Metropolis of Ashes

…

In the very early morning, when the streets were covered in the half-light of the waking sky, and surrounded by the neon light, I was standing by the edge of the street in the very middle of the shadow that the tall building provided.

Standing peacefully on the side of the dark road, waiting for a coworker of mine to come, there was one suspicious thing that concerned me.

The streets today were surprisingly calm and empty. Yet they were too empty as for me, because in every direction your head could turn, you could see no living nor moving soul around.

Where are everyone?

Why is there no living soul on the street?

An early morning, still dark and cold. Thousands of people usually storm the streets at this time of a day, in order to travel to their only time taker — work.

I don't know what the hell is happening. That's way more suspicious and dangerous than walking and hiding myself in the train of thousands of people that everyday walk through those avenues.

The thing that scares me the most is the acknowledgment of stuff that is happening in this big metropolis. The long and narrow alleys are empty, as if all the citizens have dissolved into the air.

From the boredom of waiting, I observed the high monotone buildings around me. This is the first time in my life that I have seen such an intriguing sight.

In every direction I looked, I just saw straight, endless dark avenues going to the infinity, and the asphalt streets reflecting the colorful, but weirdly weak, lights from neons placed on the buildings.

No living soul in the reach of my sight, nothing moved, I could say that nothing existed beside me at that moment. This view created and illusion, causing me to believe that ahead of me I had four tunnels of void, that would lead me to the another world.

How wonderful would it be if it actually came true? How much different would it be from this place? What would I see and experience? Or maybe it's the dream that I am in right now?

I took out my registering device and took a photo of this magnificent sight.

I love to take photos on every occasion. Documenting everything I see is my everyday habit, and it's very useful. Even the smartest people can sometimes forget something important in their life. I think that by taking photos you can build your memory library little by little. Keeping even the most ordinary picture can bring some old memories back...

But that's not the only thing I'm passioned about. Documenting stuff — It's my full time job.

Every day I go out into the wild and dangerous jungle this metropolis is, and register every indecent and wrong action that authorities commit against the citizens of Lectus.

The organization I belong to, RR — Rats of the Rebellion, collects data and evidence in every district there is. Our goal is to make the society more aware of what inhuman and incorrect place they live in.

I haven't been so long in their ranks, but I can say that our work is extremely dangerous and risky.

This organization is like an alive organism. With functioning receptors, the ones that collect the evidence against the officers. Nerves, the ones who safely transmit the data from the receptors to the brain, the main leaders of the group. They analyze, gather, and decide what to show to the world and what to keep in for later usage.

The idea of it all is great, but there is one main problem aside from the governors of course.

The people that should be concerned.

The RR really do a great job in exposing the wrongdoings of the officers, and that they aren't friendly to the people at all. But that's something we all know. Maybe the majority doesn't know about them crossing the moral line yet, but all of those people living here…

They are just to scared to take any actions to stop it. And the worst is, that no one knows when one of unjust judgements will fall on them.

The society is too undecided and divided in their own needs and problems, that gathering all of them for a one riot and opposing the crisis that tumbles the lower districts, in never likely to happen.

They are too weak mentally, so they will always be in the handcuffs of their own fate, not being able to change their hard life's.

Any sparks that appear throughout the history, like charismatic leaders, are quickly and silently being extinguished, so no one even knows what happened. Everyone around just forgets about that anyway.

I don't know what would have to happen for them all to realize that we can't continue living like that.

…

In a few minutes I would have a meeting with my friend, a person that transfers the evidence I register to someone that actually can do something with it, a person in the "brain" of the organization I work for.

It would be too easy if I just posted it on the web. When everything you do is tracked, I would only get myself in deeper crap I wouldn't be able to get out of. I would be immediately tracked and taken to the place I have no knowledge about, a place where all of the inobedient go. That's why working alone is a one-way ticket to losing your freedom.

I wondered for a while, but was interrupted when I suddenly heard loud footsteps. I couldn't determine from where they were coming, as the sounds echoed around me. They were coming closer. I got frightened, because opposite of what I thought, I wasn't alone in this concrete void.

When everyone around disappear, the ones hiding deep in the darkness get out.

Getting out of my home today was a one hel of a big mistake, but I had to do it…

I must deliver some recordings I've done the other night.

A few days ago, a turmoil happened in the west side of the district. By eavesdropping on the local officers radio I got the information about an action that was taking place in an abandoned street.

As it turned out, a manslaughter had been committed. People without any roof above their head tried to use the old buildings on the street and make themselves a place that could be called a shelter. Never a home. But as it turns out, no single support is granted from the government. What they do instead, is getting rid of their problems in an easy, but brutal and unmoral way. But in a world like this, morality has been gone lost a long time ago.

