Immortalys

Chapter Six: The City of the Future

This is it, thought Friction mutely. We're dead.

He didn't know whether all of this was a good thing or a bad thing. He just wanted to get away. Except he could not move for his intense shock at everything that met his eyes.

The next thing he saw nearly took his breath away. Straight in front of them loomed the tallest building he had ever laid eyes on. It towered upwards into the sky, disappearing from view within the clouds, surely over 150 storeys in height. The vehicle they were on approached it with surprising swiftness, and Friction knew with a sinking feeling in his stomach that this colossal building was their destination.

He and Willow were taken directly into the building, entering inside a gigantic glass door that slid open by itself. Waiting for them was a group of six officials like the ones outside, all standing in the same position and wearing the same expression. However, Friction's eyes were quickly drawn away from them to the rest of the lobby.

It was the biggest and grandest room he had ever laid eyes on, with a giant staircase in the middle leading to both the next level up and the next level down, and all of the floor was made from polished stone. A little river even ran right through the floor, filling the air with the sound of bubbling water, and in the very center of the lobby was a bridge with plants growing around it. Looking upward, he could see balconies of glass belonging to at least five floors above the main level, where an occasional officer leaned out to see what was going on below.

Their vehicle began to descend the grand staircase to the next floor down, so smoothly that Friction knew they had somehow been floating the whole time rather than touching the road. He heard the officers' footsteps following them. His trepidation grew as he lost sight of the impressive lobby and instead saw a low-lit hallway growing to meet them as they descended. He could tell that this floor level was roomy as well, but darker, and more foreboding. Little blue lights illuminated the base of the walls, and Friction saw doorways passing by, with glittering red lights where the handles should be.

He felt Willow grab his arm, but she said nothing, probably out of her intense fear. Friction looked sideways at her, but he felt like something bad would happen if he wasn't watching his surroundings.

So breathtaking and intimidating this was to Friction that he didn't notice the officers approaching his side until they had clamped their hands upon his upper arm. He jumped in fear and struggled against their grip, his heart pounding harder than ever. At this moment, their vehicle stopped in front of one of the doors, and it slid open, the little red light changing to green. Friction, despite his struggling, was lifted out of the seat by the officers and transported into the dark room. He twisted vainly in their grip, trying to keep Willow in his line of sight. She was writhing in their grip, her mouth open but no scream coming out.

In the pitch blackness of the room, Friction felt himself being laid onto a hard surface. His wrists were brought down to his sides and something clamped them down to the table. He bucked forward wildly, but he may as well have just lay limp. His ankles were clamped down as well, making any upward movement impossible.

There was no escape.

Friction thought he sensed something change about the air around him... he suddenly felt very drowsy... helplessly, against his will, his heart still hammering away, he drifted off into nothingness...

. . .

Outside, the initial excitement was over, but this had no dampening effect whatsoever on the tireless mood of Immortalys. Near the gate of the city, beneath the auroras that still swirled in the night sky, excited babble began to break out among the citizens. They pointed after the vehicle carrying the two strangers and discussed in raised voices and smiling faces about the event they had just witnessed.