The soldier led us into the open field, which I assumed was the parking lot since they had vehicles and containment.
Soldiers were moving these boxes in and out of these trucks, which was sort of a tank as well. Well, the best I can compare it to was an improved armored Jeep.
"You boys load these and the truck." The soldier said as he handed us boxes, which were quite heavy.
"What's in these?" I asked, uncomfortably shifting the weight between my legs.
"I dunno, it's none of my business; orders are just orders."
I opened my mouth to speak again, but Noah stopped me and motioned towards the truck.
'Right, I forgot they don't tell us much.'
The boxes themselves weren't cardboard, but they weren't metal or plastic. It felt weird and out of place to see modern technology again.
We loaded the boxes into the truck and got on to it.
I've noticed that the soldiers don't talk that much, and they don't look like they got much sleep either.
The officer from before banged the back of the truck and got in with us before locking the door.
Surprisingly, the officer was the only one who looked friendly, even though he had dead eyes.
"What's your name, kid?" He asked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes. He then took one out and brought it to his lips.
"Jake Everest, sir," I answered, holding my breath a bit as he lit the cigarette and blew out smoke.
I turned away from him and looked towards Noah, who looked fine.
"Are you a drifter or walled?" He asked again, puffing out smoke.
Walled? Is he asking if I'm from a bastion?
"No, sir, I'm a drifter," I answered as candidly as I could.
"You've seen mutants often?" I asked again, inhaling deeply.
"Only once or twice," I answered, fighting back the urge to cough.
No one else but me was having a hard time in the armored vehicle. Not one person was bothered by the smoke enveloping us.
The car had begun to move, and I felt the engine rumble under my feet. It had been 7 years since I'd been in a vehicle of any sort, and the rumbling made me feel somewhat nostalgic.
The officer took long drafts of his cigarette and began to ask Noah the same questions.
Looking through the tinted glass, the outside world was as chaotic as I remembered it. Nothing that looked remotely man-made could be seen for miles. As if Mother Nature herself covered up everything we accomplished.
The ride was relatively quiet, and no one seemed to want to start a conversation. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, so I remained silent.
"Alright." The officer said, puffing out the last bit of smoke from his cigarette. "We are going to be arriving very soon. Now our orders are to restock our food supplies and weapons for the upcoming mission."
"Upcoming mission?" I asked.
"You'll hear about it at the initiation." He said, coldly.
I nodded and sat back, leaning against the window. Slowly but surely, the chaotic landscape slowly became cleaner and tamed. A few more miles later, we were now on an asphalt road.
I pressed my face against the window and saw the silhouette of a massive structure with smoke billowing into the sky. It had towering black metallic walls that if it didn't block out the sun with its sheer size, the amount of smoke it produced certainly did.
The skies around this impenetrable fortress were darkened by smog and fumes. As we got closer, it felt as if all the colors of the world were slowly drained until only monotonic black and the simplistic design remained.
It became apparent why no one who came from the walls called the city a paradise. I realized why Noah wanted to join Verdant Canis. The walls weren't what we outsiders fantasized about. It was this bleak, hopeless, barely functioning place that was far and away from the haven we were promised.
It wasn't grandeur like the rumors said it was; it was depressing.
We came up to the inspection gate, and looking up at the wall from up close made me feel trapped and claustrophobic. I glanced a bit to see the soldiers who were posted here carrying around weapons—not like anything I've seen. Surprisingly, they weren't carrying around firearms, just futuristic close-combat ones. They wore thick, heavy masks that hid most of their faces except the eyes. Their eyes were as dead as any other.
A soldier in Kevlar with a massive sword on his back let us in. I briefly met his glance, and his eyes were dull and lifeless. Almost as if they no longer had a soul.
"What'd you think?" The officer called out. "Was it everything you'd hoped it'd be?"
I hesitated to speak, fearing my answer might be insulting somehow.
"Speak, kid. Nothing you have to say is something I haven't heard before."
"No, no, it isn't anything like what I'd hoped it would be," I answered honestly.
"There you go." He said, grinning. "Lower your expectations and expect the unexpected if you plan on surviving."
"Yes, sir." I nodded.
As we entered the city, we went through a tunnel, which was the thickness of the walls, the officer explained.
The tunnel was dark, and to combat this, Ark placed bright lights at regular intervals.
The officer handed us masks that were similar to what the soldiers at the gate were wearing. He explained that this mask has an air filtering system so that we could breathe clean air. When I asked if everybody in the city wore these thick masks, the officer replied.
"Only those who can afford to."
They didn't need to explain how the masks were only given to those in Verdant Canis and those who were privileged; I could have guessed.
Noah gripped his mask tightly and looked at it with a painful expression before putting it on. I wasted no time in wearing mine as well.