T H E R E M N A N T

Chapter I || Founder's Day - Part One

The sky is a pale blue, with fairly large cirrus clouds streaking across it.

I hear chirping similar to that of a bird's.

I feel soft breezes, similar to that of the surface's gentle winds.

However, just not quite.

The skies, the chirps, and the light air are just the illusions.

Powered by electricity.

But even so, the park is still ever so peaceful and serene.

Though, I bet the view will be ten times better up on the surface.

Today is Founder's Day; the day the Founders had officially established the beginning of Safehold.

Unconsciously, as my hand reached for the sky, I noticed the time hanging on my wrist.

"Shit, I'm late." I said after moments of realization.

Hurriedly, I pick up all of the books spread out on the ground and stuff them into my bag.

I rush to the park's exit and now sadly, only the usual, boring, dim darkness surrounds me.

However, to my surprise, the Municipal Railway was right in front me. Almost as if it was still waiting for me.

But then, the sliding doors began to close slowly.

Well, so much for trying to have good vibes in the morning.

I rush to the last open door in the back, but again to my dismay, it was too late.

Luckily there was a railing on the side I could hang on to.

It required an adequate amount of strength to stick onto the rail and carry a 10 pound bag at the same time, but hey, on the bright side, I got a free ride and "free anything" is a miraculous encounter for broke college students.

The park wasn't all too far from the school as by railway, it only took 5 minutes (yet somehow I still managed to be late...). My time-management skills never fail to impress me.

I head to the first class of the day, miserably, mathematics. Even though mathematics and the sciences go hand-in-hand, I am still so horrible at it. The only reason why I haven't skipped that class at all is because of my ambition for a master's degree and that one weird fellow that is equally as horrible as me. The one person in that class that asks all the stupid, but useful questions (at least for me) and the only support I can lean on.

Halfway into this dreaded class, the digital screen had all of a sudden been wiped out.

Right then a video begins playing onscreen.

"Attention, all Citizens of Safehold, as the Vice Director of the Explorers' Coalition, it is my duty to announce to you that there is an important matter the Council has kept hidden from us and I feel as a fellow Citizen, that it is only right to reveal it to you all. " he stated.

Wow, a political scandal on Founders' Day. How original.

He continues, "As you all know, our founders transformed what was left of an abandoned sector, into a space we now call home. It offers safety, it harbors life and just recently we've hit the 7,000 milestone in regards to our population. Just for that feat, I am proud to consider myself a Citizen. However after a recent discovery, I, along with the others part of the Coalition, cannot keep this a secret from you all... Safehold is dying, at an unbelievably rapid rate too."

I could hear the people whispering around me.

The teacher, simply awestruck by the revelation, hurriedly try to turn off the digital screen, pressing every single button there is on the remote, repeatedly hitting the back of the screen.