//Prologue//.

The air was chill although it was still August. My heart was beating like an erratic drum, making the situation more stressful than it was.

In this old hospital room we sat down starring at each other, I could tell she didn't want any human presence around her, but her wishes are none of my concern, its a job, one that must be done quickly.

"Have you decided to talk yet?" I asked as calm as I can be, doing my best to grab her attention as her eyes strayed away.

Silent, as if I was addressing a corpse. The disconnection between us was unbearable, the room was plagued by the smell of alcohol she believed she hid well, and her eyes were a great source of discomfort to anyone that dared to approach her. I held my recorder close to her as a way into pressuring her to speak, and as she blinked and finally looked at me, those old cracked lips spoke.

"What do you want to hear?" She asked me with her toneless voice, that voice ripped my heart apart striking me with excitement and joy, but also worry and distress. I reached my hands out for her holding my recorder, "Tell me about it, everything " I trembled as my sweaty hands almost dropped the recorder, she kept the same expression.

"It was truly a strange world, unbelievably peculiar and interesting yet morbidly terrifying." She said, and I listened as carefully as I could.

"I saw the dream we have had for ages. The world everyone longed to touch, I've been into the place where the craft of Iron dictated the lives of millions. A prototype of the hell the likes of you wished to build. It was an atrocious sight of an unwanted evolution, don't you think?"

Seven years ago, City of Ilusia.

It was a busy day for the suit rats. Flooding across their tunnels oblivious to each other. Under thick clouds of steam, in the heart of the industrial city, there was nothing but endless work hours and dull faces, ticking clocks and a black sky. It was a life of repetitive work and routine. For some, it was the utopia, one where all you need to do is climb the stairs to glory till your last breath. But, the reality was that it was nothing but a prison they were cornered in. After all, these people never owned their lives, always masters and slaves but with a fashion sense.

The streets smelled of dirt, smoke and classy perfumes jumbled up into one. all of them belonged to the different classes that walked this amusing city. The sky was no eye pleasure, towers were so huge your eyes can never catch their top. As for technology, the higher class was accompanied by their own prototype robots that fulfilled their pleasure and desires, whatever you could imagine. A thick wallet can do wonders.

Two legs wandered across the workers' early morning race in great energy, busting the worker bees and going among them unnoticed. Her mind strayed far away, far over the grayish smoke veiling the blue sky. It was when she accidentally hit someone's shoulder her mind at last awakened, "Watch your steps, idiot." Muttered a man. she sighed and finally broke free of her daydreaming. "you're the idiot." She cursed under her breath, scared to be heard. During the black and white show of the early morning rush, she was rushing to empty the pockets of those hasty penny-grabbers.

//The Race.

She portrayed them in her own mind as rats rushing through tunnels in the sewers, so down below they could hardly realize where they are. She looked at that woman shouting at her son for dropping his candy, or the man hitting his phone in anger while cursing, "Damn machine!", all these people fueled her quick legs to push through the crowds as she holds her bag tightly.

That worn out and old bag was her treasure. That child was a scavenger, living off her quick wit. On her shoulder, on board her short daily adventure, she had stolen a necklace from a passed-out woman's neck, and a camera from a lost photographer's bag. There was no money, no food and no hardly any spare clothes. Only a piece of cloth she had to cover up herself when the coldness kicks in at night, a Grey jacket with a hood she could hide in and a black one for the coldest nights in Ilusia.

The rush didn't slow down. Everyone is late to something, no one is ever on time. Perhaps the government's clock is otherworldly, that's why those poor souls never make it on time. That young child couldn't care less, what could she be late for other than an easy theft case or a stolen breakfast from a bakery in the city's center?

Slowly, she buried her golden eyes in her bag that she quietly opened as she retreated to a calm corner in the city, looking around her anxiously as if someone's eyes were on her. Thieves could get stolen from too, and that's what she feared.

