One Way Trip

The lights of Xeon showed no difference regardless of how much time passed, making it difficult to tell if the train was moving. Yet she knew that wasn't the case. She felt the movement. The occasional rough patches of the train tracks as they passed over them.

Renata pulled her hood down farther, trying to hide as much of her face as possible. She purchased a cloak made with the thickest material she could afford, but the quality left something to be desired since she was a kid from the slums who struggled to scrounge together the money. She could only buy this one because Niko gave her a discount. A farewell gift, he said.

It was a shame that she had no way to thank him for his kindness. He'd always been good to her, and now she would never see him again. Everybody on this train, once they passed through the final gate, would not be allowed to return to Xeon.

This was the last option left for her. If she stayed, then she would be hunted and killed for the simple crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was better to leave Xeon, and there wasn't much she would miss about it.

Information about the world beyond was difficult to find, but the unknown would be more welcoming. She read about sunlight and how it would be different from the neon lights that she was used to.

The train jerked. She worried that it might end up being subjected to a security check before they made it out, but why would the authorities care about soon-to-be fugitives that they would never need to see again?

She clenched her hands into fists to keep them from trembling, glancing around to find that that few other people in the train car with her appeared equally - if not more - nervous.

Yet the train continued moving despite the jerk and increasingly rough ride.

Renata felt her anxiety being to well up. After the wars, the world outside became uninhabitable. The civilians who were evacuated to mountain shelters had no choice but to continue living there, building a new society over generations of life within the earth.

What was she meant to do if the world hadn't healed? That would be the same as being sentenced to a slow death. Dehydration would get her first, she thought. In that case, it would have been better to stay in Xeon and take her chances.

She raised her hand to her mouth and bit at the nail of her index finger. This was a mistake. It was too late to get off the train now, and she doubted that she would be allowed to stay aboard for its eventual return trip. There was nowhere to hide either.

The flashing red lights in the tunnel told Renata that they were approaching that edge of Xeon's mountain. Judging by the rough ride, the tracks here were not maintained, though she should have expected that. Why would Xeon waste resources on the comfort of those who were leaving? Those who were entering what was effectively an exile?

The sight of red lights blurring past the window made her stomach twist. This was it. She was moments away from seeing the outside world that was spoken about as if it was a legend.

The first glimpse blinded her with the difference in brightness between the tunnel and outside, but she could already tell that this light was not like the neon ones she was used to. There was something refreshing to it. Something warm in contrast to the way that the neon lights felt cold.

It was the fabled sunlight. It had to be. It reigned over this would that she would now work to survive in.

It was the herald of her new home.