Free Skyfall by Anthony Eaton Page A

‘Actually stop and think about what happened this morning.’
    â€˜I’m thinking about it, all right.’
    â€˜No, you’re not. We were lucky this morning, Lari. We got a look at another world down there. The world beneath our feet. We got to see real people living real lives, but all you notice is that it’s dirty and crowded and dangerous. Well, welcome to reality, Lari.’
    â€˜It’s no more real than my world, Kes.’
    â€˜That’s shi! Get over yourself, copygen!’
    The word hit like a slap. Lari opened his mouth but nothing came out. Even in their worst arguments Kes had never used that word, but when she’d flung it at him then, she’d almost spat it, like … like she meant it.
    Kes froze the instant it left her lips. ‘Lari … I’m sorry …’
    Lari shook his head. ‘No, you’re not, so save it, Kes.’
    He didn’t say another word. He didn’t even look at her. He just let the silence grow until the lift finally slowed into Kes’s dome and they stepped out into her common. They stood awkwardly until Kes broke the silence.
    â€˜I’m going home. You’d better do the same.’
    â€˜Fine.’ He turned on his heel and walked over and joined the line at the allocation plate. Only then did he look back, expecting to see Kes heading towards her building. To his surprise, though, she was still beside him.
    â€˜Lari, I really am sorry. I’m sorry I used that word. It was just me getting angry, not trying to hurt you, okay? But you’ve gotta think about this stuff. It’s important.’
    â€˜Whatever, Kes.’
    The queue shuffled forward and Lari summoned a lift.
    â€˜Dome 3327 North.’
    The reader chimed and seconds later his lift arrived.
    â€˜Bye, Kesra.’
    She was still staring after him when the closing doors of the maglift doors hid her from view.
    Alone in the maglift, Lari glared up at the newspanel, trying to take his mind from the argument. It didn’t work. The worst thing was that he knew she was right. Compared with those poor shi down on the lower levels, he really had nothing to complain about. But that didn’t change the fact that she’d dragged him down there, almost gotten them both killed, and then had the nerve to insult him for not being thrilled about it. Even now, thinking about Gregor’s whispered reminder – as of now, you both owe me – Lari couldn’t shake the sensation of fear that swept over him.
    The maglift surged up towards the hub of Lari’s dome and he felt the familiar acceleration though the soles of his feet. If he listened carefully, he could hear the faint rush of the shaft whizzing past outside, even over the newspanel. This was his world. These were the sounds he was used to – not the concussive pounding of bass music and the smell and press of crowded humanity.
    The lift doors opened and Lari stepped out into the clean, filtered light of another sky.

    She wakes.
    Or she thinks she does.
    It’s hard to be certain.
    It’s white.
    It’s cold.
    It’s closed.
    Somewhere above, light glares down. Cold, bright light. It feels strange on her skin, somehow … wrong.
    Her eyes are open, but the brightness dazzles them, and spots dance across her vision.
    And she feels so exposed.
    Rising, she pushes back the surging bile that heaves at her gorge and slowly turns around.
    The room is white. Round. Perfect. It has no edges, no seams, no corners, no windows, no gaps.
    No escape.
    Just perfect, flawless, cold white, rising from the floor into the brightness.
    Somewhere high in the brilliance, she can hear the murmur of voices.
    She closes her eyes. She reaches down …
    Into …
    Nothing.
    Cold.
    Whiteness.
    A soft hiss fills the silence, and for a moment the air tastes like old tin.
    And then she’s falling again …

The ref was packed with the usual throng of shift changeover, but Kes