deeper than she had ever gone before or even knew it went, and up to a massive tower that extended past the clouds. Marcus had explained it was the tether that kept the floating Habitat anchored above the city, with strategically placed gaps in the design to maintain the illusion of open skies above. Arva still couldn't believe it, or rather she couldn't fathom the scope of something so large defying gravity, let alone having always been there. What's more there were apparently several of these things across the globe, and some even moved around instead of staying above one city. The scope of it all eluded Arva, and did nothing to quell the growing sense that she was in over her head.

"Are you alright?" Marcus asked from the seat across, pulling her back down to Earth.

"I'm fine," Arva sighed and gave him an awkward smile, "it's just a lot to take in, y'know?"

"I know," Marcus nodded, "and I'm sorry I couldn't have eased you into this."

"It's cool," Arva leaned forward into her knees, swinging her feet back and forth off the seat that seemed just barely too high for her. "This sure is a long elevator ride, though." Marcus gave a short breath of a laugh, but otherwise they remained silent until the elevator slowed to a stop. Strange looks were sent Arva's way by the officers as everyone else departed, but Arva noticed Marcus didn't move, and so she remained in her seat.