Dusk

Chapter Sixteen

The car stops. We're at the border. There are two men guarding the entrance to the Middle Ring, dressed in white. They have guns holstered to their sides. Another man sits in a booth off to the side, watching us. There's a dashboard in front of him with controls on it.

Anden presses a button to roll down the window. One guard comes up to the window to talk to him, and another is checking the exterior of the car for weapons or other hazardous things. They're both from the Middle Ring- people from the Outer Ring aren't allowed to guard the borders.

"State your name."

"Anden Veiga."

"What's the purpose of you crossing the border today?"

"I'm transporting Senator Robert Sullivan's daughter into the Inner Ring. Her father is expecting her."

The guard peers into the car and looks directly at me. He takes something out of the holster at his belt- a tablet, and scrolls through what I think must be a list.

"Yes, Senator Sullivan put in a request. Cassandra Sullivan, right? Please step out of the car for a moment. I need to identify you for security purposes."

I unbuckle my seatbelt and open the door, stepping out of the car. The guard walks around the front of the car to scan me. He taps on the tablet for a moment, then holds it up in front of me.

"This will only take a moment. Please keep still."

A small beam runs over my body. The guard looks at the screen of the tablet intently, even after the beam disappears. I hold my breath.

"You're clear, Miss Sullivan. I'll notify the border guards at the entrance to the Inner Ring so they can give you full clearance." He opens the car door for me. I thank him quietly and climb inside, buckling up again. He shuts the door and then crosses over to speak to Anden again.

"That'll be all. You may proceed."

Anden nods and thanks him. There's a large hologate in front of us, flickering red. The man in the booth presses a button and the hologate turns green and disappears. Anden drives through.

The Middle Ring is separated from Adia by a wall- not nearly as high as the one that separates Adia from the rest of the world, of course- but high enough that the only things it can't block out are the high skyscrapers behind it. I've never seen the Middle Ring with my own eyes, but Ceres mentions it sometimes, saying that it's clean, with wide streets made of real asphalt and concrete sidewalks.

He'd clearly left a lot out. We drive up a wide street, separated by glowing hologates into lanes. There are many cars here, in a variety of colours and styles. I gape at them in wonder. There are people out, their clothes just as colourful as their cars. I notice that their clothes often change their colour or style, sometimes with every step they take, like the clothes themselves can't quite decide what they'd prefer to look like. Cafes line the sides of the street, as well as stores and bars and clubs. Life here looks so lavish.

Anden makes a turn onto a long street with four lanes that's raised from ground level. My back hits the seat when he goes at an alarming speed.

"Are you speeding up to save time?" I ask jokingly.

"This is a freeway. The speed limit goes up here."

"And this road will take us straight to the border?"

"Correct."

I fidget in my seat. My anxiety grows as we drive onward. I'm almost about to start pulling my hair out when we reach the border.

"Are you transporting Miss Cassandra Sullivan?"

"I am."

The guard nods. "You may pass."