You know the drill: sit back, relax, enjoy, and don't copy my idea! Just a recap if you're new: Adryn is getting prepared to go to one of the two islands that are suspended above Earth, in an attempt to save his family.
I wake up shivering because I am so anxious. The only plan I have thought of is to steal supplies from an island and bring them back down. I will have to blend in somehow, pretending to be one of them (whoever they are), and then somehow escape. I do not know how it will happen, but I know everyone here is counting on me. I stand outside of our house, and I acutely notice my surroundings. I breathe in the hot, salty air because I think this could be the last time I will be able to. Then, without saying goodbye, I start walking towards the island closest to our home. I know there are faster ways to reach the elevator to the island, but I slowly walk, taking note of the wet earth under my thin shoes, the real sunrise, and the shuffling of my neighbors as they wake up.
The air around me is opaque and filled with pollution, as the air has been since before I can remember. I look around at the tiny homes, falling apart because between tides there is not enough time to fix damage. I look around at the robotic toys sitting outside the houses with children, waiting to be picked up and played with the next day. I look at the patches of dead grass and the dead fish that lie near the edge of the water, giving off a scent that is putrid but normal for me. This world may not be modern or perfect, but it is my home, and I know I will miss it.
I soon reach a cramped, glossy white pod, and I step into it. I look up and see metal rods, going up so far that I can barely see the top. For some reason, I am excited to see what is in those walls. But I keep hearing my mother’s voice in my head, saying Adryn, we don’t know what’s up there. What we don’t know is dangerous. I look up expectantly as I rush up the posts, farther and farther from my family and my home. It only takes seconds for the pod to open outside of the wall, onto a patch of dirt. I must have to climb up, which I think is strangely inconvenient. There are small notches in the bricks of the wall that I use to pull myself up, but my legs are scratched and my hands are aching by the time I reach the top. I never had much time for exercise back home, or space to do so.
I catch my breath at the top for a few seconds, and then I look down. I almost fall down from what I see. I see no humans. I see thousands of gleaming white robots with black telescope eyes, acting as if they are people. There are robots filling apartments, eating in restaurants, and selling food in small stores. But the environment these robots are living in is nothing like what we have back home. There are tall buildings and modern homes, but there is no life here. There are no people talking and laughing with each other. I jump down from my perch on the top of the rough wall and land clumsily within a pile of dry dirt. The dirt fills my eyes and I cough it out from my mouth until I can see clearly again.
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