“Tao engenders One

One engenders Two,

Two engenders Three,

Three engenders the ten thousand things.

The ten thousand things carry shade

And embrace sunlight.

Shade and sunlight, yin and yang.

Breath blending into harmony.”

-Tao Te Ching, 42

A shock-wave flew out from a gigantic sphere, distorting the natural flow of the air and

pushing itself exponentially outwards from the source. The water that was submerging half of the

sphere began to rumble. That clear liquid that conquered the world with its mass began to migrate

outwards along with the air. Waves began to form from the running air, like loose cloth on a

Regular’s Crahton Outfit flowing in the wind from the Gardens’ fans. Unlike a typical wave,

though, the peak of the waves deviating from the sphere began to curl and froth – away from the

direction that the wind and water was moving. The tip of the waves began to face the sphere while

the waves themselves ran from it.

As the waves moved and moved, they eventually reached a point of interest. The depth of

the water began to decline. The fuel used to generate the kinetic energy became shallow. Then

even more shallow. It became so shallow that it was gliding on rocks and sand. Until in the blink

of an eye, the waves hit a wall made of brick and colored a dark gray. As the waves hit the wall,

they exploded into an orchestra of opaque blues and grays. As the thousands of droplets of water

expanded and fell towards the rocks, the bricks from the wall became wet and slippery.

On the top of that wall, which was about nine meters tall, were two benches facing out

towards the water and by extension the sphere and its metallic sheen was also visible. But one

bench, which sat between the other two, faced inwards. In its view was a city with light purple

skies and brown/gray dirt below. The city held four tall structures that together formed a square.

Inside the square was a multitude of smaller buildings. The tall structures were each made of

smaller cube-shaped rooms that stacked atop each other to form a triangle shape. These buildings

held no windows, only two doors, and were colored with gray concrete. On the corners of each

cube were lights that shined bright yellow during the night, which was the current time.

The smaller buildings were also made of concrete, but had much less of a pattern with how

they were constructed. They seemed to be made almost sloppily, with random corners jetting out

from walls. They had no consistent form or shape. The streets around these buildings were

completely empty of man-made structures, with only an outlined path between each building to

guide people along during their days. There was not even a single light to be found.

There were a few things that seemed out of place in the city. Bright purple and blue screens

filled the city, showing pictures and videos all throughout the day. The biggest standout of the city

in terms of looks and application was a wall. Unlike the wall to block waves by the ocean, this

wall was much bigger. A metal wall with pipes entangled with it ran up into the sky, bigger than

any building in the city. The wall didn’t end there though: a clear, blue tinted wall pushed up even

higher beyond, up into the clouds and further. No one knew how far that wall really went.

The light in the sky was currently showing its face after a few hours rest. The purple clouds

above became lighter and lighter on the side of the light, and the roads of the city were slowly lit

up. People began walking out of the two doors on the pyramid buildings, with a strange mask over

their mouths, and a large metal tank strapped to their backs.

“I’ll see you at dark, Spero. Have a good one.” A young man, who looked in his mid

twenties, walked alongside Spero as they walked out of the “Exit” door to go about their days.

This man wore the mask and the tank, along with a Gardener’s Crahton Outfit. The gardener’s

outfits consisted of a short sleeved shirt made of a thin, stretchy material made for bending over

and moving around. In the middle of the shirt was a green logo. It was in the shape of a flower, but

bore no colors except for the bright green. The outfit also consisted of plain blue shorts and tight

black slip on shoes,, used by everyone working a labor job.

Nodding un-enthusiastically, Spero responded with a quiet, “You too.” The two friends

locked eyes for a split second before Spero quickly turned his head away. His friend, who he liked

to call “Green,” was short and thin. He had small hands that were calloused from the hard work he

did every day. His face was pale and round, but it still looked fit. He had brown eyes and brown,

short hair that was clean and neat. His nose was average; No one would never think anything of it

if it was seen. Spero constantly compared his looks to Green’s. While Green wasn't the most

attractive man in the city by any means, Spero still viewed himself as inferior in every aspect

when it came to their faces. Spero has dirty blonde hair and eyes of different colors. His left eye

was brown, but his right was a light gray color. His nose was also average, but it bent too far to the

right, which bothered him. He did not have a good jawline, but he believed that Green did. His

teeth were too yellow and he had a gap between his two front teeth, while Green had relatively

clean and orderly teeth. This constant comparing wasn’t detrimental to their friendship, but it did

weigh on him.

Coming out of the pyramid shaped building, there were two directions; To the left was a

path leading to the West side of the city, and a path straight ahead to the north. Green split and

moved down the path, while Spero kept going straight to the North, which was the direction of the

very large outer wall. Around Spero as he walked were others also heading to their jobs. Some of

those people were talking and laughing with each other as they walked. Spero kept his distance

and looked at the dirt as he walked to work. Seeing and hearing other people talk and laugh

together made Spero irritated, but he couldn’t pinpoint why. He had his own friend, so it wasn’t

jealousy. Rather than start that thought train again, Spero decided to let it go and ignore the people

around him.

He had taken this path many times to the point where he could walk to work with his eyes

closed, which he had done once or twice before to kill his boredom. As he walked to the north

towards one of the other pyramid structures, to his left were the small buildings that spanned most

of the city. Each building served a different purpose. Some were for selling goods such as food and

entertainment devices, while others were tank-fill stops and rest spots. There were a wide range of

other places, but Spero never explored too deep into the city center. About half a kilometer was

walked when Spero came across his favorite shop for food, called “Corn Salt”. As the name

suggested, they sold corn with mountains of salt mixed in. He was in the mood for corn, but the

shop was closed until after dark.

At three-fourths of a kilometer was a ticket station for clocking in to your work day. Every

person had a card that applied to their current job. They were required to carry it at all times or

face mild punishment that Spero would have rather avoided. As he walked up to the cylindrical

stand that stood a bit taller than him, he took the card out of his pants and placed it inside of an

indentation on the stand. He made sure to face the card downwards so the scanner could read it.

Above the indentation was a screen that lit up when the card was placed. Three large black dots

were currently on the screen for a few seconds before turning off and making a ding noise. He

took his card and placed it back into his pants pocket. From the moment you scan your card you

have five minutes to go through the “Entrance” doors of your assigned pyramid.

Today Spero was assigned building 3, which was the pyramid on the North-East side of the

city, the closest to the wall. He disliked this pyramid because he could hear the rumbling and

clanking of the large wall while working. He thought of how cruel it was that he seemed to always

get building 3 on his bad days. What divine force kept trying to stop him from being content? He

couldn’t focus inside building 3 properly, so it made it seem like he was bad at his job. But

contrary to that, Spero believed that he was the best at what he did.

As Spero arrived at the Building 3, a line had formed at the entrance, but luckily it was

moving quickly. Spero stared at his feet as he inched his way towards the building. He noticed that

his shoes were getting a bit dirty. He would probably have to get them replaced soon. Thinking

about this, Spero let out a low grunt and looked up to see the line. People of different jobs all stood

and waited to get in to the building. Spero looked up at the pyramid and thought about where he

would be teaching that day. Naturally there were more cubes on the bottom considering it's shaped

like a pyramid, but usually the bottom rooms are for farming equipment storage and maybe some

Sleep=rooms for older gardeners. There were 23 stacks of cement cubes that made each pyramid,

so there were a lot of places==

"Hey buddy you gonna move up anytime soon?" Pulled out of thought by a voice, he turned

around to face the person who spoke to him. He looked at him up and down before speaking. He

was an older man with a Regular's Crahton Outfit, signifying that his job was to carry seeds and

farming equipment from cubes to the pyramid center, where gardeners worked on corn, wheat,

potatoes, and many other crops. While he studied the person briefly, he did not look him in the

eyes for a single second.

While looking at his outfit to avoid eye contact, Spero thought quickly about what he

wanted to say to the old man. His tone of voice seemed a bit irritated. He wondered why, but

realized it's because he stopped moving down the line when he was thinking. The man probably

felt inconvenienced by Spero's behavior. He needed to be brief and calm as to not escalate the

situation.

"I'm sorry sir, I was just lost in thought." Spero said this with a calm and respectful voice,

but still didn't look the old man in the eyes.

The old man spoke immediately after the sentence had left Spero's mouth, saying, "Yes,

that's fine, but are you gonna move up?" Spero held his mouth half open and stared at his outfit.

He regretted even talking. Why did he even bother. He, once again, made someone dislike him.

Without saying anything else, Spero nodded, turned around, and started walking. There wasn't any

line in front of him at that point, so he was able to walk right into the building. As he came to the

Entrance, he looked over his shoulder and saw a line behind him. If there was a line behind him,

why didn't they just jump ahead when he was standing still? He knew the answer, but it didn't

satisfy him. People are afraid to break any sort of "rules" in this city. There's not even a rule for

cutting lines, but just the notion of doing something rude made people hesitant. Why are they

worried. Spero wondered. The worst that would happen if they were punished is that Oxygen

would cost more for a little bit. They wouldn't be punished though. Spero knew that if he were

behind himself, he would skip ahead. But instead of doing that, these people waited at their own

inconvenience. He would never understand that mindset.

Looking back at the ground and his feet, he walked through the door and pulled his mask up

to his forehead. He then turned his direction to the right, towards the Objective Board. The

Objective Board held every room's purpose for the day and who would be in it. He looked at the

board, which was actually more of a screen, and studied it for a moment. It was a 2D rendition of

the pyramid, which made it hard to tell what cube was what. He looked on the 18th floor, which

was usually where he worked. Sure enough, his name was there. He raised his fingers to his name

and squinted to see what cube room he would be in.

Reading aloud, Spero quietly whispered, "18-3-4." under his breath. Eighteenth floor, side

three, room four. He repeated this in his head multiple times to lock it into his short term memory,

and began the journey to his assigned cube room. Spero knew the structure of every pyramid, so it

wouldn't be a problem for him to find the right place. Inside the door of the pyramids was a

concrete hallway with the Board. Past that, the pyramid opened up to a large garden with rows of

different crops. The pyramids were hollow to leave enough room for the gardening, as well as

keeping oxygen trapped inside. Large fans surrounded the hollow center, pushing gasses through.

One side was for bringing oxygen into the garden, while the fans on the other side pulled air out to

keep Carbon Dioxide from swallowing the place whole.

Spero walked into the outskirts of The Garden where the paths split to reach the different

sides. He looked straight up, straining his neck, to se where his room could be. The wall of each

cube that faces to the garden were required to have an open gap to let in clean air to every room.

Spero counted up to the eighteenth floor, and looked at side three, which was the one directly in

front of him. He then shifted his eyes over while counting and reached room four.

He looked back down and walked straight to reach the staircase for side three. Passing by

the crops, he made sure to walk slowly to take in the smells that the crops gave off. It was rare in

the City to have greenery around you, and Spero always took the opportunity to take it all in. After

walking past rows of crops and gardeners, he reached the stairwell. Taking a deep, quick sigh, he

placed his left foot on the first step. He thought to himself how much toll this trip to the eighteenth

floor would take him, so he decided to try and zone out in thought while walking to ease the pain.

He began to think about what he said to that old man before. In the moment he thought that

talking was the best thing to do, but it didn't work out. He made a note in his mind to take that

mistake as a lesson for next time he wants to talk. Then he started thinking about Green and what

he said to him the night before. He didn't want to think about that though, so he snapped himself

out of his mind and returned to the staircase. The stairwell was extremely cold and dark, and the

steps were a bit too slippery for Spero's liking. His breath already had become short, and his legs

were aching. He didn't exercise much so he wasn't prepared for this journey. His throat began to

burn from the cold air, which didn't make any sense to Spero. Did he prefer thinking about past

conversations that ended poorly, or did he prefer physical torment?

One step after another. Pain, step. Pain step. Usually Spero could avoid this pain, but on bad

days it seemed nearly impossible. He had to escape his mind. He thought about taking a break, but

he didn't want to be late again. Whether it be from walking too slow or slipping down the stairs,

Spero had been late 7 times since starting this job. Most minor crimes in the city are punished by

increasing the price of oxygen. It wasn't that big of a deal at first, but every time a minor crime

was committed, the price of oxygen raised even higher. As well as that, the price would stay for

longer too. He began to worry that soon enough he would be sent to the sphere. He didn't want

that. Not yet.

His legs began to ache and throb even more than before, and his throat was becoming Hell

itself. He looked at the cold, dark wall to his left to see how far he had walked. As soon as he saw

"9" he immediately stopped walking. He would die, he thought, if he kept this up. Once again he

asked himself if he would rather think about painful thoughts or deal with the potential of physical

death. Physical death was the best of two evils, he decided. Spero took a very deep, pained breath,

and he began to walk again. One step after another. Pain, step. Pain, step.

Spero, completely drenched in fire, made the last step to the eighteenth floor. He had

survived. He didn't know whether to think of himself as lucky or unlucky for this outcome. The

eighteenth floor of the pyramids looked the same as every other floor. No distinctions meant no

humanity, either. At least it wasn't as cold, Spero thought to himself as he walked through the

opening to a hallway. The hallway was inside the hollow interior, and had a railing on the side

giving a view to the garden beneath.. Spero peeked over the railing and saw just how far up he had

come. The garden below looked almost similar to Green's outfit logo. A big blob of green. He cold

barely see the gardeners and regulars from that high up. He definitely couldn't smell the corn.

