Seven Levels Below

V

Three hours later, Mitch found himself standing just outside a city elevator on the first level in his best impression of upper-class fashion, squinting in the bright sunlight and desperately trying to convince the city guard not to send him back to the lower-city.

"I don't care about your jacket, there's no way I can let you wander around up here without an actual purpose."

So much for trying to tell the truth.

"Please, sir. I already told you," Mitch groaned, "it's not mine." He held up his black mini backpack containing the coat. "I swear all I need to do is go to the palace and return it. Then I'll come right back here and go home. I pinky promise I won't go causing trouble." The guard didn't seem impressed by the offered pinky. "What do I have to do to convince you to let me go?"

The guard sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'm not letting you in without proof of business. I'm sorry, but those are the rules."

Mitch huffed a sigh. He wasn't getting anywhere unless he actually got his feet moving soon. He glanced around and noticed an alleyway halfway down the street behind him. "Sir, don't you think you should be more concerned about those two over there?" He lifted a finger towards a young couple strolling down the street behind the guard.

The guard snapped his head over his shoulder and called out to the couple, who glanced over and slowed. Mitch didn't hesitate at the opportunity and he ran.

When he slid into the alley—another damn alley—and flattened himself to the wall, he listened carefully for the sound of footsteps and the clanking of shifting weaponry on a fancy uniform belt. When nothing approached his hiding spot in the time it took him to catch his breath and swipe his hair up and under a hat he had stowed in his backpack along with the jacket, he deemed it clear to move along.

Just to be extra careful, he exited the alley on the other side and lifted his chin as he pretended to know where he was going. His silky red shirt tucked into black dress jeans blended in perfectly with the expensive outfits the other pedestrians wore, despite both having been sewn together in his living room, much to Mitch's smug delight. His large black hat and sunglasses served to both hide his condemning hair and help him adjust to the midday brightness the first level offered. It seemed like everything was reflecting the sunlight up here.

How did these people survive without going blind?

Mitch could see the palace between the skyscrapers as he walked towards what he guessed was the northern end of the city block. The palace was massive in the distance already, and Mitch was beginning to worry about how he was going to get inside. The Capital was not likely to be lax on protecting the lone government building of Asdria, let alone the home of the beloved regents. The ruling family, the Hoyings, really were approved of by the citizens, even down in the lower-city. Of course, Mitch had heard (and occasionally participated in) a lifetime of complaints from his fellow downworlders about whatever political issues they had with the king and the most recent laws affecting them, blah blah blah, but King Rick was kinder and far more productive than his father had been, and the people were aware of that.

It didn't stop them from whining about every little thing they could blame on them though.

Mitch snapped out of his thoughts when he realized his feet had done all the work for him. He tilted his head back at the massive structure in front of him. The palace really was huge. The pale marble gleamed in the sun and set it apart from the steely skyscrapers reflecting the clear blue across the rest of the first level. The building was built on a raised platform hovering just slightly above the edge of the northern border of the city, accessible by a wide staircase bridge spanning nearly a full city block. The stairs rose up to a sidewalk that surrounded the entire palace and provided a clear view of the sheer enormity of the building. The marble walls of the building rose at least four stories all the way across the view from what Mitch could see. A massive dome shaped extremity in the center, at least two stories tall, sat atop the rest of the building in the center, marking the location of the Senate meetings. A tower reaching above even the Senate rose from behind the dome, making Mitch wonder how wide the palace was as well. One other little detail of the structure caught Mitch's eye: the security. And how it was everywhere.