8:02 AM, 17th of December, 1728.
Drenched in sweat once again, Alexander sat up in his bed. His blanket was thrown on the floor from apparent thrashing in his sleep, and his body felt hot, almost as if he had a fever. His dream was more vivid last night, and he was nearly able to make out where he was as it took place. Not yet having changed out of his night clothes, Alexander made his way down the stairs.
Just starting breakfast was his mother, Cassandra. As Alexander was about to mutter a morning greeting, it was interrupted by his father Sean's loud snoring, coming from the room adjacent to them. His father would work early in the mornings, before the sun came up, tending to crop fields. After Nora's death, more work has been required of him, though his Authority had nothing to do with crops, only allowing him to see clearly in the dark.
Looking at the ingredients his mother had laid out, Alexander asked, "Veggie omelettes today?"
"Mhm, your dad asked for them before he went to bed. Hopefully, he's awake before they're done. I wouldn't want to need to wake him up after all the extra work he's been doing." A subtle smile could be seen on her face as she cracked the first egg into a mixing bowl.
"Alright, well, I'm gonna wash up before breakfast is ready, Aisha and I are going to meet up at the park again today if that's alright."
After she gave a confirming nod, Alexander quickly went into the restroom to get washed and changed. Just as he was about to finish up, he heard his father greet his mother from outside the door.
"Omelettes! This is why you're the greatest, Cass."
"I know, I know." She paused, then raised her voice, "Alex, come eat!"
Now situated at the dining table, Alexander decided it was time to ask what he had been wondering since the night before. "By the way, I was wondering, do you guys know someone named Dolon?"
The happy atmosphere in the room shifted slightly, and his mother's face went slack as she responded. "How do you know that name?"
Feeling a little thrown off, Alexander replied, "I just saw his name listed as an author in the library. I wanted to talk to him about his book. Why, what's the problem?"
With emotion having returned to her face, she spoke, "No, there's not one. I was just curious. He died when I was about your age; he was already pretty old when he came here. If you want to ask about him, he was a good friend of Cain's. I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing."
"Alright, thanks, Mom, and thanks for breakfast too. I'm gonna head to the park now."
Just before leaving, he grabbed his overcoat, realizing he had left the nutrient bar in his pocket. Luckily, the bar was so dense it hadn't left any crumbs. Not wanting to waste the food, he decided to keep it with himself.
Knowing that there was enough time not to be late, Alexander decided to take a slight detour. He was going to take a last look at his school. His education was already over, and he would soon be busy with his vocation, which would either be assigned or chosen by himself in only six days. The school was only a short walk from his home and still roughly on the way, only adding a few minutes to the trip.
Walking along the sidewalk next to the school, Alexander wondered what it was he would do for work. He had considered, and even liked the idea, of being a teacher. But as of recent, his mind had changed a little. How could he teach something he didn't fully believe or trust in? He stopped for a moment on the sidewalk, staring through the windows of the silent and empty school, before deciding it was time to move on to the park.
-
Alexander arrived at the park first, with Aisha nowhere in sight. They were meeting at the same spot where the funeral had taken place the day before, though everything from then had already been cleared out, including the casket.
Just after sitting down on a bench, a feeling rose within Alexander's chest, prompting him to look up. Aisha was walking towards him, far off in the distance. Her head was down, and she hadn't noticed him yet. As she neared, Alexander noticed something he hadn't seen the day before. Her eyes had darkened just a shade, now a slightly darker green.
"You know what's weird? Your eyes are a little darker than usual."
She sat down next to him and spoke, a teasing grin on her face. "You want to call my eyes weird? Did you forget how your own eyes look?" She was referring to the odd, perfectly straight lines that went from his pupil to the top of each light blue eye.
Her expression changed to something more grim, and she started speaking on why she asked him to meet in the first place. "It couldn't have been natural. Her death, I mean. The moment she started questioning things was the moment it all started. I want to find who did this to her."
"I was thinking the same thing at the funeral." He paused, thinking over what to say. "I found out some interesting things yesterday, you know. The library seems seriously understocked in some important areas. I feel like they've purposefully left out some books."
After explaining what he had learned, he continued. "I think we should talk to Cain about that author named Dolon."
"Well, alright then, let's head to the city hall and do just that."
The city hall was roughly ten minutes away from the park, which was central to the city. Approaching the grand building, Alexander admired the architecture that made it up. Pillars of marble rose from the floor, making up the front of the building, the rest of it constructed with a beautiful brick pattern.
Amidst his admiration, a sudden overwhelming pain resonated within his chest, so intense that he fell to his knees, gasping for breath. It felt as if his heart had stopped beating for a moment. He looked around, confused as to what would cause this, what he was being warned about. But there was nothing. People were simply going about their days off in the distance, all of them unremarkable and unthreatening.
Aisha was ahead of him and hadn't noticed his stopping, just reaching the steps leading up to the city hall. Quickly regaining his bearings, Alexander caught up with her, just in time to see Cain standing at the entrance to the building, as if waiting for their arrival.
"Hey, Cain. We wanted to ask you about an old friend of yours."
"It's good to see you two. Who did you want to ask about? Let's talk about it in my office." A large smile was displayed on his face.
Now seated in Cain's office, the duo sat opposite him, across his desk. Each wall of the room was lined with shelving, each shelf filled with items and books. A city map lay flat on his desk, as well as papers detailing work needed to be done around the city.
"Dolon, huh? He actually came here with me. He helped me start this city. Though, to be honest, he was always more worried about writing than creating anything physical."
Alexander leaned in, obviously curious about what Cain had to share. "Are there any more books written by him?"
"Oh, he probably wrote thousands of pages, but I don't think he ever published more than one book. I couldn't even begin to guess what happened to everything he's written; it's all probably long gone by now."
Aisha, who had previously seemed uninterested in the conversation at hand, spoke, "Are you sure you don't have anything of his? There are a lot of books in here that I've never seen before."
"Definitely not in here. I can check in my back room if you'd like, though I really doubt that I'll find anything of use to you two." As he spoke, he stood and left through the door placed at the back left of the room, first opening it with a bronze key. The two looked over at each other at the same time, sharing silent words. After a brief period of time, he emerged from the room empty-handed, with a sorry look on his face. "Nothing of interest, sorry. Is there anything else you needed to know?"
Unsurprised, Alexander stood and spoke. "No, that's it, thank you for your time. We'll be leaving now."
As the two walked out of the building and past the office window, Aisha spoke up. "What's he reading in there?" Alexander looked over through the window, propped up in Cain's hands was a purple book, titled "On the end of the world: Part 2."
It was exactly what they were looking for. Exactly what he had just claimed not to exist. A simple hunch had now led them to much more concerning circumstances.
"He just lied to our faces? Why?"
With a mischievous smile on her face, Aisha replied. "Want to find out? Let's read it tonight."
"What do you mean, read it? He has the only copy."
"And he sleeps, doesn't he? If he's asleep upstairs, we can go in and figure out what it is he's trying to hide. I doubt he worries about locking every door and window, given how crime-free this city is."