While looking down, he used this as an opportunity to catch his breath. He leaned over and placed

his elbows on the railing. His legs were locked, and his back was arched.

While panting over the edge of the railing, he began to hear the clanging from the outer

wall, loud as ever. Not only did he have to deal with being extremely fatigued, but also the

screeching of who-knows-what inside of the wall. That has always perplexed Spero, as with his

friend, as to why there were sounds always coming from inside the wall, There was no job that

anyone was aware of that involved going inside of that thing. The citizens weren't even supposed

to go near it for too long, or they'll be pushed back by The Forces.. Spero's best guess was that it

was some sort of automated system keeping the Sky Wall (the blue, solid beam that shoots up into

the sky from the wall) operational. After all, everything else in the city is automated too. The

boards, the screens, what shows on the screens, the job selection, and pretty much everything else,

wasn't controlled by a person.

"Okay..." Spero quietly ended his little break with a que to pick himself back up. Grunting,

he took his elbows off of the railing and straightened his back. He then looked at his shirt to see if

there was any dirt on them. From what he could see, his Teacher's Crahton Outfit wasn't dirty. He

thought there might have been a bit of a problem if both his shoes and long-sleeved coat had dirt

on them. It would make him look unprofessional. Turning to his left, he counted the cubes to find

room four. The stairs put him in the middle of the hallway, so he had to look to his right. Once the

right room was identified, he began to walk. Was he late? Zoning out made him lose track of time,

which normally he was good at. As he walked to the fourth room on the third side of the pyramid,

he looked to his right to see through the open windows into the rooms. Every room he passed was

set up like a classroom, which he expected.

When he reached the room that had a large "4" over the entrance, he took the mask from his

forehead and placed it on an open shelf that was to the right of the door. After placing the mask, he

loosened the straps on his shoulders and slipped out of his oxygen tank. Sliding in the tank into the

shelf, he sighed. He was still tired and out of breath, he could hear the wall constantly drilling in

his ear, and his shoes were dirty. How would he teach a class for 9 hours in this condition? He

would just have to suck it up and do what needed to be done.

He walked directly in from of the door and tried clearing his throat. The fire inside had

settled a bit, but the pain still lingered when he breathed. He reached for the door handle and

pushed it open with his right arm extending. He knew he needed to switch to his better self

immediately. As he took his first steps into the classroom, he looked around at all the kid's faces

staring at him. There seemed to be about twenty kids in the room, all with a metal desk to place

their papers on. He typically taught kids about to graduate to work, which he didn't know if it was

a blessing or a curse. No one was talking as he walked into the room, so that was a good start.

As Spero walked to the front-center of the cube, he put a smile on his face and spoke loudly

and clearly, saying, "Hello everyone! My name is Spero and it appears that I'll be teaching you all

today." Spero took a pause and looked up to think about what to say next. His job was to teach

kids about the history of the world, but he didn't get much direction for what he has to say and

when. He knew this week was the week to learn about the building of the outer wall, but he didn't

remember where in this period. He didn't like to do this, but he had wing it.

"Can anyone tell me where you all let off yesterday?" Spero clasped his hands together and

sucked in his lips. He widened his eyes and looked around the room for someone to speak up. No

one was speaking up. Time slowed down, but Spero's mind sped up. This was unbelievably

awkward. It was a simple question. If they can't answer this then how can they expect to-

"Uhm..." A teenage girl in the back left corner of the classroom raised her hand with

hesitation. Still with the same wide-eyed expression on his face, Spero quickly and unnaturally

snapped his head to the left to look at the girl. He made sure to look her in the eyes. She had

blonde hair, but he couldn't see her eyes from the distance, so he assumed they were brown or

hazel. Her nose was small and was curved upwards a bit, and her lips were very red compared to

the rest of her face. Her cheek bones were also very defined. Given her the attention from the

teacher she needed to continue, she spoke on.

"I don't know about everyone else, but yesterday I learned more about the struggles of

human casualties during when they built the upper wall. We di- uh... I didn't get very far into it

though." The girl lowered her hand back to join with its twin on her lap. Spero knew this part of

the past very well. He liked to learn about struggling but ultimately reaching the end goal; it

motivated him to seek more from his life.

"Okay, thank you Miss..." Spero gestured for he girl to say her name. He didn't care at all

about it and would most definitely forget, but pretending to care about things like that made the

classmates more comfortable and included. Things like this strategy were examples of why Spero

thought he was a better teacher than all of his peers. He knew what he had to do to get the most

out of his students... and to hopefully give them more personal identity. This is something that

Spero's teachers when he was a bit younger never attempted to do. Of course, he had no good

connection with other Teachers, so he couldn't really know if he was currently the best. But he had

to believe it.

"Padera, sir." The girl, who Spero now knew for at least a few seconds that she was named

Padera, raised her head to meet the eyes of her teacher while she spoke.

Motioning one large nod, he repeated, "Padera," and looked back to the rest of the class. He

already forgot her name and her face, except for the vague details he exclaimed to himself when

studying her. "So then, lets get into that. It's personally one of my favorite topics within the

timeline of the wall being built. I don't know if it makes me weird that my favorite topic involves

the deaths of hundreds of hard workers, but I don't really care." Spero did care though, if he was

perceived as weird. That was one of the last things he wanted.

"You all know that the wall construction spanned two entire Past Periods, but what you

might not have known..." Spero paused for dramatic effect. He wanted to make this as entertaining

as possible. "... is... uh..." He wanted to say something so incredibly badly, something that would

truly put his real thoughts into the world, but he couldn't. Doing so would give him a punishment

beyond repair. He felt like a coward, like a toy meant to be played with. Spero clapped his hands

and said enthusiastically, "Well anyway, The casualties. Right." He didn't know if it was the

sounds of the wall or his crippling fatigue, but he was not at his best.

"During the 'Shutting Period' is when most of the casualties happened. From the ground

level all the way up to halfway, construction was flawless. It took a while, yes, but with promise of

a safe future, who wouldn't be fine with the time sink? Up and up and up they built, with the air

getting thinner and thinner every centimeter. Using their newly built masks that provided oxygen

through a tank, going higher was possible. It was also entirely necessary in order to save the

people of the past. As I just said, the real problems started when the wall was half built. Spirits

were high, and songs were being sung all throughout the day. Until one day during dark, a worker

slipped on a slippery pipe that he had placed only the day before. Th nearest worker recollected

hearing a loud scream, and then a quiet scream, and then none at all. He didn't know what

happened, but he had a good guess. At the bottom of the wall where the women were delivering

supplies from the north side, the body of a large man dropped. It fell on two women who were

taking their breaks. Naturally, all three died instantly. Screams of terror rang out so loud that its

recorded that even the workers thousands of meters up could hear them."

Spero snapped out of his story-telling mode from the sounds of the wall and looked around

the class. Everyone was invested in what he was saying. It was a good feeling, Spero noted. He

continued. "From that day on, morale was unbelievably low. Workers were afraid that they could

fall at any moment, just as the man did. The women below were afraid that they could be hit from

above and killed any waking or sleeping moment. Songs weren't being sung anymore, progress

slowed to a near halt. The Internal Government began to worry about the time they had left, so

they sent bards to hopefully ease tension. But when, out of nowhere, a bard was hit over the head

by a pipe and killed, that ship sank then and there. They had no choice at that point, so they used

fear to make them keep working. They would rather chance a quick death than guarantee a harsh

one. Anyone would. And just like that, the wall was being built again. But the reason that the first

man had slipped on a slippery pipe in the first place was because of moist air. Condensation, as

you've probably been taught in another class. The higher they went, the more wet the metal

surfaces became, and the more the casualties increased. They could not stop though, because

stopping was also a death sentence. There was no winning for these workers. They had to keep

pushing. Death after death after death, progress slowed down. There was nothing the Internal

Government could do about it at this point though. They had no more workers to spare. They had

no choice but to postpone the construction. Hence why the wall was built over two Periods.

Suddenly, Spero felt like his lungs collapsed into themselves. He had to quietly inhale and

exhale deep breaths to find his homeostasis again. He looked around and could tell the students

were concerned about him. Exhaling one more breathe, Spero regained his composure and aimed

to finish this story.

"The Closing Period was when the main wall, (not including the sky wall), was completed.

With workers taking a well deserved break, they regained some morale. The Internal Government

decided that they needed a plan to keep the workers safe. The first thing they did was build roofs

above where the Women carried materials, so nothing could fall on them again. Next they

designed a type of shoe that could resist the slippery metals. And last, they gave workers free

leisure to work the hours they desired. With all of these things together, the last bit of metal was

welded into place and the job was done for all of these hard workers. It took much, much longer

than planned, but that didn't matter. They came down the wall and celebrated together, for those

that they lost. They knew that those that died, died for the best cause a human could pass for.

Saving humanity. Now you might have noticed some things about the solutions that the

government came up with to solve the issues with the construction. The roofs that they built to

cover the Women from harm are still there at the wall to this day. They are used as shelter for the

ones who keep this city from falling to shambles. Almost poetic. Next, the non-slip shoes. Those

we also have today for when the Sphere pushes its waves past the low-wall and into the city. When

the Internal Government swallowed their pride for a second and used their heads, they solved the

problem. Even if it was a bit slower han they wanted.

Spero did a wide point with his hand and stated, "You all can take this advice to heart. If

you're ever in a bad spot, and all your hope is gone, step back. One step. Realize that sometimes

admitting that you did something wrong is how to make it right. We all make mistakes, and we all

become panicked and desperate. It's part of being a human in the city. If we can realize that and

power through with an enlightened mind, the world will be a better place because of that." Spero

spoke proud to the students in front of him. He always wanted to include a lesson in his classes to

leave an impression. It didn't always stick the landing, but it was always worth the try. In this case,

the lesson struck scarily close to home for Spero. He once had a foggy mind that desperately tried

to find the right solution. He was fresh out of his teachings, ready to get his job. He was

completely determined to be a gardener, just like everyone else. He wanted to see the green, smell

the air, and feel the itchy leaves of the plants. He never even thought that he couldn't get that job.

As he stood on the wall's stage and was given his role at random, though, he didn't get the

gardening job. He got a teaching job. Spero was devastated. He knew what it was like to be a

teacher. Dealing with kids all day, nine hour work days, no changes in scenery, nothing. He didn't

know what to do. Every ounce of his being knew that he wouldn't be a teacher. He couldn't allow

himself to suffer a lifetime of misery. He felt like there was no escape. Just when he was about to

lose all hope, and was sitting on a bench facing out into the ocean, he took his step back. The large

wall behind him was his sunrise, and out past the city was his daylight. His eyes gazed the sphere

that conquered the horizon. He knew in his heart that something in his life had to change if he was

to keep living in it. With that in mind, he decided to set his sights further from the city and its cruel

and dull lifestyle. He would make it his mission, his only mission, to go inside of the Sphere.

Nobody in the city knew about the origins of the sphere. In classes, students were only

taught educated guesses on how it was created and what its purpose was. The most popular

hypothesis among the citizens of the city was the easiest to accept. Some theories said that the

sphere came from the heavens to study and control humans. Another guess stated that the sphere

was made to test the people of the city, and those who ventured into it and came out alive would

be gifted with endless riches and a home beyond the walls. The most popular theory, though,

stated that it was a sort of "guardian" for the people inside the walls of the city. It watched over the

people and kept them safe in an era of uncertainty. This rumor explained the shock=waves coming

from the sphere was the sphere gifting the people its life essence and prosperity. It did feel like

that when the shock-wave fluttered through the bodies of the people. The waves gave a sense of

freshness, and an aura of hope. Sadly though, the shockwaves moved incredibly fast outwards,

only lasted a few seconds, and only decided to happen on somewhat rare occasions.

Spero stepped out of the "Exit" door of pyramid 3 with his mask over his mouth and nose.

He took a large sigh of relief and looked up at the sky. The dull, purple clouds had begun to

darken, signifying night in the city. The clouds that hung over the city served a constant reminder

to Spero of how trapped he was inside the city. They served as a ceiling, which blocked everything

above them. Just once, Spero thought, he wanted to see stars. Students are taught in their studies

about stars. Little glimmers of light plastered throughout the sky, and radiating a beautiful painting

for human's eyes to brush through. They were taught that stars would be visible if not for the

clouds overhead. Every direction served to block Spero from seeing further outwards, except the

direction of the ocean. He could see forever when he stared out to the water. It made him feel like

there's still something to fight for.

With Spero's work done for the day, he began to walk in the direction of his home, but he

wasn't planning on actually going there. Every night before it got too dark, Spero and Green would

go to the Lookout Point bordering the Ocean. From that point, the sphere and the water

surrounding were in clear view, assuming there was no fog. Spero looked at his feet as he walked

at a moderate pace, noticing how fast it looked like the ground was moving away from him. When

he was looking up and in front of him, the ground moved slowly, but it was completely different

looking straight down. He knew it was probably just because his vision narrowed as he looked

down. That would make everything move in and out of his vision faster, which would make it look

faster. Still, even knowing this, he couldn't help but imagine a different reason. He thought it

would be very interesting if the ground below him actually was moving faster, and the speed of the

ground depended entirely on his proximity to it. That wouldn't make any sense, but it was a fun

theory nonetheless. Spero had a natural inclination to believe the most simple things when it came

to the mysteries of the world he was in, but he always hated that about himself. Naturally,

believing outrageous things makes for a more unique and diverse life altogether. He strove for that

mindset, but it never came to him naturally. No matter how much he wanted to think that there was

more than meets the eye, his logic wouldn't let that feeling fester for too long.

The grey and brown dirt whizzed past Spero's vision as he continued to walk down the

pathway towards the southern end of the city. The established pathways in the city had grey dirt

mixed with the natural dirt to make it clearer as to where to go. He knew he would get around fine

without obvious paths, but he couldn't say that for everyone. While looking at the ground there

was also the occasional rock that flew by below him, and the sizes usually were small with a thin

shape to them. Most were partially embedded in the dirt, showing that no one had touched them

for a long time, if ever. Spero counted the rocks as he continued, noting the sizes and seeing if

there were any that looked new to the path. Hew didn't have every rock memorized by any means,

but he had a general understanding of the layout. He had made landmarks of the rocks in the East

Path, because of how much he looked at the ground. Certain shapes in the dirt were recognizable

to Spero as he walked by. A small rock the size of a fingernail laid in the middle of the path with a

slightly bigger, thicker rock about a foot's length to the right (or at least to his right as he walked

south). He knew that formation very well. It was about the halfway point to his pyramid cube.

He knew that he could look up at any moment to get a much clearer picture of where he

was, but he didn't want to. Why didn't he want to, he wondered. He moved his line of vision

slightly to the left and then to the right to see other feet walking around him. Some were moving in

the same direction as him, but most moved North. If he looked up now, he would have an even

better understanding of where he was, and he wouldn't look out of the ordinary as much. Again, he

wondered why he wouldn't look up. He felt like it was out of his control, like his neck was stuck.

For all he knew it could be; he had been holding it down for a while. But once again, his logic

showed its judging face, assuring Spero that it wasn't a possibility. He could move his neck

whenever he wanted. Was it fear then? Was he afraid to look up? What would he be afraid of? By

his understanding of fear, it induces a primal response in you that causes irrational behavior.

Contrary to that, though, Spero knew he was fully in his mind, but probably to a fault. He

considered that it could be the opposite. He could have been so self aware of himself that it caused

an inability to do simple things. That didn't make sense to Spero though, and it wasn't because of

some third party logic residing in his head. He knew that it didn't make sense, "logic" had no part

in it.

Spero could see from his peripheral vision the Pyramid that he resided in, which meant that

he needed to turn to the right to get where he wanted to be. He had to cut into sketchy territory to

get there fast, but he had done it so many times that he wasn't worried. For the first time since

leaving his work, he looked up and to the right. Her didn't do it of his own volition though. An

instinct made him do it because of loud, thundering footsteps coming from the West towards his

direction. Walking in his direction were ten to twenty men and women in full, heavy suits, and

they were surrounded by guards wearing black. None of their body was exposed except for the

head. They still wore their masks, but had a much smaller tank strapped to their back. Even more

strapped was the gigantic gas tank that was attached to the suits that they wore. These tanks held

the same design as the ones regular people used, just much bigger, and, Spero assumed, much

heavier. The tanks used in the city were all made in one manufacturing building on the Western

side of the city near the outer edge. Everything used by the people of the city was made in a

manufacturing facility specifically made for that item. There were ones for different clothing of all

jobs, masks, accessories, instruments, etc. All of the facilities spanned the western end of the city

by the wall, and was commonly called Death's Corner by common people.

There was one manufacturing facility that was much bigger than the others, and it almost

spanned as tall as the four pyramids at the corners of the city. That facility was made for utilities

and clothes designed to be used to get inside the sphere. The suits that were made there were hefty,

thick clumps of some material that Spero had never been able to figure out. It looked almost hairy,

like the top of people's heads. There wasn't clear strands of hair woven in, but that was the only

connection that Spero could make in his limited knowledge. No body parts were exposed in the

suits, and the people wearing them had to slip it on all at once. The only piece that was separate

was the mask, which connected to the giant tank on the suit. The people walking closer to Spero

all held their helmets between their hands and hips, almost as if they were instructed to do so.

There were two small openings to see out of where the human's eyes would be, but no other

defining features. As with most everything else in the city, the outfit consisted of grey's and

blacks. Unusually though, there was some white, pure white, in the torso area of the suit. The only

place other than these suits that Spero had seen white like that were the screens spanning the city,

and occasionally little white beams shooting up from the Sky Wall.

These men and women didn't talk to each other, didn't look at each other, and kept the exact

same pace. These people in the city were known as the "Heroes" simply enough. They, using the

gear made in the giant manufacturing facility, were tasked with going inside of the sphere. They

had unknown training for an unknown period of time. Most of these Heroes lived in complete

secrecy from the moment they were given their task. To get such a task, a person had to make too

many mistakes. They could be a lot of simple mistakes like forgetting to clock in to work, or

something much more serious like killing. Either way, as long as they were healthy enough, they

got a new job. Although their goals aligned though, Spero did not envy any of the Heroes. He

pitied them. He didn't call these people Heroes like the rest of the city, he dubbed them as

"Failures". They were people so stupid with their mischief that they got caught time and time

again until they weren't given another choice.

Spero knew if he had been caught for all the rules that he'd broken, he'd probably already be

in the sphere. It would be extremely easy to get there if he desired. But his pride didn't let him take

that path. To be cast out of the city as a "Failure" wouldn't leave Spero satisfied. That path was the

opposite of what he really wanted out of life. He wanted recognition and respect from the people

around him that he's never gotten. He wanted people to look at him as a voice of reason. He

wanted people to see him as a reason to keep walking. Being cast out would put him too far back

to achieve that, even if he never came out of the sphere. Just knowing that the city outside didn't

want him there would distract him. He didn't want to be there either though, so he wasn't sure why

he felt this way. He wanted recognition even from the things that he despised.

"Move." Spero snapped back to the world inside the city to a very tall man looking down at

him. Spero kept his gaze straight and looked at the outfit. It was the suit of the Failures. Spero

stood in the middle of the intersecting paths, clearly blocking the way. He didn't mean any harm,

but the fact that he looked at the group as they walked right up to him could give them a different

idea. Spero mouthed the word "yeah" and took three large steps back to get out of the group's way.

They all began to walk again and the man that spoke to Spero shook his head and sighed as he

kept walking. Spero felt like he'd been looked down on, metaphorically and physically. How could

he be treated like that from the lowest of the low? If even they treated Spero like nothing, where

does that put him in the societal hierarchy? Without any more thoughts, Spero took a step forward,

raised his head and yelled out to the man in the front of the group.

"Good Luck!"

He made sure to say this with the most aggressive tone he could muster, knowing that the

man would soon die inside the sphere. They always do, Spero believed. Without even

acknowledging that he had spoken, the man and the group kept their pace. Spero stared at them as

they kept walking. He took a large sigh and noticed how hard his heart was pounding. On top of

that, he noticed that he hadn't even been breathing for the whole interaction. He couldn't lose

control of his body like this, especially in public, so he took a step back once more and looked up

into the sky. His eyes slowly closed as he tried to steady his breathing. They didn't even look back

at him. They must be scared, just knowing where they're ending up. I doubt it has to do with me,

Spero thought to himself. That line of logic calmed him down enough to let him open his eyes. As

he opened them and looked down though, he felt an insane heat in his head. It was a very

unpleasant feeling, like someone roasting his head over an open flame. People were looking at

him, staring. He looked around and noticed that there were people looking his direction as they

walked past. Their heads turned as if they were on a swivel, locking eyes with Spero. The heat was

too much. His eyes began to moisten. His breathing became sharp and shallow. He had to get out.

He was going to die. Each gaze spelled one year off of his life. His physical form didn't exist. The

world turned and split and cracked. Each thought came and went before they could be processed.

Without realizing he was doing it, Spero began walking quickly. He wasn't in control of his

body; every muscle, joint, and tendon had their own minds. They kept their gaze on him as he

walked. His eyes were facing the dirt but he could tell. Why were they looking at him? Did they

figure out his thoughts? His intentions? He would surely be killed. With each step taken, Spero

didn't move forward nor backwards. Stuck in time, stuck in place. The heat wanted to evaporate

the salty liquid building in his eyes but couldn't reach. His head pounded, his wrists pounded, his

heart pounded. Even still, none of them existed. He felt every cell in his body, and every speck of

dirt on his skin. Death was approach-

Spero snapped back to reality, hitting him with the most intense whiplash imaginable. He

looked at his surroundings and noticed he was at the edge of the city near the ocean. In front of

him were three benches facing different directions. The two on the outside faced out towards the

endless vista of water, while the center bench faced Spero. Without even thinking, he had walked

to where he was supposed to meet Green. Spero thought about how scary it is that the brain can

control the body without the person's conscious input. It was as if there were two people in Spero's

brain; one Spero held control most of the time, nut when he fell asleep or disconnected from

reality the second one stepped up to the pedestal.

Spero looked towards the ocean and up, noticing the visibility of the clouds. It was starting

to get dark, but Green wouldn't get there for at least a few minutes. Spero sighed as he stepped

over to the bench to his right and sat down. The metal bench was cold to the touch, even seeping

through his clothes to his skin. He endured the pain knowing it would eventually go away as his

body heat clashed with the metal. Once the cold went away and Spero could relax, he slouched his

back and put his elbow on his knee. He slid his hand under his chin for support to his head as he

watched out towards the water.

This was Spero's favorite spot in the city, and it was because of how calm it felt. One could

argue that the entire city was calm due to how quiet it was, but Spero thought otherwise. "Tense"

would be the word he would use to describe the city. But here, where his fingers could nearly

touch the horizon, it was different. He heard the water at the bottom of the lower wall sloshing

back and forth, pushing and pulling against the current. When a shockwave would come out of the

sphere, the bigger, backwards facing waves made much louder, chaotic sounds as they hit the wall.

Spero didn't like that as much, but he still preferred the slapping sounds to the tense nothingness

further inside the city. Currently, there hadn't been a shockwave all day so the water was very

calm.

He closed his eyes and imagined the water, moving back and forth as it hit the wall below

him. He took in the smell of salt and mildew in the air. He let it into his system where his body

could absorb what it deemed necessary to keep, and remove what was useless. In ... and out. The

temperature of the air never changed except when near the water where it got colder. It felt nice to

Spero. It wasn't too cold like the bench. The water moved back and forth, back and forth. The

world slowly became darker as the sun went under. Back and forth, back and forth. Spero moved

slightly, causing the bench below him to creak. Back and forth, back and forth. In ... and out.

What am I doing? Spero thought about his situation. He knew what he was currently doing,

bit the bigger picture puzzled him to his core.

Why would it be better within? Pessimism were the roots to his body, so why during the day

did he have hope?

If everyone that goes in dies like he thought, why would it be different for him? Spero let his head sink further into his hand.

It can always be worse. It usually is worse. All Spero knew was the city and the "nothing"

that came with it. What if the whole world was the same, even the sphere?

Spero became overwhelmed with negative intrusive thoughts, trying to kept him down. His

head felt heavier as it put more weight on his arm. As he heard the water and felt the air, why did

he get these thoughts? Shouldn't external content be tied to positive internal thinking ? Why is it

the opposite for Spero in this moment? He was drowning in the water below him. Every slosh of

water was another meter deeper down he fell. Before he could fall too far to be saved, he opened

his eyes. The world was much darker now, and he couldn't see the clouds anymore. He took his

hand out from under his chin and sat up with his back against the bench. From behind, Spero heard

footsteps getting louder and louder, but he didn't turn around.

"Hey, Spero."

"Hey"

Both of their voices were calm and quiet as Green came up behind him. He heard him walk

to his left side and sit on the middle bench that faces the city. Spero kept his gaze to the horizon,

even though he couldn't see it very well anymore. He didn't want to be talking to Green. He

wished he could just hurry into the sphere, avoid all of his problems, and start a new life. He cared

about Green, but he cared about his well being more.

"Sorry about kinda freaking out last night. It just surprised me." Spero heard green's clothes

shuffling, which probably meant his head towards him. Spero kept his head still. Green was

probably waiting for a response, but Spero wasn't thinking of one. He was swimming in the water,

feeling every speck of sand hitting him as the water pushed it along. "If you don't want to talk yet,

that's fine. I can go. But I really want to have this conversation with you."

"What's there to talk about?" Spero instinctively blurted out under his breath.

"A lot, actually. But like I said, we can do this another time. Just please tell me you won't

jump ship yet." Spero heard Green shift in his seat again. Spero's head was cloudy. It became

much more clear when talking to people. Thoughts sat floating in the distance, just covered

enough by mist to not be seen. Even still, Spero talked.

"I know you get what I'm feeling." Spero tilled his head and looked at his lap where his

hands rested on top of each other as he spoke. Green and Spero had a shared hatred of the city.

That's the only reason that they became friends. Through that understanding they grew closer

together over the years, which eventually lead to Spero casting everyone else to the side. He didn't

mind though, because there was no one else worth talking to. No one else could feel what he felt,

or understand what he did.

"Of course I do. You know I'm just as sick of this shithole as you. But going into the sphere

with no preparation or planning seems really reckless from you. It worries me. I feel like there has

to be some other reason."

With his hands clasped tighter, Spero quietly said, "Let's do this tomorrow. I can't do this

right now." The clouds in his mind began to clear, revealing dark thoughts. He had to get rid of

them, which meant getting rid of Green. He needed to be alone. After a few long seconds of

silence, Spero heard the bench creak and Green let out a labored sigh. Footsteps became louder

and Spero saw Green move in front of him and to his right, sitting on the bench that Spero sat on.

