Metanoia

City: Chapter 10

    The sun had already set by the time Renjun had cracked open his eyes. Darkness had consumed the whole mountainous range, some crevices lighter than others. There were no caves in sight, no place to stop and take a rest in the car. It was getting cold out and the chilly breeze was easily seeping into the blankets covering Renjun's figure. The damp dirt around them from the melting snow filled the air and the plants were in between thriving and shrivelling up as they passed by. Rocks cracked under the wheels as Jeno drove at a leisurely pace. The clock had just hit three.
    Renjun shivered and pulled his coat further up his body. He went back to his previous sitting position and stared at the front window. Blinking for a few moments, his vision readjusted to the contrasting brightness in front of him. That was the only thing he needed to know to understand what he was seeing.
    Further in the landscape, where the mountains became more scarce, was a gigantic city. It was nothing like he had ever imagined. With large spires that scratched the clouds- the small little lights dotting the entire surface. Multiple hues flashing around the entire area, which went so far that Renjun couldn't see the end of it. Odd shapes of architecture curved and jutted out of the simple, by the book square buildings. From their higher angles he could see the trails of headlights driving around the large maze of the city, spreading as far as the eye could see.
    "Woah...." He leaned towards the window to try and get a better look. "This..... this is the place...." A grin was growing across his visage and he looked at Jeno with joy. "This is it. This is where we need to be."
    The raven haired boy picked up the speed by just a bit, his own eyes glittering with excitement. "Is this where those kids go when they are off to college?"
    "Absolutely. It had to be." Renjun dug around his bag for the stolen reports from the shack. Flipping the file open, he scanned the words written across the ivory page. As if he memorized them, he was completely correct. Everything in the reports mentioned companies and properties extremely similar to what he was seeing.
    "So we made it...." Jeno had to process his own words before letting out a surprised laugh. "We made it!"
    Already forming a plan in his mind, the blond pointed straight ahead. "Continue into the city. We'll need to find a place to stay and rest up before anything else can happen."
    His companion nodded, moving along and humming happily. Jeno was definitely satisfied with how everything was going. They had successfully left the forest without much problem; they were able to travel two weeks with a good ration of supplies and a good amount of energy thanks to each others entertainment; now they were arriving into the largest city they've ever seen.
    Considering that Goldenleaf was the only 'city' they had ever been to made the feat less victorious to think about. However Jeno didn't mind, in fact his child like excitement never faltered as he slowly started picking up more pace.
    This place was going to provide the perfect escape from what happened back at home. He could find distraction in his curiosity. Everything about the city was going to bring him an ultimately better life. And as he stared longer at the large buildings, uniquely structured spires and the shining lights rising from the roads- Jeno couldn't help bouncing up and down, smiling the entire time.
    Renjun had a fairly similar reaction for the first time. His large brown eyes drank up what he was seeing with an uncontrollable thirst. This was the answer. This was the place where he could find out everything. He was going to be able to see what was wrong with Goldenleaf, he was going to be able to see who those two guys were. He was going to find out everything. While they went downhill and the towers were getting even more taller, Renjun contemplated what would happen next.
Obviously, it would appear weird to any citizen if they downright approached them with those specific questions in mind. He would need to find another way for the two to get the information- and it was best if they wasted no time at all. Now that they arrived there was the crystal clear thought that they could use as much time as they wanted. After all, there was no definite time limit until these answers just outright disappeared. But he could care less about that. The faster he could find out, the faster they could just rest and truly take in all the wonders this city was already giving them.
If he truly wanted closure from all the happened at Goldenleaf, he needed the whole story. He need the truth.
By the time the two were finished their long inner monologues the earthy tones of rock and dirt transformed into the smooth clear materials of the glass and pavement. The smell of gasoline hit their noses and they squinted their eyes at the sudden amount of light invading their surroundings. Honking horns, bustling cars, loud music, multiple voices. They were being surrounded by the city itself.
Getting a much better look at it, Jeno noticed how colourful the roads were. Filled with cars of multiple tones and types as traffic started to congregate amongst the narrow concrete. Some models were vaguely familiar to him, and he recalled them from his time back in town when he used to walk to school. Others sparked no sense of home to him. As they would drive along with the most insane designs that made them look larger than life, or smaller than most standard car models.
His gaze flickered to the side and he found at least five dozen people walking the streets. Every single one different from the other. Maybe it was their hair: spiked in different directions; cut extremely short; grown extremely long; dyed certain colours or dyed every colour; maybe they had it shaved in certain patterns; maybe they were just completely bald. The more he stared he could see the different kinds of clothes they wore, none attributed to how old they appeared to be. He could tell some of their ages simply by looking at their face, others were too covered up in ink and metal to even make an accurate guess.
    Jeno gazed in awe at the variety he was seeing across the streets as people, who appeared to be complete opposites, converse lightly. His mind went back to the strict cliques that their neighbourhood had established and he frowned. 'Just like a typical romcom movie.'
But as he continued to stare longer at them while slowly driving onward, he found something strange. Every single one of them had strangely coloured eyes. Each one a different hue. He spotted ice blues, dark greens, neon pinks, pitch blacks, fiery reds and ivory whites. No two colours appeared exactly the same, albeit some passerby's did have similar colours. However it must've been something to do with blood lines as the raven haired boy spotted two of the near same eye colour- treating each other like close siblings.
"This place..." He breathed out in awe, going deeper into the city. "It's awesome."
Renjun snorted, "How descriptive of you." Regardless of his sarcastic tone, the blond's face mirrored the same emotion of awe. In fact, glancing over, Jeno could nearly see the multiple neon signs reflecting off of the older teens brown eyes. It seemed he was taking in as much as he could as well.
Observing the city a bit more, the two easily deduced how out of place they appeared to be and collectively thought of the same thing. They should try to get out of the spotlight.
And so once they found a branch off in the road, Jeno turned. Like they saw before, the place was absolutely packed with people. No matter where they seemed to turn there was always traffic going on and they would be stuck waiting again. With every stop, they could feel the stares grow in multitude as their uncommonly common appearance incited some to start murmuring. At some point Renjun started to hide his face in his arms, pretending to sleep soundly. As Jeno held his head down, trying his best not to make eye contact with anyone.
In due time, a fairly empty parkade decided to present itself to them and in no time they pulled in. Making sure no one was following them or better yet, just pulling in. Once they were sure the coast was clear (after the twenty third time per Renjun's request) they got out.
"Wow this ground is real..." Jeno spoke without a thought and flushed, feeling a bit dumb for saying something so obvious. "I mean I know it's real. I was just... I don't really know what I was thinking..."
"I understand." The smaller teen stretched, stomping his feet a bit to assure himself that everything was in fact a reality. "It all still seems like a dream....." He locked eyes with the raven haired boy, his irises reflecting some kind of anxiety. "It's like I could wake up and be back in Goldenleaf, being forced to go to school..."
The taller student approached Renjun and placed his hands on the blonds shoulders. "But it's not." He assumed his mouth would hurt by now with how much he was grinning. "We're here Injunnie."
Quirking an eyebrow up, the boy in mention felt a bit weird hearing his name pronounced that way. Nevertheless he nodded along with Jeno's excited babbling and turned his head to peek over at what was beside them.
A more traditionally structured building was placed right next to the parkade. It appeared to be some type of services building, most likely filled to the brim with a variety of businesses. People were filing in and out the doors, going home to rest or going in for appointments or even work. There was no tight held security on the outside, and it seemed as if anyone could walk inside by how freely people had come and go. He had made the decision.
"Ok next step in our plan is set." Pulling away from his chattery companion, he stretched a bit more with his eyes still trained on the building. "We need a shelter now and the pickup doesn't count anymore. It's a city so there is evidently going to be some sort of police force patrolling around for suspicious crime. And we already look suspicious enough with how plainly bland we appear to be."
By the time he was finished saying his previous sentence, Renjun was already by the spiral slope leading to the ground floor. "How do you feel about a little scout and search?"

The inside of the building, although having a basic exterior, was entirely the opposite. With a spacious lobby accompanied by luxury looking furniture and decor and a ceiling that stretched up to the top of the structure itself. Renjun could see all eighteen floors from where he stood, each one for a different business. The entire interior was decorated with extravagant ornaments and garlands woven about as the large Christmas tree in the middle stood up tall and proud. It was blocking sight of the two large doors to the elevator and behind the large faux plant a longer hallway leading to spiralling stairs.
"How are we going to navigate through this place?" Jeno complained, observing the large map by the door. "I mean it's so large and confusing that it'll probably be harder to find our way around than when we were travelling."
Renjun rolled his eyes, stealthily handing over a small black box. "That's why I brought these, dumbass."
"That's very rude." The raven haired boy shot him an offended glance before taking the device. ".....ok a walkie talkie.... maybe your previous statement about me was half correct...."
Smirking, the blond signalled to the top of the building. "I'll go straight up to the top to try and find some help. You can start at the bottom and we'll meet in the middle. Got it?"
Jeno nodded, giving a little salute along with his own sly smirk. "Aye aye Injunnie."