She reached out her scarred hand into the dark bag, checking the few items she had and then sighed in relief. As she pulled her hand out, a hasty man busted into her shoulder and ran leaving her belongings scattered across the ground where a thousand legs crossed paths, the girl's heart fell with the bag.

"You blind asshole!" She muttered to herself, afraid to be heard, once again. She hurried to the ground and started picking her items in fear. A tear or two fell as she saw the camera being stepped on, leaving it almost broken. She grabbed it and hugged it as if she had recovered a lost treasure.

The noise in her head was buzzing like a bee, isolating her from the outside world, however, that noise slowly subdued to the sudden sharp peep sound that echoed across the city like thunder. Horrified, she slowly lifts her head up as she realized that everything around her has stood still. The essence of the roaring cars and machines and the emphatic voices was what made the city is, all of it disappeared. The gentlemen stopped their precious time with eyes wide opened gazing upon something she couldn't see, the grand clock's ticking was all that could be heard.

//The sky had gone black.

With the crowds above her blocking her vision, she had no way of telling where did that terrifying sound come from or why did everyone freeze suddenly. However, once her vision cleared up a bit, she had made a horrifying discovery.

She still couldn't see anything.

"It's the end of the world! Oh god, pray!" Cried a man who broke the silence.

The scent of fear triggered the heartless' emotions, it was the fear of the unknown, the never- seen sky was visited by the weary eyes of the street walkers who hardly could speak or let out a word unrelated to their daily quest. Hearts were captured all together and pulled by a chain of fright that soon drove them into madness, what was that frightened them so much?

In absolute bleak darkness, The young girl could feel the race begin once more. Horrified screams that could make ones ear cry blood resounded. The child hugged her belongings, closed her eyes and leaned on a corner. One hit after another made pain shoot up her weak body, but she still wouldn't dare to open her eyes.

It seemed like a factory disaster, perhaps one of the hazardous explosions that occurred many times before. The young girl connected the dots while hoping to curl up tightly into a rock. Those sirens and that flashing must be Milasic's industries doing, one could only think they've screwed up once again, but the black sky, that was a mystery.

As the screams grew louder and more violent, the girl became aware that her eyes could no longer stay shut with her over-flooding tears. Bit by bit, she opened her eyes to see piles of men and women unconscious, stepped on violently like stairways, suddenly, lightening unfurled in the desolate sky to guide their way into..Nowhere.

To shelter her eyes from the horrifying sight, she looked up to the sky. It was as dark as a void, the sun wasn't shining. It seemed like an eclipse, but there was no moon in sight. There were lightening, It was like stars exploding in the distance as well, perhaps an incoming meteor. The city's billboards started stuttering as well as phones and security bots. The girl's heart beated so fast in fright. She couldn't get up due to the insanity that broke out in the streets, instead, she held her belongings so tightly and leaned closer into the wall.

"It's not real" She whispered to herself, the grand city never experienced natural disasters, everyone's boundaries were their offices' windows. The robots accompanying them were programmed to compensate for human fears, but even those heartless creations were not enough to calm down this eruption of terror.

"Please remain calm. The situation is under control."

The city announcer's voice broke through every speaker hung on each building, that voice kept repeating the same sentence for few times. The chaos didn't slow down, but some hid in the alleys, feeling slight comfort after the voice became louder. They believed that the government would solve everything, the government they trusted must protect them at any cost, right?

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Screamed a man standing in the same corner she had taken a shelter in, she gave her back to him, but couldn't bear avoiding his voice as he seemed to be rather mocking them than being joining the mad parade, as she looked, it was a tall man with black circular glasses, he wore a black coat, his hat covered almost half of his face, but his wicked smile was all she could see in the distorted vision she had. The aroma of maliciousness reached her nose, his state of excitement was a noticeable one, it was wickedness and bravery, brave enough to face such terror, but wickedness to enjoy other's fear. That man was no ordinary man. He was somehow able to see the people tripping over each other as the loud sirens busted his ears; it was like the world has finally come to an end.