Neither of them looked at each other, but Spero could feel his presence next to him. His breathing

became a bit heavier and his right shoulder tingled. He was looking at his hands but in his mind

they didn't exist. All he saw was an image of them sitting there silently. He couldn't hear the water,

and he couldn't smell the salt. It was just him, Green and the bench.

Time sat still with the two of them. The only reason Spero knew that time still existed was

the excruciating silence. Someone had to talk or he would go crazy. Again, Spero faced a tough

choice. Did he want to confront this issue and talk with Green, or did he want to live in this

torturous quiet? As with all things in Spero's life until now, both were losses.

But before he could make a decision, Green spoke up saying, "You're basically killing

yourself by doing this..." Hearing that, Spero let out a little chuckle under his breath. He didn't

know why, and he didn't have time to think about it. His mind was too cloudy for that. Even still,

he didn't respond. From his peripheral vision, Spero could see Green shaking his head and looking

down. "Can you really not stay here any more? Not even to prepare?" Absolutely not.

"I don't think so," Spero responded with a low, quiet voice. After he said those words, his

hands appeared back into his vision. Then the ground below his feet. Then the water in front of

him. As Spero moved his head and looked up, he saw the sphere's silhouette in the distance. It was

nearly covered by the dark of night, but not quite. Spero shook his head. He could tell that Green

was reading him and his mental state perfectly. After all if he was telling the truth about feeling

the same way then it would be easy. Letting out a very long sigh, Spero turned to his right to face

Green. When he turned, he noticed that Green was already looking at him. Their eyes met for a

quick second before Spero moved his eyes downwards towards the green blob on his shirt.

"Then at least let me help you"

After those few words left Green's mouth, Spero sat still and held his breathe. Did he say

what Spero thought he said? Let you help me, huh? He was almost insulted by the proposition.

After years of weight adding on top of his weak, meager shoulders, how could anyone help him?

Not even he could help himself, he thought. He was beyond help. Getting a fresh life was the only

way to be pulled back into help's reach. The moment he thought about the sphere, Spero stopped

the tracks of his thoughts as he came to a realization. Green meant that he would help him to get

into the sphere, not the other stuff. He didn't even know much about the other stuff, so how would

he ask to help with it?

"Spero," Green quietly muttered as he waited for a response. Spero didn't have one though,

so the conversation stood still once again. Spero needed time to think about this, but he didn't have

that. Could he even help me? I guess he could work as a distraction while I slip in. He also has

more friends that might know more about how to safely enter. Spero nodded at the possibility of it

and looked back at Green's face.

"Why would you risk that? If we messed up, you'd go right in with me. Or they might just

kill you." Spero spoke concernedly for Green's safety if he were to take part in this plan, but Spero

knew he didn't care about Green's safety. Spero's current life was ending, and a new one was about

to start. He needed to detach himself from everything in his view or it would hold him back.

Hearing Spero's response, Green's lips curled up and he pierced Spero's eyes with his.

"Then I say we don't mess up then. And to not mess up, we need time on our side. Meaning

you can't rush this. You said last night that you won't go into the sphere by losing your credibility

in the city, so you can't jump right in. Can you do that? Can you wait?" Spero leaned back in his

seat until his eyes were facing the black clouds above. He couldn't wait.

"There has to be a way to this effectively in a short time frame."

"I doubt it," Green said to Spero, who still had his gaze focused upwards. If he followed

Green here, he would have to continue living in the city like normal to not jeprodize his integrity

in the city. He would have to wake up and walk to work using the same path he had always used.

He would have to eat the same food three times a day, and he would have to be okay with that.

Maybe knowing that I'm about to leave with a plan will make that time easier to get through...

Maybe there isn't another way.

"Where do we start?" Spero, still leaned back, looked over to Green. Green sighed.

"It's way too late. Lets do this tomorrow night." Hearing that, Spero scoffed. He didn't even

care, Spero thought to himself. But considering Green was his best chance, he had to agree. Still

looking at Green, he gave a subtle nod and quickly stood from the bench. Without looking back or

saying a word, Spero walked toward home.

Spero, thinking about the conversation, remembered a similar scenario that they had two

years prior.

...

Spero looked up at the sky to see where the day was, and he noticed the clouds begin to

darken. He was a little early to this spot, but he didn't mind waiting. He loved the bench spot by

the water. It was his favorite part of the day by a landslide. Hearing the water, smelling the salt... it

was everything to Spero. As he walked over to his bench with his teacher attire on, he sat down.

His favorite bench was the one that faced the city. While the ocean was nice, the city at night was

something to see. Hundreds of lights sprawled throughout the pyramids-- lighting them up and

showing their beauty. It almost looked like what Spero imagined stars to look like. There was also

another thing he cherished, and that was beyond the wall. While the wall was big and beautiful as

it was, there was something that peaked over the edge, revealing a peak of some sort. It looked

man-made, like one of the buildings in the city. It was much taller than anything in the city though,

especially since it could be seen through the sky wall. It showed Spero that there was something

beyond what he could see. He always learned in history about the temporary town that was built

outside the wall while the wall itself was being built, but why would a building this tall still be up?

From the left side, Spero saw a figure wearing an outfit with a big blob of green. Knowing it

was Green, Spero raised his arm in the air and motioned to him. Green noticed this and started a

light jog to get there faster.

As Green got close, Spero started the conversation stating, "You look like shit... you

alright?" He noticed Green's outfit was completely covered in dirt on the right side.

"Shut up," Green chuckled as he sat down next to Spero. Spero always sat on the left side of

the bench, but he didn't know why. He just knew that it felt right. "I might have tripped on some

corn earlier," Green mumbled, clearly embarrassed by his clumsiness. Spero looked at Green in

the eyes, clicked his tongue and a shake of the head to signal his disappointment.

"I guess you did say you wanted more of a challenge in your life. Smart of you to raise

oxygen prices for yourself to give yourself the stakes you wanted."

"I said I tripped over the corn, not that I fell on it. And you are the last person that should be

teasing me about oxygen prices." As Spero and Green joked with each other, Spero felt a sense of

peace. Most of his days were tense, so hanging out with a friend released his mind of his burdens.

As Green became comfortable in his sitting position he let out a sigh and leaned back as far as the

bench would let him. Together they sat, on opposite ends of the bench, looking at the spectacle in

front of them. The lights had just turned on, and the amount of people in the streets dwindled.

Spero nor Green said a word for a few minutes. They didn't need to-- being in each others

presence was enough for them. If either of them had something to talk about, they would speak up.

In most cases of silence, Spero felt an extreme tension and unease; it was as if he was waiting for

death to take him. He didn't feel that with Green. He didn't know why, but he gladly accepted the

gift.

Avoiding any and all small talk, Spero spoke up. He had something to discuss. "Any ideas?"

he asked as he turned his head to Green. Green turned to meet his gaze and quickly moved it hack

to the city.

"Maybe one or two... but they aren't very well thought out. I know the inconsistencies irk

you."

"They do, but warning me beforehand helps, so thank you. Whatcha got?" As Spero finished

his sentence, Green put his left leg up onto the bench and turned his whole body to face Spero. He

put his back against the arm of the bench.

"Ok. So you know how the popular shops get the good graces of the soldiers?" Green pauses

and waited for Spero to answer. Spero expected him to keep talking, so it took him too long to

figure out what Green was doing.

"Oh, uh... yeah..."

"What if we did that, but different and way better?" Almost before Spero could finish

speaking, Green excitedly blurted out his next words. Spero was immediately taken back by how

stupid this idea sounded. He had to have more to this.

"How would we make our shop "different and better?" What could we offer other than blind

loyalty and boot-licking? Also, how would we get a shop? You need connections for that if you

weren't born into it. I seriously can't tell if you're joking with this. I'm serious about this, Green."

Green furrowed his brow and stated, "So am I..." but Spero knew that weren't fully the case.

He was never serious enough about making a new life for the two of them. Why would he be when

he had the gardening job? Still, he's the closest to me in his ambitions compared to everyone else

in this city.

"I know that, Green." Spero took a long pause and looked at his lap. He thought about his

life. His boring, mundane, obnoxious life. Every day was the same. Same routine, same sights,

same smells. He knew there was more. He knew-

"I know there's more." Spero pushed his hands against his legs and pulled himself out of the

bench. He didn't turn around, he just kept his gaze to the wall that had captured and imprisoned

him. He hated the wall with so much passion. It blocked anything new and exciting. He always

taught that the wall "protects" from the outside, but he never knew from what. The others in the

city thought they did, due to learning lies in their classes all their life, but Spero knew it wasn't the

truth. He taught that the world outside the wall was an unlivable hellscape. It was lacking in the

necessary oxygen levels to survive, and there was nothing left. No plants, no animals, not people

either. It's all bullshit, Spero thought. Most of that depressing imagery was exactly how it was

within the wall, not outside.

"You know the tower past the wall?" Spero put his gaze to the tower peering over the wall,

teasing him with a life that he couldn't have. Green stood up next to Spero and nodded back as a

response. "That tower... I think it's there for a reason. Everyone wants to believe that the world out

there is empty, but clearly its not. There's something right there. Right beyond our prison, right

beyond this suffocating life, there's a structure standing taller than the wall. That damn tower... it

excites me. I know this sounds insane, but I feel like its calling to me. Me alone. Every direction is

blocked either by a wall or a giant death sphere in the middle of the ocean. The wall couldn't block

this though..."

Green didn't say anything back. He just looked at the tower along with Spero.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"The tower and the wall... I like to see it as something completely different. It isn't just

metal, it's a message. The sun over the horizon. No clouds blocking the light... just a pure sunrise.

The start of something new. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about the idea of having a new

life. You know as well as I do that living in a place like this isn't how people like us are meant to

live. People like us are explorers; we're the ones that should be out there discovering the untreaded

lands. Imagine the possibilities. I know what they say, but I think there's animals out there.

Elephants, Giraffes, and Wolves are what I want to see. Oh, and seals. You also have to consider

that there could be plants. Different fruits, vegetables, and exotic delectables are right at our

fingertips. I'm sure if we got far enough, there wouldn't be clouds in the sky. We could see up into

space... we could see stars. I know it'd make me cry. Seeing something so beautiful would make

anyone emotional, and I don't think I'd be an exception to that. I once heard about a thing called

'shooting stars' that fly through the sky at night. They appear into your vision, but they leave

almost as fast. I don't know if that's a real thing but I'd like to believe it."

As Spero spit out his thoughts, Green glanced over at him. Spero was in a different world.

He really did see a sunset instead of man-made metal structures. He looked up and saw stars, and

he looked down to see grass. He could feel the wind blowing his hair and his clothes. It was cold,

but not too cold. The grass blades tickled his ankles as the wind pushed them back and forth.

Green didn't dare say anything as Spero was caught up in his own head, because he knew when he

drifted off he was truly happy. Spero suddenly stopped talking and put down his head, looking

away from the structure peering over the wall.

"I have to hope that there's more than this..." Spero mumbled, unsure of himself. If he didn't

have hope of something greater than what would he have to live for? He couldn't imagine living

without any hope. He wouldn't live without hope. He believed that against his logic, against any

semblance of reason, his brain's primal instincts were keeping Spero alive through hope. Spero

looked at Green, who stood to his right, already looking back at him. Green was just listening.

Spero appreciated that. He knew how much all of this meant to him, and kept himself from

intervening. When Green assumed Spero was done as he looked over to him, he felt that it was

once again fine to talk.

"We'll figure it out." Green looked into Spero's eyes, and Spero looked into his. Those few

words instilled the faith that Spero needed in his friendship. Despite all the doubts, Green was with

him. "But anyways, Spero, I think I should head to bed."

"Right, yeah, me too." Both of the young men stretched awkwardly and began to slowly

separate from each other. There hadn't been anyone walking the streets anymore, as most people

had most likely already gone to bed. The world was almost completely swallowed by darkness,

but a silhouette of the tower behind the wall was still visible. Spero took one last look at that hope

he clinged so hard to. Green pat his shoulder and walked away in one smooth motion. Spero stood

his ground, taking in the view. As Green walked down the path to their left and disappeared from

Spero's vision, he was once again in a different world. The sunrise over the horizon truly was a

sight to behold. He wished he could touch it. There were a lot of things he wished, and he knew

that those wished would soon come true. He had hope.

Spero connected back to reality and looked at his shoes. They were a bit dirty, he thought.

He'd have to get them cleaned sometime. He sighed and looked to his pyramid which glowed in

the night. Taking his first steps, he began to walk home.

...

The city was very dark, with only some lights on the pyramids and streets giving him

direction. Can I wait? After already waiting years, why does it feel like I can't do a few more days?

I don't have a few more days. that's why. I need to leave now or it's over. It's over. Green's help

would make my chances to get in without being a "Hero" more of a possibility, but considering I'm

probably going to die in the sphere anyways... it doesn't matter much. Nothing here does.

Spero spent most of the day looking down at the ground, but when it was late, and there weren't any

people around, he could relax. His head looked upwards at the lights sprinkled on the pyramid as

he walked one step after another.

... I don't even have a plan. Green's right about that being uncharacteristic of me, but I'm

not the same "me" anymore. I'm a shell washed up on the beach. Even still, this is all reckless.

