The Undoing Of Villains | ✓

one

a/n: dedicated to @RobThier because the good Lord never fails to bring good content and simply inspires me to write as well. even if he's not a sci-fi writer he's great, you all should check him out too <3 

one

AFTER a turbulent welcome to my new home, I had headed out to flag down a cab. During the entire time I'd spent cramped in that small car, my face had been plastered against the window to catch as much as the city as possible. 

Dynamo was .. powerful, to say the least. It rose with shimmering skyscrapers, the different buildings connected thanks to large, glass walkways. Ordinary people - people -  strolled from office to office dozens of feet into the air.

It was eons better than the small hole-in-the-wall I'd grown up in. Eons better, and eons more exciting. I felt a heavy weight settle - I'd done the right thing by coming here. I was convinced it had been the right thing to do from the start, but now I knew for sure. 

"First time in the city?" The driver remarked with an amused note in his voice, and I nodded, meeting his eyes in the rear-view mirror. 

"Yeah. That noticeable?" He nodded in response, and I cringed. I didn't want to look like the country-girl turned tourist, but I probably represented the textbook example. Oh well. I'd learn to drink coffee and dress in business casual attire in no time. Hopefully I'd lose the accent sometime before that, too. 

I spent the rest of the ride studying the cityscape, and responding to texts. My brothers, overprotective and stupidly loveable as they were, had sent a bunch of texts in our group chat. It had turned from 'did you get there alright?'-themed texts to a roasting battle, which made me partly miss them and their stupidity, but also thank my lucky stars I'd left. 

'Got here in one piece. Not dead yet, lol. Getting to the new apartment in 5'. I pressed send, then turned off the phone to lean my head against the top of my seat. We had roughly five minutes left of driving according to the driver, and so I spent them briefly closing my eyes. I wasn't tired, more like weary, but any place seemed good enough for a nap. 

"We're here, miss." 

I paid, retrieved my luggage, then watched the red cab roll off into the distance. The apartment building was around three stories tall, its multiple windows reflecting the glowing afternoon sun. I knew the building had a few years on its neck, but it looked newly renovated as I studied its outside. The entrance was framed in brick, and the apartments' small balconies were brimming with flowers. 

The apartment was on the ground floor, and the door was the first one to the left. The landlord had texted me to let me know she'd left the key beneath a flower pot about fifteen minutes prior to my arrival, so I lifted the clay pot beside the door and reached down to pick it up. 

The lock clicked open after a short moment, and I pushed the door open. A small hall greeted me, and beyond that was an empty living room. A half-wall separated it from a modern kitchen, and beside that a hallway led off into what I assumed was the bedroom. I'd studied the floor plan briefly, but to be honest it had been a spur of the moment decision to go for the small apartment. 

Leaving my luggage in the hall, I kicked my shoes off and took a small, private tour of the space. I couldn't resist smiling. It was freedom and happiness surging through me, and there were few moments I'd ever hold as precious as that one. The clothing I'd shipped here in cardboard boxes were stashed in a corner of the living-room, courtesy of my helpful landlord.