Code of the Council

The Gathering

The leaves lashed at my face as I ran, their gnarly branches like claws of a predator, snagging at my clothes and threatening to send me face first into the musty ground. I couldn't believe I was doing this. The window had been relatively easy to jimmy, but the hardest part was sneaking past the monitors. The tall, slender machines stood guard at every crossport, making sure that no one rode the tubes up or down. Even though the platforms are locked in place after curfew, monitors can report anyone sneaking out of their houses. At the edge of town there is an abandoned toolshed, and surprisingly, there is an old and unused crossport inside. If you know how to properly trick up the wires, you can use it to ride up or down between the city levels. It passes through very remote outskirts of town, but it's still odd that the city doesn't know about it. The crosspost didn't the clear, plastic tube surrounding it, only the long pole sticking out of it by which the platform goes up and down. The floor creaked as I had crept across and set to work on the twisted wires. The compartment wasn't bolted down, so all I had to do was stick my penknife under it and flick it upwards. I tricked up the wiring as needed and stepped onto the platform. "Level 0" I typed into my port-bracelet, and the round platform groaned under my feet. It shuttered and slowly began its descent, revealing an assortment of shimmering lights below. I passed through woodland, empty roads, and other abandoned areas, all the while gripping as tight as I could to the pole, but letting it slide through my palms so I could stay on the platform. My stomach made violent flips, leaving my head spinning. The endless void continued until suddenly, the metal circle came to a sickeningly abrupt halt.

The Central Recreational Park is ancient, made before the Sky Levels were built. It was on the very bottom floor. Unlike the thin ground of the sky levels, held up by the plastic sheets that spread from crossport to crossport, I could almost feel the thick soil underneath the layer of concrete. It stretched out for miles underneath my feet, so solid and reassuring. I sprinted towards Central Recreational Park, using the small bushes and thick trunks of trees for cover. Luckily there were no monitors between me and the Park, so I had less trouble getting around. I dived into the thorn-bush barrier of the park, gritting my against the pain of the thorns lashing against my face. One last lunge, and I found myself in the bright glare of the Park's streetlights. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized that I was almost alone. Several people were milling around, picking something up off of the floor. I was puzzled. Hadn't almost everyone in the neighborhood received the message? Had they been caught by monitors? I walked up to a boy in a midnight blue shirt.
"Where is everybody?" I wondered. He gave me a dirty look and scrutinized my muddy and tattered clothes.
"You're late," he spat. "Don't need people like that." He went back to picking up what looked like bits of torn cloth. I studied the strips of fabric, and noticed a pattern on some of the pieces.
"What happened here?" I bended my knees and braced my arms against them, watching intently as he gingerly collected the cloth. He let out an exasperated sight and straightened up in an annoyed manner.
"Look kid, you're being a nuisance." He glanced at the bush next to him and reached out to grab the fabric that was snagged on a twig. Without looking at me, he continued, "You see that hole in the bush there? Go. And don't be such a brat if you decide not to chicken out." He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. I headed towards the indicated hole, but paused.
"What's you're name?" I asked, turning around. He eyed me cautiously and murmured something to himself.
"What was that?" I inched closer.  He spun around and sort of growled.
"Ray," he snapped. "Now get out of here!" He stormed off, leaving me gaping at his departing back. I tried to compose myself and headed through the narrow opening that somewhat reassembled the shape of an ark. I recoiled the moment I stuck my head out, for deafening cheers and animal roars greeted me. I took a breath and tried again, this time proceeding with caution. I stepped out into a brightly lit and surprising large square, filled with what looked like hundreds of people. They were all cheering at a figure standing on the podium. It was surrounded by cages, full of snarling lion, drool dripping out of their menacing jaws.