Genesis

Phoenix Walls

I stare out the small rectangular window as the green fields and large shining houses pass by. The bullet train is silent except for the dull drum of the train rattling down the metal rails. The inside of the train is posh and elegant the twelve seats in the first status lounge are lined with fine white leather, each handcrafted. The floor of the train is covered with an almost light blue silk carpet giving the compartment a sleek finish. Unlike the B-status class which was often full and even overly packed, the first status class, or A-status was empty except for my handler and me. We were traveling beyond the second wall to the outer boundaries. I could only remember one other time I had been allowed to leave the inner boundaries of the second wall, which held the A-Status citizens including all government buildings. The lower class or B and C status citizens lived between the outer wall and the wall keeping the upper class from the lower.

My hand instinctively pushes my long brown locks behind my right ear. Letting out a small sigh, my attention wanders to the tall-lush trees as we pass them. The large wall is always in view no matter where I went, and yet only when I got closer did I notice the many dents, bolts, and other smaller details that usually go unseen.

"Your nervous." My handler says quietly as if her words would disturb phantom passengers around our deserted cabin. I am snapped out of my thoughts.

"I'm not nervous, just preparing myself." I try to sound confident, but It comes out slightly terrified. I had only left the inner wall once before, long before our city had fallen into its overpopulation issues. Back then the houses were quant and painted with vibrant colors, but now they had changed for the worse since the rise of the new regime.

"I received word from your father early this morning, but I thought it was best to give it to you later, if you would like you may read it now?" She tries to distract me. As my handler, she was not obligated to do so but over the past year, she has become more of a sister to me than anything else. Like me, she was born into A-Status. I stood at the height of five feet six inches, while she stands five feet on her tiptoes. She appears small and unthreatening with her feminine hourglass figure and long blonde hair now curled perfectly at her shoulders.

Her shiny hair coupled with her vibrant blue eyes and olive skin made her no doubt the heartthrob for every male in her status class.

With her blond hair, olive skin, and unusually blue eyes it was clear she was the daughter of the Honorable Judge George Westlake, the chief judge. As such Clare Westlake was the talk of the town and no doubt the heartthrob for every male who laid eyes on her. It was a surprise to everyone when she became a special operation handler. Now she watched over me, her duty was to keep me safe or to make sure I don't take off; I can't be totally sure.

It was a strange relationship, but I no longer felt odd with her always being by my side. In fact, she had become more like a second limb to me.

"I'd rather not hear my dear father's words at the moment, Clare," I tell her absentmindedly.

I can feel the train begin to slow to a stop at the inner wall. As a precaution, the walls were built with exit tunnels on either end. Before someone is allowed in or out of the city the whole train is scanned for any signs of contamination. Another one of the many ways the government protects the lives of every citizen. Luckily, the original virus had been eradicated. The real danger that keeps us behind the wall is the infected or forsaken.

I watch as large metal arms travel down the outside of the train. They were equipped with bright laser beams scanning through each window. The lasers are meant to detect anyone who could have been infected and eradicate the threat. Fortunately, I have been given a special formula to keep the sensors from triggering when they hit me. To distract myself I turn to Clare focusing on her hand and scribbling notes into her small black book. When we were first placed together she would always pull the book out and I would spend hours asking her what she was writing, and every time I asked her she would simply shake her head and say "Nope".