The Girl went to her room and slammed the door, creating a protruding sound that resounded throughout the whole abode. At least, she would have, if the surprisingly thin walls hadn’t been soundproofed, muffling any audible screaming, which she certainly felt like doing now. This wasn’t because she made so much noise, but a mandatory feature to minimize the annoying sounds their neighbors made, which were endlessly distracting. They were always screaming over something or other, and she wasn’t interested in their little problems. It was HER problem she was fully vested in now.
The prospect of learning from her parents was more than she could possibly bear. They tended to give long-winded step-by-step explanations for the most mundane tasks, which aggravated her to no end, because she was always waiting for them to finish. Just sitting in a single class was torturous enough. And having hour-long sessions where her mind would constantly wander before they’d even finished their first sentence? No way, forget it. She especially wasn’t looking forward to their treatise on Sex Ed. anymore than they were.
She wanted to experience the enjoyment of Adult pleasures without having to face the responsibilities that went with them. It wasn’t so much the forced pregnancy that bothered her, but the lingering stench that followed her, constantly reminding her of her illicitous deed. There HAD to be an easier way to make the remaining term more manageable.
And then, in a flash of inspiration, she got it.
Just beyond the boundaries of where she lived was the fabled City of Lies. They say that if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes true. But that place was different - lies repeated often enough there actually became the truth. If that was the case, then all she needed to do was have multiple people there say how pleasantly she smelled, and all her troubles would be over! Well, she’d still have to deliver the baby, but compared to that, that was nothing.
The way there would be hazardous, sure, but the risk was well worth it. She started packing her schoolbag with food, money, noseplugs, odour-eaters and a bunch of seemingly useless items that would only be revealed later when the time was right.
Just before departing, she left behind a written note for her parents to find.
I’ve gone to get the smell fixed. I’ll be back soon!
Love and Kisses,
Your Daughter.
She skimmed over the paper. There was more than enough information there. Her parents would surely gleam the subtle hidden messages and meanings from these brief passages alone. No need to elaborate!
She left, fully confident in the success of her mission, following the fastest possible route from her current point. There were still those annoying detours from earlier that morning, but they would pale in comparison to what she faced ahead.
After several hours of travelling, she finally managed to reach the first of three obstacles needed to navigate the outskirts of the City. This was something she had some experience with.
Along with potential dangers lurking in every corner, there were Gravity Wells that fluctuated, creating density at certain hot spots that threatened to either shift your balance to one side, or crush you with the sheer weight of your bones. Hence the need for constantly changing their routes to school, which were never the same way twice. They were always invisible, save for those who knew what they were looking at. She didn’t have any of that fancy-dancy technology or intuitive knowledge for finding such things, but that didn’t mean she was completely helpless.
In one of her previous excursions from school, she tried taking a shortcut through the numerous detours that plagued her. The normal route would’ve taken half an hour, but her home was only five minutes away if she took the most direct path.
In this case, she just simply tossed some rubble in front of her, and watched whether the debris fell down normally, was shunted to the side, went skywards, or was pounded into dust. There was the potential danger of backlash from some of the gravel being thrown back into her face, but that was a small annoyance to pay in order to get to her destination.
After several minutes of repeated testing, she gradually made her way towards her goal. Tossing a few more pieces in front of her just to be sure,
Then, she was within view of her home, so close she could touch it. However, this route was barred with warning signs everywhere right in front of where she needed to go. Figuring this was just a meaningless bluff, she tossed some stones ahead. But the stones were too small for her to see what happened next, so she tossed in a larger piece of trash. The trash likewise disappeared too quickly to be perceived. Finally, she threw in the whole trashcan. The trashcan likewise fell from view, leaving only the faintest traces of a squashed lid where it had once been.
It turned out the Gravity Well of this section was far higher than normally perceived, and would’ve been a death sentence for anybody who tried to get past. Even trying to run quickly through the barrier would be equivalent to having all your bones turned to dust.
Desperately, she tossed stones everywhere, trying to find a way past. None opened up to her, save for the way back.
Grumbling and snarling, she worked her way backwards through the hazardous way she came, retracing her steps, careful not to get caught. The path through her “shortcut” had taken half an hour, both ways, in addition to going home the normal way, which took longer than usual, because of rush hour. So instead of saving time, she was three hours late.
That was extremely frustrating, but it gave her a better sense of how to deal with this for next time. In this case, she dug into her schoolbag, and brought out her trusty Weather in a Can.
Ages ago, the climate had been unfairly distributed, resulting in extreme weather conditions in some regions that left others deprived. Winds could go upwards to such high degrees that could rip the skin off a standing human. Rains could create instant monsoons with raindrops the literal size of buckets. Snowstorms could blanket a field within seconds. Sunlight could bleach your bones from the inside, and also give you an awesome tan. It was found that such elements could be contained and then transferred to these unfortunate regions... for a price, of course.
Now, this life-saving technology that once seemed so wonderous had now been regulated to styling people’s hair. Or, in this instance, help pave a path.
Pressing down on the nozzle, the Girl sprayed the foggy moisture ahead, showing regions that were safe to travel. Her previous system had been too erratic - constantly throwing junk this way and that with no clear direction. Here, she could visibly see where the effects of the moisture was going, and make her way forward in the winding maze without fear of - hang on.
She took back a step, suddenly feeling wary. The path ahead was completely free, showing a blank spot where some fog should’ve been. Looking down, she saw that the smoke had been compressed into the ground, still smoky, but absolutely still.
In addition to trying to navigate through the forces pushing her (and the fog) around, she also had to figure out how to avoid the obvious death traps just waiting to allure her towards certain doom. She had to navigate her way through what was essentially a giant invisible maze.
This wasn’t going to be as easy as it first looked.
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