Escalator
09:00AM
Chrysalis Educational Complex - Transport Access
I see an escalator. It goes up to infinity. I see empty roads drifting by a blue vastness. I feel the wind on my checks, vaguely warm. There's something in my mind that I'm trying to retrieve. My eyes dart around in their sockets, the vision a blur, accompanying the search in my conscience.
The sky darkens. I see lampposts floating in the distance, their orange lights blinking, like fireflies. I'm still going up. There's no end in sight. The lampposts multiply. One brushes against the top of my head, the lightbulb very warm, almost burning. It's nostalgic, somehow.
"Hey."
I look behind me. There's a girl, climbing the stairs. That's not recommended. She could trip and injure herself. Maybe it's only rashness.
"You shouldn't climb the escalator like that, you know." I say.
"Sorry, didn't have the patience. I'm never good with long journeys by myself. How are you holding up?" She asks.
"I can manage. What's your name?"
"Ilia." She dodges a brushing lamp. "Ilia Lafayette. We are in the same classroom you know."
"What classroom?"
"Anathematic Containment and Logging."
A blur. Smokes and mirrors through a computer screen, psychological and visual tricks to capture anomalies.
"I see. Sorry, didn't really catch your name."
"Nor my face it seems. You act as you've never seen me before."
"Sorry about that."
"No worries."
She rests her elbow on the handrail, a wry smile in her lips. She doesn't ask for my name. I guess she already knows.
"There's only going up here. How do you get back down?"
"You trip and fall."
She laughs.
"You're a kidder, aren't you?"
"I'm not joking."
The wind pushes against your bare skin, with enough force to rip it apart if you're not careful. It's a long way down, almost four hours. You can't really move and your conscience is clogged with the loud sound of the running wind, so you can't really visualize anything in your head. It's a very boring trip. I'll need to take it later. A shame, really.
"It sounds ridiculous, but I've never been to the Second Sky, so who knows."
The sky darkens. It's almost two hours now, two more to go.