~Part 1: Haven, the last city of the New World~
11 days until the Sky Climb
I was peacefully spinning around on my chair, minding my own business when a file was slapped on my desk. The word "CLASSIFIED" was labeled on the front.
"Hey Summers, you misplaced this," I pointed out to my colleague, waving the folder at her. Her face twitched slightly. She was probably annoyed that I, an apprentice, was correcting her, an officer.
"No. That is yours. The Chief gave the orders for you to take on this case," She insisted, pushing the folder back to me. "It's pretty urgent, so don't screw it up," She added before leaving my cubicle.
Ugh, Stryker? You screw up one too many times and that man slams you with extra work. I'm not even in this department- My thoughts froze as I opened up the folder. Oh cores.
A classified missing persons case. I quickly figured out why I had received it when I read my brother's name on the list of missing people.
Brennen and I were on duty together just days ago. Yeah, we went a little overboard in capturing the rogue, but he had it coming the moment he body-slammed me. We got separated for the rest of the week, but he wasn't put in a dangerous area, so how did this happen? Things weren't adding up.
"Huh," I muttered to myself as I peeked over my cubicle. I didn't hear any of the usual snickering or find any evidence of this being a prank. The document had the official Power Control seal stamped on it. This was real.
I sat back down and stared at the case file, hoping my eyes were tricking me. Possibly hoping by some magic that the words would change.
How in the world did he go missing? He's a pure water core! An Officer too! I frantically scanned the file once more, picking out every relevant detail I could find. I thought the cause would have been a rouge or maybe even the uprising rebel group that had been a pain in our sides recently, but the document stated otherwise. A scuffle between Clans, that's not a surprise.
A letter slipped out from the file during my search. The orders were written out in the Chief's handwriting. Orders to report to a location in sector 9. The letter didn't say anything else other than the time I had to be there.
My bag swung on my shoulders as I finished packing. I wasn't given much time to do so. I cursed the Chief in my head as I thought about how long it would take to get there. I wouldn't even be able to see my family before I went. Overtime sucks.
I stopped by the infirmary before I went. The poor nurse was scrambling around trying to tend to the injured. Our eyes locked for a brief moment before she motioned where the melted ice packs were. The recent attacks on the power generators made it hard to keep things cool as of recently.
I made sure my sleeves were covering my wrists before refreezing the packs. I couldn't risk exposing my core glow to anyone. I shook off the incoming chill as I finished putting the last pack in the ice box. The metal gained a new coat of ice as I swiped my hand along its inner walls.
The nurse thanked me as I walked out the door. I nodded and booked it out of there before more work could be passed off to me.
It was a beautiful June afternoon, the perfect temperature as usual. The thermal cores must have been working hard to beat the heat. I shuddered knowing that I would have been in their place if not for my brother's connections.
Velcro ripped as I took off my Power Control patches. I knew I wasn't supposed to, but my safety mattered more. Who would think that rogues would target lone PC staff if given the chance? Anyone with a brain. It's common sense or at least it should be common sense. Not everyone has stupidly powerful cores!
A few figures stuck out in the crowd as I made my way to the tram station. Full suits and half masks, all sticking near a unique-looking building. The giant building had a sign posted, advertising that they were now accepting apprentices. A Clan base, one of many scattered throughout all the sectors of Haven.
I ignored them when one tried to start a conversation with me. I tapped my shoulder, a silent sign that I was already taken. The person instantly became disinterested and changed targets.
I watched as a mother and son crossed the streets, the mother keeping an eye on the Clan members as she did so. My mother was like that when I was younger, things changed when I was six or so. I looked too much like my father for her liking. Unlike my siblings, I had his white hair and blood-red eyes. It wasn't the best thing considering he died in that stupid touranment years ago.
A floating billboard squeezed between the cracks in the buildings. Guess what it was? An advertisement for the Sky Climb. Yay. My fingers twitched at the thought of piercing the hunk of junk with an icicle. I pushed away the thought as I saw how many people were around, and I'd definitely get fired for it.
The tram creaked to a halt as I waited in line, its hover crystals lowering it to the ground. It groaned as passengers loaded.
The vehicle lurched forward as soon as it was in the clear. I hate trams. Always late, always packed, and always a guaranteed inconvenience. I was always wanting to throw up after riding that rickety thing.
Trams were faster than ground transportation, and most of the time safer from rogue attacks and Clan scuffles. I thought about the victor in the early years of the Sky Climb who made the floating crystals a possibility through her wish. However, a vehicle flying around dodging buildings and floating billboards doesn't make the smoothest ride.
I endured the half-hour ride, successfully managing to keep my lunch down. I check my watch and quicken my pace. I was not about to be late and have that held against me for the rest of the year.
The crowd steered clear of me once I put back on the patches. Fellow PC Officers and their apprentices gave me a nod as they passed by. The hustle and bustle of the city slowed down as I approached my destination. All that was here were the street beggars and the occasional pair of Officers.
I checked the address of the building once more. A shimmer of green caught my eye. I hurried towards the light. My heels lacked against the well-kept sidewalk.
The oddly colored light reflected softly on the surrounding building windows as I turned the corner. The dome-shaped forcefield covered the entire block ahead of me. I was glad not to have to worry about being lost anymore as I approached it. Parts of the dome shifted as if it were alive. Wait a second, is that a giant tortoise?
It's head lazily moved in my direction, barely giving me any attention. The green beast's legs lay flat beside it. The jade coloring shimmered across its semi-transparent body. About a foot around the tortoise laid a single line of police tape.
"Gwooo?" It bellowed. I held up my ID so it could look at it. "Grwooo" It sighed. Slowly opening its mouth. Brennen had talked about a small family who were all in the PC with animal-like barriers as their core. I had seen one or two of them before, this one looked to be the laziest of the bunch.
This is really weird, I don't think I could ever get used to this. I stepped into its mouth, passing through the barrier. The shimmering stopped once both my feet had stepped inside. I could barely even tell I was inside of the barrier. The only tell was the almost invisible lines of the tortoise dome reflecting the sun's light.
