The City Up There

One

The moon shone brightly over Ethan's house. He stood at the window, staring up into the sky above. The dark, starless sky.

Every night, he would sneak up to the attic and watch the sky from the large window in the sloping walls. If he was lucky, the thick heavy clouds would part for a few minutes and he could see the moon. It was so beautiful but he wished that one day, wherever he would be, he would look out the window and see the stars.

But it was a hopeless dream. The stars had been clotted out for decades.

The Disaster of the New Century still left its mark, and it was killing the Earth. Very slowly. At least now, even for just a moment, he could ignore the tall white walls around him. Ignore the pressures of tomorrow.

Down below, a girl darted through the dark, cramped streets. They had become so narrow they were more like alleys. Her bare feet ached from the constant beating on the dry, grey mud.

She turned a hard right before scrambling up the wooden crates to the nearest roof. She ducked into the darkness on the other side of the ridge, desperately gasping for breath. The shouts below passed by.

Relieved, she let out a long sigh, until she heard it. The sound of someone climbing the crates. A white gloved hand appeared over the edge, slicing through the darkness. There was no chance she'd reach the next roof in time.

So she let go.

Silently, Ethan closed the door to his room. He flopped onto his bed, staring at the blank ceiling as if it would give him all the answers.

There was a weird feeling in his gut. It was hard to tell whether it was excitement or nerves.

Probably both.

He was going on a class trip to the Lower City tomorrow. It sounded interesting, sure, but it was the people that sparked his concern - low life criminals, people with reason for shame, thieves, murderers. . .

But he'd be safe. He looked at the clock: 01:30am. He'd better get to sleep.

The rest of the notorious white and silver uniform followed the hand onto the roof. The figure made its way up to the ridge. Looking in every direction and seeing nothing, it retreated back to ground level. The darkness had masked the fingertips that clung to the edge of the filthy roof tiles.

The girl did her best to look around. Her feet stretched out in search of a solid surface. Finding none, and out of strength to haul her body up again, she dropped heavily to the ground.

She crept silently along two streets, before limping into an unlocked building. A few candles were lit, and a woman with greying brown hair was sleeping with her head on the table.

The girl gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mama," she said softly.

"Faith?" Her mother's head rose. "Are you okay? What happened?" She tried to pull her daughter close, but Faith turned away. She took a small loaf of bread out from her fraying grey shirt.

"Go to bed Mama." She couldn't help looking down when she heard her mother get up. It was an effort for her, even though she was only forty five.

The city took its toll.

"It's not worth your life Faith," her mother said quietly, almost a whisper. She turned and left the small kitchen space.

"Yes you are." Faith's voice was almost inaudible. She looked down at her hands, noting the fresh scrapes and cuts.

Tonight was close, maybe a little too close. She looked up out the sad attempt of a window. The dark shapes of the Upper buildings loomed over her.

Maybe one day, she'd see the moon. She imagined how beautiful it would be, shining over everything.

But it was a hopeless dream. She sighed.

Her trance was suddenly broken as there was a loud banging on the door.