Of Solar And Dark (2018)

1 [E]

Edward Kenning

Anywhere but home is where I am comfortable.

Trapped within the compounds of four walls that feel like they're closing in on me with every second, it's only a thin timeline to suffocation and then death.

But beyond those walls where the windows filter out most light, I feel like I am in flight. Soaring through the air with wings that span along the length of my back, floating upwards and drifting past clouds.

That's what I think experiencing nee things for the first time is like. Falling in love, my age becoming a number that gives me a pass out of my current life- this feeling must be a taste of what they are like.

"C'mon, Eddie!" The hem of my shirt jerks against my skin as my younger brother, Teddy, tugs at the fabric.

I shoot him a grin that is almost bashful as he does a sloppy twirl beneath the string of lights that are threaded to the lamp posts and houses that line the street. The light bounces off his skin and causes his smile to shimmer, matching the joy that causes his eyes to twinkle.

"If anyone asks, I'm not related to you in any way."

Teddy responds with a pout but stops his strange dance. We head down the road, watching as vehicles zoom by us. Powered by the solar energy generated by our lighthouses, the vehicles streak pass us at a speed of light. The movements makes me stare at the smudges of colours that dance in and out of my vision within seconds.

It's strange to think that though I have been living on this planet, within this solar system for sixteen years, I'm still not used to the beautiful swirl of light that exists in my world.
The way the bright flare of lights have been incorporated in every single way in my environment- it fascinates me and I doubt that my awe for it will end.

As Teddy and I cover more distance, the quality of lighthouses and housing improves. Houses are adorned with bulbs that emit a brighter glow, with polished exteriors that aren't dusted with layers of dirt.
With every inch of our side of the planet that is inhabited by Solars shrouded in light and solar equipment, it's difficult to believe that there's a part of this planet that is cloaked in darkness and hidden from the bright swaths of light.

Not for the first time, my mind wanders to the Darks and their system. The way they live and how they find comfort in the lack of light, how they generate their energy and use the emptiness, the presence of dark energy to fuel their machines.

I don't think I'll be able to live in a world like that. A cold feeling arches through my bloodstream and I shiver, trying to draw shoulders inwards.

That's when I see it.

The bright sparkling gem of a Solar's world- the Plaza. The Plaza, an area that is always brimming with Solars, fuelled by the cleanest and highest quality of solar energy.

A bustling shopping place where colours come to live, bursting at the seams with Solars of every class sweeping and hurrying to purchase goods or socialise. The glass building stands tall at a couple hundred metres, embellished with twinkling coloured lights.
The sunlight that pours and streams across the glass makes the frame of the building look like a thousand jewels fusing and the automatic gesture of bowing my head in awe is inevitable.

Struggling to stay afloat in the sea of insignificance, my words come out wobbly as they grate against my throat.

"Remember that we're only here to look around. We can't afford to spend too much time or money." As painful as those words are to enunciate, the meaning of them rings in my chest, the way a bell vibrates after each note.
We're not rich- my family. With our mother barely able to stay in her low-paying job to sustain the rent and our father gone, the weight of the world feels like it's resting on my shoulders sometimes. But looking up at the stars when it's night and nearly all the lights are out saturates my lungs with comfort.

That piece of knowledge and desire that I hold on so painfully tight to is all I need in this world. And Teddy, of course.

As we head towards the entry, the gigantic glass door slides open for us. The warmth of a thousand blinking instruments- all effusing a powerful glow of orange and yellow, wraps around me and my lips twist upwards into an involuntary smile.

To grow tired of the lights would be a tragedy.

"Hold my hand and don't let go." Teddy doesn't need a reminder. His fingers clutch at my curved fist as we make our way down the winding and twisting path with shops that sell a variety of household items- all proudly stamped with an official sticker that pronounces it a solar efficient machine.

Weaves and patterns of stringed lights interlace the shop fronts and I feel myself being drawn towards every shop- I want to touch everything and gaze at all the items. I want to lose myself in this surrounding and blend in with the mural of the environment.

The hypnotising effect makes my body crawl with raw energy and the clumsiness that comes with the adrenaline causes me to bump into another Solar sloppily.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" The Solar shoots me a look of annoyance as he hisses at me. His brows are knitted together in frustration as he pulls the sleeve that I have disrupted when bumping into him down his wrist.

I bite my lip hesitantly, not daring to tempt a fight with Teddy by my side.

"What are you staring for? Get on with your shopping!" The Solar sneers but I can't help but let my gaze linger at where he had hurriedly yanked down his sleeve- where the sleeve hardly covers the skin, a spot of black ink peeks out.

"Let's go." The tension that contorts Teddy's face is sufficient to spur my muscles into action as I briskly turn my gaze elsewhere, justifying the swirls of black ink on the Solar's arm as a mistake on my part.

"Yeah." I mutter, feeling a red flush materialise on my face.

As we continue to pad down the pathway, I can't help but go back to the black ink on the Solar's skin, though. Something about it scared me and the way it was able to slip into my train of thoughts with such ease haunted me.

I didn't see anything.

But I did.

I saw... it.

My body feels fearfully hollow as my thoughts dare to tread along the path of dark, terrifying conspiracies.

The Resistance.

That's what they call Solars who have gone rouge. They don't believe in solar energy or being fuelled and powered by it. They are the ones who think that dark energy is a matter far more powerful and attractive than solar and sometimes, the most dangerous ones terrorise the solar system.

No, stop.

I won't let myself think about them. Taking my father was more than enough. They don't deserve a second of my time or a place in my head.

Just as I garner enough courage to repel those thoughts out of my head, the world around me explodes in a frantic burst and swell of light. The yellow orange hues dim until there is no more and I am swathed in a fabric of darkness.

With a chill rendering my legs useless and icy, cold horror spiking through my veins, it dawns on me.

The Resistance- they're here and none of us are safe from what is to come.

Word Count: 1302

A/N: I hope you like this chapter! What do you think of Edward's character, in contrast to Sebestian?

Don't be afraid to drop a comment and let me know what you think! A vote, comment and share is always appreciated! (: