The City Of Death

Prologue- Macy

I remember the sun on my face.

That's one of the only good things I remember about my time in the Outside- and the only thing I miss. In the City, there is no sun; the dark clouds that cover the city prevent the sun from breaking through and making an appearance. The only light comes from the LED lights in the houses and lampposts and the fluorescent lights in the hospital. But I remember seeing the sun for the first time and feeling its warmth. It was a new experience for me- light could actually be warm. Light could be something other than just something to see with. And what was more, the sun lit up the sky in such a way that there were no lampposts in the Outside. The sun gave them all the light they needed. And when the sun went down and night came, they found other things to light their way.

But I remember more bad than good. I remember the fear. I remember being forced to stay in a tent until they were sure I wouldn't try to run away. I remember crying for days on end. I remember the fear I felt for Skye and the confusion about where she had gone. I remember missing her so much it made my chest hurt, and I remember asking about what had happened to her and never getting an answer. But most of all, I remember a tall, lanky, dark-haired boy coming into the tent and assuring me that everything would be okay. But how was anything going to be okay when I didn't know where Skye was and I couldn't go home?

The only other good thing about my time in the Outside was when the Cardinals finally came to rescue me.

Most of my memories of Skye and my time on the Outside come to me in the boundary between sleep and consciousness. Whether it's just as I fall asleep or just as I wake up, that's when the memories are the clearest and most concise. I don't have many memories of Skye, and most of the ones I do are shrouded and compromised by time. Some have been hidden from me completely.

Like the memory of the day she disappeared. I can't remember anything about that day- only the aftermath. Only my time in the Outside as a consequence of it. I keep thinking to myself that if I could only remember what happened that day, I'd know what happened to Skye. I'd know what they did to her and why they took me. But the Cardinals never told me what happened to her, and truth be told, I'm not sure they know. All they know, and therefore all I know, is who was responsible for it.

As I slowly wake up, the memory of my rescue is the one that my brain conjures up. But even that memory feels blurry and disjointed, almost as if there's something wrong with it. But I attribute that to time. I remember the tears of joy when I saw the Cardinals, and I remember running to them. But I also remember the people who took me holding me back, trying to keep me from going home.

I sigh as I fully wake up and the memory fades. So many fuzzy memories I have, and so many questions to go with them. I wonder if I could just remember things clearly if some of those questions might be answered. But, for now, the memories can wait. For now, I have a job to do. A job revered here inside the City, but more than that, a job revered by myself. A job that I dreamed of even as a child, orphaned and alone, with nothing to cling to but dreams and memories of a sister I would never see again.

I pull the blankets off and sat on the edge of my bed, stretching my arms above my head and sighing in contentment at the satisfying crack in my back. Feet on the floor, I stand and look out the window where the lampposts haven't yet brightened. During the night, the lampposts are dimmed as a way to signify night and are only brightened when most Citizens begin to wake up. Of course, I'm awake much earlier than most of them, but that's just part of the job.

Most of the other Citizens get to sleep in until eight and don't have to show up to work until nine-thirty. Not me. I have to wake up by five so I can report to the hospital by six. Most of the other Doctors can wait to wake up until five-thirty, but they all live by the hospital, in Belial's district. Most Citizens live in the district that they work in, but I'm one of the few exceptions. Maybe one day I'll move to Belial's district to be closer to work, but for now, I'm just fine where I am. And where I am is having to get ready for work.