A Weird Reality

Chapter 7: Cityscape

She looked around at the tall buildings that now surrounded her. She was in what looked like a city. It was bright out, signifying that it was day time here. There were no cars in sight. The city seemed empty. She then spotted a few figures in the distance. It looked like a group of people. Maybe they could help her! She started quickly walking towards them with Jovial.

The closer she got to the group, she could start to make out their faces, or lack thereof. They had no faces, all features having been replaced by solid flesh. She paused and looked towards Jovial. Those people weren't human, that's for sure. Though they have a facade of being humans, Axavia thought it would be best to avoid them. She doesn't know who or what she can trust in this place. She walked away in the opposite direction of the people, with Jovial following her close behind. She could feel the warmth of the asphalt sidewalk radiating through her mismatched socks as she wandered along.

Axavia looked next to her to check how Jovial was doing. They had been exploring the city for a while now, avoiding any people they saw. She noticed that Jovial was looking a bit tired and was slowing down the flapping of its wings.

"Are you ok, Jovial? You seem tired." She asked it worriedly.

Jovial nodded its eyeball body at her as if to say that it was. She thought to herself for a moment. She came up with an idea.

"Would you like me to carry you in my arms as we continue, then?" She suggested it to Jovial.

Jovial nodded at her and floated down to sit in her arms. It wrapped its wings around its body and got comfortable in her grasp. She brought one hand up slightly to pet its wings gently. They continued onward through the city, looking for anything with resources or a place to stay.

Axavia made a mental note of the odd things she saw about the city. Some sidewalks would just end randomly, others would curve up like a ramp and lead up into the sky. She also noticed that some buildings seemed to be clipping through others weirdly, as though they were merged incorrectly. She stopped by one structure that stood out amongst the others. The structure was that of the liberty statue. It was such an odd sight to see. What was the Statue of Liberty doing here? She pointed towards the structure,

"Look Jovial, that's the Statue of Liberty. Though, what is it doing here?" She told the creature, murmuring the last part to herself.

"I've visited the Statue of Liberty once with my parents." She said, recalling the event. It was such a fun time. Her parents had taken her to visit New York for a vacation trip once. Jovial looked up at her, noticing her eyes were starting to water.

"Huh..? Oh!" She brought a hand up to wipe at the tears forming in her eyes. "I'm fine, Jovial. Don't worry, I was just thinking about my parents..." She reassured the creature in her arms.

Axavia and Jovial explored the city for many more hours, stopping by whatever stores they came across and grabbing the food and resources inside. Axavia put the items she got into the broach shaped 'pocket' she got before. Axavia stepped outside the store her and Jovial were just in and looked up at the sky. Despite what she guessed were a few hours had passed, the time of day never changed. The sun stayed in the same spot it had been since she last checked, still beaming brightly in the sky.

"How odd," Axavia thought to herself. She continued on their stroll through the city with Jovial still resting in her arms. She saw many stores and places but they looked empty so she decided to just pass by them.

Hours seemed to pass as they walked. They occasionally grabbed food and resources from whatever stores they found. The sun stayed high in the sky the whole time. Axavia looked up towards the sun, blocking her eyes from the blinding light with her hands.

"How long will we be here, Jovial?" Axavia asked her companion, who was now flying beside her. She didn't expect a response though she wished there was an answer to her questions. She turned her head back to facing forwards out towards the city that seemed to stretch on forever. In the distance she noticed a taxi car heading her direction. She was taught to never enter a stranger's car but she thought that maybe it could take her to the exit of this place. There was not a better option in her mind. She'd rather take a car than continue walking on foot for hours at this point.

Axavia started waving the car down once it started getting closer and it soon came to a stop next to her. She didn't see anyone inside the car and was perplexed by this. 'If no one was inside driving the car, how was it moving?' She thought to herself. She hesitantly opened the back passenger door and got in with Jovial. The car started driving itself again once Axavia was in and had her seatbelt on. She was feeling tired after having walked for so long so she took a nap during the car ride. Jovial sat in her arms and fell asleep as well.