Two sides of Spero fought against each other in his brain. The old him, who was content with his

miserable life, exchanged blows with the fresh shell version of him. Both wanted out, but the old

him could wait a bit. The old him would go with Green's plans. But the current him couldn't do

that. He knew that even waiting another afternoon would give him enough time to think of any

plan no matter how rough, but he couldn't do that. He had to leave tonight. He didn't know how,

but he would figure it out by sunrise.

Spero came closer to his pyramid, and he could see it in much more detail. It was still a few

minutes walk, but the sharp edges of the cubes stacking on each other were more visible to him.

Unknowingly, Spero had started walking slower as he approached his pyramid. He didn't want to

go back there... not even to get some supplies for his journey. Now. He had to do this now. He

didn't want to prepare nor plan; he wanted away from this place. The place that tied his memories

up into one bundle of negativity and sorrow. The place that had thus far shunned Spero and

isolated him. Spero grew ever-closer to the pyramid.

I could, right now, turn to my right and head towards the sphere. I could leave all of this

behind. Now. No waiting, no plans.

Spero strongly considered turning and running towards the

sphere. He would normally never do something so reckless, but he had no patience left. He

doubted he'd even make it. The city had a man-made bridge that runs kilometers and kilometers to

the outer edge of the sphere. If it were always there it would be easy for Spero, but it currently

wasn't. Because of the shockwaves, the bridge would be destroyed if it were always there, as it

was very thin metal. The bridge floated on top of the water as well, so the waves from the

shockwave would throw off anyone using it. With this in mind, the builders of the bridge, who

were unknown to Spero and the rest of the city, made the bridge fold back into hundreds of layers

of thin metal and fall back to the lower wall of the city. With the lower wall as protection behind

the clumped up bridge, it wouldn't break.

The bridge was only used when the "Heroes" crossed to enter the sphere. They would wait

until a shockwave, unfold it with an automated system that Spero couldn't comprehend, and walk

across quickly. As Spero understood, they did this because there had never been two shockwaves

back to back. The closest he had felt two shockwaves was four hours apart. That was plenty of

time to walk to the sphere and back, because it only took around two hours round-trip. Here lied

the first problem for Spero. He didn't know anything about how to unfold the bridge. He also

didn't know if the location was guarded or if he could even do it by himself. He also didn't know

how to actually get into the sphere. He had tried to look from the shore, but it was too far away to

even see the people in the distance. They all wore very specific suits, so he was worried that they

were needed to get in. But no one knows anything about the sphere... it has to be some sort of

blind safety measure just in case. He had to believe that logic, because if it weren't true he

wouldn't be able to get in with his credibility.

Spero stopped dead in his tracks, still a couple minutes from his home. His breathing began

to quicken and sweat oozed out of his pores. He clenched his fists and looked up. Closing his eyes,

he tried to calm himself down. It would all work out, he knew. It can't hurt to try, he thought. With

one long sigh, Spero controlled his breaths and looked to his right. Now.

Breaking into a sprint, Spero headed towards where he knew the bridge laid dormant. He

moved off of the path, towards the ocean. This direction had nothing but dirt and rocks, so it was

relatively easy to navigate even without ever going this direction himself. He moved his arms side

to side, and pushed forwards with his legs, one after another. He looked down and could see the

dark ground moving extremely fast below his feet. He also felt what seemed like wind rushing

past his head and hair. He ran faster. he didn't care about how tired he felt. He had already

committed. As he was running closer, Spero realized he hadn't moved this fast before. He could

have when he was late to work, but he never did. His legs burned worse than climbing those

damned stairs. his breathe was shallow and his eyes began to water. The black void of water was

directly in front of him. The sloshing of the waves was louder and louder. Suddenly, he looked

directly in front of him and noticed there was nothing there. Realizing he had already reached the

lower wall, he tried to slow himself down before he flew over the edge. He leaned back and

planted his feet. Both of his feet slipped at the same time, and he fell backwards on to the dirt

below.

Just knowing how dirty his clothing now was, he really knew he couldn't turn back now.

Grunting in pain, Spero sat up and looked around him. There were no lights so it was incredibly

hard to see. Was he even close to the bridge? He didn't know. To try and get his bearings, Spero

stood up with great difficulty and looked at the lights behind him. His pyramid was to his right a

bit. How far down towards the West was the bridge? During the day Spero could figure this out

without a problem, but he didn't want to risk being seen out here. With full adrenaline pumping

through his body and a small ability to think right, Spero quickly made the assumption that the

bridge was further West and started walking.

Spero made the effort to stay at least a few meters away from the edge of the wall so he

didn't risk falling. He knew there were ladders down in the water to get back up, because he had

seen them at the bench spot he went to every evening. Currently though, he had no idea where he

was or if he could get back up if he fell in the water. Also, a shockwave would absolutely kill him

if it hit while in the water. There hadn't been a shockwave in over a day, so one was sure to come

within the next day or so. There had never been a 48 hour gap between shockwaves in Spero's

lifetime, but it was known to be possible.

Because of the lack of lights at this edge of the city, there was no good way to see what lied

ahead of him. There weren't even dark shadows showing the outline of things. Spero didn't know

whether that was because it was so dark or just because there weren't any structures to see. As he

slowly edged forwards in fear of slipping or hitting something, he tried to pinpoint where he was.

He knew the distance between his pyramid and the benches was nine minutes. He started near the

pyramid and had been walking slowly for around for what felt like a couple minutes, but it was a

slow walk. When he observed the "Heroes" and the bridge they walked on, he had made a note in

his brain that it was about halfway between the pyramid and the benches. If he kept walking at the

snail pace he currently was, Spero imagined it would take another five minutes or so to get to the

bridge.

The issue Spero had wasn't with the location of the bridge, though, but where and how to

unfold it. Would they even put the way to open it near the bridge? That was Spero's biggest

concern with his current actions. He was going into this situation completely blind. Since he knew

he had time before reaching the folded bridge in the water, he thought of a possible plan B. There

were always "Heroes" lined up to enter the sphere. They stayed in some barracks on the opposite

side of the city. When a shockwave hit, they would begin their walk to the bridge. Could he wait

until the next shockwave and blend in with the "Heroes"... essentially making him one of them?

Spero quickly discarded the idea. To him, that was no different from actually being one of them.

As his thoughts continued, he had an interesting thought. When he was walking to the

benches from his work, he saw the "Heroes" in a group. They were walking to the East, which at

that point headed to the wall. Why the hell were they going that way? There was nothing related to

the "Heroes" in that direction, and there hadn't been a shockwave to prompt their walk. As a

matter of fact, he had never even seen a group of "Heroes" be out without a shockwave prior... so

why were they there? Where were they going? Fucking idiot. Spero was so caught up in his

emotions at seeing those that he hated and their reaction to him that he didn't even think about the

irregularity of it. He should have followed them. Why didn't he just think for a second to realize

the situation.

Shaking off this line of thought, Spero knew it was too late to dwell on his past. It no longer

affected him or his life; his current life was about to end anyways. Spero kept his gaze at the

ground below him as he moved to ensure he didn't trip on anything or fall off the side of the lower

wall. As he continued straight along the side, he noticed a little yellow light in front of him and to

the left. Spero stopped and kneeled down to try and get a better look. The light... was moving? No,

it was water that was moving. There was light being reflected off the water from an unknown

place. Presumably it was at the base of the lower wall based on how it was being reflected. It

wasn't a large reflection, as it could only be seen from right at the edge. What was that light?

Spero needed to find out. It could have been something he needed to unfold the bridge.

As he stood back up straight and quietly took some forward steps, he felt something on his

shoulder. It put pressure on his shirt and skin and pulled him backwards. A large chill moved

through Spero's entire body as he immediately tried to run away. He let out a large grunt and

swung his arms around to try and unlatch whatever was putting pressure on his right shoulder. As

his arm rotated around his body, he caught his leg on something and fell to the ground along with

whatever was touching him. As they both hit the ground, he heard a familiar voice speak behind

him.

"Spero, shut the fuck up!" A loud whisper rings out from behind Spero as he struggles and

exerts a loud grunt. Spero knows this voice as soon as he hears it, especially because he only heard

it a mere few minutes ago at the bench spot. Spero instantly became furious and turned around to

face Green who had stopped him from proceeding.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Spero loudly whispered to match Green's tone of voice.

Spero instantly became worried that Green was trying to stop him. He seemed so dead set on

waiting for the right moment earlier, so why wouldn't he try and stop this behavior that Spero was

carrying out?

"There's two guards right down by that light, so keep quiet. I think they were asleep before so

I hope your outburst didn't wake them. I don't know much about the bridge to the Sphere but

considering there's guards by the water... I have a feeling that the controls are down there." Without

missing a beat, Green carefully explained what he had observed. Why was he telling Spero this

information if he wanted him to stop being "reckless?" His current attitude was being

contradictory to what Spero thought Green's intentions were here.

"You're not here to stop me?" Spero whispered, outwardly confused.

" If you're this dead-set on going, me pulling you away wouldn't do anything but delay the

inevitable. So you're forcing me to help you. Just know that if anything bad happens... it's on you"

When Spero heard this from Green, he didn't understand. Why would Green put himself at such a

large risk to help with someone else's goal? He had nothing to gain even if they succeeded. But

Spero knew not to question the help. Anything to nudge him to the Sphere was good in his eyes.

Even still, a bit of guilt peered through the cracks of Spero's mind.

"Okay... so what do we do?" whispered Spero. Green opened his mouth as if he were about to

speak, but words didn't leave his mouth, and he closed his lips.

" I don't know," Green responded with a feeling of hopelessness in his voice. "You haven't given

me much time to think here."

"Then lets think now. So you said there's two guards down there, right? How did you see

them? Did you find a way down?" If Green saw guards it must have meant that he found some way

to where the light at the base of the wall was.

" I didn't actually see them. I just heard snoring coming from what sounded like two people."

Hearing this Spero quietly scoffed and shook his head.

"You know not everyone snores right? There could easily be more than two down there. There

might be some people that aren't even asleep. And if you don't know a way down, then I suggest we

jump in the water and find the controls through there. There has to be some sort of open slot for

light to go through, which means that we can probably slip through."

"Do you realize how stupid that is?! The second we jump in the water there would be a loud

splash and everyone would wake up!" Spero had an idea. He felt a wave of genius run through his

body and immediately was proud of himself.

"They won't wake up down there if there's no one to actually wake. I have an idea. No

arguing, this is what we're doing. You're gonna make a ton of noise which will wake them up."

Green squinted his eyes and tiled his head in disbelief. "Wait, just listen. When they wake up,

they'll want to investigate the noise right? So they'll all leave their hole and come up here. While

they're doing that I'll jump in the water and find the controls from there. They won't hear the

splash because they'll all be too busy looking for you. As soon as you make the noise, you go and

hide up towards the city. If my plan doesn't work and I can't get in via the water, there's still a

chance that you can see where they exit to the surface. You got it?"

"Whether or not I "got it" isn't the problem! This is incredibly stupid, Spero! I don't know what

issues you've been having recently and I won't pry, but this is too much. This isn't you. You're calm

and calculated. Whatever is going on here, you have to realize that it isn't right." Green, clearly

worried for Spero's safety, began to take the subject off of the plan and towards Spero. Spero

immediately became aggravated.

Spero lowered his eye brows and let out a quiet smirk, saying "Why are you saying this as if

I care?! I don't care. Not about how it isn't 'right' or about how you feel about me right now. Do

you want to help or not, because currently you're just an obstacle!"

Green had a look on his face that couldn't fully understand. He didn't know if this was

because of the dark or his own inability to read faces properly.

Green began to speak again, saying,

"Of course I want to help--" but was cut off by Spero, still angered by Green.

"Then stop being my therapist and help, for fucks sake! Nobody asked you to be here, Green.

Stop pretending like you're being burdened by helping me. Get the guards' attention or leave."

Spero took a few heavy breaths and waited for an answer from Green, who looked at the ground

and subtly shook his head. Spero knew what the answer would be. He would help; he was just a

good person like that. For a split second, Spero felt guilt once again. What a terrible person he was

for pushing his selfish problems on other people. Even with these guilty thoughts, Spero knew it

was the only way for him to be happy. He couldn't sacrifice himself for others, not in this state of

being.

Without lifting his head, Green moved his eyes up to meet Spero's, and he stood up straight.

Spero felt a wave of relief knowing that Green would try and help him. Despite how he tried to

twist his thoughts, he still hoped for Green's safety. Green, now seemingly preparing for

something, takes a deep breathe and wipes some sweat from his cheek. "Good luck," Green

whispered as he looked down at Spero who still sat in the dirt.

Green sucked air into his lungs, and with a loud exertion of noise and air, he screamed,

"somebody help me! Help me! Help meee! He's trying to kill me! Ahh! Ahhhhhh!" Spero was

immediately startled by the sheer volume and intensity of his screams. It sounded as if he was

actually in danger. As Green continued with his pained cries for help, he started to backpedal away

from Spero and the lower wall. Spero didn't exactly know what Green's plan was here, but he

didn't know his own plan so he was fine with it.

Green backpedaled further and further away while Spero sat smiling at the absurdity of the

screams. If I die here, Spero thought, this would be a pretty good way out. Without any more

hesitation, Spero quickly slithered his way over to the edge of the wall and peeked his head over

the edge. He looked down at the waving light, since he had nothing else to latch his sight on to.

