City Out of Time. William Robison III
that somehow looked blue in the fluorescent lighting. Her face was oval, with soft brown eyes and red lips. She had a small cleft in her chin – a strong jaw for a woman. Her eyes, at that particular moment, were fiery with anger.
“I’m still waiting for your after-action report,” she said testily. “Why I always have to track you down to get it, I haven’t got a clue.”
Seth stood up from his chair and said, “I’ll get the report for you.”
Celeste turned and saw Lanz staring at her. Their eyes locked for a brief moment and Lanz thought he could see the depths of the universe in her pupils. She seemed to barely regard him.
“And who’s this?” she asked.
“Lanz is my brother,” Seth noted. “Lanz… Celeste, my section leader… but don’t let the tough act fool you – she’s really a sweetheart.”
“Seth,” warned Celeste.
“I’ll be right back,” Seth countered.
Seth left the room. Lanz didn’t move. He realized that he was staring, but he couldn’t help himself.
“So… Lanz, is it? That’s an unusual name,” she said. “Where did you get it?”
“Some Uncle that my mom liked…” Lanz replied distractedly, “And you’re Celeste?”
“Yes.”
“Any last name?”
“No, Lanz. Didn’t you know? I’m the only one of my kind.”
Lanz hesitated. She was really being standoffish. Lanz wondered if he reeked of stale sweat.
“I’m Celeste Pangea,” she said, breaking up the silence a moment later.
“Is that Greek?” Lanz asked.
“My father is American,” she replied.
“I just meant that…”
Seth returned and Celeste snatched the report out of his hand on her way out of the room.
“Wow,” was all Lanz could say.
“Yeah,” Seth replied. “I think she’s PMS’ing. She’s definitely ticked off about something. I don’t know. I’ve always found her hard to figure out.”
“Still…” Lanz said. “Not all bad.”
“And some quite good,” Seth agreed.
They grinned at each other and then Seth’s smile faded.
“Look, uh, Lanz… I know I promised you a grand tour and all, but the Colonel needs us back here for a briefing in like twenty minutes. So I’m going to have to take you over to Temp Housing and get you situated, and then I’ve got to rush back here. We can catch up tomorrow, okay?”
Lanz was only disappointed for a brief second, and then remembered the exhaustion that was just under the surface.
“Yeah,” Lanz said, “I’m beat anyway.”
Seth hurried out of the room with Lanz in tow. They went about three intersections before they climbed some stairs and suddenly were out in the middle of a beautiful town plaza just as the sun was setting over distant hills. To their left, a sloping lawn of grass stretched until it hit a promenade that overlooked a beautiful river, and to their right, a red brick plaza filled with public art works, strolling couples, fountains, and wonderful cottonwood trees. It was a temperate 70 degrees with just the slightest breeze of cool air.
Lanz looked around in amazement, but Seth had stopped being a tour guide. He was already setting off across the plaza and Lanz ran to keep up.
Before Lanz could actually catch up to Seth, he ducked down another set of stairs that had an arched wrought iron sign over it that said, “Tube.” Lanz followed Seth down about two hundred steps to a large, clean white platform.
There was a loud screeching noise and a rush of air, and a full sized subway tube car – like ones Lanz had seen in London and Paris – breezed into the station. Seth pulled Lanz onto an empty six person car.
“Where are we?” Lanz asked.
“This is The City,” Seth noted. “I wish I could take you to the film… but, well, you’ll pick it up on your own. In the meantime, just remember that all tubes end up back at the City Center and from there, just look for the Command Center stairs and you’ll find me. You really can’t get lost. Look, here’s our stop.”
The tube pulled into another station and Seth shoved Lanz out of the car and onto a smaller platform. The station was marked with signs in several locations that said, Temporary Housing.
Seth led the way up the stairs and into a fancy hotel lobby. He walked straight to the front desk and an older gentleman approached from behind the desk.
“Yes?”
“My brother, Lanz Franco, just arrived.”
The receptionist looked at Lanz with an evaluating stare and asked, “90’s?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve got a room for him in the yellow tower,” said the man, and he produced a credit card like pass key. “Room Y1435. Down the hall, first elevator on the left – says Yellow Tower.”
Seth took the key and handed it to Lanz.
“You heard him?”
“Yeah, great.”
“Good, bro. Look, I’ve got to go. But I’ll find you later.”
Seth turned around and dashed back down the stairs and was gone in five seconds. Lanz looked at the key and then at the receptionist.
“Is there a bar around here?” Lanz asked.
“Not in this area,” the receptionist replied. “But it’s probably not a good idea anyway.”
“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
Lanz went down the hallway and found the first elevator on the left. Sure enough, it was marked, “Yellow Tower.” He pressed the button and waited. The doors slid open and a Mariah Carey song tumbled out. Lanz stepped inside and pressed a button for the fourteenth floor – humming along as Mariah continued to sing.
It was a short walk to his hotel room from the elevator. The room was beautiful – large, airy, well lit. It reminded Lanz of the time he’d lucked out and been upgraded to a suite while on leave in Germany. Lanz noticed the room only in passing however, as the view of the setting sun drew him to the window.
A large town, maybe fifty thousand people, spread out before him in a wide, riverine valley. With the last rays of the sunset bathing the hills beyond, and the first evening lights twinkling on all over the City, Lanz felt a peace that he hadn’t felt in days. Lanz still had no idea where he was, but there was a peace and serenity to this view.
He kicked off his shoes and didn’t care that sand spilled out. He pulled off his sweat soaked shirt and pants and fell backwards on the bed.
For the longest moment he simply lay there trying to wrap his head around the view of the City and all that had happened in the past few days. And then, oddly, he thought of Celeste and the fire in her eyes.
He was still thinking of her as he drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Six
The City Temporary Housing
The Next Day - Relative
Lanz lay on the soft bed, half awake, in a warm cocoon of conscious twilight. The crisp cool sheets felt like heaven against Lanz’s naked flesh. The sunlight that streamed through the window felt warm against his bare back.
His first fully conscious thought was, “Why am I naked?”
His