The Catalyst

Chapter 6: The Great Rise

Chapter 6: The Great Rise      

          Of all the places Dameon had expected his aunt and uncle to live, the Lapillus division of Salt Lake City, Utah was probably one of the lower items on the list. But after a night of attempting to sleep on the cold, hard bed at the Social Services Headquarters, a hasty breakfast, and an hour long metro trans ride, he was standing in it.

        He looked up, craning his neck at the apartment building in front of him. It stretched up almost a quarter of a mile, mostly made of tinted glass and windows; perfect in every way. An awe-inspiring sight.

        Especially since it was practically small and shabby compared to its neighbors.

        "Is this it?" he asked. Ms. Acevedo sighed heavily.

        "We're not quite there yet, dear." she replied. In the single night and half a day that Dameon had spent with Ms. Acevedo, most of it either in the Remotus Social Services headquarters or in the metro trans, he had found out exactly two things about her. That she was one of the people who always attempted to look on the bright side of life, and that to her everyone was 'dear' or 'sweetheart' or 'darling'.

        He couldn't wait to get rid of her.

        They resumed making their way down the street past hordes of busy people on their way to work. Like it had been back in Remotus Newark, the entrances to the Metro were flooded with people on the way to work. A wry smile touched Dameon's face. He and Ms. Acevedo had made the unfortunate mistake of arriving during rush hour, and had been forced to practically fight their way out of the entrance to the Stop. But the incredible feeling of shooting across the country at two thousand miles per hour had more than made up for a few crowds. It had only taken an hour to traverse the entire distance.

        The metro trans used intra technology, meaning they projected their surroundings onto the inside walls so for passengers it felt like the train was a giant window. But because it traveled exclusively underground, Dameon had not really had a chance to savor his departure from Newark. Nor had he wanted to. He had been perfectly fine with his last image of Newark being a dark, underground Stop. Much better than it being his old apartment in the Slums, or...or...

        Dameon squeezed his eyes shut. No. He wasn't going to think about his father. That man no longer existed in any way, shape, or form. Nor was he going to harbor any poisonous thoughts of a certain Enhancement Solution...the contents of his backpack suddenly seemed to grow heavier, weighing it down as it thudded against his back.

        Opening his eyes once more, he was immediately entranced by the magnificent department store in front of him - was it even possible for a building to look so sleek and modern? For it to be so big?

        "Amazing, isn't it?" Ms. Acevedo gushed, following his eyes to the store, "These Lapillus really have beautiful divisions. I mean, Artifex and Remotus have it great as well, but I guess it helps to have the greatest architects on your side..." she trailed off with the light, tinkling laugh that Dameon found so intensely irritating, and in order to avoid responding he pretended to become fascinated with a nearby Bug parked next to the apartment building they were passing.

        He thought it must be one of the latest models. A silver, oblong car, with the front slanting towards the ground. There weren't any wheels visible, but right at the bottom he could see a small depression, and knew that that must be the trigger to open the giant door for the foot, where storage space formed the majority of the bottom of the car. Because of this, the doors for the passengers weren't on the sides but rather on the top. Dameon wondered if his aunt and uncle would own a Bug. Bugs had intra technology as well, and he had often heard raves from his Remotus classmates about how amazing it was to ride in one. Not that he had ever gotten a chance seeing as slum inhabitants were not allowed to own them, and Tenebris had been too busy brewing lethal mixtures....