Logan awoke to the loud foghorn of the tower echoing off in the distance his sheets sticking to him as he arose ¨damn mist¨ he muttered ¨always making everything so sticky.¨ Logan opened up his window to the side view of the same metallic wall  he sees every morning with the word disconnect written in large black letters. The paint had faded over time and with the constant moisture in the air it faded faster than normal. Logans apartment was small with just three rooms: his kitchen, bedroom, and net hub as he liked to call it. He looked around at his grungy, cramped bedroom with matted gray rugs and a ceiling that was far too low for him.¨I really need to clean this place up, but not today I'm already late for work.¨

Logan sighed as he headed towards the kitchen. In his fridge was a selection of 3 meal bars: Chicken soup, beans and rice, and his personal favorite fried chicken and waffles. He decided on beans and rice which was always surprisingly low but no matter, he grabbed the last one and opened his door. As the door swung open he was greeted by a rush of hot air followed by a surprising amount of moisture coming from the mist. Logan didn't have a car so he had to walk to work. He got onto the sidewalk, and as he began to walk he took in the scenery. Logan’s complex was right next to the wall, but not just any wall this wall was enormous reaching higher than any building and stretching further than any road completely surrounding the city. There were no exits located anywhere along the walls besides the freight train exits. Logan had lived within the walls for as long as he remembered and he had never heard of anyone trying to escape. As he walked he heard the constant drone of propaganda coming from a source he could never pinpoint, saying¨The walls protect us from the dangers of the outside world while the tower maintains what is within them.¨ A net cafe passed in logan's peripheral vision, people hooked into the nexus and an IV drip connected to a specialized catheter so they don't starve to death. Another loud foghorn echoed throughout the metallic walls of the city, this sound originates from the tower, a massive structure shrouded in the mist that reaches up farther than anything he had ever seen. From what he learned in school the tower served two purposes, to create the mist, and host the nexus. The nexus was something logan never really agreed with, he thought it was just a way for the government to control the people so he rarely used it.
A bright flashing red light began to shine through the mist in front of him, he stopped as a bar descended blocking his intended path.A chill ran down Logan's spine as the walls began to open, creaking and grinding along the tracks that somehow allowed this feat to be possible. After this a loud honk echoed from outside the walls and a massive freight train came flying by disappearing into the mist. Logan carefully counted every second it took for the walls to close wondering what was on the other side. The bar lifted and logan continued his trek to work, upon arriving and scanning his keycard the door lit up in big yellow letters stating ¨Due to continued absences to the workplace your contract has been expired.¨ This caught Logan completely by surprise because as far as he knew his attendance was perfect. In a rush, Logan threw his keycard to the ground and walked off into the street ¨Screw this¨ Logan yelled into the nothingness. After he calmed down logan sat by the train station waiting for another train to either come or go. Logan decided to open up his meal bar and dig in. ¨These things never actually taste like what the package says, it just tastes like chemicals.¨ Logan complained to himself as he heard the grinding of the tracks and the walls began to open, the loud blare of the horn as he stood up not exactly knowing what he was doing. The train whizzed by him with a rush of air and then there was the opening and before he knew it he was over the barrier and sprinting through the opening in the walls. The loud creaking began again as the walls began to close, faster and faster logan ran as the walls closed in. He had underestimated the sheer thickness of the walls but he was determined, he knew he had 3 more seconds before he was crushed to death. Faster and faster, closer and closer until finally the walls just disappeared and he heard a loud thud as the walls echoed through the air behind him. Logan was free and was greeted by something he rarely got to see inside the city. Colors more incredible and clear than he could ever imagine, and one he had never seen before but it was everywhere, on the ground and on top these big brown pillars. The strange color took on different shapes as well, on the ground it looked like little blades while the ones on the brown pillars all looked like a spade.
Running along the tracks had gotten tiring and logan was getting hungry, desperate for another meal bar he looked around frantically the walls had fallen away and just looked like a speck in the distance. Then suddenly he saw a light in the mass of brown pillar things and had no other option but to run towards it. As he came closer he began to hear a loud constant thumping along with some kind of weird vocal chant. Brushing a branch to the side he saw a clearing with people and tents scattered everywhere. The inviting smell of food wafted in his direction and he traced it back to a huge pot atop a fire in this little village with people dancing all around it. Tents made up of patchy poorly stitched together cloth. As Logan continued his gaze he saw something even more magnificent than the tower. A huge wall of rock extended into the heavens giving off a strange glow coming from the reflections of the fire. This glow eminated from thick veins of some form of material he could not pinpoint embedded into the rock. A small cave extended into the wall parallel with the ground with more of these tents going back into it, slowly fading into darkness. And in the center of it all was a bonfire larger than any tent in the village with a large copper pot atop it. He began to wander through the village, people adorned in all sorts of colors conversing and eating out of beautiful wooden bowls. People were dancing around the fire chanting that strange rythm he heard earlier. A small lady outside yelling in a thick accent something about palm readings and soon enough she was yelling at me.
¨Mista L i've been expectin ya¨ she yelled from below him
¨Who, me?¨ Logan inquired ¨How do you know me?¨
¨I know many tings mista L now come in, come, come¨
Logan entered a small tent with a table and two stools on either side.
¨Now cmon give me ya palm young man¨
¨Okay?¨ Logan said skeptically
The lady stared intently at his left hand for about three minutes before she spoke again.
¨Youve been stuck in a big loop of monotony in ya life haventya mista L.¨
¨Not that ive really noticed but my memory isn't too great.¨ Said logan
¨Well we shouldn't be dwellin on it too much now go out and join da festivities, eat some grub.¨ The lady instructed
And that's exactly what logan did, dancing and talking with the natives and he didn't believe what was in the pot for dinner. None other than beans and rice, logan quickly grabbed a bowl and began eating, he had never experienced something like this but he knew he had to go back. He didnt know why he had to go back but he felt this sudden urge to run back to that industrial wasteland. So as darkness rolled around logan thanked all of the friends he made along with the old lady as he walked back to the city.

Upon re entering the city he was immediately greeted with the sounds of yelling ¨Get on the ground or I’ll put you on the ground!¨”Logan seemed to snap from a strange trance that had started when he thanked everyone,  now terrified he had broken the law he tried to beg the police to let him go, anything to let him go back to the village. But before he could even finish begging his vision went black and the police threw him into their van. As logan regained consciousness he heard the police talking amongst themselves
¨We’re gonna have to wipe this guy again huh?¨
¨Yeah we are, but at least the return chip worked¨one of the officers said with a sigh.
¨What do you mean wipe?¨Logan groaned
The police fell silent until they reached their destination, the tower, logan was dragged inside struggling the whole way but he couldn't escape. When his vision finally adjusted to the lighting he was sitting in a chair with a metal cap on his head.
¨Please let me go back to them, I promise I’ll never come ba-¨Logan screamed as they activated the machine.
Logan awoke to the loud foghorn of the tower echoing off in the distance his sheets sticking to him as he arose ¨damn mist¨ he muttered ¨always making everything so sticky.¨ Logan opened up his window to the side view of the same metallic wall  he sees every morning with the word disconnect written in large black letters.