1 The Endless City

The city stood quiet, the faint echo of birds chirping rung through the disserted streets as the overgrown grass swayed in the wind. Cars littered the street, rusted and unused for years, shop windows shattered and floors layered with dirt inches deep. The shadow of towering skyscrapers blanketed the lower half of the city as the sun began to set. The sky was a warm red, mixed with orange and yellow as clouds dotted the sky like polka dots on a shirt. The city was empty, quiet, deserted, and abandoned, no one dare set foot in such a place even after years of its demise. Not a soul entered the city unless they were in dire need of supplies, but even then, it was their last resort. Animals were oblivious to the threat, occasionally entering the maze of concrete, never returning, their shrieks of pain and suffering could be heard if you listened closely but they never lasted long. No one dared to step foot into the city, however, that was until he showed up, a tall, thin man, his hair touched his waist and his skin was pale, however, he was very much alive. Every morning he would venture into the city alone and return by dusk, carrying a bag of items he had scavenged from within, not a scratch on him. It was impossible to enter the city and return, let alone come back out unscathed, however, he was different. Like a god among men, he was praised for the help he provided. You would ask him for something from the city and by the next day, he would return with your item, asking for nothing in return. However, he never said a word to anyone, he always wore a mask over his face, a cracked gas mask, too dirty to see a face. He never tried to converse with anyone and would go off to do his own thing whenever he wanted to. He would keep to himself, only coming out when he was heading out into the city, this was the only time people could ask him for help collecting things. He would nod and walk off, not asking for payment, not asking for help, not asking for anything.

As if living in a life of solitude he seemed to be detached from reality, walking as if he would fall at any moment but always moving forward, to his destination. That was until one day I decided to follow him. There have been others that attempted to follow him however once they entered the city they were never seen again, the only thing that returned was the man, bringing back his bag full of trinkets. The sun rose, its light enveloping the camp and the city before us, birds tweeted and chirped and I awoke, and as if on an alarm he woke up too, precisely 7 am he started walking, fully dressed, bag on his back, not waiting for anyone. He began his trip down the hill, down to the city. From a distance, I saw him, and as I promised myself, I would follow him and see what the city is like, surely it was safe after all these years. I crept about 30 yards away from the man, always keeping as quiet as I could as to not attract his attention back at me, however that was until we entered. The towers stretched higher than the eye could see and it felt suffocating. I wasn't claustrophobic but it felt as if I was being watched like a hand can come out from anywhere and would grab me and pull me into the darkness of the black shops. Graffiti painted the walls, this city really was dead, it really was empty, but it felt so alive at the same time as if hundreds of thousands of people still lived there. I followed the man through the streets, keeping to the cover of abandoned cars to keep my visibility to a minimum. However, whenever I looked at him, he did not hide, nor did he walk in the shadows, nor did he stop, he walked in the center of the street, straight forward, deeper, into the city.

My breath dropped, the silence was deafening until I heard it, it was the first time I had heard something so loud; this is what they called, music. Glancing over at the man I realised he had stopped moving, he had stood still in the middle of an intersection looking down at a rectangle item, too small for me to see but this small item gave off the music. It played louder than any voice I had heard before and it rang through the streets. The beat bounced along the walls and echoed throughout the city, it was too loud, way, too loud. I stood up and ran to the man, grabbing him by the arm attempting to grab the item, trying to stop the music. They would hear it, I'm sure they would hear it, it was too loud. That was until he looked down at me and I let go, this didn't feel right, even with his mask on I could tell what his face looked like, he wasn't happy. A frown that could touch his chin, his eyes locked onto me but he didn't say a word. That was when he stood upright, he always hunched so he looked like a small man, but now that he was upright, we were clearly mistaken. I could guess he was 6'4 maybe 6'5 as he towered over me like the goliath to David. I couldn't utter a word, we only eyed each other, I could feel my blood pumping through my veins, cold sweat drenching my body, and my legs felt weak as if I could fall at any moment but I stood there, unable to break eye contact. For what felt like an eternity we stood there, his eyes burned into my soul, I felt naked as if he could see everything, my ins and outs, my entire life from the point I was born to now, every secret I had ever kept, and every lie I had ever spoken. He then turned and it felt as if a hundred weights were lifted off my shoulders, I let out a sigh of relief as I watched him continue to walk upright with his music playing.

Now that he knew I was here there was no need to hide, so I followed him, next to him as we walked down the street deeper into the city.

Our walk seemed more peaceful now, I didn't know why, was it because I had company, or was it because he had started humming, wait, humming? He had never made a sound before this moment, if you hadn't seen him in a room, you would have thought yourself alone, but now he was humming, like really humming. The music was loud but the melody was nice and relaxing, there were no lyrics so it allowed the audience to come up with their own, so as I walked, I began to think about words that rhymed, words that fit the melody of the song as I began to daydream, not paying attention to where I was going. I could have sworn it was 5, no, maybe 10 minutes before I snapped back to reality, and I was alone, I stood in the middle of the street alone. Every street was the same, really the same. I turned around and I saw no one, just a street that stretched endlessly. I looked to my right and saw another street, stretching endlessly. I looked to my left and it was the same, I was really in the city now. It was quiet, I didn't hear the music anymore, so I stood there, I wasn't scared, happy, angry, confused, or anything.

The sun was beginning to set, and the sky turned a deep red as I stood in the middle of the street alone, the silence was deafening, and my ears rang as I looked up.