The screams of terror were getting quieter and quieter now. Surely the people down there heard al

of th-

Heavy footsteps echoed up to Spero's ears. He squinted his eyes, as if doing that would give

him extra hearing capabilities. It sounded to Spero like two people, just as Green had guessed. The

footsteps seemed loud at first, but as a figure quickly dashed in front of the reflecting light,

making it disappear and come back into view right after, they got quieter. Just as Green's voice

now was, the footsteps were becoming hard to hear. Spero sat with his mouth open and his ears

wide for any sounds of remaining human life. All he heard were the serene movements of the

water below; all he saw was the light reflecting in the water. Did he do it? Did he make a good

plan on the spot? Getting ahead of himself with pride, Spero took a deep breathe and stood to his

feet. His clothes were surely dirty beyond repair, but who cared?

Pushing with his legs, Spero leaped into the air and down into the water below. He felt the

wind push him as he fell, until nothing but cold filled his senses. This water was freezing. He had

to get out. Quickly pushing his arms with his hands cupped, Spero rose to he surface. The water

was calm, but Spero's mind was racing. He had never felt such a rush like this before. It was

amazing. But he wasn't done. His head turned to face the light's source, and he noticed it was

much brighter than he had thought. It hurt him to look for too long, but he thought he made out a

small carved square about half a meter above the water level. Nothing but pure adrenaline fed

Spero's thoughts. He had done it. He was so close to having done it.

Using his limited swimming knowledge from his early years, he pushed himself along with

his arms to reach the wall. The water was no longer cold. In fact, there was no water to Spero. All

he saw was the hope he was searching for directly in his grasp. He outstretched his arms and

managed to get a grip on the opening with his cold, wet hands. Kicking with his legs, he pulled up.

He felt strong. He had gone beyond what he thought possible for himself. With a loud grunt, he

was able to plant his palms on the sill of the opening and get an opportunity to climb through.

With every muscle in his body working overtime, and Spero's head completely full of so many

emotions, he pushed. Push. Push. Push!

Spero barely managed to squeeze through the opening in the wall, but he had done it. As

soon as he got half of his body to the other side, gravity took over and he toppled over on the cold,

and now wet, ground. He twisted himself as he fell so he wouldn't land on his head. Spero could

tell that there was pain in his body, but it didn't give him any sense of hurt. It was nothing to him.

With energy still twisting every limb attached to him, he stood with a little hop and looked around.

Spero couldn't think properly. Every thought turned to mush as they were conjured. He knew his

goal though, and that was all that mattered. Without taking in any of the environment around him,

he looked for some sort of button or switch. Labored breathing echoed down the long corridor that

was directly in front of him. There were some chairs, but Spero didn't know how many.

He looked to his left, to his right, above him, and below him. He didn't see anything

resembling a switch. So he looked again, Down, up, right, left. As he turned his head, his eyes

caught a glimpse of something, so he looked back to the left. Bearing the same monotone color as

the wall, there was a small slit engraved into it. As soon as his eyes locked something abnormal to

his brain, he sprinted over to it. It wasn't far, maybe a few meters. His momentum couldn't be

slowed fast enough and he rammed straight into the wall.

With his entire body soaked and his lungs sore, he reached his fingers to the indentation on

the wall. As he did though-

"What are you doing?!" Before Spero could process the voice, arms wrapped around Spero's

waist and pulled him backwards. It wasn't Green this time. Very quickly, Spero sobered up and he

was back in reality. Someone caught him. He was done for. But only if he gave up. He couldn't

give up. So with a wide swing and clenched fists, Spero turned and socked the unknown person on

the side of the head with his fist, rendering them stunned. Spero quickly turned his head around to

face the person. It obviously was some sort of guard, as they had a knife on them. In the city,

knives were only carried by guards and criminals, but he had to assume this wasn't a criminal.

Still, to justify his own actions, he had to be a criminal. And so now the man was that to Spero.

The criminal, regaining his balance, was quickly angered. Spero noticed him reaching his

hand down to his side, where his knife was sheathed around his waist. As to not get into a bad

position, Spero sprung forwards to the knife on the criminal's side. Seeing this coming, the

criminal turned his side away from Spero to try and stop any further actions. So instead of going

for the knife immediately, Spero crouched down, extended his arms outwards, and bear hugged the

criminal with a loud yell.

With as much force as Spero could muster, he slammed the criminal to the ground. From

there, Spero's head blurred. The criminal pulled the knife out of the sheathe from under him. He

swung the knife towards Spero's side. Spero quickly grabbed the criminal's wrist right as the knife

made contact, leaving no scratch. Audible exertions echoed through the small room from both

men. They tumbled around on the floor and struggled for the knife. Within the blur of his mind,

Spero made a realization-- this was a fight to the death. Only one person would come out of this.

And with that realization, Spero switched to survival mode. But so did the threat. With all the

strength they could muster, they wrestled for the knife which was still firmly in the threat's right

hand. Spero tried to pry open their fingers. The threat tried to release that denial of death. Spero

twisted the threat's arms around. The threat yelled out for someone, but Spero didn't care. It was

do this now... or death. With his nails, Spero sliced the threat's palm just under the blade, making

him loosen his grip. Taking this opportunity, Spero let one of his hands off of the threat's wrist and

he swing his fist straight into the threat's nose. With that, the grip was undone. The knife made a

loud ringing noise as it hit the floor. Spero went to grab it. The threat went to grab it. Spero's hand

touched the handle. The threat's hand touched the handle. And then-

A loud screech rang out. Spero's mind cleared once more. He didn't know what was

happening. He had to calm down. He was holding the knife, but the man wasn't. Something was

on top of him. As he moved his eyes down his arm and to the knife-- he saw it. The knife had been

plunged straight in the middle of the man's chest, who now laid on top of him. Spero was frozen.

The man let out loud, pained grunts as he fell over to his side. He was squirming around trying to

pull the knife out. Blood seeped out from the cracks in the skin. Spero laid directly next to the

man, in shock. Their eyes met for a split second. A shiver ran down his spine and he stood up. His

feet made him move backwards as far as he could go. He hit the wall behind him, still looking at

the man struggling. He was clearly in extreme pain, but Spero couldn't move. Spero wanted to

help the man, but he couldn't move. Spero needed to unfold the bridge, but he couldn't move.

As the horrifying scene unfolded in front of his eyes, Spero stood still. Cries had turned to

whimpers and the squirming began to slow. The man's head slammed into the floor over and over

again. Their eyes met once more. The final breathe was drawn. The man laid still. The sound of

gentle waters whispered into the room. It was quiet, and it was calm.

...

Time was a funny thing. It always seemed to slow at the worst of times. Spero stood, back

against the wall, looking down at what he had done. His hands were shaking uncontrollably and

his hair was covering his forehead and eyes. He couldn't breathe. Every inhale was stopped short

by his anxiety. As Spero stared down at the scene a few meters away, he noticed the blood pooling

out of the wound and spreading across the floor.

Spero took his eyes off of the corpse and watched the blood crawl towards him. He had

never seen this amount of blood before. It was dark red, almost purple, and looked thicker than he

would imagine normally. He felt lightheaded and his body began to shake alongside his hands.

I just...

Spero stopped the thought before it could get worse. He felt as though he was about to throw

up. Still in shock at the events that just unfolded, he moved his body to his will. Looking up off

the ground, Spero walked over to the indentation in the wall across the room. The body was in the

way, so he had to walk around it. He did his best to avoid getting his shoes dirty, but some blood

crept under them, leaving a stain.

Spero's eyes were very wide and empty. He was trying very hard to not look down. As he

reached the indentation, he put his fingers inside and felt a handle of some sort. Pulling the lever

on the wall was a bit difficult and required strength. With a grunt, Spero pulled the lever down.

Almost immediately, there was a loud rumble coming from under him. Then came the sound of

some sort of siren, which Spero was familiar with. The only time he heard that sound was when

the bridge was unfolding after a shockwave. He did it. With his hands still on the lever, he let out a

sigh before the lever suddenly retracted into the wall. As the lever was sucked into the wall's

grasp, he realized it couldn't be touched again.

He didn't know why, but he quickly thought of a few potential solutions while trying to

distract himself from the reality of his situation. It was possibly that the bridge couldn't physically

be folded back while being unfolded, so it removed access to their controls. That would mean as

soon as it was fully extended, any guard could bring it back. The other, and more favorable for

Spero, option was that it just couldn't be pulled again for at least a couple hours. The only reason

Spero could think that this would happen was for the safety of the people crossing the bridge.

Convincing himself that this was the answer, he turned around towards a long hallway that was in

front of him.

This hallway was clearly the way in and out of this room he found himself in. Without any

thoughts about what just transpired, Spero started walking down the hallway. It was lit by lanterns

hanging from the ceiling, but it was still very dark. With every step, he placed his hand on the cold

wall beside him and let it slide. He felt every little bump of concrete.

His legs were shaking, he noticed. It was hard to walk. Every part of his body felt weak. It

was as if they had given up. Spero couldn't blame his body for that though. He was giving up too,

just in another form. That was what the sphere was to Spero== giving up. He knew he was

probably going to die, and he awaited it dearly. He just wanted to leave with good standings

among the people. But now...

"Hey! Stop moving! Face away!" Spero heard a sound directly in front of him. His eyes were

already facing that way, but he wasn't using his vision. Hearing words being yelled at him, though,

snapped him back into reality. There were two men. Both were wearing the same outfit as the man

he just fought with, meaning they were guards. Spero took a step backwards, still facing the

guards.

"Stop moving! Get on the ground!" one of the guards yelled out while taking out cuffs from

his waist belt. Spero's shaking immediately ceased, and he turned away. He broke into a sprint

back to the room he was just in. He could hear the guards yelling behind him but wasn't registering

what they said. The wind whizzed past his body. One large step at a time, Spero made it back to

the room. Panicking, Spero looked around for something to help him. He looked down at the body

beneath his feet. Blood surrounding his shoes, he glanced at the knife plunged into the man. His

stomach churned, and he almost gagged. The thought fighting those two men made his skin

crawl... he couldn't do that. Even if he had the capability to kill both of them, it wouldn't matter.

He couldn't put himself through that again.

With no other option, Spero ran to the opening leading to the ocean and put his hands on the

edge. He looked behind him and saw that the men were closing in. He hoisted himself up through

the hole and fell into the freezing cold water. From under the water, Spero could hear muffled yells

from the men above him. He was panicked. With no ability to deliberate options, and no easy way

back to the shore, he was stumped. So for now, he swam parallel to the wall, making sure to stay

underwater, towards the bridge. Immediately Spero noticed how weak his lungs were as he needed

desperately to breathe. But this was life or death, so Spero risked drowning in the cold, black

water.

While under the water it was completely pitch black, so Spero closed his eyes and relied on

the wall to his right to guide him. Did the guards jump in the water to chase him? Spero doubted it.

Most likely at least one of them ran up to the top of the wall to get a better view of the water

below. It was only a matter of time before he was caught. At this point, though, it didn't matter. As

long as they couldn't catch him, he could make it to the sphere.

As he began to swim as fast as he could, he began to struggle. The oxygen tank on his back

was extremely heavy in the water. It made it hard to move anywhere. And the mask wasn't tight

enough to stop water from leaking through, so it was useless. He was quickly getting too tired to

swim. Quickly, Spero unstrapped his tank and took off his mask. As he let go, he could feel the

tank being pulled down to the floor of the ocean, however deep it was this close to shore.

Suddenly feeling lighter, Spero continued swimming. Without vision, Spero's mind began to see

things for him. Blood...

I should've just...

Before Spero could finish another thought, Spero's vision slightly lightened, even with his

eyes closed. He didn't even need to see what the light was with his eyes, he already knew what

was happening. There were guards at the top of the wall shining their lights down. They wanted to

find him. Whether or not they had yet was up in the air to Spero, but he had to believe they didn't

know where he was.

Spero felt his throat and lungs burning. He needed to breathe. He was about to inhale. Every

part of Spero's thin, weak body was telling him to breathe. Quickly and desperately, Spero peeked

his head out of the water and took a large but silent breathe.

"There!" shouted someone above Spero. Loud footsteps all sounded at once and a bright light

shined down at Spero's face. Without any thoughts, Spero dived back down even further this time.

Even with his awful quick thinking skills, he knew there was no way they would jump in the water

after him. It would be incredibly stupid; they just had to wait for him to touch land. With this in

mind, Spero knew his only option was to try and lose their sight, climb on the bridge which sat on

top of the water, and run. He would never lose their sight if he stayed glued to the wall though... so

Spero pushed with his legs away from the wall and began to swim diagonally away from the wall.

If he was going the correct direction, he would hit the bridge eventually, or the bags underneath

them.. He would just have to make sure he moved his arms around enough to feel for it.

Every few seconds a light shined on Spero's current position, but quickly left in search

somewhere else. For now, he had lost them. Spero knew as soon as he surfaced they would see

him, but as long as he was near the bridge it wouldn't matter. He would climb up and start running.

That was all he needed to happen. Making sure to swim with wide, reaching strokes, Spero

continued in the black water that surrounded him. Water had entered his ears; his eyes burned as a

reaction. Water was also slightly in his nose, which felt very uncomfortable. His clothing was

extremely wet which made it hard to swim. Every movement was restricted by the heavy baggage,

but at least it wasn't the weight of an oxygen tank.

While flailing his arms under the water's surface, Spero's middle finger grazed something

above him. He had to believe that was the bridge, and his breath was about to run out anyway.

Before his lungs could explode, Spero swam up. His head rose above the water and Spero, with

water all over his eyes, opened them. Directly in front of him was something metal. Spero realized

immediately that this was the bridge.

