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Peg didn’t know what to expect when she crashed through those white clouds. She had ideas of course, but nothing to compare it to. After breaking through the barrier she was stunned by the sights around her. Her parents were right, a world above the stalk did exist. It was more than she could ever imagine. On the roots The Great stalk was so massive and rose so high but the clouds, aka White Horizon gave it a definitive end point. Now the stalk truly seemed endless as it rose higher and higher until completely out of Peg’s sight.
What stunned Peg even more however were the giant leaves protruding from the stalk, nothing like what was down on the roots. These leaves hung all along the stalk rising way beyond Peg’s vision and they were massive. Peg wondered to herself if people lived up there, her mind was swimming with the possibilities. Midnite Cruiser floated aimlessly in a sea of clouds and the calmness mixed with the amazing view was relaxing, at least at first.
For three whole days Peg floated with a barely conscious Josie across this endless white sea. They had little as far as rations and even if they still had coal she would have no way of directing Midnite Cruiser. They were lost in the clouds and with each passing moment that she looked out into it she felt more dread sink in. To keep herself from going completely crazy, Peg spent most of her time sitting in the coal bay and tending to Josie’s wounds. She had healed up a bit since they arrived but she still lay unconscious. Peg would hum a song that she caught Josie whistling a few times during the race as she replaced bandages.
On the fourth day after treating Josie she sat at the edge of Midnite Cruiser and looked down at the sea below. Looking out into the distance only made her more stressed but looking at the fluffy clouds at her feet relaxed her. Unlike a normal ocean she could not see herself in a crystal blue reflection. Instead she would look at the clouds and let her eyes go out of focus just enough to make out shapes in the fluffy twist and turns. Sometimes it would be cars, or boats, sometimes it would be animals but today for some reason she kept seeing faces. Over and over it was nothing but faces. She rubbed her eyes and refocused but the faces were clearer now. She leaned in and one of the faces shot up at her.
Shrieking while falling back into the coal bay she looked up and found a tiny cloud bouncing all over Midnite Cruiser. It moved like a swarm of bees trying to escape in unison. Peg’s tired eyes darted all over trying to follow the cloud before it landed floating right above Josie’s body. Peg on all fours crawled slowly to the now faceless cloud hovering over her friend and carefully extended her hand to touch it but right before her fingertips reached the wisp-
BANG!
Midnite Cruiser slammed into something causing Peg to nearly roll out into the white sea herself. Catching herself she found that the strange cloud had disappeared which was no matter to Peg as she was more interested in what they just crashed into. She left Josie, returning to her driver’s seat to find where they’ve landed.
“Oh God.” Peg whispered to herself.
Midnite Cruiser stopped at the edge of land, docking like a ship at port. Peg looked up to find the largest factory she’d ever seen. It loomed over her menacingly while plumes of gray smoke billowed in massive clouds from the pipes on top. Workers of all shapes and sizes buzzed around in front of the factory, seemingly busy with various tasks. Some seemed to be normal humans just like herself. Others seemed to be tall men that were green from head to toe. She was so fascinated by the array of activity, that she didn’t notice the small woman trying to get her attention.
“I said excuse me!” The voice squeaked. “What is your business here?”
Peg looked down to find a young girl, with a complexion as dark as hers and looking to be Josie’s size in a well fitting suit equipped with a clipboard. Her hair was as white as the clouds Peg rode on and equally as curly. Peg blinked a few times because she almost thought that she saw twisted horns like a ram buried within her white curls.
“Oh Hi! I’m um, I’m Peg.”
“Ok Peg,” The woman sighed, briefly scanning her clipboard. “Do you have business with the Lady of the Works? We weren’t expecting a shipment for another few days.”
“Lady of the Works?”
“Yes, do you have business with her, yes or no?” The woman asked impatiently.
“Miss, I don't even know who her is.”
The Clipboard Woman sighed, turning to walk away. “Then you have no business here. Move your ugly vessel from our docking bay before I have you forcibly removed.”
“Wait! I’m sorry! Look, we just came up from the ground, under the clouds, ya know?” Peg pleaded while pointing at the sea of white beneath her. “We’ve been floating for days and you’re the first person I’ve seen since we got here and my friend really needs some serious medical attention.”
The young woman with the clipboard turned with a twinkle of intrigue in her eyes. She looked Peg and Midnite Cruiser up and down before speaking again.
“From below The N’imb Sea?” she asked.
“Well we call it White Horizon where we’re from, but yes we’re coming from the roots below.”
For the first time since crash landing, the Clipboard Woman gave Peg a warm smile. “Well then where are my manners? How about we get you and your friend fixed up?”
🌱🌱🌱
“A race to the, White Horizon, you call it?” The Clipboard Woman asked as her and Peg walked through an echoing corridor in one of the many buildings in the factory.
