Fire Wall (Book 1: The Fall)

8 | Startling Discoveries

| Present, L's Point of View |

I leave the apartment and speed down the eloquent hall, feeling the shimmery black walls and bizarre modern paintings close in on me. On the right side of my mask, my back camera is displayed. Finding the hall behind me empty, I pull out my telescreen and check the cameras in our apartment.

Good. She didn't follow me. She's in the same spot I left her.

My gaze lingers on Raven a moment longer. Seeing her body relaxed and the dazed look on her face, my stomach whirls and I quickly close out of the camera.

I can still feel her face in my hands. My head feels hot and I suffocate in my mask as I relive the moment. The slick wet hair gliding around my fingers...her soft sigh and smile...

I slam into the nearest bathroom and land on the countertop, startling a man in a jumpsuit. He takes one look at my mili-tech gear and bolts out of there, mistaking me for a Watchman. Finding myself alone, I rip off my mask for air.

I breathe heavily and slide my hands along the countertop, hoping its icy surface will cool me off. My heart beats in my throat as I look at myself in the mirror. Woah...I know I have abnormal eyes but I've never seen them this bright. I look wild. My mind stops racing the longer I look at myself and logic and sense slowly return to me. Too wild.

I sigh heavily.

My emotions are out of control. I need to do better. No, I will do better. Raven hasn't joined Firewall yet. I shouldn't put myself in that kind of position again. Phantom is close by and I need to be on high alert. I can't lose myself. I need to be focused.

I put my mask on. Time to get to work.

I break into Skyview's security on my telescreen to check all their cameras. So far, there are only sleepy travelers wandering the halls or twitchy businessmen working around the clock.

I should do a street sweep.

After taking an elevator and exiting the lobby, I step out of Skyview and am met with Pandora's lively nightlife. Cars and other hovercraft fly over my head, entering the neon glow of holograms to land on the Air Highways.

When the population spiked a hundred years ago and roads were a nuisance to maintain, scientists created a new element that would enable vertical city layering. The element would need to be incredibly strong, able to hold a city and its inhabitants while hovering in the sky. Haven miraculously pulled it off. It created a magnetic element, Neodymium10, that pushes against the Earth's magnetic field, suspending itself in the air.

Haven controls the magnetism in the element through magnetic powerplants, keeping the roads and city levels unmovable at their set height. Both the Air Levels and Air Highways are made of the element and it has been the building blocks of our cities and roads ever since.

I take note of the options around me for layer hoping for future reference. The Air Highways create a physical bridge between the Air Levels but they aren't the only way to layer hop. Capsule stations are the most popular form of public transportation, and there are a whopping three stations around me. They travel vertically on a heavy-duty pulley system, lifting six Capsules at a time, all stacked on top of one another. There are four floors in each one and people climb in at different stair levels. The Capsule is a large cube closed in by thick glass and holds eighty people on each level. There's seating and poles for those standing to hold for balance. It's quick, efficient, and offers a nice view of the city.

A different option for layer hopping is the skyscrapers. Some skyscrapers rise through multiple Air Levels and enable people to quickly move between levels on platforms. There are ten skyscrapers around me weaving in and out of the levels over and above me, the most I've seen in a while. I suppose it's to be expected since we're in the central business district. This is the core of Pandora City.