THE HEART OF THE MACHINE
CHAPTER 1: GHOSTS
“In the distance there are ink-black towers
Rising to the bleeding sky,
Their fiery crowns scorching the dreams of many.
Around them you see the others.
They see you running past them,
But they do not care,
As they live in the shadow
Of the destroyers of worlds.”
A cold, harsh wind was whispering its secrets across the steel city, with the pale light of the shying sun warming the tops of the great towers. Bleak clouds were circling overhead, with a storm rumbling in the distance, like an army laying siege to an impregnable fortress. A man was standing at his window overlooking the surrounding buildings. He was the nameless one. Many days caught him staring at the jagged, unforgiving horizon and the world beyond like a scientist examining his guinea pigs.
At the tops of the artificial mountains were the rich, watching over their domain from their luxurious homes like the Olympian gods of old. A frightening, devilish glee was on their faces as they were pulling the strings of the world with the sole purpose of gaining a little more wealth or to ruin a much hated adversary, without giving a second thought to the countless lives and dreams that they would have doomed.
Deep below the poor were struggling to live in the dark abyss of the lower levels. Many would work their entire lives to get a chance to feel the warm, hope-giving rays of the distant sun shine upon their hurt, battered skin, only to see that they were abandoned, alone in their despair.
“Look at them”, the man thought with disgust, “Going about with their petty lives, like the small animals that they are, like insects asking to be put out of their misery”. He turned his back on this world a long time ago, and he does so again and again with each passing day, returning to his quarters. Most people would decorate their homes with various furniture or pictures of loved ones, but he had no such objects; his walls were bare and grey, with only a desk and a simple bed lying on the chilly floor. Only one spot of colour was lying in a corner: an old, faded picture, his most valued possession. It was an image of him a very long time ago next to her, the only person he ever cared for.
How long ago was that? 5 years, 10 years? For somebody like him, time had lost its meaning. His memories were vague, unimportant. A past that was too painful to remember, that would be best left buried forever. But the moments spent with her were still fresh, like precious drops of rain dropping in the great desert of existence. He knew very well how he was before they met. Still struggling to forget, and in the face of the vicious monster that is society, he made the decision to end his life. To this day he was convinced that it would be the inevitable end. And then she appeared, awakening the dreamer that was lying deep inside him. Her mere presence saved him, stopping his clockwork mind from ticking.
He looked at the picture and closed his eyes. He remembered that evening very well. The last time they were together; the simple beauty of her smile, her gentle warmth as she was taking his cold hands in hers. She was a loner and a dreamer just like him, a wounded, lonely soul that only he could understand. Yet at the same time he was afraid of her, of the bottomless abyss of her eyes. Their moments together were brief, yet the only happy ones in his entire life. But he never had the chance or courage to tell her what he felt, to let her know how much she meant to him. She was the only thing keeping him together.
But then she grew cold and distant. The glint from her eyes that could once outshine an entire galaxy slowly withered and faded. His true self died the day they finally had to part, leaving just a shell sounding with the silent screams of his cold, unloved heart. With everyday that passed she died inside him again and again. Many months were spent crying alone in a dark corner, the only friend he had left. The pain then started to turn to hate. Sometimes he would wake in the morning whishing nothing but to make the world suffer. But no, it was not even worthy of his attention. Other times he could almost hear her whispering at his ear, reminding him how she opened up her deepest secrets to him. She was so close, but it seemed like a million miles away. Ripples of pain shook his body just as he thought of those distant moments, and a small tear holding his entire world dropped from his eye. But nobody was there to wipe it off. Nobody cared, nobody noticed. She was just a ghost from the depths of his memory. He shook his head violently, ashamed of those thoughts. He had to be above that, so he swallowed the pain and banished it in a dark corner of his mind. He then rose his eyes to the gloomy sky and saw the universe beyond it, waiting for him. He would soon be free of the petty confines of this world: the Terraformer project was waiting for him.
So, what do you think? is it crap?
) so keep it up 
Don't change a thing and keep on writing! (I'm serious, don't make me have to hunt you down to get the next chapter) 
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