The Owls Who Watch

Chapter 9: Welcome to Arumlily

Sleep was the only thing Kevin desired. All ponderings of how he may escape the vehicle, and Arumlily itself were useless by now. There was peace in surrender, regardless of how terrible or foreboding the situation has thus presented itself. At this point, the only thing he wanted was to sleep; to reset all of his emotions and be born anew. Tomorrow is another day, he thought. What tomorrow could bring was uncertain. Perhaps he would conspire to escape the village in a greater scope, firstly by exploring the bounds of the town to find any means of escape. Yet if the people happened to be disturbed and insubordinate, surely all means of escape had been occluded to prevent such a scheme. I'll sort something out. I just need to rest.

The inside of Daniel's car resembled a taxi. A black barrier divided the vehicle in two, with a plastic pane in its centre, so Daniel could see and speak to Kevin. It had been 5 or 10 minutes since Kevin entered the car, and Daniel thankfully hadn't once shown any indication that he even desired to speak to him. The trees closed in on the road again, the terrain became higher and more dynamic, as if the roads were carved below the ground. When the trees became more sparse, Kevin could see the first few glimpses of the village.

About half a mile away, grey and shabby apartment complexes of various heights cramped together across flat terrain. Some were shrouded by the occasional tree which gave the illusion that the amalgamated apartments were divided. There were other, larger buildings outside of the car's right window, but the flats on the left were what drew Kevin's attention. They were where he'd be living, apparently. As the car drove further into the village, the grey apartments on the left spread closer to the main road. Their windows were mostly shut and concealed, though a few remained open to reveal uncertain furniture within. There were no chimneys or noise, but from what Kevin could see, most of the apartments were definitely inhabited. Behind them, the massive forest towered over them. When Kevin looked back, he noticed that the ground which upheld the forest which sprawled around the village was elevated, as if the ground which contained the village had been carved from the naturally high ground. Kevin wondered how this was even possible before losing interest. It was as if the village were locked behind bars of trees and dirt.

A roundabout came into view through the front window. Rows of grey apartments and prefabs surrounded it. In the centre towered a tall, grey statue of a bearded, long-haired man dressed only in a robe. In one hand he was holding a Christian cross, while his other hand was stretched outwards. The statue looks older than the shopping centre. Christianity had been rapidly declining for the past few decades across the Grand Market. The Market's chief religion was wealth, its devout devoted entirely to attaining credits and power instead of seeking salvation. Any other religion was discouraged in the upper classes, yet the Merchants knew better than to share their views with the masses, lest their hierarchy crumbles. Nevertheless, their views found a way to trickle down throughout society. Kevin wondered why more people weren't angry at the system. For as long as he remembered, people committed themselves to religion in a desperate attempt to feel superior to their Merchant overlords. Since religion was declining, people must be realising that strategy didn't work. His father once belonged to the religion until his addictions gradually undermined his faith, his breach of commitment was later proven when he beat Kevin for reading the Bible for schoolwork. The allure of wealth must have been too strong for such a weak man. He didn't only develop an addiction to alcohol, but an addiction to stocks and bonds as well. The alcohol lulled the frustration that debt brought. Kevin wondered why Jules stayed with the man. She was not capable of love, only a shallow imitation of ambition.

Daniel drove down the first exit, away from the statue, and through a winding road surrounded by prefabs into the direction of the apartments. People could be seen inside some of the windows. Now and then, awkwardly placed grassy patches and unsightly rows of bushes were lazily in between the cramped, roadless streets. The car took a turn, into a street surrounded by flats. Various forms of lighting glowed inside the small windows. The interiors were still mostly concealed with curtains. Those windows that weren't, displayed bottles and other such kitchen products. Outside, there were no people or cars, and the only roads that seemed to divert from this one appeared to result immediately in car parks.