4 Pride is Less Than Life (1/2)

The provincial capital of the North East Province, Sahid. A city that was incredibly advanced technologically and stood high above all other so called cities within the province. It spanned Thousands of kilometers and it was surrounded by a giant grey wall so high it made it looked as if the city itself was declaring war against the heavens.

To outsiders this wall was incredibly intimidating, and Darius was no exception. He shivered as he walked out of the Bus, only to look at the incredibly large wall they had passed through.

”Impressive isn't it? A tenth of our journey was spent going through the gates of the wall. Our journey was ten hours in total from your village lad. So how think do you think the wall is hhmm?” The conductor wrapped his lanky arm and spoke with a mischievous grin. His objective had clearly been to spook Darius, and it had worked.

”One hour? It took us one hour to pass through that?” As Darius looked at the enormous steel cage he couldn't help but shiver. The conductor failed to mention that the entrance into the city that they took was not a straight line on purpose. The entrance for normal civilians went along a length of the wall then deviated into the city.

As Darius stared at the Wall, a sharp looking young man wearing expensive clothes was carrying a small smart phone in his hands, and every time he took an image of someone, the phone would show a red red causing the young man to groan.

The young man looked nervous, and did this repeatedly to everyone who had left the odd looking bus. When it was finally Darius' turn, the screen flashed green instead of red, causing the young man to jump with joy. He did a few fist pumps and quickly activated the phone's mirror application and made sure he looked as welcoming as possible. After getting rid of his phone, the young man then made long strides toward the dazzled Darius.

After marveling at the wall for some time Darius got tired of it and turned around to see the legendary city of Sahid. And he was not disappointed.

Skyscrapers of every colour and shape dazzled his eyes shooting straight into the clouds above them, oddly shaped vehicles ran on the streets and some of the more beautiful ones flew across what little of the city he could see. To a country bumpkin like Darius, this was a utopia, one that he could only see in his dreams.

When the sharp looking young man saw the look on Darius's face, his face beamed with joy, because he knew that he had found the perfect target.

”It's beautiful isn't it?” said the young man as he put one of his arms around Darius' neck. The wary Darius immediately disengaged contact and stepped away.

The sharp looking youth put his arms up in submission, ”Brother relax, i am not trying to do anything.” Darius did not reply and simply two more steps back.

The sharp looking youth sighed and said, ”Look, I can tell you don't know much about the city, I'm just here to give you a few tips. That's it.”

Darius furrowed his brows, ”Who said that I need tips. Now stay away from me.” Before the sharp looking youth could reply, Darius had already turned around and left. The sharp looking youth smiled wryly but did not give up. A glint in his eyes twinkled as he formulated his plan.

...

Darius had been warned about such people by the Matron, and he could smell the lies coming out of that young man's mouth. Ever since he started using the hammer, many minute changes had occurred inside his body. For example his perception. Darius' instinct can usually tell a lie, unless its a really good liar. Although he couldn't put a finger on how he could tell, he just could tell when a person was lying, and what they truly felt for him.

Disdain, scorn, and a tinge of disgust. Darius could tell what the young man felt for him. So he held no issue with immediately withdrawing from the young man. Even if it was rude. Darius was used to ignoring people, and old habits die hard.

Darius took a bit of time to wander around. The wide open road had lots of shining vehicles of every color moving at incredible speeds. Sahid was without a doubt much more advanced than Yoko. In Yoko a vehicle was extremely rare to see and was viewed as a luxury item.