The long metal bridge to the sphere was built to fold up under the water at the base of the

lower wall. When activated, it would unfold and extend itself outwards as far as it could go, which

was exactly the distance to the sphere. Because structural integrity was difficult to build

considering the shockwaves, the only real option was to have it float on the water like a very long

boat. The bottom of the bridge was equipped with bags full of some sort of low density liquid so

the metal would sit atop the water. While it worked well with the folding aspect of it, it made for a

bumpy ride even without shockwaves. So just in case someone fell in the water there were handles

every few meters sticking up from the edge of the bridge. Without that, it would be too slippery to

climb up.

Spero couldn't see any handles as it was too dark, so he felt around the edge for something

to grab. His throat was burning and his breaths were very short, but he couldn't afford to worry

about that right now. With the combination of heavy clothes and a waving bridge, it was very

difficult for Spero to find anything in the dark.

Without any progress made at finding a handle, a light shined directly on Spero from

behind. Spero turned and saw nothing but a blazing light. He heard footsteps approaching his

location. It didn't look like they were on the bridge yet though. He just needed to run now. With

this new light shining on him and his surroundings, he easily found a handle and quickly grabbed

it. With all of his remaining arm strength, he pulled himself up until his chest and stomach laid

against the hard metal. Taking loud, gasping breaths, Spero stood up and looked back at the light

after stumbling around a bit. They were moving towards him very quickly.

Run

Spero burst into a full sprint towards the sphere. Thanks to the light of the guards he could

see the bridge clearly; he made sure to run directly in the middle of the bridge so he didn't risk

falling in. The bridge was about two body-lengths wide, so he had plenty of room to slip around.

One step after another, Spero charged forwards. He was on the final stretch. All he had to do

now was outrun everyone and go inside. He didn't know how to get in, but he would figure it out

as he did with everything else today. Spero could hear the squeaking of slip resistant shoes not too

far behind him. He moved his legs faster. If he stopped moving his legs, he would fall forwards

with staggering velocity.

His legs were already tired, and his clothes were restricting and heavy. But still, he charged

forwards. He timed his breaths with his steps. Each breath was shallow, very shallow. He would

have to pull through; Spero knew it would be a very, very long run. He was moving his body in a

very calculated way so he wouldn't fall over. Each step moved the bridge a slight bit, which could

easily cause problems.

He looked down at his feet as he sprinted. The ground below him was moving so fast; it was

just a blur of dark grey. He could also see a very long shadow of himself directly in front of him

from the lights behind him. As Spero looked back up, he noticed that the sphere didn't look any

closer. Was he actually moving? Obviously he was, but it was disheartening seeing the lack of

progress. Turning his head as he continued as fast as he could, Spero saw that the city did seem a

bit smaller than usual. He'd never seen it from this distance before. He couldn't see anything but

the lights, but it was pretty sight nonetheless.

Spero felt a churning, longing sensation in his stomach. He felt a certain emotion. It was one

he couldn't pinpoint, but he knew he didn't like it.

I can't think about this right now!

Gritting his teeth, Spero turned to face the sphere and leaned even more forward as he

swung his arms back and forth in tune with his legs. With each step, he grew increasingly tired.

Every breathe was slightly shorter than the last. He felt lightheaded as he kept up the pace. The

guards still raged behind him, closer than before.

His vision began to blur and his movements were much more sloppy. What was once a

concise, robotic technique was now a piece of cloth in the wind. Every muscle was telling Spero to

give up. He couldn't feel the tips of his fingers or the toes on his feet. Why was he having such a

negative reaction to running? He knew he was in terrible shape, but this was beyond the pale.

Usually, Spero thought, adrenaline in this situation would make things a lot easier. Where is it?

His heart was beating incredibly fast and he was drenched in a layer of sweat above the

already soaked clothing he was wearing. The clothes were, as usual, heavy; at least he didn't have

his tank on him-

Oxygen!

Spero had thrown away his oxygen tank and mask. He was now running in the very thin,

oxygen deprived air with no additional help. That alone would be an issue, but he was running for

his life. He would be for at least an hour. This was extremely stupid and Spero knew it. He needed

breaks, but he couldn't get any. The guards continued to follow close behind.

Spero inhaled every second step, and exhaled two more steps after that in unison. All he

could think about was his breathing. His vision was completely blurred and he saw double. He felt

like his body was half of its normal weight; it was almost like he was about to start levitating. He

heard his breaths begin to make a wheeze noise every exhale. His violently swinging arms grew

numb. A ringing noise pierced his ear drums.

He was seeing quadruple now, and his sight was near nonexistent. His peripherals were

blacked out. He didn't even know if he was moving forward anymore. Every part of his body was

shutting down. His eyes began to cross-

Without any more warning, Spero collapsed onto the cold metal bridge. He was still

conscious, but was unable to come up with any coherent thoughts. He was dying. Every breathe

hurt his lungs and throat; he was suffocating from the lack of oxygen. He no longer had any

control of his body.

As Spero laid struggling on the bridge, five guards ran up to him and immediately leaned

down to grab him. Spero knew they were talking, but he was too focused on breathing. Squirming

around, Spero coughed and wheezed. The guards all looked around at each other and started

conversing. Spero felt his life slipping. It was becoming a little less of a struggle to breathe now,

but not because he had a good supply of oxygen. He had reached the limit.

He made it far. Without any preparation, without any critical thinking, he made it ninety

percent of the way there. Spero knew he was lucky to have made it here. He would be glad to die

here knowing he made an impact... but he didn't. He killed someone. In the eyes of everyone

including himself, he was worthless. Less than worthless. Now he would die as a permanent stain

in the minds of the people and of the city. It wasn't worth it, Spero thought to himself as he began

to float away. All he could see in his mind was the blood on the wet stone floor.

Suddenly, Spero felt a cold sensation around his lips and in his mouth. A slight breeze

whizzed around the outside of his mouth, inviting a breath. And with that, Spero sucked in air

through his lungs. For the first time on this bridge, he had a breathe that reinvigorated him instead

of deteriorating him. So he breathed again, and again, and again. His breathing was slow and deep.

Without much time passing, Spero began to feel his body once more, and he could think properly.

His vision moved to center itself and his field of view slowly widened out.

He was laying on his side, with guards surrounding him. One of the guards was holding

something up to his face. Immediately he recognized it as a mask connected to an oxygen tank.

Why were they revitalizing him? Surely it would be better for everyone if they let him fade away

here before he could do any more harm. But despite that, they were reviving his dying body.

"Can you hear me?" The guard holding the mask up to Spero's face spoke up, asking him a

very simple question. Preparing to speak, Spero coughed and hacked. His throat was in

excruciating pain, like he had just swallowed fire.

After preparing himself, Spero quietly spoke up saying, "Yeah, I can." He was still

incredibly weak. Any exertions of energy, even with the mask, could prove to be difficult.

"Good," the guard replied. "Here's what's gonna happen." Surely he was going to explain to

Spero what his fate was going to be. He was very curious. Why did they save him? The guard

gave Spero a sharp gaze. "We're going to get you up. From there, you're going to walk with us

back to the city where you will be held responsible for what you've just done. Got it?"

"... Yeah," Spero whimpered as he tried to stand. So he was still going to die, but it was

going to be with the extra humiliation of having the entire city watch with eager eyes. Just the

thought of that made his eyes start to burn, and his eyes became moist in an instant. Spero stood to

his feet and the guard slipped the mask in place around his face so he didn't have to hold it.

"Alright. Now turn around." All of the guards were out of breathe. Spero looked around at

the guards faces. They were angry. Spero quickly looked down. He couldn't take this.

"Kill me," Spero muttered, eyes glued to the metal under his feet. The guard let a confused

look slip across his face and he adjusted his stance.

"I'm sorry?"

Spero spoke louder. "Kill me." The guard looked around at the others and let out an amused

chuckle.

"No... no you're staying alive for now. Come on, turn around." The guard twirled his fingers

in a circular motion. Spero wanted to start running again, but the guards were surrounding him in

every direction. They also were ready to attack with one hand hovered over their sheathed knives.

I can't... go back.

But what choice did he have now? He turned around, still facing the ground. He

had to accept this as it was. He tried his hardest with the situation he was in, but it wasn't enough.

How cruel...

Beneath everyone's feet, the bridge suddenly began to vibrate. Rattling noises echoed out

and the water surrounding the bridge bubbled in response to the vibrations. Spero, naturally

confused, looked up and around to see what was happening. All of the guards looked just as

confused as him.

"The hell's that?" one of the guards asked to his friends. No one ushered a response. The

rattling noise continued. Spero peered over the edge of the bridge to see if it was something below

them. The guards had the same idea; they shined their light down on the water and towards the

horizons surrounding them. Spero followed their lights with his eyes. As far as he could see,

nothing unusual was happening. A few of the lights turned to face the sphere in front of them. It

had gotten closer than before, but it was still to far to reflect any of the searchlights.

The vibrations grew more violent, and the water began to foam. The vibrations were now

clearly visible under the lights. The sounds of rattling were now accompanied by creaking from

the foldable slits in the bridge. Spero was now getting increasingly concerned. He had no idea

what this was. Did someone on the shore figure out a way to recall the bridge they were standing

on? That would certainly spell his death. But there were guards on the bridge too, so he doubted

they would do that to their own men. If the vibrations weren't coming from below them or from

the city... then-

A low, constant rumbling noise blasted through the air from the direction of the sphere.

Everyone on the bridge turned their lights back to it. Nothing could be seen in this dark. The

vibrations were starting to push Spero off balance, and the creaking was hurting his ears. Spero

started to smell something sweet. He didn't recognize it. He extended his arms out to keep his

balance, and the guards followed shortly after.

"Everyone, back to the City!" cried one of the guards. Immediately, the lights turned away

from the sphere and to the other direction entirely. All of the five guards started to sprint away, and

one of them grabbed his arm. He was now being pulled along by a guard, unable to release their

grip. The vibrations turned to full on shaking, and everyone all fell at the same time. Spero

slammed his head on the metal as he fell and let out a groan.

As Spero struggled to regain himself, he heard another sound coming from the sphere. It

was something he had never heard, something indescribable.. otherworldly. All he understood was

that it was extremely loud. Immediately everyone on the ground covered their ears. Spero quickly

realized that it didn't help. It was torture. His entire head was vibrating like the bridge beneath

him. Beside him he could hear someone throwing up.

Spero looked up and around, but could still see nothing. He noticed that some of the lights

had fallen into the water, revealing that waves were starting to form. As soon as he saw the

beginning of a wave, Spero knew exactly what was going on. At nearly the same time as Spero

figured it out, another guard yelled out.

"Shockwave!"

The most prominent visual que for a shockwave were the backwards-facing waves.

Otherwise, the water was always quiet. Spero was now panicked. If he didn't get off this bridge

now, he was probably going to die via drowning. With all the strength he had left, Spero stood up

and started towards the sphere.

Before he could even move five meters, yet another sound came from the sphere. This time

it was a loud, short boom. Immediately after this sound, everything went still. There were no

noises, no vibrations, no waves. All that Spero could hear were the breathing of the people nearby.

Spero stopped his run and looked around. All of the lights were now gone from their reach, so it

was impossible to see anything, That quiet only lasted a few seconds.

Out of nowhere, Spero was blown onto his back by a powerful gust of wind and slid across

the wet metal. It seemed that everyone had fallen back down. It was obvious what that was. The

first of many shockwaves had just rung out, which spelled the end for everyone on that bridge.

From in front of him, Spero heard the sound of water rushing his way as well as creaking

from the bridge. Before Spero could process what it was, he was violently thrown into the air by

the metal below him. He let out a wail and hit back on the metal, which was no longer a flat

surface. It was now bobbing back and forth, up and down, in every direction. The waves had

clearly arrived.

Spero heard screams of agony coming from behind him, but he couldn't pay them any mind.

How would he get out of this? Still on the ground, Spero felt around for something to hold onto.

He felt a handle and held as tight as he could with his body flat on the moving metal. Every few

seconds Spero's entire body was submerged in water and then risen back out of it. Every

movement from the bridge sent Spero sliding around, almost unlatching his grip. He was having a

huge amount of trouble breathing properly. The mask wasn't tight enough on his face to keep

water out, so it was filled up completely with water as he rose out of it, but it only left the mask

right before he went into the water once again.

Suddenly, Spero felt another gust of extremely strong winds push against him. These winds

were enough to make Spero let go of the handle. He began to bounce around and slide along the

waving metal. Over and over, Spero was launched into the air and slammed back down on the

bridge. He could still hear the yells of the guards, but it sounded like fewer than before.

Much quicker than the second time, another shockwave pushed through Spero's body as he

was in the air. This gust send Spero into a back flip and he hit his head on the metal. His ears were

ringing. His vision was worse than he thought was even possible, and he could only smell blood.

He was too weak to deal with this kind of situation. Without any more struggle, Spero let the

bridge take him. He slid and bounded around some more, until his legs went over the edge of the

bridge and into the violent waves surrounding. Spero snapped back into survival mode and

reached for a handle with both arms, grasping as tight as he could once more.

The waves were constant, and he could feel each one trying to pull him under. Multiple

times a second, Spero was thrown underwater and back up. He wasn't able to breathe at all. Each

wave that passed loosened his grip. He was now only gripping the handle by his fingertips. Spero

was about to get what he wished for. He would die away from the shunning eyes of the city. They

would never find his body in the water, so he would be cursed to forever traverse the bottom of the

sea floor. As Spero gave one last effort, his fingers slipped and he was pulled under the water.

