Do you like interesting stories about fantasy and mystery? Then read on for this MUST READ, Aeropolis. It's a perfect mix of mystery and dystopia! Without further to do, let's read the story! Hope you enjoy!
By the way, this story was written by my sister, so all credit goes to her!
Aeropolis
On the last day of 4 years of high school, every senior student at Aero Academy had sweaty palms, beads of sweat trickling down their foreheads, and shaky legs. That’s because they were about to go through the Test. Every person in Aeropolis has to go through it. This test determines whether or not you’re worthy of living as a sorcerer. The people in the buzzling city of Aeropolis all us magic in their daily lives. Every Aeropolisan is believed to have some sort of magical ability in themselves, but not everyone can summon it. The Test is to determine which magical rank an Aeropolisan belongs to. The ranks are: water, fire, autumn, winter, spring, fall, sunlight, nature, natural disaster, fashion, and a superior. A superior has all the magical abilities and can do whatever they desire. If one doesn’t have enough ability to get any rank at the time of their test, they are banished from the city into the woods, where no living being can survive.
I’m an 18 years old teen orphan, I have dark brown hair and green eyes, my name is Laura Smith, and I’m not sure that I’m going to survive tomorrow. The Test is tomorrow and I can’t seem to summon my magical strength no matter how hard I try. I tried natural remedies, I tried going to the doctor, I tried taking pills, I tried just focusing on getting something out, and I even tried talking to a fortune teller. It seems like as much as I do, Heaven just doesn’t think I deserve to live.
I see all my friends at school make wonderful things happen. They can make a flower bloom, they can change what I’m wearing, cause a winter day to become sunny, and they can sculpt a beautiful bust of me out of ice with just a flick of a wrist. Sometimes I just lie on my bed and imagine how lovely it would be to do such and incredible thing. To me, it’s just impossible. I don’t see how anyone could do such a thing! Friends are no help either. They just tell me to imagine that I’m doing what I want to do clearly in my head, to imagine every detail of it, and it will happen before my eyes. Now I wish it was that simple. The Test is tomorrow and my life is at risk. Just great.
I get a call from my best friend, Heather, but most of the time I just call her Honey mainly because she’s sweet and she always puts a smile on my face. But not today.
“Hey Laura! What’s up? The Test we’ve all been waiting for is coming up tomorrow! Aren’t you excited?!” says Honey.
See what I mean about being sweet and cheerful? She thinks this life-changing-and-also-very-dangerous test is exciting. Wow.
So I say, “Hey, Honey. No I’m not excited for this test and I don’t want it to happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m pretty sure I’ll get thrown out and killed in a forest of who knows what!”
“Just imagine that you’re doing what you want to do clearly— “
“In my head and imagine every detail of it. I know, Honey, but I can’t do it. It’s just too hard for me! I’m impossible for me! How do you do it?!”
“Just imagine that you’re doing what you want to do clearly in your— “
“Ugh! I know! Isn’t there anything else to it that I don’t know that might help?!”
“Um, no. That’s basically it. Just try to put all your strength into it during the Test. I’m sure you’ll do just fine, Laura.”
Then I completely lose it with her any I start shouting, “STOP SAYING EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE!! YOU KNOW IT WON’T AND YOU KNOW I WILL FAIL!! SO STOP PRETENDING EVERYTHING IS OKAY AND THIS IS JUST SOME STUPID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SPELLING TEST!!”
Except in my mind. Because I would never say something like that to my best friend no matter how annoying she’s being to me.
Instead I respond by saying, “Thanks for the encouragement, Honey. You always know what to say to make someone feel better.”
Even if I’m not telling the truth.
Then I hang up.
Next Day
I wake up to the sound of cute little birds chirping and squirrels hopping in the garden. It was a beautiful spring day, but most definitely the last day of my life. As I nervously crawl out of bed, I keep thinking to myself, this is the last day, Laura. You can do this. You can summon your powers. After all, you know what they say, if you keep saying that you can, you can do it.
I walk down to eat the last breakfast I’ll ever have at home, slowly devouring each bite. Then I drive my car to school, where I will take the most dreadful test I will have ever taken before.
“Hey Laura! Over here!” shouts a very cheerful Honey.
I reply, “I’m so nervous, Honey. It’s the big test we’ve all been waiting for. I don’t think I can do it!”
To which she responded, “Seriously, Laura. Just be yourself and you’ll do it.”
I was just about to complain to her for the 5th time today, when we were all very rudely interrupted by a loud order of, “Welcome, fellow Aeropolisans. Please proceed to the Testing Hall.”
The Testing Hall was a gigantic ballroom with tall multi-coloured pillars. As I wandered around the pillars, examining each one closely, the loud booming voice once again said, “Welcome.”
