Beyond the Boundaries

2

2 - The Glint of Artificial Eyes

We had been here—at this cave—before. It's just been a few years. I guess Maxwell was hoping we'd forget. Well, me. Liam, knowing his memory, probably forgot a long time ago. I could care less if we've run out of new spots to visit. I just wanted to go skateboarding, somewhere where those stupid drones couldn't see us.

I just wanted to live the normal life of a kid, but I guess that required some sort of money.

As all three of us—Maxwell, Liam, and myself—walked into the dark cave, I checked behind us for any drones. I know Maxwell was already on the lookout, but you could never be so sure. Who knows, when we turn our back, there might be something—or somebody—following us.

The dark light slowly faded away as torches flickered with fire throughout the cave. I got on my skateboard, riding quickly through everything. The torches lit up carvings in the wall, which at first, I thought were ancient. Probably by the first people who came and made this area Utopia. Turns out, it was just some kids vandalizing the cave with stupid artworks. I stopped slowly, seeing a picture of the sun, and another thing. I didn't know what it was, but it had holes on it—almost like small craters. Just another picture, I bet.

I continued on, trying to catch up to Maxwell and Liam. I heard them chuckling, and raised my eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" I asked. Liam looked at me from behind his shoulder.

"Aren't you seeing? These drawings! Geez, what were the firstcomers of Utopia thinking when drawing these things? Is a dude with a triangle for a head really what you think about after the world ends?" Liam joshed.

Maxwell heavily sighed, interrupting what I was about to say. "You shouldn't mess with Jayden when it comes to history, you know he's a geek about that stuff." Maxwell insisted.

I rolled my eyes. "How far down does this cave go?" I complained. My left leg had gotten tired from pushing myself. Usually, our rides wouldn't be this long, but I guess this is a little longer. Maxwell and Liam stopped and gave me a weird look. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, so I didn't want to be the one to bring down the mood. "What?" I broke the silence.

"I'm surprised somebody like you is saying that." Liam said, perplexed. "You used to be so energetic about these things. You know, hanging out with us. What's the rush to get out of here?"

"I don't know," I looked around the cave, my voice echoing. "Something just doesn't feel right."

"How do you feel that something isn't right?" Liam looked at me as if I was the hardest math problem in Utopia.

I shrugged my shoulders, hopping back on my skateboard. "Let's just go." I responded wearily. "These little mosquitoes and other bugs in this cave are really bothering me." I stayed close to torches, which were planted—about—every other dozen feet. Hoping that would somehow help with the bug problem.

I could barely see Maxwell or Liam, since they kept on swaying back and forth—towards and away from the torches. At least I was able to keep up with them, that way I wouldn't lose them.

It didn't really matter, anyway. We would all end up in the same place, no matter the speed we were going.

Liam suddenly stopped, dragging his shoe across the ground. His shoe provided little to none protection from the ground, just like all of us. Surprisingly though, Liam was a bit older than us. Despite how much of a pain he was, he had it worse out of the three of us.