 "RUN, RUN YOU COWARDS!" the man hysterically laughed again as he kept jumping and moving in excitement, she kept looking at him even more for that she somehow found comfort in his act of madness, he didn't notice her, her sharp eyes saw the brooch he had on his right shoulder, it was a silver eagle brooch.

Children's minds are simple. They are never complicated. Their actions are always driven by curiosity that abandons any notion of rationality. There was nothing else she could do, she picked her camera and as her hands trembled in fright she breathed heavily and took a photo of him, the flashing light of the camera captured his attention, he looked at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" He yelled, she took one more photo of the sky and put back her camera into her bag, "You piece of shit!" He screamed, "Give me this camera now!" He demanded as he rushed towards her, she got up and ran somewhere into an alley, he kept talking but she couldn't hear or see him due to the absolute darkness and the piercing sound of the sirens, only her hands is what led her out of the dark alley but she heard his footsteps behind her, "GIVE IT BACK" he screamed, "I can't hear you" She screamed back, somehow, she did feel the thrill of this situation to be an enjoyable one rather than being a fearful chase, she knew she had nothing but these pictures, but at last the announcer's voice that kept repeating that sentence stopped.

The chase went on across the street. Guided by the occasional lightning, she was given an advantage to slip through alleys and crowds. He screamed and cursed like the maniac he is. This man was a part of the puzzle, and the girl was sure that his presence was not that of a humanly one, but, all she could do is run and run till this nightmare was over.

Maybe when her legs stops, she would die. She thought of that, yet, she stood her ground. Death wasn't as scary to her as living in the dark streets of Ilusia at night. She only hoped it would be painless, just like the elders told her.

She stopped at last as he was behind her already. She looked at his bleak blue eyes in the absolute darkness while tightly holding her camera.

//Confrontation.

"You think you can escape me? I'm superior, you're NOTHING! Give me the camera, your time..it's running out" He leaned down to her, whispered in her ears and reached out his hand for the camera, she stood still and took the camera out with a teary eyes, "But it's mine.." She cried, "I'll get you a better one, don't be stubborn." He sighed angrily, still reaching his hand to get it.

"Why do you want it?!" She innocently cried, he became more annoyed with her persistence. "It's adult business, you little brat. Sometimes, the young ones must turn a blind eye to what their elders do, do you understand?" He menacingly said with his dead ocean blue eyes looking straight into the young girl's soul, isolating the two of them from the surrounding madness. The girl's grip grew weaker.

In the climax of the panic, the runners and the screamers. He held her arm tightly and stared into her eyes as she shivered and almost gave him the camera, but in a matter of two seconds, she came to a conclusion,

it was a dream, nobody dies in a dream.

"Fuck off!" She shouted and pushed him back, she joined the crowds and disappeared, he failed to track her for her short height, she ran holding the camera, and she felt excited and terror but also great thrill.

"3 ..2..1 System is fully functional. "

The crowds stopped. Everyone returned into their previous state, the mum shouting at her son continued doing so, no one noticed anything, it's as if nothing ever happened, the man with the black hat was nowhere to be found and the billboards were back up. She found herself staring at the sky in the midst of the rush hour to work, the normal smoky sky. She was holding the camera and felt confused, "Why is it here?" She asked herself, she felt uneasy and troubled, but again, she continued to walk with no destination, daydreaming once again among the crowds in the world she hated the most, another day goes by, the cycle goes on.

No one remembers a thing. It was true, the system was fully repaired. The dolls are back to work. This have happened a thousand times now, do you remember? Probably not. The photos in the camera, the black sky and the man in the black hat, would they be of any use?

Eyes were deceived, hearts were coated by a thick layer of unawareness and ignorance, a world ruled by iron and steam, smoke and rust, abandoned dreams and desires was no playground for her, for Merit.