Soul Rift

Karzil's Sunset

Soul Rift - Chapter Two - Karzil's Sunset

The road was busy. Daojack cars sped across its metallic surface like many bees working. Karzil was sick of it.

Every day, every hour the daojack cars came and went, painted brightly and moving swiftly, never a change in the quick rhythm.

They resembled bugs, since their main body was a sphere with antenna-like protrusions coming out in front.

Green, blue, yellow, any colour but white, since that colour was reserved for the more important leaders. Many people were against the reservation of the colour white for the leaders. They said white should be for everyone, even though if it was not many people would want a white daojack anyway.

Karzil shook his head at the stupidity of it.

He was waiting to cross the road, and he could only do that when the wards were raised around the pedestrian crossing area. It was too dangerous to cross otherwise, because of the extreme speeds of the daojacks.

Then, finally, a clicking sound could be heard, indicating the wards had been raised. Red marks glowed on the road, and the daojacks nearby had their brakes electronically halted.

Karzil crossed at his leisure, amidst a small cluster of fellow pedestrians.

On the other side the pavement rose gradually, and he followed the upward slope until reaching the top.

And there, quite abruptly, the city ended and the country began.

Of course, as close as you got to country in these days...

Other cities were visible in the distance, on all sides, but still, a fabulous green valley reigned between all of them. And Karzil sat down there, and looked up at the sky.

A fantastic array of colours were chasing eachother across it, as the sun set. Scarlet and flaming orange and violet and creamy gold.

But then another colour emerged into the sky. An emerald-azure cross that billowed like an unnatural cloud.

A slit of greenish colour opened, like a gash, and from it other colours dripped like blood.

Karzil rose slowly to his feet, his eyes wide.

And then something emerged from it; lots of things. A star, what looked like a star, began to drift down to the ground from its height, sparkling gold. Others followed, most of them gold, but some of them silver.

And without thinking, almost without realising, Karzil ran towards it.

At first it was like running towards a rainbow, but after a time Karzil was able to get an idea of where it would land, and it was not far from where he was.

It was at this point that the first glimmerings of fear began to claw at him.

But he had no time to think about that, so he sprinted towards the star-like sparkles, pushing off his emotions in a flurry of desperation.