CITADEL (Updated Weekly)

One - The War On Edge

The wind whispered tales of the city's past as I ascended the hill before me, carrying with it the faint scent of a world long gone. Old newspapers, brittle with age, had christened this place "Seattle," a name now relegated to the annals of history, belonging to a time before...

Before the end.

I built mental barricades against the flood of stories I've heard threatening to engulf me. First, the collapse of the grid, then the relentless pandemic, and finally, the wrath of nature itself. The world as I knew it now stood as a grim memorial atop the graves of the Broken generation. Its headstone would read:

Here lies the world we once knew

A world consumed by greed, selfishness, and darkness. The Directorate preached that such evolution was imperative for our survival, whatever that meant. But I pushed aside those thoughts for later contemplation, focusing instead on my solitary mission in the city.

My mother's voice echoed in my mind, her words a constant refrain. "I do not want to see your beautiful face until you have returned with..." I tuned out the rest; her requests were a familiar litany, repeated every few days. Let's see, I thought to myself, sifting through the debris before me. I needed one final piece to power our solar panel, a handful of batteries, some bandages, and seeds, though these were slowly becoming precious commodities in the desolate streets.

After rummaging through what seemed like a hundred piles of The Broken's trash I accumulated everything I needed, well, minus the seeds. The sun had just been pierced by the top of the Space Needle and I decided to head back west, the direction of my village, The Edge. Named after its beautiful location, sitting right on the end of a mountainous cliff. Below it, a rushing and violent river. I loved to throw rocks down there as a child, counting how long it took for them to reach the natural violence.

Along the journey home I found a few more valuable pieces lying within debris piles I could take to the post later on. The job market for my community was sparse; trader, protector, caregiver, and creator. I've always wanted to be a creator, to work on vehicles and computers. They typically only look to the men to complete those tasks. Trading, what I find myself doing, is the closest I can get to being a creator. I picked up a few more pieces I knew the creators would pay for and headed home.

I could see everything from the top of this hill bordering The Edge. My home, my friends' homes, locations that held memories. Everywhere I looked, the small village had a memory to give me. Towering behind me were monstrous skyscrapers that parted the clouds. The contrast between the destroyed city in one direction and a beautiful village in the other resembled a unique sense of beauty. I made my way down the hill quickly, knowing what usually came along with this action. Mikah, my best friend, met me at the bottom.

"Hey Ari!" He said with a large, sheepish grin on his face. He scratched the back of his head as I looked up to meet his eyes. His eyes were dark enough that I couldn't make out where his iris ended and his pupil started. His hair was longer than most of the other boys in my village, laying just above his ears were loose black waves. His skin a dark wood color. He took one step closer to me as his smile grew bigger. He towered over my small figure and stood at six foot six. "Hey" I copied as I arched my head back to see his face. Here came the routine question that I dreaded answering. "Did you find anything for me today?" He, a creator, asked eyeing my backpack. I smirked. "Did I find anything?" I repeated his question as his eyes became larger in size. "Yes! I did!" I started. "For you? No." His eyes dropped but his smile remained.

I have known Mikah practically since we were in the womb. Our mothers were neighbors and friends when they were pregnant with us. Growing up together we experienced many of the same things. I liked our relationship, having him in my life. He had always been supportive and kind. In the past couple years though it seems as though he may have developed stronger feelings for me. I am still unsure when it comes to reciprocating them. He would be a perfect partner in every way. Being strong, patient, smart... the list goes on, however I don't know if that burning feeling people always talk about in regards to love, was there when I thought of Mikah.