Paradise Among Metal

Chapter 4

Soon after consuming the tea, Mara collapsed on the bed and fell into a deep, troubling sleep.

She dreamed of nothing, but the gray tones and chill of Metal followed her into sleep. No matter what she did, she was forever chained in Metal.

She woke up hours later and bolted upright, searching the room for a clock.

Why is everything so dark?

Oh yeah. It's nighttime.

The sunray that had illuminated the tiny room was long gone, washing the room in a brown gloom.

Mara reached out into the air and felt around for a lightswitch. Her hand closed around a rusty chain, and she yanked it.

A lightbulb hanging in the middle of the room lit up, and the room was washed in brown again.

Mara's stomach growled, alerting her to how hungry she was. She stood up and left the room.

There were no clocks in sight, though Mara guessed that it was nearing dawn based on the color of the sky. She noticed a mirror hanging on the wall by stairs that she hadn't noticed before, and Mara decided to take a look at herself for the first time since arriving in metal.

Unlike the rest of the sepia hotel, she remained black and white. Mara stared wide-eyed at her reflection.

"Why am I still black and white?" She whispered to herself. Mara swore she turned sepia when she entered. She wanted to have color in her. She wanted to have warmth in her.

No wonder everything was still frigid despite the colors.

Mara walked towards the staircase, wood creaking under her feet. She could ponder her color palette later. First, she needed food.

"This place has no information about this stinkin' city whatsoever! All these postcards just say the same thing: 'There is no escape'. Postcards are supposed to be friendly!"

Mara froze, her foot on the first step.

A second voice spoke up.

"I know, right? In Paradise, postcards weren't like this, they were actually friendly."

"In Paradise, maps and tourist guidebooks were all helpful, unlike this piece of crap." A paper crinkled.

"Paradise: Don't even think about it. You're here forever." The second voice read aloud. "Gee, that's real helpful."

Mara heard the paper being wrinkled into a ball and thrown on the floor. The first person sighed.

"This is just frickin' pointless. How the hell are we supposed to get back to Paradise with these vague guidelines?"

Mara creeped down the stairs. "You all looking for Paradise as well?"

Two teenage boys stared up at her from the hotel gift shop by the foot of the stairs, jaws slack. Like Mara, they were black and white, sticking out in the hotel like a sore thumb.

"W-Where did you come from?" Asked one of the boys. Mara identified him as the second voice.

"I was here the whole time. Sleeping. I came down for food."

The owner of the first voice shrugged. "Okay." He took his baseball cap off his head and swirled it around his finger. "You're the only person we've met so far that hasn't cursed or snapped at us. Jeez. Why's everyone so aggressive here?"

"I don't know," Mara replied, shrugging and walking towards them. "Although the owner here's pretty nice. Not very helpful in giving directions to Paradise, but nice."

"Oh," the first boy said. "We didn't know that. Let's pray he doesn't try and kill us because we intruded."

The second boy's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You haven't lost hope?"

"No. Not completely. I think there's a way to Paradise, but it's hidden."

"It is hidden," the first boy said, running his fingers through his fluffy bangs. "It was designed to be hidden. So that only the most hopeful and determined can find their way back to Paradise from here."

Mara's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"Because we remember Paradise completely," the second boy said. "You don't, because you lost hope and became depressed. Your unhappiness was affecting those around you, so you were sent here for their safety. We were sent here because we sinned too much."

A vague memory stirred in Mara's mind. "Sins? So you guys did stuff like, touch yourself and eat shrimp?"

The first boy cracked a smile. "Nah. Those things aren't sins in Paradise. Bullying, narcissism, and sexism are sins in Paradise, though."

"We did those things," the second boy said. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "We couldn't help it. It was the way we were raised before Paradise: being tough, aggresive, and treating women as inferiors were manly things that got us all the glory."

He chucked, regret shining in his eyes. "Boy, were we wrong."

Mara nodded, lost in thought. "You said that I was sent to this Metal hellhole because I was depressed and posed a threat to others because of my unhappiness. That's stupid."

"I agree," said the first boy. "The people of Paradise value happiness and peace over everything else. If anything's unhappy or violent, it has to go. They claimed it was for safety, but it was really because they don't want anything to threaten their utopia."

Mara's stomach roared. The second boy grabbed a snack cake laying on a shelf.

"Here, have a Disappointment Cake."

He tossed it to Mara, who caught it and nodded with thanks. She freed it from its plastic wrap and took a bite.

Tastes like tears. Sweet, chewy tears.

"So," Mara said, devouring the black treat, "do you guys have any idea where this trail to Paradise is? They might kick out depressed and hopeless people, but it's better than here, where there's no such thing as happiness."

"No idea, but I think the colors are a clue." The second boy said. He walked towards her and held out his hand.

"I'm Jacob. Jacob Peterson. And you are?"

"Mara Tussen." Mara shook his hand.

"And that idiot over there is Emerson Dare." Jacob said, pointing to the other boy.

Emerson frowned. "I'm not an idiot. Be nice."

"I am being nice. Compared to what we got kicked out of Paradise for."

Emerson sucked in air through his teeth.

"That hurt, Peterson. That hurt."

"I'm right here, you know." Mara reminded them.

"We know."

An awkward silence filled the gift shop. Rusty light was beginning to pour into the hotel, and Mara felt sleepy.

Jacob broke it. "You know, Emerson, even though we just met Mara, we should take her with us on our way to Paradise. She's the only person we've met who actually wants to go. We should band up. Strength in numbers, you know."

Emerson rolled his eyes. "She's a girl. What, do you want a concubine for the journey?"

"I'm still here." Mara said, glaring at Emerson.

"Emerson, she's a girl with hope. Stop being so sexist." Jacob turned towards Mara.

"So, how 'bout it? You wanna team up and try to get comfort in this pathetic world?"

"Yeah, sure," Mara answered, a warm feeling spreading in her chest. "Let's get some sleep and a good breakfast before we go any further, though."

What will happen next? Stay tuned, and please comment, vote, and share, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading!