Warm summer air swirled around Emily's face, illuminating her shimmering emerald colored eyes. Her black hair and teal highlights fluttered in the wind as she stood alone on top of a balcony staring down at the massive crowd below. The scent of perfume, gunpowder, paint, and floral fragrances lingered in the air as she clutched her single loaf of bread. Her dingy, tattered beige shirt clung to her pale skin. She stared with narrow eyes as pedestrians left roses and masquerade masks at the feet of painters, musicians, and dancers.
PRIME
The word crawled up her spine. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as the crowd chanted it as they walked on cobblestone, purchasing art as they celebrated PRIME DAY. Emily's eyes gazed up into the pristine blue sky, then towards the island barely visible from the hundred miles of sea. Her eyes gazed upwards towards the massive eldritch mechanical eye hovering above the island. Its slate grey gears were too many to count.
Emily sighed, nostrils flaring as she turned around and headed back into the mall.
Her weathered sneakers creaked on the wooden floor as sunlight beamed through mosaic windows. She glared as customers paid top coin for mass-produced art. Emily winced each time she heard detuned notes coming from musical instruments as she pushed through the crowd.
"Watch where you are going, Street Rat scum!" A pedestrian yelled as Emily bumped into him.
Emily fell to the ground as a sea of people casually stomped on her bread without a care, too fixated on shopping.
"Sorry," Emily muttered as she stared wide-eyed as her dinner turned into breadcrumbs underneath people's shoes.
The pedestrian shook his head and scoffed. "Sorry? It's PRIME day, and my beloved city is tainted by street rats. Leonore deserves better."
"We got a problem here?" A baritone male voice asked as he pushed his way through the crowd.
Emily's gaze was fixated on the man approaching, his hawk-eyed umber eyes stared down at her then up at the pedestrian.
"No problem," the pedestrian mumbled as he avoided the mocha-skinned man's glare before fading back into the crowd.
The man scratched his salt and pepper beard, then looked down at Emily. "You alright, kid?" He asked as he outstretched a hand towards her.
Emily rubbed the back of her neck and then stood up, rejecting the man's assistance. "Thanks....but I had it handled," she grumbled, staring down at the man's steel-toe boots and black cargo pants.
"Sure didn't look like it," he replied as he crossed his arms. "You hungry?"
Emily's eyes widened as she gazed up at him briefly before glancing back down and shaking her head.
"I'll pay...what do you wanna eat?"
"Im not hungry."
The man sighed, then shook his head, then dug some coins from his pocket. "Take it."
Emily's eyebrows narrowed as the man forcibly opened her hands and placed enough coins to buy a full-course meal into her hand.
"Get something to eat," The man insisted as he released her arm and then started to walk away.
"Hey....who are you?" Emily shouted at the man as she clutched the change.
The man stopped and turned around. "Elijah."
Emily blinked slowly as Elijah pulled a pack of cigarettes from his tactical jacket and faded into the crowd without saying another word. Her stomach grumbled as her mind lingered on his outfit. It was nothing she had seen before in Leonore. She couldn't shake the feeling that their paths would cross again.
Baroque-influenced music echoed down the corridor as she made her way further into the mall. Laughter and smiles lingered on people's faces as they listened, dropping coins at the feet of musicians as they strolled past. Freelance artist painted intricate landscapes and animals, selling them for premiums while magicians weaved ether wisps in the air like dancing fireworks.
Emily strolled past, fixating on the smell of freshly cooked waffles lingering in the air from a nearby food court.
"Scram, kid...I already told you last week. No money, no food," A chef grumbled as Emily approached his restaurant.
"I have money," Emily muttered as she dug into her dingy pants and pulled out the coins Elijah gave her.
"You stole this?" the chef grumbled as he stared at the coins.
Emily shook her head.
The chef shook his head. "Aint buying it. You came here last week begging, and now you have enough money to buy everything on the menu. Get lost, can't believe you would steal on PRIME Day."
"I didn't steal it! A man gave it to me."
"Where is this man?"
Emily rubbed her arm. "I don't know...he left, but his name is Elijah."
"Elijah...well, you find this Elijah and then come back."
"But."
"No, Elijah, no service...now scram."
Emily sighed, then hung her head down. She willed her body to move even though every step felt like she was trapped in quicksand. Her stomach growled as she eyed people as they dumped piles of food into nearby trash cans. Their smiles and laughs burned her soul as she creaked open a door that led to the mall trash dumpster complex.
Sour oranges and mold hit Emily's nose as she leaped onto a nearby balcony. She shimmied carefully over to the nearby building, staring down at the gleeful festivities below as birds flew past her with a rush of wind. Emily balanced herself, waiting for the gust of wind to pass, then parkoured over the nearby building rooftop.
Every hundred years, we gather
Every hundred years, we sing
Watch the Engine choose tomorrow
See what new age it will bring
Emily listened to the crowd below sing as she lifted a makeshift tarp. Inside was a dingy mattress, a cello, and a journal.
Twenty-five from nations wide
Marked by masks,
They cannot hide
Walking paths of those before
They forge themselves in plight
"Idiots," Emily grumbled as she sat down on the mattress and grabbed her journal. "Singing about their own graves," Emily muttered to herself as she scribbled lyrics in her journal.
I wonder why we are so ugly?
Life is a game, but we play it so ugly.
I wonder why you are so ugly?
Hate thy neighbor when you live so ugly.
Emily sighed, then closed her notebook as she reached for her cello. She closed her eyes and plucked the strings, searching for the right frequency. Her eyes jolted open as her body reverberated like heavy bass. The world shook like an earthquake; the ENGINE was waking.
PRIME - The number stands alone
PRIME - Ascending to the throne
PRIME - One hundred seek the call
PRIME - But only one rules all
Emily breathed deeply as she dropped her cello. The hair on her arms stood on end as she lifted the tarp and looked up towards the sky. Her body quivered in primordial instinct; her legs trembled like Jello as she turned her gaze toward the ENGINE.
We celebrate PRIME
The century's design
We celebrate PRIME
When a mortal becomes divine
The ENGINE gears slowly turned as the world chanted PRIME. Emily gulped heavily, her eyes frozen in awe as she watched the infinite clocks and gears of the ENGINE creak like a rusty grandfather clock. She fought internally to move; each step felt harder than the last as she willed herself towards the fire escape, towards the streets below.
Children dream of being chosen
Artists, builders, minds of steel
But the Engine sees much deeper
Than the power we can feel
The intricate Victorian architecture of Leonore trembled as Emily fought for every step. The marble statues that aligned the cobblestone streets wept. The citizens sang while staring up into the Azure sky, kneeling in the presence of the waking ENGINE.
Not the strongest wins the summit
Not the smartest breaks the seal
But the one who understands that
Gods must know how mortals feel
Emily stared up at the massive clock situated in the middle of Leonore. Her sharp breaths lingered in the air as she refused to kneel like every citizen around her. The clock clicked over to 12:21 P.M. and then a loud eldritch hum reverberated through her body as the ENGINE'S mulberry eye began to open, bathing the sky and Leonore in eldritch divinity.
The ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME
The ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME
The ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME
The ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME
The ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME
The ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME
The ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME
The ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME
Emily's body shook as she stared wide-eyed up at the ENGINE. Her mind went blank as the ENGINE's gaze pierced the heavens, bathing the world in mulberry. She felt like it was just staring at her and her alone. A power swelled within her not externally, but she felt like it was always hers. Time seemed to stop as she just stood in trembling defiance. Her eyes twitched, then her face lit a blaze.
PRIME
PRIME
PRIME
PRIME
Emily screamed as she clawed at her face, the flames engulfing half of her face. Two other citizens kneeling nearby, and a mocha-skinned man wearing tactical gear, were also set on fire. Masquerade masks began to manifest from the flames, each one a different color from the other.
PRIME - Today the cycle turns
PRIME - The Engine's eye discerns
PRIME - Among us walks the one
PRIME - Whose pilgrimage has begun
Tears dripped down Emily's face as the flames evaporated into a plain white masquerade mask on the right side of her face. She stared at her trembling hands, then scratched and pulled at her face, but the mask would not come off. Dread swelled up within her, crawling up her legs then towards her spine. The ENGINE eye slowly began to close, its gears creaking and groaning as the clock turned to 12.22 P.M.
The mulberry faded, revealing pristine blue skies once more as birds took flight. Citizens stood up, their eyes gazed up towards the slumbering ENGINE, then towards those who the ENGINE had marked. Emily felt their eyes on her as she glanced over towards the mocha-skinned man wearing tactical gear. She recognized it was Elijah behind the gray mask when their eyes met.
Emily stared wide-eyed at the cobblestone beneath her feet. She then looked up at the ENGINE hovering above the island out at sea. Her mind went blank, her expression unreadable as the citizens of Leonore gazed at her with bewilderment.
"I'm going to die," she whispered to herself as a tear dripped down her cheek.