Chapter 9

                                    

                                          
~Emilia~ 
The streets were a lot busier now that the sun had been up for a few hours and the air was just starting to get hot. Emilia circled the city with her head up, watching the intricate networks of greenery and lanterns strung between buildings.
Mary had her light eyes peeled, scanning each and every person briefly as they walked through the streets. Emilia tried to mimic her but wasn't really sure what she was supposed to be looking for. Everyone seemed as they had on the first day; smiling at each other but peeling their eyes at those in corners and alleyways with only a backpack for a home. The only difference was that there weren't any wandering military guards.
They arrived at the town square right at the lowest point of Fimiston. All roads in the city led to the tallest building, a skyscraper who's spire almost touched the roof at night. It looked to be the newest building in the entire city, almost impossibly modern with the state of the rest of the dust-covered wasteland. The front houses a large balcony supported by white concrete pillars that overlooked the town square. It was lined with the only trees in Fimiston, and walled in by all other sides with crammed, unstructured residential buildings. The square was also crowded, even more so than the station. For a place as deep and crowded as the pit was, it was windy and made Mary's wispy hair blow in her face.
"Every Monday," Mary began, "the council of elders stage a presentation of sorts to update the people on the progress of the war."
She gestured to the crowds of people crammed onto the balconies that leaned over the square. There were even a few children balancing on roofs and swinging on the lantern lines. Everyone was eager, but the show was yet to start.
"It won't start until 10am, so let's gather our food first. There's a few small grocers around the place, from those who grow plants on their terraces and roofs, but for the protein we'll need to visit the Meat Strip."
Mary explained along the way to the Meat Strip that it was a street on one of the higher tiers where the people had a strong connection to farmers and butchers that had access to the top. Only a select few new the secrets to growing vegetation and supporting the survival of livestock in the desolate desert. No one else was supposed to live in the real town of Fimiston, with the rumours of disappearing suddenly being well known to anyone who would dare. The common talk of the town was that it had something to do with Australia's enemies, but Mary promised that it wasn't. 
"The population is increasing every time a train comes in, and the few who still live up there just draw attention with their light use during the night. Officials go up there whenever they see light and... execute them. All their possessions are then sold to fuel the little economy here."
"But weren't Dominik and..." Emilia tried to think of their names from this morning.
"Klaus and Petyr."
"Yeah, Klaus and Petyr, going up there today?"
"Yes, but they'll be ok. They know how to protect themselves," she said, smacking her leg which produced a metallic sound. "You'll learn too."
The Meat Strip had nicer looking buildings than the ones down below, but they were still just as dusty, so Emilia wasn't really sure what made them better than anywhere else. The people that walked the streets stared at the two girls with blatant distaste. The man standing outside of a vegetable grocery screwed his face at them before entering, the two older ladies gossiping in front of a coffee brew house whispered menacingly loud insults about them, and even a few children in clean collared shirts kicking a ball across the street snickered as the two walked past.
"What's wrong with them?" she asked.
"We're dirty," Mary replied back simply. "This place has been up and running for months and already these people have figured out how to bring classism here."