Spirit World Adventures

Chapter 3 - The Engineering Centre

It was Monday and for the first time in my life, I was excited to go to school. Aunty and mother dearest weren't allowed at school! My uniform was a knee-length grey skirt, a grey jumper, a purple blazer and a blue bow tie. Usually I hated it, but today it felt good. It felt like freedom. After eating bread rolls and butter, me and my sisters walked to the lower school, while my brothers made their way to the upper school for thirteen plus.

                'Today we have a mini school trip to the Engineer Centre!' announced Mrs Miller as she began counting my classmates.

                Something in me tightened. It was a strange and unnerving feeling, but I ignored it as I got in line and headed for the bus. The bus was one of only three means of transport available to us. There's bus, train or boat. That's it. The buses aren't very nice, but the trains are quite cool. They go underground and travel faster than anything. Oxygen masks were handed out to us all. The ones school gave us were the fancy ones; the ones with their own pretty tank that you wore like a backpack. Inside the glass canister was a flower in its own mini garden. People only used these ones if they were posh and rich or looking to impress someone.

                'Now stay with your trip buddy and remember, you are representing the school so behave!'

                I turned to Olivia and mimicked Mrs Miller, hands on hips and nose in the air. In fact, she and my Aunt What's-Her-Name would have got along swimmingly.

                The Engineering Centre was located just outside the Walled Cities. This was because they needed to conduct experiments and things, apparently, that were dangerous if done beside the general population. It took an hour before we reached The Wall, where our bus was stopped and searched before we were allowed to pass through. The Wall parted down the middle, leaving an opening big enough for our bus and that's all. And on we drove.

Outside the Walled Cities was fascinating. I had only been once or twice before with mom when I was much younger. And so, Olivia and I were glued to the window, staring at everything that passed us by. Then we decided to play a game called 'Who can find the most abandoned buildings?'.

'Ruin!' Olivia shouted, pointing to a building that had been split in half and had black moss clinging to it like a shadow.

Kya's white energy flickered beside me at the sight of a dark mass climbing over the building's ruins. It took me a while to think of the name of the thing, but when I realised, I felt a churning in my stomach. It was a wolf. Wild animals were so rare. Domestic ones were only found in factories, rich homes and underground. Why? In the words of Gran: 'It's 'cause animals need oxygen, but we took that all away and hoarded it for ourselves.'

                The lights of the Engineering Centre looked alien out in the desolate streets surrounding our Walled Cities. The bus was allowed entrance through a gate and once inside, we parked in a large car park. Guards in grey uniforms came to let us off the bus, where we lined up in an orderly fashion and were led inside the centre.

                I knew my mom's job was important, and the interior of the building just solidified that image in my mind. Apparently, she was badass. There were these huge machines everywhere you looked with people and things I couldn't name hanging all around. They shone under the fluorescent lighting as if it were someone's job to polish them clean every few minutes. I wouldn't mind that job, I guess, if my mom wanted me to work here so badly.

                'Look!' Olivia said, pointing at a clear tank that had drawn the attention of my classmates, too.

                We ran over to it, pressing our faces against the glass. My hot breath steamed it all up, so I stepped back, and I could see that inside the tank was a myriad of plants and trees. You may be thinking it was stupid for us to be so excited but seeing trees just didn't happen anymore. We had only seen them in our textbooks at school. But what fascinated me was the things flying in and out and around the trees and flowers and bushes inside the giant tank.