Exhausting.

It was all so exhausting.

Every day was the same, nothing ever different, not that that was a particularly  bad thing.

These were the thoughts of the mildly sleep deprived Falis Helketer.

Why was he mildly sleep deprived?

Stress?

Pain?

Sadness?

Nope.

Only pure unbridled boredom had kept him wide awake throughout the past night.

Now he was walking down the same path he took every single weekday to get to school.

Soon he would pass that one shop that sold trophies, reminding him of the fact that he had zero achievements he was actually proud of.

That was a depressing chain of thought, he said inwardly, hurriedly passing the trophy shop.

Gazing skyward, he could, like always, just make out the shape of the Obsidian Elevator rising up into the sky.

It was cold, it had rained all night causing puddles to cover the ground.

Falis didn’t quite understand that.

supposedly they were “Underneath” something, after all this land they lived in was called the “Underneath” and there was, supposedly, something above which is what they called the “Above”, but there was still a sky and the sun in the sky, 

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

‘And breeze.’

He added mentally as a cold wind swept by causing him to shiver.

He believed that either the Above was so far away that they couldn’t even see a fraction of it, even with a telescope, or, it didn’t exist.

As he drew closer to the school the sound of dashing footsteps came up from behind him.

A girl, wait no, a guy, who, Falis thought, had ridiculously long red hair, braided to this guy's knees.

‘No way that’s his real hair’

The guy with the weird hair was just about to pass Falis when he quickly turned to Falis and-

“Hey look ou-”

Before Falis knew what was happening he tumbled, hit by a force from behind.

His face now comfortably resting in a freezing cold puddle a foot from his original position.

Falis tried to decipher what just happened, whilst lying on the wet pavement, disoriented.

“You okay?”

Came a voice, close but oddly distant from Falis’ thoughts.

“Ugh”

Falis let out a grunt trying to heave himself to his knees, his head spinning.

“Sorry about that, my friend was chasing me and wasn't looking where they were going and ended up crashing straight into you.” the voice said, snickering lightheartedly.

A hand appeared in Falis’ vision

“Neat face plant by the way, need some help up?”

“I’m good thanks” replied Falis, still a bit turned around.

“Okay, if you’re fine I’m going, don’t be late for school. ”

The hand retracted and Falis heard the footsteps of the guy getting fainter as he hurried off.

Rising to his feet, Falis stared at the puddle his face had laid in only moments earlier.

His recently trimmed black hair was a mess from his recent fall.

He hadn’t trimmed it for any particular reason, he just thought it was getting a little long.

He wasn’t trying to impress anyone, his parents weren’t complaining, after all how would they complain when they weren’t even here, and they wouldn’t be coming back.

They could be dead.

They could be alive.

Falis didn’t know.

All that he did know was that they had left, on that blasted elevator to the Above, and they had left, because of him.

Because he killed someone.

Someone innocent.

Someone whom he didn’t even know

Someone-

He was going to be late for school.

Starting off toward the school again, Falis thought:

‘I think I’ll try a little harder today’.