City Of The Sun

Chapter 5

Leaving Gia sated early the next morning, Johnny slipped out of the house. He walked to the greenhouse, casually passing the maintenance crew working, wandering past the shattered glass, and skirted the guards talking to the chief greenhouse operative. He stopped where he and Gia heard the demon cry. Using that as his point of reference, he started searching.

He paused by two workers who were arguing over something. He got closer, listening.

"I am telling you. This was not here the other day. I think whoever shattered the glass made this hole."

"It is weird. I swear this is the fifth time this has happened."

"Hey guys," Johnny said, "Sorry, to overhear you both talking, but I am working for the Mayor's son." He showed his paper that Jessup wrote, stating he worked for the household.

"We are just workers. If you have questions, you need to talk to the Operative."

He leaned in. "I understand. I wear the same color robes as you." They all wore brown. "I also know the Operative doesn't know stuff like you guys. The real workers. You are the ones who do the actual work. You, whose hands bleed taking care of this beautiful place, feed us, and I thank you so much for all you do."

They looked at each other. "What do you want to know?"

"When you found the holes, you just fill them in?" They both nodded. "Have you guys seen any weird mounds that shouldn't be there?"

They shook their heads. "You know what this might be?" One man asked.

Johnny shook his head. "Just checking. Can you tell me what is under the soil?"

They laughed. "Soil. Soil and ground."

Johnny looked down at the dirt. "So, there is no cement or anything?"

"Nope. My Pap said he had to dig out a sick root when he was younger. He said he dug so far down. The ground turned from rich soil to rough dirt, to clay."

"You never told me that story," the other one said.

He nodded. "I just remembered." His eyes went wide as he looked over Johnny's shoulder. "Guards," he whispered.

"Thanks, guys," Johnny said with a nod and walked over to the water bins. Looking over his shoulder, he slipped around them until he was in the dark, and turning, eyed the tunnel. From inside his robe, he pulled out his knife and a glow stick, which gave off a satisfying crackle as he broke it. He started down the tunnel listening to water dripping far off.

He snuck down here once when he was a kid. One of his friends had gotten his hand on a bottle of booze, and they were going to get hammered. It was the same day he found out that Gia was to marry his half-brother, and he could do nothing about it. The smell hit him like a brick wall, making him stop.

You shouldn't be doing this, he told himself.

He already knew how they were getting in. They were digging inside from below the City. But why here, why not at the mines? As he got closer, the smell was overpowering as he pulled his robe over his nose. His eyes widened as he looked at the bodies that formed giant heaps along the walls. He bent to pick up the cloth on the ground, a piece of brown robe. Slum bodies.

He showed the light at the closest body, throat ripped out, and face partially gone. These people stood no chance. They can't afford home security like the rich can. Which means they have killed whole families. Anger and sadness filled him because of all this lost life.

There had to be more than one or two demons inside the City that could do this. He heard a slight shift, knowing he was no longer alone, and silently retreated the way he came. As he left the greenhouse, a thought came to him. Maybe they were in the mines too. They were so deep, and there were so many caves that perhaps they were there as well. But the ones here at the greenhouse? Scouts? He noticed nothing but animalistic behavior from them.

He looked up at the sky. He had time to get to the mines. But not go too much further. He knew there was a night shift, but he tried to calculate how to get back without his brother noticing. It might be better to go with the early sunrise tomorrow.

He walked back to Gia's. One servant saw him as he walked in and disappeared. Sherri rushed down the stairs to him. "Come with me now," she whispered.

"What is wrong?" He followed her up the stairs.

"She rubbed the oil on her skin. She is in agony." She held open the door but closed it once he was through. She stayed in the hall.

Gia lay on her bed, moaning. He took a seat. "Gia, what did you do?"

She turned lust-filled eyes to him. "Oh, thank the sun, you are here. I need you." Her hands traveled over her naked, glistening skin, which made her moan.

"Why did you do this, Gia?"