Spero's body contorted to fit the movement of the waves, making him spin and twist around.

The mask and tank flew off of his body and was carried along by the waves. He tried to swim to

the surface, but he didn't know where that was anymore. Even with his eyes open, Spero could see

nothing but black. All he could hear was water rushing in and out of his ears. All he could feel was

the cold embrace of death. Desperate for oxygen, Spero sucked in. Water rushed into his system,

clogging every open space. An immense pain rushed over Spero and he tried to breathe once more.

Nothing was helping. Every breathe he took just helped to end his suffering faster.

Spero flailed his arms and legs around to try and find the surface, but the waves passing by

slowed his progress down to a halt on every attempt. Spero had never felt such a panic before in

his life. Every receptor in his brain was firing, telling him to breathe. But he couldn't.

Spero knew he only had one more attempt to get out. With the very very little amount of

energy he had left, he pushed his limbs to where he thought the surface would be, timing his

movement to between the waves. He swam as fast as he could, with more and more water entering

his system, destroying him from the inside out. As he felt himself slipping, he made one last reach

with his arm. As it extended out, Spero felt nothing

...

Spero's body was pulled out of the water and on to the bridge. His instincts kicked back in,

and Spero coughed up all the water he had ingested. Each cough brought on another cough, which

left little room for breathing. While hacking out his insides, Spero crawled towards the center of

the bridge with his drenched body. He didn't know why he was alive, but he figured that he would

soon find out. As his coughs calmed and he could breathe again without more coughs coming on,

Spero looked around.

The shockwaves had stopped. The bridge that was previously excellently constructed now

looked tattered. Behind him, away from the sphere and connecting to the city, the bridge had

broken in half. The tip of that half was sunken, and it couldn't be seen under the black void of

water. He did see some silhouettes moving from that direction though, but it was on the other end

of the bridge. Spero turned to the sphere to see the condition of the bridge he was currently on.

What he saw relieved him. The bridge, while uneven and half sunk on some platforms, was still

intact.

Purely exhausted, Spero rolled from his stomach to his back and sprawled his limbs out.

Above him, he could almost make out the shape of the dark clouds. While that was a terrible

situation he was just involved with... it could still have been worth it. There was nothing in front of

him blocking the way, and the guards were far behind as far as Spero could tell. The only issue he

faced was that he yet again didn't have an oxygen tank.

As long as I don't have to run again, I'll be fine.

"Ughhhh..." Spero heard a cracked voice coming from his side. Startled, he sat up and slid

back away from the noise. Now that he thought about it, it was obvious that he didn't make it back

on the bridge by himself. He had to guess that a guard pulled him up, but why would they go

through the trouble? Just to ensure that Spero gets a bad ending? In any case, if it was a guard,

Spero had to move.

"You're welcome, dickhead!" As Spero began to stand up, he heard the voice speak. It

sounded familiar, and it was angry. It sounded like Green, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to run

all the way down the bridge to save him at his own expense,

"Who should I be thanking?" Spero replied cautiously. He was slowly standing up with

intentions to run.

"Uhghh..." the figure grunted as he began to stand as well. "Who else would dive into pitch

black water to save you?" Both men were now standing up, facing each other in the dark.

"Green?!" Hearing the voice again, along with the response the man gave, made him realize

it was indeed his only friend. "What's wrong with you?!"

Green chuckled and replied, "What's 'wrong with me' is that I didn't want my friend to

drown. You're not really one to show appreciation, are you?"

"Ye-- uh... thank you." Spero paused for a brief second. "What I meant was why did you run

all the way down the bridge? Were you running behind me the whole time?!"

Green replied with a simple, "yes." Spero was dumbfounded. Why was he so hellbent on

helping Spero? It's like Green was out to make him feel as guilty as possible. "Let's keep moving,"

commanded Green as he took steps past Spero towards the sphere. Spero stood in shock for a

moment before catching up and standing beside him.

"What happened?" Spero asked, "did you really come all this way to help me?" Even though

he wasn't running anymore, Spero was still exhausted and short of breath. Every word spoken

deteriorated him further.

"That's what friends do... I think. They thought I was a victim of your attempted murder so

they started chasing you down the bridge. I doubt they would've done it otherwise. But I followed

behind them to help. I told you I would, didn't I?" Neither young men looked at each other.

Spero thought about what Green just said. He thinks that Spero was being chased because of

an attempted murder? That means he doesn't know of the actual murder that took place, nor should

he ever find out. Green wouldn't keep helping him... and he wouldn't stay Spero's friend. Not even

Spero himself could handle what he'd done. He hoped he wouldn't have another dull moment

alone anytime soon to soak in what happened.

To take his mind off of himself, Spero pushed the conversation over to Green. "What're you

gonna do now? Would they let you back into the city?" Hearing this important question, Green

looked down at his feet as he walked. Spero turned to face him. Green shook his wilted head.

"I didn't think about that. I'm in as bad a situation as you now," Green quietly replied. Spero

could tell that Green was trying to find some hope to extrude from his voice. "I guess we'll just

deal with that problem when we get to it." This was something that Green didn't want to discuss.

Spero turned his head back towards the sphere.

What is he going to do? He doesn't have any good options. Trying to get back to the city

without serious punishment would be... difficult. And going with me...

Spero didn't want Green to join him. It wasn't only because it was almost a guaranteed death

sentence, but also because Spero was thinking selfishly. Assuming it wasn't immediate death, he

wanted a fresh start. Having Green along with him would do nothing but remind him of past

horrors. Trying not to think selfishly, Spero decided that the best option for Green was to stay

behind and take his chances. He'd have higher chances of survival. At least he didn't kill someone.

"I think it'd be best if you s--"

From behind, Spero and Green both heard yelling and loud, thundering footsteps getting

closer. Both realized that the guards had somehow crossed the water and reached the other half of

the destroyed bridge. Both young man broke out into a sprint once more.

Spero was sick of this. He looked up at the sphere to see how close they were. It was

probably only a few minutes run at this point. The sphere was beginning to tower over them as

they ran. Spero thought about how huge it was up close. He had never seen something so

incredibly large. The fact that it was presumably man-made made it all the more amazing.

Just as before, Spero ran as fast as he could to avoid the guards reaching him, but he had

difficulties with the lack of oxygen. His breath immediately began wheezing and he had no form

to his running. He was also much slower than Green, who was already far ahead of him. Green

realizing this slowed down and waited to Spero to catch up. When both young men were running

the same speed at the same spot, Green grabbed Spero's arm and began to pull. Spero jolted

forward and almost hit the ground, but moved his legs fast enough to catch himself.

The sphere was close. Even in the dark, Spero could start to make out the base of the sphere.

It looked like there were some metal pipes along with stairs. There were also structures that Spero

didn't recognize. Beams of metal crossed and extended into the sky, with a platform in the middle.

There were chains wrapped up and around the top of the structure.

Spero was hurting everywhere. He had already had to endure this feeling once, but the help

that Green was giving made it a bit easier despite the lack of oxygen in his lungs. Spero looked

behind and saw three guards getting closer. They were almost there, If he could figure out how to

get in quickly, that was it. He was at the finish line, and all he had to do was cross.

Spero's eyes, nose, and throat were all burning. He had to make it. He had to start something

new. He had to-

Green suddenly planted his feet and came to a halt, and Spero slid into his back which made

them both fall over. Both quickly got up. Spero, looked over Green's shoulder to see why he

stopped. In front of them were two men with knifes in hand. They were guards. How did they get

over to that side before they did? That wasn't possible. The only possible thing that Spero could

think of was that they were there the whole time. Regardless, they were now surrounded.

The guards that were chasing behind were now caught up. Slowly the guards took steps

towards them. Green and Spero were back to back facing different guards. Green spoke first.

"Let us go in. You'll never have to see us again. We'll probably die in there anyways." The

guards kept up their slow approach.

One guard on Green's side spoke up, yelling, "That's against protocol. You're both coming

back to the city and facing your crimes with dignity. I won't humor any other scenario." Each step

that the guards took pushed Spero and Green into a tighter circle. Spero began to panic. He could

jump in the water, but he would be too slow to do anything. They could just step back and wait for

him to surface.

Green raised his hands to chest level. "Abandon your protocol this one time. We're just two

kids wanting to try something new with our lives. Surely you all can relate to that sentiment!"

Spero turned to face the water. He could now see in both directions if he turned his head. He had

to do something. They were getting closer and any more talking would guarantee their capture.

Green continued with, "You can all come together and agree to not tell anyone of this. You

could just say we got away from the shockwave and ran in to our deaths. You could sleep well

knowing you helped two kids towards their goal. Please. We're dead either way, right?" Green

tried his best to be convincing and confident, but his voice was shaking. He was afraid. Spero saw

that the guards were extremely close now, and they could pounce at any moment.

One of the guards from behind Spero and Green spoke up.

"You killed our friend. You're not

getting away on our watch. We're gonna watch you both burn." Spero realized that Green was

about to find out what he did to that guard in the city. His breathing became rapid and he looked

around in a panic. He needed to act. Now.

"What do you mean by that?" Green asked, "we didn't actually kill anybody. I wasn't getting

attacked by Spero back there like I lead on. We were just trying to distract you all so he could get

over here.

"That's not what I mean. That 'Spero' there stabbed one of our men right through the chest--"

At his breaking point, Spero sprang forwards and pushed Green ahead, right into a guard.

The guard, with his knife drawn, accidentally stabbed Green in the stomach region. Green let out a

high pitched cry. All of the guards started charging inwards. Using Green as a weapon, Spero

pushed him once more into another guard that was approaching, which knocked over Green.

Blood was painting the bridge red. With both guards that were ahead now occupied with Green,

Spero took this as an opportunity. He broke into a sprint towards the platform at the base of the

sphere. It was connected to the sphere itself, but clearly wasn't of the same material. Spero looked

around for a door of some kind.

"Get the fuck back here!" screamed one of the guards.

Spero, not seeing a door, ran up to the foreign contraption he had seen earlier. He hurriedly

scanned the structure until he saw pictures. They were yellow and painted ont the metal. It

showcased exactly how the contraption was operated. Stand on the middle platform, press the

button, keep arms inside. The guards were approaching. Spero clumsily ran into the center of the

contraption through an opening and pressed the button.

The floor beneath him began to vibrate and rise quickly. He was almost immediately out of

reach from the guards. He was safe for the moment. Spero fell to his knees and clutched his chest

in agony. He didn't know where he was rising to, but he needed it to be the right place. If not, he

was a sitting duck at the top. Spero tried to peer over the edge, through the metal beams, but it was

too dark to see down to the water.

Lights glistened in the distant horizon from the city. Individual lights clumped together to

form larger, brighter lights in Spero's vision. It looked amazing. It was truly like stars in the night

sky. Through the lights, Spero could see the silhouettes of the four pyramids. Beyond that, he saw

something he never wanted to look at again. Past the wall peering over was the tip of an unknown

structure, which was now more visible than in the city as he rose up. He couldn't make out any

details, but it did seem to expand as it went down from the tip of the structure, similar to a

pyramid.

Spero looked down and grasped his Teacher;s outfit. Why was he feeling a sense of loss? He

didn't want to be in the city anymore. But knowing that he might be truly leaving it forever made

his stomach churn. It made no sense to Spero. After years and years of quiet suffering in the city,

why did he still feel an attachment to it?

As Spero reached the top of the lifting platform, he stood to his feet and prepared to look

around for an entrance. The platform slowly halted as a smaller walkway came into Spero's vision.

There was only one way to go. Spero clutched the railings to his sides as he walked. Looking up,

he could see nothing but what looked like a giant wall towering over everything. The sphere was

directly in front of him. It didn't take long before he reached the end of the path.

Directly in front of him was the sphere and its metallic sheen. He stepped forward and

reached to touch it. Placing his hand on the cold metal, a noise rang out. Spero jumped and

stepped back. Suddenly, the spot where his hand had touched was glowing a light green and blue.

The two colors swirled around each other with a dance. With another loud ring, the handprint on

the sphere expanded slowly into an oval about the size of two average humans. The swirling of

colors was now much more apparent, with large swirls of green and blue pulsing and radiating

some sort of light. This had to be the entrance. Spero's heart started racing as he looked behind

him one more time.

After an entire lifetime of endless torment... it can end. I don't regret anything.

Spero knew that was a blatant lie, but he couldn't believe otherwise for his own sake. Green... Spero thought

about his friend who had sacrificed everything to help Spero achieve his selfish goals. He felt

immense guilt. He didn't deserve a friend like him.

With his head turned back to the oval in front of him, Spero took a sigh. He outstretched his

arm and slowly stepped forward. As he tried to touch the pulsating, glowing mass, his hand

slipped right through. It felt like water, but if that water was floating around. Whatever it was, it

wasn't being pulled down by gravity.

With as deep of a breath as Spero could muster, he took another step. He had to fully

commit. Without any more second thoughts, he pushed his legs and jumped into the colored mass.

Flashes of unintelligible symbols raced in his mind. There were over a hundred flashes a second,

easily. Spero couldn't feel his body anymore. He tried moving his limbs but there was no response.

He tried looking down, but couldn't . Before long, everything went black.

Spero, through all the trials he had faced, made it inside the Sphere