Chapter Text

PROLOGUE

“Mom, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Frank said, all too aware of how the worry in his voice made it crack.

Frank’s mother hushed him as she stared ahead at the glittering cityscape with wide, unblinking eyes. He shifted his weight as he nervously glanced at the same scene that his mother was taking in. When Frank snuck a look at his father, he saw that the man had the same wide-eyed expression as he focused in on the sight of the skyline before them.

It had taken the family so long to have gotten where they now stood. A year ago, they had packed meager belongings into backpacks and closed the door on their lives in Dawn Bay. Destructive hurricanes and earthquakes had been wracking the city for years, destroying streets, buildings, homes, and lives. That was when the radio transmissions from the faraway Battery City had begun to seep into their channels.

“Battery City, where the weather is always pristine!”

“Battery City, where nobody goes hungry!”

“Battery City, where everyone has a home and clothes on their backs!”

The commercials were followed by upbeat jingles that always sounded promising, even when the static distorted the sound.

“Let Better Living Industries give you the life you’ve always dreamed of! Battery City, and better living, awaits your arrival!”

Something about those commercials had always sent a chill down Frank’s spine. But when the living conditions in Dawn Bay became too much to bear, when all their neighbours had abandoned their homes in search of better lives, he and his family had no choice but to follow suit. And after hearing all the wonderful-sounding commercials about what Better Living Industries and Battery City could offer them, how could they have chosen another option?

Standing now right on the edge of the city, close enough to hear the faint sounds of midday traffic, Frank found that his feet would not move him any further. Every bone in his body was screaming at him to stay put.

For months, all he had heard his parents discuss was how wonderful Better Living Industries was, how they would fix their lives, how they would kiss the feet of the men who worked there for providing so much for so many. They would be walking through the desert zones, having not had a sip of water in almost two days, and all his parents would babble on about was Better Living Industries this and that while Frank tried not to simply collapse and die where he stood on the dry sand. If it hadn’t been for him keeping them on track and reminding them that they had to find some source of water, or some rodents for dinner, they surely would have died not long after leaving Dawn Bay. It made Frank uneasy how his parents could speak of nothing other than how Better Living Industries was going to change their lives forever.

But he had a bad feeling. And that bad feeling wouldn’t let him take another step towards the towering skyscrapers, no matter how hungry and thirsty he was.

Frank’s mother finally broke her trance and grabbed onto Frank’s arm, squeezing excitedly.

“Oh Frankie, we made it! We’re finally here! Better Living Industries is only a few steps away!” Her windswept hair frosted with sand and dirt did nothing to offset her wild eyes. Frank recoiled as that familiar sense of despair crept into his gut.

“Mom, I...I’m not going.”

His mother dropped his arm as if his skin had burned her. Her expression changed from mad excitement to utter bewilderment.

Frank’s father whipped around to face him. “Frank, you are coming with us. We’ll have our new start in Battery City. Better Living Industries will make everything okay for us again!”

Frank swallowed. He had already made up his mind a few nights ago. He remembered it vividly. Sitting by the fire, unable to sleep as his parents dozed on their backpacks. He remembered the static crackling through their transportable radio that they had brought from home. He remembered the voice that came through and startled him. He remembered his fingertips tingling as the words sunk in.

He planted his feet firmly, unwilling to budge.

“Listen. I told you this is a bad idea. I don’t think Better Living Industries is as great and wonderful as you think they are.”

“Of course they are, Frankie! They’re going to fix everything! They’re going to save us!”

“I’m not going! I’m going to try to find my way somewhere else. And you need to come with me.”

“But Frank...the commercials. They said everything would be perfect and it will be.”

“I don’t think you should go to Battery City but if that’s really what you want, I...won’t try to stop you.” Frank cursed himself as he felt the tears begin to well up in his eyes.

His father barked out a laugh.

“You’re damn right we’re going, son. We've travelled all this way to escape that hellhole of a city we called home.

This is home now.

Our new home.” His father glared at him, causing Frank’s tears to begin spilling over.

“We’re going, Frankie.”

His mother barely looked at him as she began to close the distance between themselves and Battery City. She was too far gone, as was his father, to even realize that they were leaving their only son behind to fend for himself in the desert. Still, Frank felt a pain in his chest that he had never once felt before. A muffled sob escaped his lips as he stretched his hands out towards his parents’ shrinking silhouettes. They were too far away to hear when that muffled sob turned into a strangled cry of anguish.

“COME BACK! PLEASE!”

But there was no reply except for the howl of the desert winds.

Frank fell to his knees and stared off towards the giant steel towers intercepting the shape of the setting sun. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there, willing them to turn around and make a new journey with him. He was exhausted. He was thirsty. More than anything, he was afraid. But he wouldn’t give in. He didn’t trust a single word that came from the static waves of Better Living Industries.

He knew he had to begin walking back. Who knew how he was going to survive. Who knew if he would even make it to begin with. As he trudged in dead silence back the way that they had come, the radio broadcast from a few nights ago, like a spark of a flame on a cold dark night, played over in his head.

“Hello children. Dr. Death Defying here for all you listeners who can’t seem to get to sleep. Here are some words of wisdom, just in case the words of some evil megacorporation have somehow creeped into your brain: a dark cloud hangs over Battery City, black and smoky, hiding its true face. End up in their clutches and you’ll be dusted into nothingness before you even have the chance to scream. Better Living Industries wants what’s best, of course - for themselves anyway, not you poor suckers. Stay away as long as you can, and you might just live another day.”