Out There: The 1K - Part 1

Chapter 18 - What the Keth Left Behind

   (pic: stock image of a ruined building)

 A cold, lonely wind swept through the post-apocalyptic cul-de-sac.

They faced down their destination at its apex: a crumbling eight story apartment building with wall-high, dimly lit windows looming their dead eyes over the four figures below.

In another life, this could have been considered upscale architecture.

However, it was clear the royals only employed the bare minimum renovations required to appease city codes. A 'Beware All Ye Who Enter Here' sign at the head of the street would mesh perfectly with the ambiance. The street name itself of 'Sunridge' could use an upgrade, though.

The entire street and the two that flanked it created a slice of devastation shoehorned into the unkempt city from a dystopian world.

Will didn't hide his disappointment and disgust. "This is it?"

"Yup," Selka stated in flat agreement.

"Cozy," Yune's sarcastic tone added, "ya know, in that 'always lock your front door' kind of way," he folded his arms, "Reminds me of home."

Terra scanned up the faded azure paint job chipping off in places to show the old avocado green beneath. "It's a dump."

"Well," Selka tried to see the sunny side beyond the street name, " look at the bright side; it's got natural light, corner windows, exposed brick--"

A chunk of stone broke off a buttress under the protective overhang and crashed into a patch of dead foliage that once dreamed of being a yard. A raccoon-cat-like creature - a nathakit - startled out of the tall grass, hissed with its bottle-brush tail bushed out and short triangular ears flat, and scrabbled into the darkness.

"--garden décor."

"Why would your contact be in a dumpster like this?" Terra's last word hit as though she had tasted something bitter.

"Because dumpsters like this are where people like us go to hide."

Will eyed them both suspiciously, getting more of an idea of the crowd he and his only family were kidnapped into, "So, he's a criminal like you guys?"

"Hey, we're not criminals," Yune corrected him, "I prefer 'self-employed, devilishly-handsome rogue.'"

"Right," Will folded his arms, "because stealing stuff and kidnapping people is clearly legal."

Yune's annoyance meter went up another notch, "I regret that last one more every second."

Terra stopped at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front door. Something about the building seemed to push against her. She gripped her left upper arm in a subconscious move to protect herself.

"Terra? What's wrong?" Selka paused. The girl's fear had spiked. She noticed Will hadn't moved beyond the edge of the sidewalk, either.

"I don't want to go in there," the small girl shook her head, "It's...dark."

"Dark?"

Her head bobbled up and down, "This whole place feels dark." She wrapped her arms around herself more to stave it off.

Selka realized something about these children made them sensitive to the vibrations around them. All felorians - Ai Hiri or not - were trained from a young age to control their empathic abilities so that they wouldn't be constantly bombarded with unwanted information. Other mental skills beyond that developed at the onset of puberty.

She touched Terra's shoulder in empathy, "This city is old. It has a lot of ghosts it would rather forget." 

Terra's feet remained rooted to the pavement. She took in the grim, shattered street, "What happened here?"