It sure didn’t feel very welcoming to me. The orders told us to place our hands on a pillar and close our eyes. I did that, and I kept thinking, Okay Laura. This is it. The place you’ve been fearing for years. Put yourself together and get this over with. Put all you’ve got into this test and you’ll do fine.
As my fingers touched the soft, smooth and silky feel of the pillar, I was instantly thrown through a tunnel. I was hurdling down so fast even a cheetah wouldn’t be able to catch up. This moment seemed to last forever, each minute passing by made me feel sleepier and sleepier.
Thud. I hit the ground with a loud thump. Was this the forbidden outside world? Did I already fail the test? I didn’t know anything. All I could see was people walking around in something that looked like a village. An old lady started to walk toward me. She was saying something, but something that I couldn’t understand. She walked closer and closer to me, with each step I was getting more nervous and frightened.
I started to run. I ran past her, some small children playing tag, and a gentleman selling fresh strawberries. Why does this place seem so similar to Aeropolis? There’s no possible way that I’m still in Aeropolis, right? I just keep running away from these strange beings that don’t seem to use magic in anyway. I run. I run as fast as I can. Until I trip on a rock and painfully fall on the ground.
2 hours later
I wake up in a hospital, surrounded by nurses, doctors, and lights. All I remember was blood. Lots of it too. That’s right. A ton of that red gooey stuff. So the first thing I say is, “Am I dead?
Is this heaven?”
The doctor laughs and says, “No, honey. This is not heaven. This is a hospital.”
“My name’s not Honey. I’m Laura. Laura Smith.”
“Yes, I know your name isn’t Honey. It’s just a thing we say here in London.”
“London?”
“Yes, London, England? The city?”
“I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of it before.”
“Are you joking? Okay, so at least you must know what Earth is, right?”
“Earth! That Earth?!”
“Um, yeah? There’s only one Earth as far as I know.”
I spring out of the hospital bed and run. I run away from the creepy doctor because I know now that I am in Earth. In other words, I’m in the forbidden city. Just great. I’m pretty sure that doctor was about to kill me back there. And that’s also why they don’t use magic here. These people are probably the next victims, all the Aeropolisans that failed the test. I’ve learned about Earth in elementary school. My teacher, Mrs. Eva, told us that Earth is a terrible place where bad Aeropolisans are punished. Is this what it feels like?
Next day
I wake up in the little tent that I made out of blankets that some pretty nice people gave to me. I look outside, to see another bright, sunny day, just like the one yesterday, when I was snuggling inside my cozy bed in my house. A tear comes out from my eye. I really miss Aeropolis now. Why does Earth have to be such a cruel world? I’m thinking about Honey now. She probably became a sunlight sorcerer because she’s always so sunny and cheerful. Then, I was interrupted by that same old lady.
“Hello? Are you okay?” said the old lady.
“Uh, no, actually. I don’t know where I am and how I got here. All I remember is falling through a tunnel.” I replied.
“This is London, England, sweetie. And where are your parents?”
“First, my name is NOT Sweetie. Second, my parents are dead. Third, I’m 18 already so I don’t need my parents.”
“I’m very sorry about your parents, honey. You can stay at my house if you would like?”
“Okay. Just to clarify, I am Laura Roseanne Smith! NOT Sweetie or Honey or whatever you’re going to call me next. Okay? Got it? And sure, I’d really like a decent place to stay.”
15 minutes of walking later
“Laura, this is my house! Or shall I say, mansion.”
“Thank you so much, um, what’s your name again?”
“I’m Polly. Polly Smiths.”
“Wait, what?!”
“No, sweetie. Smiths. With an S at the end.”
“Oh, ok. I just thought—”
I was interrupted again but the large wooden doors opening and a blonde girl about my again bowing and saying, “Welcome home, Madame Smiths!”
As I walked in I stared at the young blonde girl and asked the old lady, “Um, if you don’t mind my asking, but who is that girl over there?”
To which she responded very rudely, “Actually, I do mind your asking. So be quiet as I lead you to the servants’ quarters.”
“Wait, did you say, servants quarter?”
Then she turned around and said, “Yes. You are to be trained as one of my servants.” And she pushed me into a dark room.
It took my eyes a while to adjust to the dark room. The blonde girl came over to me and handed me a maid’s uniform. She told me to put it on, so that’s what I did. See my life sucks. First, my parents die, then I fail The Test, and now I’m a servant.
The blondie says to me, “Hello! I’m Lina. And you are?”
“Laura Roseanne Smith. Nice to meet you.”
“Good. No time for introductions though. Your job is to sweep and shine all the floors in the mansion, all 7 floors of the place except for the Forbidden Tower. Make every spot extremely clean and don’t miss a SINGLE spot. If you do, Madame Smiths will have her guards beat you and torture you.”
