Endrulfium (indefinitely on hold)

Chapter 8: The City of Gold.

We arrive near the city. I wish it were daytime. Right now, the city looks like a large black blob with the occasional orange or yellow light against the dark sky.

The first time I saw this place, there was daylight. It was magnificent. The sun reflected off the metallic buildings. Everything was moving, everything had a purpose. The towers stood out with their makeshift wind-power generators and the watchtowers next to them were just as noticeable.

There is always a cloud of dust at the edges of the city. That's because it moves. Slowly, but it moves. A lot of the city was specifically designed to make it move. There isn't a wall without some sort of gauge or pipe. Some call it the city of gold. Even though the whole city is relatively poor, and everything is made of copper, wood and whatever else the deserter engineers could get their hands on.

Anyways, we arrive at the city. Eliom connects his vehicle to the docks making the small platform flush with the dock floor. The rest of his crew stop their vehicles and decide to wait for him.

Eliom talks to a man who seems to be running the docks at this time, then he signals for us to follow him. We do. He leads us not far into the city. Inside, everything is brighter. The yellow and orange light bulbs were not uncommon, and neither were small red lights probably only used during emergencies.

The whole place seems rather cramped even though we can move around perfectly fine. Elaine is trying to take in every detail. Eliom stops at a door and opens it.

-This is where you'll be staying. Normally you would have to bunk with some people, but this space recently cleared. Apparently, working our sewage system is dangerous.

-Thanks.

-Also, tomorrow you three will be given positions, so get some rest.

-Alright. See you tomorrow then.

Eliom turns to walk away. I step into the room, Elaine follows. Naddie is already asleep in Elaine's arms. I look around. There is no bed. However, there is a hammock in the corner hanging from two rather thick pipes in the far-right hand corner.

-You two can take the hammock.

-That thing is hanging from pipes. It's probably going to fall down at midnight!

-It's already midnight. Plus, I've seen the pipes in this place take quite a beating without moving. You'll be fine.

Elaine gives me a look. She still thinks they're not strong enough, but she'll take the hammock. As they lay down I look around the room. There's not much here. A table, a chair and a sandbag chair (like a beanbag one, but with sand. As you can imagine, sand is a little easier to come by here than expanded polystyrene beans.).

I pull the heavy sandbag chair over to the opposite corner of the room. I sit down, using my arm to brace myself. That was a mistake. An intense, sharp pain shoots up my arm from my wrist and I jump straight up. I hold my breath for a few seconds and exhale passionately. I don't want to wake anyone up.

I should fix that. I sit down (bracing myself with the other arm this time). I unhook the battery pack, so the glove can come off. I grab the hem of the leather glove and start to peel it off. The force stings, but I keep going. The semi-sticky glove separates from my hand inside out.

My hand is a little redder than usual. There is a large bump. It's bone. My wrist is dislocated. Not completely though. I place my other hand a few centimeters above it. And do my thing. After the agonizing headache, I lay down. I let gravity shift around me. I ignore it. I close my eyes and think of nothing. All that exists is my breath and the darkness behind my eyelids.