Promise Me | Book Three

Chapter Twenty-Five

Eren's POV

The shuffling of the rubbery plastic on which I lie on makes such a loud and awful sound when I roll over to my side during sleep.
Never have I ever slept on something so loudly, so I give up trying to sleep.
The lightest piece of light peeks through the crack of the tent slides, meaning it's morning and the sun is beginning to rise.

I step up and drag the blanket with me as the crisp cool morning air makes contact with my skin.
I wrap the material around my arms and step outside.
My feet are absolutely freezing; my toes numb.

I see my breath crystallise as I yawn.
How is the sun shining when that big ass platform is in the way?
The sun is right there, so evidently in the sky and no light could penetrate the obstruction just yesterday.
Is the platform just... Gone? Utopia is gone?

I remain perplexed. I'll need to ask a local about this.
Maybe Isabel; she should know.

The frost that grasps onto my fingers as I go to push the slide away bites like a bitch.
I don't want to go anywhere in this cold, and these clothes won't keep me warm.

I put the blankets that I had selfishly clutched onto back down to the floor and just stepped out to get it over and done with.
My shuffled pace turns into a jog. I might as well warm up. Do I know here I am going? No. No, I don't.

It is much easier to see everything in the day than the night.
As I glance up at the sky and at the sun -- the real sun -- I try and figure out in my head what that platform has done. It was blatantly there last night, and now it is not. I am having to squint my eyes at the sight above until my shoulder barges into something and I tumble over, finding myself with grazed knees. The weird clothing I was presented with back at Utopia didn't seem to do a good job as there are now two knee-sized holes in them. As I stare at my red knees, I see the threads from the material begin to extend and intertwine with others until the tear closes. I had no clue it could do that.

I am late to realising that I just bumped into someone, and I turn my head quickly to the figure next to me.
To my surprise, it's Isabel.
"The hell, Jaeger?! Why don't you actually look where you're going?" She spits and I find myself on my feet again.
"Ha, sorry, little one. You must've been so small I didn't see you there," I joke and hide my snickers underneath my hand.
"Stop with the baby talk, I'll have you know I'm twenty-four!"
I widen my eyes at this and feel my jaw lower. "What? Twenty-four?! You look just about seventeen!"
Isabel flicks the dead leaf out of her hair as she stands, and she folds her arm across her chest. "Yes, I'm small, get over it."
She turns her head away from me and pouts. "Okay, okay..." I say, putting, my hands up. Her head turns back to me and she drops the act and so do I. "I'm sorry for bumping into you, but there was something I needed to ask you," I say.
"What?" Her voice harsher than before.
"The platform... It's gone. What's that about? Does this usually happen or?"
Isabel sighs before continuing. "Over the years, I've been here for almost ten years mind you, it seems that the platform dissipates in the morning and becomes visible in the night. I imagine it has something to do with the solar power, but I am very unsure. But, if we are to make our way up to Utopia, it will have to be at night when we can actually see it."
I swallow thickly. "Isabel, what do you think will happen if we do get up there? Surely they will have security and we will probably be killed or jailed in an instant."
She turns to me with a hard face. "I'm prepared for anything, Eren. I've been here for almost half my life, and I am willing to take any risk, even if it kills me. I refuse to die on this ground." She says, "they have been polluting our air more and more each year as their demand increases. We were actually raided last week, and they took one hundred people to be used an energy for their psycho lifestyles." I see her eyes begin to turn red and glossy with liquid.
"I'm sick of it. If I get up there, I will look for my brother and together we will eliminate that bastard."
Her knuckles turn white as her fists clench, and I put my hand on her shoulder. "I will help you do both," I say, and a smile form on her face. "I know how you feel, Isabel. We can work through this together...
"And, thanks for picking me up back there, but God, you did not have to tie me up!"
Isabel opens her mouth wides and her laugh is so booming and loud for such a little package. "I didn't know how you'd cooperate, okay?"