Her hands never gave up the rubbing. "It feels so good. I do nothing all day, and here I could have been doing this. The pleasure is amazing. But I need release." She rolled over and crawled over to him. "Help me," she begged.

He looked at her beautiful green needy eyes, stood up, removed his robes, and climbed on the bed with her. She slithered over his body, her mouth kissing his sensitive bits, and he lay back, giving her control. She took it, and she rode him and the oil out of her system. Gia collapsed on his chest when she finished. He held her to him. He could never say no to her. Not when they were younger, and especially not now.

"Thank you," she said in a whisper. Her heavy breathing slowed, and then she grew heavy on him as sleep pulled her under.

He rolled her off and covered her body with a sheet. As he shrugged his robes on, Sherri opened the door. "She needs to stay away from the oil."

She nodded. "I will talk to her." He went to his room to do some cleanup, and he thought of maps. They had to have them.

He went down to Jessup's office. One of his servants was dusting the objects in the room. "Master likes everything clean," he said, noticing Johnny at the door. "Master is still working."

"I was wondering if Jessup has maps of the city I can look at?"

The servant looked over the shelves. "No maps. You can try the main office."

He nodded. "Thank you." Checking the time, he could make it to the office and back before Jessup got home, expecting dinner.

He hurried to the office. One clerk eyed him suspiciously. "The Mayor is busy," she said coldly.

He nodded. "I am wondering if I can borrow a book with maps of the City?"

"Hold on." She got up and walked to the office behind her. He heard his brother's voice, so there was no hiding his want for the book. He waited to see if Jessup was going to come out and interrogate him, but the clerk came back and handed him a ticket. "Jessup says you are to have it back in the morning."

He nodded. "Of course."

She pointed down the hall. "You will find the holding there."

He wondered why Jessup let him borrow the book as he strode down the hall. He coughed as dust wafted at him as he pushed open the door. Inside the musty room, an old man sat reading.

He looked up at Johnny. "Hey young'un, what can I help you with?"

Johnny handed him the ticket. The old man had no hair, and large glasses hid his dark eyes. He squinted at the paper. "Map of the City?" He looked at him. "Very interesting. No one ever checks it out."

"Not even builders or miners?"

He shook his old head. His body creaked and cracked as he stood from his chair. He groaned as he walked over to the right bookshelf and pulled out the book. He handed it over the desk with gnarled fingers.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Eighty-nine." The old man saw the shocked look on his face and laughed. "I like this place. It reminds me of something else."

Johnny held the book, but sat in an old chair in front of the old man's desk. "Reminds you of what?"

The old man shook his head. "I shouldn't say anything. But lately, I've had dreams. Sometimes they feel so real. Like I really lived there."

"There?" He tilted his head.

"A giant building with many books. So many books I have never seen here. Rows and rows, shelves that climbed stories as far up as the wall." He shook his head. "Fantastic dream. Maybe as death grows near, it shows you the next life."

"What if it really happened?" Johnny whispered.

His eyes narrowed on Johnny. "What you say is blasphemy. Everyone knows the City is all there is."

"But what if this dream of yours had been real?"

He shook his head. "No, boy, I have lived here all my life. I had a ma and pa, loved and lost, have great-grandkids. And where is this giant place of books? There is nothing out there."

"Are there maps of the world?"

The old man thought about it. "No. The City—"

Johnny interrupted. "I know. The City is all we know." He leaned over the desk. "I have dreams too. Of playing out in the world of grass, of a large city under attack, and lights falling from the sky."

"The lights shook the world," the old man whispered, eyes glazed over with memory. He shook his head. "Is there anything else you need?"

Johnny got up, clutching the book. "No, thank you."

As he got to the door, the old man called for him. "Be careful. Once things are said, they can't be unsaid. Not everyone gets set free, boy, and there has been so much blood spilled."

Johnny didn't know what to say. He walked home with the old man's words running through his head. Who else has been having dreams? How can one ask without getting in trouble?