The order officers, are the opposite of what an order protectors should be.

They are the guardians of their own interests, the ones that control every aspect of your life. One wrong move, words, action and the officers will take everything you've earned.

With a simple reason: "If you can't obey the "simple" rules, you are not worthy of the gifts the metropolis gives you."

That is, a place to function. A place where all of your nightmares come true, negative emotions rise from the depths of your mind, everything just for a reference point in your life.

I just wonder where do such heartless people even come from. They do not care about the weak and the poor, and work for the ones with influence and money.

That is, for the ones that had it all since the beginning of this metropolis. When the division happened.

Our roles in the society have been assigned since our birth, I could name that a "cast", but our government avoids using this word, it's almost like a curse. They act like it's free to move, free to think, they pretend to be blind and deaf.

Raising all of the goods on your own, was straight up unachievable.

Anyone that was born here, stays here. The society is divided into casts, that do not care about your personal evolution.

As it was, it stays.

If you want to move to another district, it's not that easy, you need to have a special pass, as once you live in a specific place, it's hard to move to another one. But even harder, almost impossible, is to move to another sector — inner or outer ring of our metropolis. A dream everyone grew up from, with a lower chance than a miracle happening.

Because, everyone in their lives fail even once. That is considered as a great flaw in yourself.

Everything unnecessary you do in this metropolis will cost you more than you would even think of. That's why what am I doing right now is like disarming the bomb. Stand out a little and they're going to write you down, ruin your future and life. But wasn't life in this metropolis convicted to be painful from the beginning? Order. What an easy thing to break.

I didn't want to get caught especially at the times I didn't know what was happening.

Once again, I got too far away from what's happening right now, but surprisingly the noises disappeared in the distance. That really scared the hell out of me.

Being all alone here is worse that trying to hide among the people. Now no one covers me.

"I'm a master of hiding, not escaping" — I thought while leaning against a wall.

The person still wasn't coming, so I had to make my mind busy with something.

Every day I wonder, why is it like this?

The lower society daily struggles with the lackage of food and water. Poverty is common, with people often taking darker detours in the ways of their lives, like human trafficking, drugs, robberies, murders. But it's the hardship of moral life that makes them become like that.

And the ones that try to stay in the light of being "good". They do not hide in the darkness of the back alleys, yet get innocently accused of thing they haven't done. Being kidnapped or even slaughtered on the streets, nobody talks about it, Order Officers make our lives remind those of programmed robots, that have to obey everything you command them and the system. Where are the eyes of these people, being pushed around like that?

In the north of our district, a few glassy skyscrapers stood. On a normal, shady day, these glassy panels reflected only the grayish sky, in a sickening gradient.

But surprisingly now, the faint rising sunlight fell from such a specific angle, that made me able to see a enormous and tall corporation buildings in the distance, probably in the other district.

With their blinking lights and projectors showing the most deserved people of the city, that we commonly see on the screens in our districts, I wonder how tall are those building? I've never been close to them. As I saw the faces on the colorful projectors clearly from such far away, I thought they must be enormous indeed. This huge city sparkled and shined amazingly at day and night, with thousands of color and expressions, changing every second.

When you ask the people on the streets, what is the most beautiful thing they have ever seen in their life, the most expected answer is — this metropolis. The place where we all live in. The answer is flat. Maybe it's because their life is still like water in the puddle after the artificial rain? Or maybe they are afraid to say anything else, because what possibly could they see? They have never seen anything beautiful, nothing else than this city, and they will never see.

This city is a cage, a big concrete and metal box, that has only one view to the outside world, the sky. But even the sky isn't real, and the stars, and the moon aren't as beautiful and gorgeous as in the real life. Those things are constant, like a picture, they never change. I wonder if I will ever see anything else beside this city. I wonder if I will ever see the clear sky, the sun shining freely and fully, and the wondrous world that lays behind the tall walls of our cage.

If I could only change the reality… Give them freedom…

…

I was getting later and later since the set up time for our meeting. We were supposed to meet at the side alley that was located by the north metro station. Every district in this city has 5 main metro stations. The central one and 4 more that head to different directions inside the district.

I waited in silence for my companion to come, and I was getting frustrated. Why did I even come out of the house in the first place? Why didn't I come back after realizing that no one was on the streets? And why isn't he coming? He was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago.

Wasn't that enough for me? I questioned myself with anger.

But just right as I sighed from the frustration gathering up in my body, a black object moved in the corner of my eye.

I am not… alone…