Throughout the world, Power Uppers are the hottest drug on the market. A single pill allows any Normie to obtain the power of a Super. The drawback? They're also highly addicting and the cause of most financial ruin.
Tayla wants nothing to do with s...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Max held the map rod up to the gaping entrance leading deep into the pits of hell. The dark blinking circle indicated they needed to go inside. It wanted them to step into the dark void and away from the safety of the light. He lowered the rod and shook his head.
"Maybe there's another entrance."
"You said the map is pointing here," Tayla said. She stepped closer to the jagged mouth of the hole. One hand curled over the rough stone as she peered inside the darkness. Most of the light faded into the distance, but it didn't matter to Max.
It was a dark, empty, black hole of hell.
He shook his head again and turned around, hoping the map changed its mind. The dark circle shifted within the interconnecting lines of Tradekur rising up from the lip in the rod. It moved back toward the darkness, refusing to agree with Max's will to try another route.
"What's the problem?"
Problem? There wasn't a problem. There was just a shit-filled hole of nothing standing before them, but there wasn't a problem. Max turned back to the darkness and fought back a whimper. Tayla crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side. Her lips twitched.
"Are you scared of the dark?"
Max snorted. "No. Of course not. I'm eighteen. Who is scared of the dark at eighteen? Don't be ridiculous. You're a moron." He was rambling. He knew he was rambling. It's what he did when he was frightened. "Are you scared of the dark? We can find another way if you are."
"I'm not scared of the dark." She continued to grin, watching him deflect back onto her. "How the hell are you scared of the dark?"
"I'm not scared of the dark," he snapped. He stepped toward the opening of doom and swallowed. The map would illuminate some of the emptiness; its dull blue light could guide their path even if it would still be a struggle. His hand touched the rough edge of the opening. Heat pulsed from the jagged stone, warmed by the hours of sun bearing down on it.
They'd walked through most of Tradekur, almost to base of Eden City's walls, until the map led them here. A gaping hole leading into the depths of the earh. Trash and rocks scattered the expansive opening. Marker and paint decorated the stone walls with the various markings of visitors of Tradekur. Some were gang signs, Max recognized the illegible scrawl of fake words, others were couples marking their love for one another. Max never understood the reason for wanting to express your love in the form of a heart on the side of a building or wall. Did that somehow make a person's love stronger by defacing the world? He glanced to Tayla. She looked like the kind of person who needed to scrawl the name of her boyfriend all over the cover of her notebook as if that validated their relationship. Max bet she thought it was cute. He shook his head, turning his attention back to the hellish darkness.
"Seriously, Max. Are you okay? We can wait until tomorrow when there's more light, maybe trade for a flash light or something."
Max sighed. Waiting would do no good, even with a fresh sun there wouldn't be enough light to fill the tunnel for long, and they had nothing to trade with. While his power could get him anything he wanted, he swore he'd never use it like that without a damned good reason, or his families "request."
