Ch. 2
A girl with hair as white as freshly fallen snow lay asleep in a modest wooden house nestled deep within the frozen wasteland, far beyond the protective walls of any dome. The bitter cold of the endless winter pressed against the fragile structure from all sides, seeping through every crack and crevice. Inside, the girl tossed and turned restlessly beneath her worn blankets as a disturbing dream haunted her troubled sleep.
In her mind's eye, she saw two white rabbits, friends, companions, playing together in pristine snow, hopping about with innocent joy and having fun in the way only such creatures could. Their movements were carefree, their spirits light. Until, without warning, the eyes of both rabbits suddenly turned a violent, bloodshot red. In an instant, they lunged at each other with savage fury, attacking with teeth bared and claws extended, fighting not just to harm but to kill, to utterly destroy one another.
The girl's eyes snapped open wide as she shot up from her slumber, gasping desperately for air, her chest heaving as cold sweat beaded across her pale forehead.
…
Meanwhile, in the protected heart of civilization, Cael and his father walked together through the sprawling streets of Dome 6. Towering skyscrapers dominated their surroundings, massive structures of steel and glass that reached up toward the artificial sky created by the dome's curved ceiling far above. The buildings seemed to scrape against the very limits of their enclosed world, casting long shadows across the bustling streets below. People filled every available space on the sidewalks and crosswalks, walking to and from their daily lives in an endless stream of humanity, each person absorbed in their own concerns and destinations.
The center of the wide street was dominated by a sleek subway cart system that ran along suspended wires high above the ground level, using crackling electricity to propel the vehicles along predetermined routes throughout the city. The metal carts zipped past overhead with a distinctive humming sound. The walls of surrounding buildings were illuminated by massive holographic projections, images of Goddess Eve in various poses of benevolence with her face blurred in ethereal light, propaganda messages about unity and gratitude, and advertisements for various goods and services that flickered and changed every few seconds.
Cael and his father walked side by side along the concrete sidewalk, and the crowds of people seemed to instinctively part before them like a sea splitting around an island. Upon catching sight of Cael's father, recognizing the unmistakable three red stripes of their Archon, some citizens would bow respectfully while most simply averted their eyes, unwilling or afraid to make direct eye contact with someone of such high authority.
'Me, be Archon? pft, yeah right. Why would I want to be Archon!?' Cael thought bitterly as he walked alongside the father he harbored such complicated feelings toward. 'So I can be just like him? So I can devote my entire life to "Goddess Eve" and ignore all the people in my life that really should matter… like family? Like my own damn son?' The anger simmered just beneath the surface of his carefully neutral expression, born from years of being second priority to the endless duties of being Archon.
After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, his father finally spoke without even bothering to turn his head or look at Cael. "How is school going, son?"
Cael continued staring at the ground before his feet as they walked, his jaw tightening slightly. 'pft, like he actually cares anyway.' He sighed audibly before responding in a flat, sarcastic tone, "Fine."
His father's eyes briefly shifted to study him from the corner of his vision, clearly catching the attitude in that single word. He sighed heavily, clearly recognizing the brewing conflict but deciding to let it go for now rather than start an argument in public. The previous silence quickly reinstated itself.
"Father, how long will we be gone?" Cael asked after a few more minutes, suddenly realizing something important he'd overlooked in his shock at being told he was coming along.
His father glanced at him with mild surprise at the question. "Huh? Oh, we should be back in about a week, perhaps a few days more if the meetings run long."
Cael felt his stomach sink upon hearing this confirmation. 'Shit, I was supposed to hang out with Rey and the others in a couple days. They're going to be so pissed.' He quickly tried to think of some way out of this situation, his mind racing through possibilities before landing on what seemed like a brilliant idea.
"Oh, Father, are you absolutely sure I should come along?" he asked, injecting his voice with a pleading tone while trying his best to look concerned. "I have a really important test tomorrow, and my teacher specifically said that if you miss it, it will automatically count as a failing grade on our records."
His father's expression didn't change in the slightest. "Oh, don't worry about that at all. I already spoke with your teacher personally and arranged for you to take the test when you return." He paused, then added with firm finality, "Besides, nothing is more important than properly preparing you to be Archon someday, son. This is your future we're discussing."
Cael forced his face into a fake smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Oh… great. Thanks for thinking ahead."
He immediately looked back down to the pavement in front of him, his false smile vanishing the moment his father wasn't looking. 'Tsk, shit. Of course he already handled it. He handles everything except actually being present.' They continued walking in renewed silence until they reached one of the public transit stations, where they boarded one of the city carts.
The automated vehicle zipped them through the sprawling metropolis at amazing speed, the world outside becoming a blur of lights and movement. Cael simply sat and watched the city pass by through the scratched window, his reflection ghosting over the scenery beyond. 'This city is so empty,' he thought with unexpected melancholy as familiar buildings rushed past. 'It's full of people, but… it's fake, it's hollow, it's just a front. We all live here pretending everything is normal, going through the motions of regular life, but nothing will ever be normal again. The world ended and we're just living in its corpse. The snow outside these walls will never leave, and we all know it but pretend we don't.'
The cart eventually brought them to their destination at the edge of the dome, and both father and son exited onto the platform. They walked purposefully toward a heavily guarded subway station that sat at the very perimeter of Dome 6, positioned where the protective barrier met the frozen wasteland beyond. Numerous soldiers stood at rigid attention near the waiting train, advanced rifles held ready in their gloved hands. They wore standard combat gear, reinforced armor plates over insulated uniforms, with a single distinctive red stripe painted horizontally across their chests, marking them as dome security forces.
Cael looked at the soldiers with mild interest as they approached, noting their alert postures and the way their eyes constantly scanned for threats. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice call out, "Cael! Theron!"
He turned to see his mother walking toward them with her characteristic elegance and grace, moving as though she were gliding rather than walking. Her long, beautiful white hair cascaded down to her lower back in waves that caught the artificial light, and a soft, gentle expression sat naturally upon her crystalline features, a face that seemed almost too perfect to be entirely human. She approached wearing an absolutely beautiful blue winter robe embroidered with intricate silver patterns that resembled frost crystals, the garment flowing around her like water.
"Mom," Cael said, and for the first time since leaving school, a genuine smile crossed his face.
"Natalie," Cael's father, Theron, acknowledged her with his characteristic stoic expression, his face remaining professionally neutral.
She smiled warmly as she reached them, immediately placing a gentle hand on Cael's head and ruffling his white hair affectionately before rising on her toes to plant a quick kiss on Theron's scarred cheek. "Shall we go now that we're all here together?" She looked between the two of them expectantly, her eyes bright with anticipation.
"We shall," Theron confirmed with a single firm nod, already turning toward the waiting train that would carry them beyond the safety of their dome and into the frozen world beyond.