Beyond the Hope - Chapter 1

Beyond the Hope

***

By DeathDreams

***

Chapter 1

It was another bright Summer’s day in the Gallian settlement of Algeria. The hot afternoon sun beat down on Lily Hope as she stood atop the apartment complex, leaning over the metal railing that wrapped around the flat, gravely roof. She gazed at the people below and then out into the vast concrete jungle of the ever-expanding city. Towering buildings directly across from the complex halted her view and no matter how hard she tried to look up and see the sky, the sun’s white light would always be there to force her gaze back down. The entire city was gray.

She didn’t choose this spot on purpose. There was nothing symbolic or meaningful about it, but it was high enough that if she jumped, the fall would kill her. This is it. On July 21st, 2108: Lily Hope would jump to her death. There was no turning back now, rather, she couldn’t turn back. The hidden cameras and microphones had probably seen her and if that was true, they would have also been able to sense her intent. Series Finder, they called it – a system that could monitor all those who resided within the empire's extensive borders and predict how likely it was for any individual to become a threat to society.

***

She thought back what she had done this morning. She woke up at seven, just like any other school day. Her mother worked early in the morning, so it was her responsibility to make sure that she was up and ready to go on time. She wasn’t particularly good at it. She had to rush to get ready in the small bathroom of the two bedroom apartment, dressing herself in her usual school uniform (a plain brown skirt and soft blue cardigan with a short sleeved white shirt underneath) as she brushed her teeth perfectly straight teeth and combed her shoulder length blonde hair.

After that was done she would smooth out any loose hairs and unseemly wrinkles on her uniform as the minutes ticked by. She was in a hurry, no doubt, but no matter what the hour she always stopped to admire her own self. In her mind she saw blemishes and imperfections on her body which did not exist through the eyes of all those but her own. She wasn’t overwhelmingly beautiful, but knowing the guys in her class, she could probably have just about anyone she wanted, though her own timid nature often impeded her from pursuing even the most basic of friendships, let alone a relationship.

At the end of her morning routine, she would gaze at the small, unsightly birthmark that marred her left cheek, before flicking off the bathroom light and grabbing her brown bookbag which laid in the dimly lit hallway as she made her way to the front door.

She hurriedly made her way through the crowded city streets out of habit. She didn’t really care if she was late or not. This was her last day after all. She recalled the almost blinding brightness of the four giant television-like displays that sat on the front of buildings, looming over thousands of traveling citizens, watching over them like the eyes of God as they displayed news provided by the Branch of Justice, the most important and influential of all Gallian's governing bodies.

“District 14 of the Chinese Republic has fallen! Another victory for the empire!,” “The A5 Special Weapons and Development Committee has reached out to twelve more of our empire’s finest minds in hopes of furthering research to combat the Djinn menace,” “The median supply of rations is expected to remain constant despite total war between Gallia and Columbia drawing near.” All of the headlines made her head spin, along with the various propaganda posters that lined the windows of various shops as well as the alleys. “Beware the Djinn: The Deceivers of the Innocent!,” many of them read in big black letters below a silhouetted image of a figure surrounded by bodies, holding what looked like a human head in his right hand as the murderers piercing red eyes penetrated the poster’s paper barrier. The grueling imagery always sent chills down her spine. She tried to avoid them if whenever she could.

Nothing was different at her school. Nobody seemed to notice the dark aura of depression that haunted Lily besides herself, so she sat in a desk at the back corner of the room like she always did and waited for school to end while all the other students ignored her like they usually did. The only thing that had been slightly different was the lecture she received from the school’s secretary – an old manic woman with shaky hands, who scolded her in a tired old voice about her constant tardiness. She even brought up that her Threat Level might rise because of her behavior – the very thing that would cut Lily’s life short

She logged onto the Series Finder website using her Gallian Identification Number. The secretary was right. As she navigated over to her personal profile, she read through her current Threat Level: 0.431. It wasn’t anywhere near the limit of 2 and nowhere near 4, but it was still significantly higher than the average of 0.115. She teared up again and hid her face from the others in her class as she watched the number bounce up and down, moving from 0.429, to 0.435, like a stock market of human consciousness.

The cameras were always watching, judging, observing, just as microphones were always listening and recording – using surveys and algorithms to predict criminal behavior through the use of one's language, body movements and even thoughts. That’s what it said on the Branch of Justice’s website at least.

Her father had passed a Threat Level of 2 when she was only ten years old and she hadn’t seen him since. The empire made it seem like he had never existed. He never killed anyone or committed a crime. He was just one of those people that the system “caught early,” as some would say.

***

She was on the other side of the railing at this point, only a few inches from death. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and readied herself to take the final step.

“Miss Hope?” The smooth, modulated voice of a man called out to her from behind.

She turned around, surprised the system had responded to her so quickly – not that she had ever seen it in action before.

“I’m not with the Arbiters, don’t worry. That’s who you’re afraid of, isn’t it?” A faint smile crossed the young man’s face as he emerged from the door she had used to get onto the roof. His long white hair shone just as brightly as the strange silvery characters that were scattered indiscriminately about his long black shawl which parted down the middle as a strong gust of wind blew across the building, revealing an all black outfit underneath that left only his deathly pale hands and forearms exposed. The shawl settled back into place, enveloping him like a blanket as the wind ceased.

