Kaspar and Seth were the only two people Seth could see that were actively running through the streets, instead of hiding in basements or communal shelters. And Seth had to admit: this was really stupid. If this bomb was any stronger than Seth was taught they were in school, then there was a very good chance they wouldn’t be as safe as he thought they would be. He just had to hope that Yellow and Purple’s magic was at least similar to what it was when it was last used on a large scale like this against Blue ten or so years ago.

They wove through streets, and the further they ran, the more the searing white dimmed and gave way to the constant green that covered everything in the middle-city. The patriotism of the inner-city was always greater than anywhere else, and Seth never knew exactly why. Maybe it was just because that’s where most of the people in Verdigris lived, and so there was a higher concentration of people that wanted to show off their passion for the Conclave.

Seth took a moment to spin around and make sure Kaspar was still close. He was surprised he could keep up. He also took the moment to see where the light was in the sky. He looked up, expecting it to be higher than it actually was. It was about halfway between where it reached its pinnacle and the ground, which meant it was probably pretty close to where it was originally targeted to hit. Seth’s guess was that they would target Verdigris tower, and it looked like he was right.

Seth stopped. He meant to keep running. He wanted to get as far away from the imminent explosion as he could just to be safe, but he couldn’t make his muscles turn and take him further away. He only stood and watched the bright ball of light against the black sky slowly descend, closer and closer.

“Seth,” Kaspar said between gasps, “Come on, we gotta… keep moving.” Seth said nothing. He only continued to watch. Closer and closer. Kaspar turned to see what Seth was staring at, and it seemed to Seth that he also became infatuated, watching the bomb drop slowly on the inner-city with a morbid curiosity.

It impacted sooner than they expected. They could not see the full impact, as they were on the other side of the tower, but they could see the white flare into a light with an intensity to rival the sun which pierced its way through the heavily tinted windows of Verdigris tower. The sound of glass shattering and fire blooming across the floor in which the bomb impacted echoed across Verdigris, bouncing against the concrete, between the streets and through the alleys. It was visceral, and would have been blinding had Kaspar and Seth not watched it happen through the extremely heavy tint of the Verdigris Tower windows.

The white light dimmed, and left behind the warm light of fire. The hot orange and red, flowing through the offices and meeting-rooms of the middle of Verdigris tower, failing to make any sort of meaningful impact structurally, but succeeding in sending a message, sent a message to the city as well. Glass continued to shatter as the floors continued to heat up. It was almost beautiful to Seth, but also awful. He wanted to cry.

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The fire slowly faded, and Verdigris slowly faded back into the depths of the dark sky and the tint of green. Verdigris Tower still stood, just as Seth had predicted.

“So,” Kaspar said, still breathing hard, still staring at Verdigris Tower, “they’ve officially done it. They’re at our doorstep.”

“Yep.” They stood in silence for a while, still looking up, although now, at least for Seth, their focus was on the inky black sky above and beyond the tower.

“I think we should get out of Verdigris. Head north to whatever town we hit next,” Kaspar said suddenly. Seth didn’t say anything specifically. He just nodded and grunted softly. “They’re coming from the south, so I think if we get out now before they lock the city down, because you know they will.”

“Let’s get going then,” Seth said, still not moving.

“What?”

“Let’s get going. They’re going to lock the city down, they’ll probably start once the coast is more clear. We can probably get out into the suburbs before sunrise, far beyond any Enforcer jurisdiction.”

“You are going to be the death of me.”

“You should have worked out when I suggested it.”

“Okay now that was uncalled for.”

“Whatever,” Seth said, finally turning around to start heading north again. “You have money on you, right?”

“Yeah, I have enough. We can probably exist outside of Verdigris for a week or two if we’re particularly frugal with our money.”

“I would say double that, because I brought some extra. We can probably head north and get to a nearby town within the next few days..”

“Thinking ahead, are we?”

“I don’t go to school for nothing.”

“You know, I don’t say this enough, but you’re one smart kid.”

“I’m like four years younger than you.”

“Still a kid.”

“Shut up.” Seth started up a jog down the street now. He knew he shouldn’t be smiling, but he was anyway. Kaspar sighed, and started again to catch up. Now that the green was not fighting against the searing white, the streets were a familiar, cozy sight once more. As they ran, on the other side of the city, miles and miles away from the last house that considered it a part of Verdigris, on a blank field lit only by floating moats of light and the large iron lamps which both gave off the same harsh white, two large groups of soldiers stood and faced each other. One group flew banners of not but Yellow and Purple, and the other flew banners of not but a rich, forest Green. Neither side engaged. They just stood, observing each other from across the vast amounts of soft, dew-covered grass that rifted them. The night was still and silent, with the only hint of movement being the gentle sway of the moats of light and the quiet, timid scuttle of soldiers from place to place on whatever duty they were told to be on. Even the colossal spider-tanks that were such a staple to the green army were no more active than a fat cat after dinner.

It was too dark to fight, Kiwi had said. Stand your ground until the morning. Word would come after that. And so they waited for the sun to rise.