[center][h3]ACT I: Synthesis[/h3][/center] [hr] Cedar Fort at night was beautiful, a picturesque utopia of bright neon lights and modern architecture alongside the buildings of years and eras gone by. It was picturesque of course if you viewed it from above, as long as you didn’t get to close, you wouldn’t notice the stains and tears at the fabric of the city. You wouldn’t notice that the further from dead centre that you got, the easier it was to find filth. The centre was the hub of wealth and those who lived in the flashy towers had the best technology, access to what they needed, and the best security - it really was an Eden for them, for the socialites, high-flying businessmen, and general bourgeoise. They did not struggle for food. They did not know thirst, everything that they could wish for, belonged to them. They had on a silver platter the world that had been promised to them. ‘The World of Tomorrow’ had always been on the horizon, just a wish for a better future, for technology and automation, for freedom and peace, for a greener world. It was all just a wish, only a percentage of the people were elevated. Only a percentage had their wishes come true. The rest were left behind. How could it be, that while so many sat pretty, many more sat in dirt? With a monorail system in place, the original subway lines were no longer in use - and instead the labyrinthine tunnels then became the structure to house some of the poorest within the city. At least that way they were out of the near constant rain, but it was a literal underbelly for depravity. Nobody chose to live there, the tunnels chose them, grasped at the lost and weary - the hopeless. They would be seduced by the life, the freedom, the people who seemed so decent. That was the trap, and so the tunnels simply digested the souls of those who entered and sent them back out as criminals. The further one got from the centre, the further one got from society, and miles beyond the last crumbling walls of the city, there was simple a wasteland of abandoned buildings. Industrial units that had been made obsolete by technology. Just barren stacks of brick, slowly eroding with the passing of time. Nobody really wanted to stray too far from the lights, no matter how much dirt they were in. It was better to be at least know the light, than to feel the loneliness of yesterday. [hr] [i]05/20/2047 Outside of Cedar Fort[/i] The warehouse was cold. Because of course it was. Nobody cared about the outskirts of Cedar Fort, certainly not enough to care about a dilapidated warehouse sat amongst rows and rows and rows of abandoned warehouses. The only differentiating factor that it had was that it was red - or at least it had been once. Now, the paint was peeling away - leaving patches of dirty brickwork and flakes on the ground trodden into the gravel. Addison sighed, watching as the condensation blew out from her lips. She shivered and wrapped her arms tighter around herself. To the left of her was a box of electronics, and to the right a folding stool she’d brought along for the trip. Even with the tiny campfire, she couldn’t get warm - and it became difficult to know if she was freezing or just completely nervous. She cupped her gloved hands to her face and breathed against them - continuing to pace the floor, but never drawing too far from the flames. She’d been here for hours, at least that was how it felt. Like she’d been here all day, it had been a while since the sun had set. Addison was hungry too, [i]real[/i] hungry. She just wanted to get back to her apartment, lock herself in, make a hot dinner, and forget that she’d ever had a ridiculous idea. It was clear that nobody was coming, that her message hadn’t been heard. She’d even had a moment of anxiety earlier when she worried about whether or not she had sent out the right coordinates. What if a super had arrived somewhere, and was simply doing the same dance as she was right now? Cold, hungry, and waiting in the dark. Still she waited. She wasn’t going to give up. Her hunger was not as strong as her hope - or desperation, and eventually she got down onto the floor, right by the fire this time. Her brown eyes gazed into the flames and brought a warmth to her face - her cheeks grew rosy in the heat and the light and she found herself feeling calmer for it. She thought of the kids she’d found dead by the water. She thought of the crime that seemed to never relent. She thought of her partner… Too tired to cry, her lip simply trembled. Again, she couldn’t have been sure whether this was the cold, or something in tune with her emotions. Probably both. Addison brought her knees up to her chest, the heels of her boots scraping the cement as they moved. Her arms shifted around them, until she was in a ball with her head resting on her knees. She knew the city would be alive right now. The nightlife just beginning, people would be returning to their homes from meals out, children would be fast asleep. Here she was, sat in an abandoned warehouse waiting for [i]hope[/i] to walk through the door and greet her. If she was lucky, a single super would arrive. If she wasn’t, some criminals would find her here and she’d be outnumbered, gunned down, and left to rot. Because nobody [i]was coming[/i]. Time rolled on still, and Addison watched as the fire came down to it’s last embers. It must have been at least 2 in the morning, and she’d been there since late afternoon. That settled it. It was done, wasn’t it? “Nobody’s coming…” she said, watching her breath accompany the words in a small cloud. “Nobody’s coming…”