City of psychopaths

Chapter 3

Serenity

The other side of the door leads outside and the sun blinds me as I step out. When my eyes adjust to the light, I see the entrance to the bridge that divides our two cities.

Valeria stands in front of a gate and a speaker from the Gatesman drones, "Please line up at the gate." Their bored voice comes from the sense of security that nothing ever happens. Not to mention they're seen as heroes to the people because they keep the community safe.

Valeria bounces on the balls of her feet, her bright cheerful movement deeply contrasted with the somber depressing aura coming from those behind us. My heart pounds in excitement to see my new home. This is the first time in a long time that I have actually been excited.

A loud screeching sound makes me cringe as the thick, metal gates slowly open. "Please step through," Says the Gatesman, and we slowly trudge through into the unknown. With her usual fashion, Valeria skips her way to the looming city ahead.

The river rushes underneath us and I find myself wishing I could run away with it. I wish I could live in a world where I can be just myself without any consequences.

All too soon we made it to the gates on the other side of the bridge. These gates slide open soundlessly and they glisten a beautiful onyx. We walk through and the gateman stops just outside, not willing to go into the dangerous city. A woman and a man come to greet us with onyx pantsuits and bright smiles.

"Welcome to our beautiful city. Now, there are a few laws but those that are present are created by our wondrous president. The punishment if you break any rules is execution. To answer a question you all must be thinking, yes. This is a dictatorship, but not quite so strict." The woman lectures with a bright, cheerful tone.

"Please follow us." The man drawls, his voice is gruff, yet polite. We follow them and we all walk with our eyes glued to either the floor or the back of our guide's heads. Except, of course, Valeria.

She curiously looks around and she seems to radiate joy off of her whole body. The halls are a dark gray color and there are no windows. There are doors every so often and people would walk down the halls wearing the same uniforms as our guides. The people laugh or drink coffee with trusting glances at each other. It seems... free.

-~-

Valeria

Soon we make it to a room at the end of the hall, and we follow our guides inside. The walls are still light gray and tables line them with fresh clothes to choose from.

In the center of the room, there is a table that has weapons on it. I skip there and marvel at the beautiful knife with a silver hilt that gleams in the light. I stuff it into my pants lining at my back. I then grab a box of bullets from the table and reload my gun.

I turn around and nearly stumble back when I see Serenity staring at me, her hair pulled into two space buns. She switched her ridiculous, flower dress for a loose purple shirt and black jean shorts, and her neck is decorated with a black band.

I feel my cheeks burn though I don't know why, and I watch as a pink flush spreads across her face.

"Excuse me." She whispers. I jump to attention and jolt out of her way. She looks down at the table and picks up a gun.

I raise my brow and demand, "Do you know how to use that?" She flinches in surprise and shakes her head. I sigh, moving to stand behind her, and I place her hands in the correct position, flicking the safety off.

"And shoot." A bang fills the room and I smile a genuine smile. "Good job!" I look at her face and she looks up at me. Our faces are one inch apart and I find myself staring into her eyes.

She blushes, looking away and I jump away. She looks down and places the gun in a holster on her leg. The door opens and grabs our attention, saving us from the awkward tension in the room.

A woman with wavy blond hair and a glittery purple cocktail dress walks in. She holds a glass of champagne and wears an irritated look on her face. She's flanked by two burly men in suits and dark sunglasses.

"Hello." The woman grunted, probably annoyed that she has to do this. "I am the president of this fine city."

"Not for long," I breathe under my breath, but no one years me."

The president breathes a sigh and then continues. "This city only has a few laws. First, you cannot hurt anyone in a hospital, but you may not live in one. Second, you may not harm any 'good' ambassadors. Third, you may not steal from any shops, stores, etc. Although, you may steal from homes. Fourth, don't try to cross the bridge back to the sunshine vomit city. The breaking of any of the laws will result in execution, as I'm sure you've already been told." She finishes with a poisonous smile. "Everything else including murder, possession of weapons, drugs, and organized crime are all legal. For those of you interested in organized crime please do remember that the presidential gang is more powerful than any of you. Any questions?"

I shoot my hand up, a single question burning in my mind. She nods and I practically burst from curiosity.

"How do you become president?" The woman scoffs at my question

"You would have to kill me or I would name you as my heir and when I die it would be passed on, from natural causes of course." I nod and a grin splays across my face from ear to ear. She turns and clickily clacks out of the room in her heels.

"Please follow us" The twins simultaneously say and we all follow them in a clump instead of a line. We walk back down the hallway and out, I see the gate and the city of pain and sunshine across it and smile as I say goodbye for the last time. We walk around the building and find ourselves at the gate and we step through as the new citizens of psychopath city.