CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
I'm speechless.
I've landed on some lighted sky-bridge, staring down on the new world created by the Peace Hunters—ring-shaped cities that circle massive bodies of eerily still water. Columns of bands of lights dance around hundreds of towering, silver and white, mirrored buildings. Rising out of the center of the water—between the hoops of buildings—is an outrageously tall, needle-tipped, spiral-shaped building that soars 1,500 feet into the air. At its tip is a mirrored geodesic sphere that reminds me of Spaceship Earth in Epcot, only covered with mirrored panes that shimmer with the reflection of the city's twinkling lights under the night sky.
I turn, following the sky-bridge, realizing it loops around the entire city, connected at the necks of strangely shaped towers built of shiny white glass. They resemble redwood trees with lighted nerves running through it, and are positioned around the city like points on a compass. Sprouting from the head of the building, out from branch-like tendrils, are enormous silver bubbles that are released into the sky.
The sky-bridge is deserted—which tells me I shouldn't be out. I look around and spot a digital sign that reads: Sky Escalator. When I reach it, a series of lighted, translucent steps pop out from the tower. I mount the steps and they automatically begin moving at a mild pace. Unlike typical escalators, these wind around the entire tower. A soft breeze chills me on my ride down. The air smells pure, unlike anything I've ever inhaled. I'm captivated by the glittering skyline and different shaped buildings.
The escalator stops at the main street, which looks like a massively smoothed out metal sheet, bordered by dashes of red lights. From around one of the buildings emerges a procession of eighteen-feet-tall robotic figures with white metallic armor. Each of the six robots wears a large, three-dimensional, black metal emblem of the Peace Hunter crest over on their chest. The words "Paix Éternelle" glow in white against the black metal of the crest.
Their helmets, I've got to say, are crazy-badass—mostly pristine white, with a wide band of tinted black glass that runs from the front of their helmets to the back of it. Dots of light bead the border of the black glass. In the area where I assume their eyes are, two words flash, spelling out "THE ORDER."
They march in a brisk, synchronized rhythm, raising their left legs, stomping down with absolute precision, as they glance to the left, then repeat the pattern to the right. They remind me of the Sentinels from X-Men comics.
What are they doing?
As they near me I swear I feel the ground shake under my feet. They stop a few feet away from me and I forget how to breathe. I dive behind a rectangular box, which I think is a trash bin, and peek. New words flash on their helmets, the lights spinning like the icon that appears when an Internet browser is taking forever to load. I can't make out the new words. A name, maybe?
One of them raises their left hand. A violet net, charged with electricity, burst from the fingers of their metal gloves. The same nets that Naima shot at me.
The other robots freeze in place while the center one stalks over to a narrow slit between two buildings and disappears. Moments later, it reappears, dragging a screaming young girl, about ten years old, who's immobilized in the web of charged nets like a trapped fish. I go silent and motionless.
The robot flings the net over its shoulder and blends once again among his comrades. The screaming girl, now silent and motionless. The army of giants pivots around and reinitiates its rounds of patrolling in the direction opposite of me.
If I follow them, they'll probably lead me to the Peace Hunters. I step out from behind the box and trail them. I don't make it more than ten steps before the robots cease all movement. The lights lining the band of black glass over their helmets flash. Then they start turning around toward my direction.
Something grabs my shirt from behind and I'm yanked into a dark hole.