“Yeah, essentially it was a way for me to find a way above the clouds. I’m just happy it all worked.”
Peg had done her best to explain the key points of their situation to the Clipboard Woman, named ‘Mairzy Doe. Meanwhile, Mairzy had summoned some workers to bring Josie to their medical facilities. She’d apologized for initially being so cold but explained that they work a tight schedule at the factory that left very little time for whatever riff-raff floated in. As an extension of her apology, she’d decided to give Peg a brief tour of the facility.
While Peg summarized her journey, she couldn’t help but be enthralled by everything around her. The island seemed imposing when she first landed, but being in the belly of the factory itself was a whole other feeling. Her senses were attacked by the smog which filled every corner, along with the sound of yelling and heavy equipment crashing her ear drums. Despite the less than ideal environment, Peg was happy to be anywhere that wasn’t the white ocean.
“So what exactly do you do here at this Factory Island?”
“We at Wool Works are working towards the brightest future. A future which will bring us closer to The One True King Leopold’s return.”
Canned response aside, Peg was fascinated by the fact that people above the clouds worshiped King Leopold as well. She always believed that Leopold was a concept created in the roots and others beyond the clouds would have their own belief system. It seemed Peg was being proven wrong at almost every turn. Before she could follow up, Mairzy continued her spiel.
“The Lady of the Works has run this factory for nearly 25 years and prides this as the biggest science facility south of the CusterDome.”
As they continued walking, Peg was in awe of all the machinery she couldn’t begin to understand. Botany was more her forte when it came to the sciences but even she could tell the level of advancements happening here were astounding.
“This is some impressive stuff Mairzy.” Peg said, taking a closer look at some of the machines. “Do you do any work with plants? I’d love to read some of your stalk research, maybe I could meet this Lady of the Works and collaborate on-”
While Peg spoke she noticed something, all the noise had stopped. She turned and every worker in the vicinity stared at Peg. The Green Men were expressionless while the other workers looked terrified. Mairzy however looked absolutely livid and gripped her clipboard tightly.
“Look at the Lady’s research?” Mairzy hissed through gritted teeth. “Has this all been some elaborate trick to steal one of the Lady’s many great discoveries? Ransack her vault of ideas and use them as your own to reach the Dome? Has that been your plan with stories spun about coming from below the N’imb Sea?.”
Mairzy’s grip tightened and Peg’s eyes darted all over as she tried processing what the hell was happening. Scientists at the root were cagey about their research as well but she never felt a response like this. She knew her next words would be crucial so she took a short yet deep breath before she spoke.
“I’m sorry, where I’m from, collaboration is encouraged. I had no idea her works were so secretive and I didn't mean anything by it.”
Once she apologized Mairzy stared deep into Peg’s eyes, her demeanor unchanged. The crowd surrounding them continued to stare, waiting on a held breath just like Peg. Mairzy’s grip and grimace relaxed and she instead gave another warm smile.
“Of course, how would you know any better? Let’s continue our tour.”
Mairzy turned and continued like nothing happened. Peg gathered herself as the other workers went back to their tasks without skipping a beat. She unfortunately didn’t get to see a full botany lab or any other Stalk research but she did learn some helpful information, specifically about the giant leaves above them.
“The Leaflands are strong land masses, sturdy enough to hold full cities.” Mairzy explained.
Peg pumped her fist quietly to herself, celebrating getting one of her predictions right. With a clearing from the smoke and buildings above Mairzy pointed to one of the leaflands in question.
“That’s the one closest to us, about half a day worth of travel by Air Ship.”
Peg felt the excitement return to her after learning about these Leaflands. She was ready to asked what she could do to make her own way up without a ship but noticed that Mairzy was talking into what seemed to be a small pitcher plant with a long green antennae. She spoke in a whispered tone and when Mairzy finished she tucked the plant into one of her pockets and turned to Peg.
“I believe I’ve answered enough of your questions, it’s time to bring you to our last stop on this tour.”
Peg had learned to tune out the sound of her growling stomach after the second day of wandering the white sea but the extra exertion of walking through this island sized factory made her hunger pains echo in earnest.
“Actually, I hate to be a bother but I haven’t eaten a real meal in days. Would it be possible to have a quick bite? Oh and something for Josie too, I’m sure she’ll be starving once she’s awake.”
“Well, that would be a waste.” Mairzy replied coldly.
“I’m sorry?”
“Either one of two things is true, Peg. You two really are people from below the clouds who made it up here on their own or you’re a thief trying to steal from The Lady of the Works. Either way we’ll be cutting you open to find out.”
Before Peg could react she felt a blunt object slam against the back of her head and in an instant she fell unconscious.
To Be Continued