Infinity zero: Efa

Prospect

They say that the world was a beautiful place, where the skies were illuminated with colour and the birds could be heard singing the morning song. 7.59 billion people walked across the vast lands, from cities to forests and mountains. All but the deepest depth of the ocean could be reached by man. That was all before the millennial war, now only darkness remains in the cold rusted corridors of the underground cities. Some choose to wonder the desolate lands of the surface, but regardless of the decisions made mankind continues to fight for survival in a dieing world.

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Kaleb awoke the same way he did before every shift, with the splashing of water droplets leaking from the ceiling pipes onto the broken tilled floor beside his bed. His eyes didn't need to adjust to the dimly lit closet room. The green glow from the ancient clock hanging on the wall wasn't exactly blinding. It was one of the few ways people kept track of time, which seemed to have less relevance with each passing day. A screeching of springs bounced off the metal walls. It was hard to tell exactly where the sound started, but Kaleb knew it was his nitwit roommate Jamie. The lack of snoring indicated he was also awake. Rather than dealing with a barrage of snide remarks, Kaleb chose to lay in bed with his eye shut. After all it was three hours before his next shift was due to start and he had nowhere in particular to be.

As he repositioned himself to face the the bolted wall, he was jolted upright. A hard object had hit him square in the head, followed  by a deep voice 'wake up sleepy head, your shift starts in 15'. Kaleb gritted his teeth as he grasped the object. An old pillow case filled with rusted knuts and threw back in Jamie's direction. 'For f**** sake Jamie how many times do I have to tell you'. Jamie barely dodged the pillow as he gave Kaleb a toothy grin 'Missed me by a mile mate' he replied as he left the room. The space was barely big enough for two grown men, but four shared this room and Kaleb tolerated all of them. Through nessesity, not choice. And of course Jamie was the worst.

Kaleb descended from the bunk bed, glancing at the four numbers flashing on the wall, 04:04. Despite the early hours, the others were out working shifts in thier own sectors. He walked over to the small sink in the corner of the room to wash his tired face. Looking in the cracked mirror an unfamiliar face stared back at him. Kaleb wasn't always a well kept person, but he had seen better days. His curly brown locks were beginning to matte together and the dark circles under his eyes made him look sickly. He hadn't shaved in over 3 weeks, so he decided to grab the soap and razor. The best time to clean up was when no-one else was around. As usual the water was ice cold with a metallic taste. For once in his life Kaleb was thankful for the ice cold rise as it was revitalising, he continued to eye his reflection whilst drying off his face and hair.

Given the rude wake up call, Kaleb refused to wait another second in his room. But during these early hours there was little to do in Prospect, so he decided to head down to the fuse room to start his shift early. Having slept in the same old tattered overalls from his previous shift, Kaleb grabbed his boots preparing to leave. It was to much of a bother to change and he didn't want to risk meeting his other roommates after a terrible start and its not like he had any clean clothes laying around.

The corridors were always quite at this time, Kaleb preferred it like that. Less annoyance during his travels and the sound of his own footsteps bouncing off the metallic surfaces, give him a sense of calm in this claustrophobic world. Prospect is one of many underground cities developed by the British government, during the second phase of the millennial war. It was a rushed job but many of the oldest structures are still standing and it was almost at completeion and well protected by the time Celestia Hit. Whilst Prospect was originally created as a temporary safe zone, it has now become home to thousands of citizens.

The upper levels of the city are notorious for the typical hustle and bustle of city life, with shops, restaurants and office spaces. While the middle sections are reserved as sleeping quarters and the cafateria space, a place for those who lacked enough credits to splash out to on the upper level restaurants. Most of the manual jobs were reserved to the lower sectors. But Kalebs destination is down in the depths of Prospect, to the core levels. As he descend down the numerous shoots and shafts he began to hear it. The sound that pulsated energy to all corners of Prospect, sustaining the lives that lived here. They call it the heart of Prospect, without it the city would cease to exist. 

But that  whooshing hum was not the only sound reverberating through the walls. The large machines and cogs of the factories above could also be heard. The lower he descended the more people he began to pass, thier faces only visible with the red glow from the lights that lined the halls. No-one looked his way or spoke a word. They were all much to busy, rushing to thier next assignment, or tiredly walking back to thier chambers to rest. Kaleb didn't mind it made his own day more bearable when he was ignored. But just to be on the safe side he kept up his own personal barrier. It always worked, he was never seen when he hid behind it.

The closer he got to his station in the fuse room, the louder the pulsating hum became, until he could  barely hear the sound of his own steps. The heart was just two floors down but Kaleb was exactly where he needed to be, all be it several hours earlier than expected.

As he reached the end of long passageway he stopped at the only door, situated on the right hand side. It was clearly rusted with a dilapidated sign saying fuse room. As he opened the door a loud screeching sound echoed across the now empty corridor and his barrier became useless. Inside was an old man sat in front of an array of machines and computer screens. Sort of a cross between a CCTV room and an old switchboard with hundreds of ports and wires. The only light source came from the monitors and an array of small flashing lights on the dashboards. The primary function of the machines wasn't for security, though Kaleb had heard stories of spies being detected. As well as the odd kinky afternoon break for some of the younger workforce. Not that he himself had ever seen or even partook in such scandalous activity in such a public space. No the monitors were to keep tract of the systems and update the relevant department of any changes or repairs required. The heart needed constant monitoring and repairs.

The man sat on the stool, seemingly didn't notice Kaleb as he entered. His broard shoulders hunched over the desk as he meticulously looked through an old and worn paper manual. The elderly mans ears were covered by large red defenders to block out the constant drumming of the mechanical sounds radiating from the floors above. Despite this the sound in here was quieter in comparison to other rooms and passageways. Though the walls still seemed to be in constant motion as they visibly shook. Kaleb slowly walked past the mans seat grabbing his own headset before taking refuge beside him, to begin work...