“Who are you?!” Lily yelled at the young man with tears in her eyes as she gripped the railing. Couldn’t he see that she just wanted to be alone? Why would anyone besides law enforcement follow her up here in the first place? Was he just here to watch her jump? That must have been it. She had never seen this man before. Why would he care about what happened to her?

“My name’s Nadir.” He slowly began to raise his hands up into the air. He spoke casually, cooly, like someone who knew for certain that everything would be okay. “Why don’t you try stepping down from that ledge? There’s no reason to be so dramatic, really, I mean it.” He flashed her another weak yet happy go lucky smile, but that’s not what Lily was looking at. She stared in horror at the hands of the man who called himself Nadir. In his open palms she could she the red, faintly glowing seals, both of which had a small black dot in the center with thin black lines that protruded from each seal’s circular barrier and spread across his arms like an unstoppable plague. The only thing left untouched was his face, though from where Lily was standing she could see a small portion of the same dark lines that covered his hand, barely brushing the back of his neck as though they were creeping up on him.

Lily overcame her shock as the young man stood, watching, waiting patiently for her next move. “Y-you’re a–”

“A Djinn? Yes, I am. Let me guess. You think I’m here to kill you, right?”

“I–”

“Don’t answer that,” he said, cutting her off as he began to ask, “why are you afraid?” His voice took on a more serious tone as he remained motionless – being sure to maintain his distance. “Weren’t you just about to kill yourself”

Lily recoiled at the accusation. Even if that was what she planned on doing, she hated to hear someone else pointing it out. In a rage, she frantically lashed out at the intrusive young man; “What would you know?! You don’t know anything about me! You don’t–”

Lily took a sharp intake of breath as she lost her balance and began to slowly fall back, allowing Nadir only a second to react.

Faster than the human eye could see, Nadir closed the gap between he and Lily. He reached out and gripped her shirt collar with one hand as he grabbed her wrist with the other, saving her before she could fall beyond his reach. “Woah!” He exclaimed. “That was a close one.” He let her dangle there for a moment before speaking plainly, “I’ve been watching over you for a while now, Lily.”

She was close enough now to see his haunting pale-red eyes, void of all but the faintly glowing irises that struck fear into her heart. An unnatural milky overlay coated his eyes like a thick fog. It was just like the cameras – another set of eyes watching her every move. I won’t end up like my father, she thought. I can’t. There’s no one… There’s no one who can live like this!

Images of the Arbiters flashed in her mind as she dangled on the precipice of death – tall, powerful men clad in silvery armor with large, imposing machine guns and tablets (more commonly known as Diviners) strapped to both wrists that were capable of reading the Threat Level of any Gallian citizen at will. Th-they’ll take me away. If I go above the regulation, they’ll take me away and experiment on me for the rest of my life!!

She let out a frustrated scream as she swatted at Nadir’s skeletal hands. “Let go of me!” After one especially hard hit to Nadir’s arm, his grip gave and she plummeted to the street below. Memories flashed before her eyes as she fell; most of them being of her mother, a woman whose wrinkled and tired face hid the truth of her fairly young age. Her mother shuffled to work every day – a brainwashed zombie going through the motions day in and day out – waking up early and returning home in the late hours of the night with barely enough time for meals, let alone time with Lily. Marry Hope had died a long time ago – her body just didn’t know it yet.

I hope you won’t notice too much when I’m gone. I’m sorry mom. I’m just not as strong as you. Lily’s mind fell silent as she closed her eyes, anticipating the inevitable impact but then, something unexpected happened.

Shadows cast by the monolithic buildings of the gray city came to life and quickly reached out to her all at once, forming a bed of darkness which caught Lily when she was no more than twenty feet off the ground. the darkness enveloped her like a blanket as it cushioned her fall whilst conforming to support her head and neck especially. The people below cried out and shrieked as the shadowy cloud began to slowly drift upwards.

“I-it’s one of those things!” A man in a navy blue suit shouted in a fear-stricken voice as he fumbled with his cell phone. Dozens of others in the crowd looked up in a mixture of awe and panic as the shadowy cloud rose over the top of the building before fading out of site.

“But why?” Lily was exhausted both mentally and physically. The darkness at Nadir’s command subsided as the cloud placed her gently at his feet. Through her hazy vision, she was able to make out a silver key ring resting in Nadir’s hand as the dark mist that saved her chaotically crammed itself into the three golden capsules which dangled from the base of the unusually large ring.

Lily sat lopsidedly, trying with all of her might to keep her body upright as she began to murmur, “How did you… What did–”

He rushed forward, kneeling down to meet her as dozens of shadowy hand-like projections erupted from his back and pulled her in close, wrapping themselves around her in a warm embrace before she could finish her thought.

“I don’t want you to die, Lily. Please.” His once smooth and carefree voice turned to one of desperation and fear. He rose to his feet, instantly regaining his composure as he spoke, “We should go. I’m sure the Arbiters are on their way as we speak.”

Lily watched as the same dark forces that had saved her, steadily arose from the back of Nadir’s shawl, forming large, wing-like structures. Her vision grew hazy. Her body felt weak and her head was burning like a furnace as she fell to one side. The last thing she remembered was the feeling of being carried away by the unwelcome stranger.