This was it; this really was it, I finally found out what had happened to the other survivors that had entered the city with that man, they had gotten too comfortable with the company they had and gotten lost, becoming a part of the city, the endless city. I began to walk forward, I had forgotten which way I started but I didn't care anymore, the only thing I knew was that forward is forward and behind is behind. Each tower looked the same as if copied and pasted right next to each other they stretched further than the eye could see. My mistake was that I didn't bring any snacks with me on this trip, not that it mattered. That was until I saw it in the distance, a person? I couldn't quite tell but they stood there, in the center of the road, just staring. A smile stretched across my face as all I could feel is happiness, another human, another person, finally, I wasn't alone. I began to run, waving my arms and yelling in glee.

Another person in this city, what a coincidence we would meet, any longer by myself and I would have gone insane. Upon approaching them I dropped to my knees absolutely exhausted, panting as I looked up at them, sweat dripped down my face as I attempted to force up words of gratitude for their presence. They seemed just as happy to see me, crouching down to my level and wrapping their arms around me, crying out of joy as we both embraced each other in our loving embrace. After I caught my breath, I stood up and we began to walk, we began to talk about ourselves and everything we loved and hated, every street we walked by looked the same but we didn't care anymore, we had each other. I got to know them well, their name was Lucy, she was 23 and entered the city with her boyfriend, however like me, they split up and got lost on their own. It was night and before we knew it, we were both sitting in the center of an intersection with our backs up against each other.

We continued to talk, not because we enjoyed it, but because we were too scared to sit in silence again. It was only us two, our company was the only thing that stopped us from going insane. The night seemed longer than usual, the stars glistened in the sky and the moon never moved, not as I could tell anyway. I would point up at a star and pretend I knew the constellation, that was when Lucy would laugh then would correct me on which one was which. We enjoyed each other's company more than we should have, but I guess that was because we were the only thing the other had. I closed my eyes and clasped my hands together; I didn't believe in a god but I prayed that Lucy and I got to escape this concrete and steel prison. I prayed and the more I prayed the harder I squeezed my hands together, I guess Lucy could hear me praying because I could hear her praying to her god too.

Once I was done praying my heart out, I opened my eyes, and it was quiet again. I turned around and I was alone once more. Lucy wasn't here, the moon sat in the sky I swear it was laughing, and I was left alone in this city once again. Maybe I really was going insane, or maybe I was already insane so I sat there. Closing my eyes, I clasped my hands together and prayed to God once more, I didn't even care if I got out of this city anymore, I just wanted to open my eyes and see Lucy again. I prayed and I prayed and I conjured up whatever god came to mind and prayed to them too but no matter how many times I opened my eyes, all I would see is the endless road in front of me. The city was quiet, not even insects could be heard, I was too far in. No birds, no animals, no people, no nothing, just me, and myself alone. I screamed, I let all the pain in my heart escape my lips as tears flooded from my eyes, down my red cheeks, and onto the concrete floor before me. I cried until I couldn't cry any longer, I screamed until I couldn't scream any longer, and my vocal cords shattered, torn to ribbons as I lay on the street in a fetal position by myself, all alone.

The night didn't come to an end, its darkness enveloped me as I felt eyes watching me from every direction. I knew I was alone; I knew there was no one there or was there. I swear I could see them, staring at me, up in the windows above looking down at me. Staring. I swear I could feel them grab at me, hands reaching out from the sewers trying to pull me in, hands from the darkness, trying to pull me in, but no matter how hard they pulled, I lay there, in the empty street. Day two and I hadn't moved, I couldn't remember the last time I blinked, I couldn't remember how freshwater tasted or how a home-cooked meal smelt so I lay there, alone. The sun had come up and all I could do was look at the sun, it didn't hurt, if anything it felt refreshing like the sun was my friend and they were showering me with its warmth. Day 3 and I couldn't move, I was too exhausted and I hadn't had a drop of water to quench my thirst. My skin was dry and I could feel my insides eating themselves, or maybe there was something inside of me eating its way out. I could only lay there and look up, once again, glad the sun had come up to greet me this morning. Day 4 and I hadn't slept all night, I forgot what it's like to think, and I forgot what it's like to move, to be honest, I thought that I would have been eaten by flies or some type of insect by now but even those didn't venture this far into the city. That was when I heard a noise, like, music, real music.

With every ounce of strength I could muster up in my body I lifted my head and looked down the road in front of me and a block down stood the man. He began to walk in my direction and all I could do was watch, I watched him approach me, and I walked him leave. Tears streamed down my face as I watched him walk further and further down the road. I didn't have the energy to stand and follow, I didn't even have the strength to call out for help. All I could do is watch, watch as the man walked until my eyesight failed me to see him travel any further. So, I lay there, I lay on the concrete floor alone, once again. I looked up at the sky and watched the sun look down at me, its face disgusted me, all it ever did was laugh at me throughout the day, never letting me take a breather and regain my thoughts. The moon wasn't any better, like the sun they would mock me, mock me for my weakness and stupidity. I hated them all, I hated the moon, I hated the sun, I hated the stars, and I hated this city, this cold, dark, empty city. It was too bad anyway, not like I could do anything. Even if a 3-course meal was presented in front of me right now I wouldn't have the strength to eat it, not that I cared anymore. I was going to die in this city, I was going to die on this rock-hard floor and the only thing I could do was count. Count the hours, count the minutes, count the seconds, and count some more.

All I could do is wait until I die.

The sun rose, its light enveloping the camp and the city before us, birds tweeted and chirped and I awoke, and as if on an alarm he woke up too, precisely 7 am he started walking, fully dressed, bag on his back, not waiting for anyone. He began his trip down the hill, down to the city. From a distance, I saw him, and as I promised myself, I would follow him and see what the city is like, surely it was safe after all these years.