Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 7.4: In Search of Answers

They entered an area that was off-limits to most residents. The Border Gates sat at various junctions of each sector, gateways to and from Taiyou-Shi's three plates and six sectors. There were signs everywhere, various screens with government messages. The words "RESTRICTED AREA" were posted in a large sign that stood just outside.

Drake slowed down as they approached, finally cutting power to the speeder as the Mag-Rail ended. "Tires," Drake commanded. The black metallic covering for the mag wheels slid back, exposing rubber tires underneath as the speeder lowered itself back on the ground from its hover position. Drake slowly moved the speeder, parking it carefully next to a concrete wall.

The Border Gates were kept intentionally non-descript. Access to and from the Plates was on official business only. Steel mesh fences surround the area, with barbed wire above.

Ava brushed her dark curls aside. She hopped off the speeder and looked around.

"Drake, the Border Gates are high-security. The fence is electrified, and everything is monitored. It would be difficult for us to get past the checkpoint."

Drake smiled and held Ava's hand. "Leave it to me."

Ava sighed. "Drake, explain this to me. Why the Utter Darkness?"

"The night before Fala went missing, she sent me a message on her communicator. She'd encrypted it in a cipher I had never seen before. It wasn't a cipher developed by the Science Assembly; at least it wasn't anything I could recognize. Even Dad couldn't decipher it. It could only have been an underground cipher. Fala had access to contacts in the Utter Darkness. It was the only way to keep it secret from the government."

Ava's brow furrowed. "Why would she go through all that trouble? If the government intercepted it, why would she bother hiding it from them? Wouldn't she want the Taiyou-Shi Police to be able to help?"

Drake turned to Ava. "Did you know what my sister was working on? She was part of the Sun-Watchers."

Ava grimaced. "Why on Kuro would your sister want anything to do with that band of misfits?"

Drake smiled. "Fala was special. Even when she was little, she had this almost unhealthy obsession with the Goddess. She read the stories and they really had an impact on her. As she grew older, we thought she would outgrow the childish notion, but it only grew stronger in her. She became convinced the myths were real, that a tragedy occurred a thousand years ago. That the Deities were real, and something happened to make them disappear. Over the weeks leading up to her disappearance, she became convinced that she had found the truth."

"Drake, who in Naraka would have a cipher more advanced than the Science Assembly?"

Drake smiled. "This is why I like you, Ava. You aren't the typical girlfriend."

"Save it, Mr. Mopey."

Drake approached a border terminal. Cameras were positioned just above the rows of terminals that lay near the entrance. Drake stared at the screen for a while. He put his eyes to the retina scanner. The monitor started talking to him. "Citizen, please state your number, last name, and first name, in that order."

"Citizen #200179535, Riordan, Fala Jean," Drake said.

The monitor was silent for a few moments. "I do not have a record of that citizen in my database. Please try again."

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TO BE CONTINUED...

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