“What’s in the Forbidden Tower? And have you ever been beaten before?”
“The Forbidden Tower is nothing important, and yes, I have been beaten. It’s really painful, don’t get yourself in danger on the first day.”
Then she leaves. See how bad my life is? If I miss a single thing I will be dead. How terrible.
I went straight to cleaning. I cleaned the ballroom, the kitchen, the sitting room, all 9 bathrooms and 8 different bedrooms. That’s when I found out that there’s more. I had to do 6 more floors of the same cleaning. Again, if I miss a spot, I’m dead. As I clean, I keep thinking about Honey, The Test, and where she might be now. What if she already finished The Test? What if she’s back in Aeropolis looking for me? She must be so worried! And I’m just here sweeping the floors. Oh no. Is this just a nightmare? What if I pinch myself? I pinch myself so hard my arm becomes swollen and red. Nothing happens. I guess this really is real.
After cleaning everything, it’s already 10:00 pm. I go back to the servants’ quarter and I see Lina shouting in fury.
“You were supposed to be done much sooner! You still have to dust every piece of furniture in the mansion!” screams a very angry Lina.
So she pushes me to work. I clean everything. Every spot. It’s now 12:01 am and I’m exhausted. I’m also famished.
“Lina? I’m really hungry. Is there anything to eat?” I say.
“No, Laura. We only eat in the morning. And since you missed this morning, no you cannot eat until later today.”
“Okay, but then where can I sleep?”
“On that bed over there. But someone’s already there. You have to wait your turn to sleep, everyone gets 30 minutes each night. Some people don’t get to sleep at all, because it’s already morning by the time the others all finish.”
“Seriously?! What kind of cruel universe is this?”
“Laura, this is life. Some people get to be rich and happy, but you have to be an unlucky one. I’m sorry.”
So I stay up the whole night sitting, chatting with Lina, meeting new friends, and cleaning. I met 6 other people, Anna, Julie, Fred, Sofie, Max, and William. They’re all really nice, but I really rather be sleeping. Now that I think about it, I guess it was a better deal to just stay out on the street and not follow the old lady. At least I could sleep as long as I wanted.
It’s 6:00 in the morning. I slept for 29 minutes and 47 seconds last night. I’m still ravenous and sleepy. Even worse, all I have for breakfast is 2 slices of bread. I walk toward the table, and I sit on a hard cold chair. Then, I bite into the hard, cold, and tasteless piece of bread. I still can’t imagine how terrible this life is. It’s just so harsh! Then, all of a sudden, a blinding white light flashed directly on me. I could feel the heat of the light burning my eyes, then suddenly, the light changed from a blinding white light to a rainbow colored dim light. I looked up, half expecting someone dressed as a jester to grab me.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blind you. Are you okay?” said a voice.
I was pulled up from the ground, floating in mid-air, and Lina, Anna, William, Fred, and everyone else didn’t seem the least surprised or scared. I was pulled from the ground into the sky, and no one seemed to care. I guess this is the end. I guess this is Earth. This is the time for me to get punished for failing The Test. Get ready for the end, Laura. I thought.
A long wait later
I wake up with my hand on the same pillar I had my hand on at the very beginning of The Test to my surprise. I see Honey’s hand on the pillar too, the same way it was at the beginning of this! Honey started to panic and she said to me, “Laura? Is that you? Are we dead? Is this hell?!”
To which I replied, “No, Honey, I think we passed. I think we all passed. No, in fact, I know we passed.”
It all made sense now. When you touch the pillar, you’re thrown into the world which they call Earth. It’s all part of The Test, see? They’re trying to see if you can survive in a world without magic. It’s all a dream. A very realistic dream though, and I’m glad I survived. I explain this all to Honey, and she just opens her mouth and stares. Then she rushes over to me and gives me a great big hug. It squeezes every bit of nervousness and confusion that I’ve ever had before, and it makes me happy. Very happy. I guess heaven wanted to pay me back for causing me all that stress that I have ever had before.
As Honey and I walk out of the building, or shall I say, skip out of the building, a tight armband appears on my wrist. Then a loud voice says, “Congratulations. You are now a superior sorcerer.”
I smile and walk out of the building.
3 days later
I’ve been call in for a special meeting. I walk back into the Testing tower, where I once have been fearing for my life and now I’m walking in calmly.
“Please sit down, Ms. Smith. Help yourself to anything on this table.”
I sit.
“I have invited you here to help you make a very important decision. As you already know, you were declared a superior sorcerer. A superior can choose whether they want to become a magician that works in the Testing Hall and gives Aeropolisans their rank, or not. It’s your choice, but I strongly recommend accepting the offer. After all, every superior sorcerer does it.”
I told him, “No, I’m good.” And I run down the steps to meet Honey.
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Jayden