The Elevator.

Chapter Two.

I pushed open the rusty door leading out of my apartment, stepping into the light. The fall air had started to take on a little chill that let you know it was October. The old discount store shawl would have to suffice to keep me warm.

I kept my eyes straight ahead and tried not to look down. Back when she would speak, my mother would often chastise me for looking at the ground saying, “looking down prepares you for nothing Elle, look at what’s coming at you in the eye and face it”.

I smiled at the thought of my mothers old proverbs. She always knew just what to say. Or at least she used to. As I turned right, I almost collided with a small scruffy boy. Before I could open my mouth, I was captivated by his glassy gray eyes. They looked like the sky when you put some distance between you and the power plant. Light gray like the limestone the miners collect. Glassy like the slippery skin of a dolphin I'd only seen in school books about extinction.

He stared directly into my eyes, and I stood frozen under his gaze, until he said so quietly I thought her mouthed it “you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.” A smile played on my lips at both the compliment and the irony of the compliment. My basic brown-black eyes paled in comparison to his icy blue eyes that managed to still hold so much warmth.

He had the prettiest eyes I’d ever seen.

I looked up to see an old woman on the steps of her run-down apartment building, around Murr’s age, carefully watching the interaction while touching her neck. I nodded at her and stepped away from the boy giving him one last tight smile.

I kept walking, focusing on the way I put on foot in front of the other methodically, rather than how much my feet hurt in the shoes that were far too small and worn for me.

By the time I turned the road to the town square, I was taken aback. Several tanks lined the square, and several local decorated military officials were getting medals and ribbons for their efforts overseas. A built, attractive young man stood, flinching every time the feedback of the microphone the mayor was using. I kept my eyes on him a little bit longer before taking a small deep breath and walking past the showcase, straight towards the government building.

As I stepped inside, the first thing that struck me was how clean and pristine the building was. The all white furniture and decor with a glossy varnish used to strike me so much when I was younger that I thought every time we came in here for food stipends we went to heaven. The air was different here, almost as if they had 1000 air purifiers going to make the air the cleanest on earth. It felt like taking a deep breath could clean my lungs. Maybe mom needed this. I went up the woman made out of metal and wire, and before I could even open my mouth, the automated voice rang through.

“Hello. I am Isobel. You are in Sector 102’s headquarters. How may I assist you?”

“Um” I gulped. “I want to apply for the elevator”

“What is your name, age, and date of birth?”

I took a deep breath. “Eleanor Poverly, 19 years old, February 12th 2548.” I could hear the machine whirring as it stored all my information away.

“Walk down that hallway and turn right, keep walking straight, and you will find a white door. That is where your screening will take place. Good luck, Ms. Poverly.”

I looked down the all white hallway where all doors looked the same and back at the automated woman. “Um, thanks” I started. Before I could tell her just to call me Elle, the screen on her chest displayed a new image, and the whir of her innards slowed. Rate Isobel’s service. I clicked zero, and as I was about to walk away, I looked back to see the machine sparking and Isobel's metal being crushed all on its own.