for Eva. She should have respected that. "Switch that purple light on again," she told him. "And point it at the wall."
Colton shot her a criticizing look, but complied reluctantly. He found the button and switched it on again, pointing it at the wall, which was suddenly flooded with a purple light. "Wow." he mumbled.
"It's called a black light," Iris said. "Do you see what this is all about now?"
Colton didn't see at first. Iris had noticed that human eyes usually resisted the Pentimento when they first looked at it. It wasn't disbelief or stubbornness. Simply the habit of seeing things a certain way and the inability to change perspectives, all at once. She watched Colton's confusion wither slowly from his face. It looked like he wanted to say something, but was speechless. His eyes widened. His irises widened. The black light showed the older drawings beneath; the drawings covered with the Council's advertisement. "It's a Pentimento," Colton said. For a boy with such a confident voice, he sounded weakened and shocked now. He even touched the wall's surface with the tips of his fingers, to make sure it wasn't an illusion.
Iris nodded proudly, just like her father did with her. "The Council's advertisement runs as high as the building itself, probably covering older writings..."
"Which probably belongs to whoever inhabited the Earth before the Beasts came. The First." Colton cut her off, kneeling in front of the building, as if it were a holy temple. This was what he was looking for. A lead, however thin, so he could learn about the Beasts and find out what they had done to his girlfriend. "I knew it,” he snapped his fingers. "Those before us must have left a sign. I knew it!" Colton stood up and turned to face Iris. He shot her that damn look again. Her body felt the warmth of his eyes on her. "You're a genius, Iris," he held her by the shoulder. Iris freaked out. His touch and his looks implied he was going to do something crazy. He leaned his face closer and kissed her on the cheek. It was a clutchy kiss, as if kissing a soldier friend after winning the war. Nothing of what Iris had dreamed of. Still, his lips sent shivers through her spine.
Colton, confused by the awkward moment, turned around and ran up the diagonal ladders on the wall, pointing the black light at every part he came across on the wall. "So you’ve come here all this time without telling anyone?" he kept climbing. "How many hours did you work on this building? Did you use your father's liquids and methods to peel off the Council's advertisement? Are there other buildings? What do they say?"
"Yes. I do come alone here often," Iris said, understanding the many questions roaming in his mind like cockroaches. It happened to her many times. "Part of the Council's advertisement had peeled on its own due to aging, probably erosion factors, which means the building, and the Ruins, are substantially old. Natural Pentimento usually happens like that, due to nature and aging. My father's methods are a bit unorthodox."
"Which means this is what the world looked like before the Beasts came." Colton's enthusiasm peaked even more. But then he stopped atop the ladder suddenly, gazing into the grayed distance of the Ruins. "But what really happened here? What happened to the world before the Beasts came?"
"Maybe you were right about the Beasts saving us from our own doing," Iris said, although she never bought into the theory. She was open for suggestions though.
"I know that was my original theory," Colton said. "But I can't imagine humans did this," he stared up at the sky. "I mean, we couldn't have done that to the planet. Look at how we crave nature. How we wish there were real and healthy trees and flowers in The Second. We love this world. Something else happened here. Maybe the Beasts themselves did this; destroyed the world to rule it thereafter."
"Maybe they destroyed us and then felt guilty about it," Iris was just playing along, hoping the
Colton shot her a criticizing look, but complied reluctantly. He found the button and switched it on again, pointing it at the wall, which was suddenly flooded with a purple light. "Wow." he mumbled.
"It's called a black light," Iris said. "Do you see what this is all about now?"
Colton didn't see at first. Iris had noticed that human eyes usually resisted the Pentimento when they first looked at it. It wasn't disbelief or stubbornness. Simply the habit of seeing things a certain way and the inability to change perspectives, all at once. She watched Colton's confusion wither slowly from his face. It looked like he wanted to say something, but was speechless. His eyes widened. His irises widened. The black light showed the older drawings beneath; the drawings covered with the Council's advertisement. "It's a Pentimento," Colton said. For a boy with such a confident voice, he sounded weakened and shocked now. He even touched the wall's surface with the tips of his fingers, to make sure it wasn't an illusion.
Iris nodded proudly, just like her father did with her. "The Council's advertisement runs as high as the building itself, probably covering older writings..."
"Which probably belongs to whoever inhabited the Earth before the Beasts came. The First." Colton cut her off, kneeling in front of the building, as if it were a holy temple. This was what he was looking for. A lead, however thin, so he could learn about the Beasts and find out what they had done to his girlfriend. "I knew it,” he snapped his fingers. "Those before us must have left a sign. I knew it!" Colton stood up and turned to face Iris. He shot her that damn look again. Her body felt the warmth of his eyes on her. "You're a genius, Iris," he held her by the shoulder. Iris freaked out. His touch and his looks implied he was going to do something crazy. He leaned his face closer and kissed her on the cheek. It was a clutchy kiss, as if kissing a soldier friend after winning the war. Nothing of what Iris had dreamed of. Still, his lips sent shivers through her spine.
Colton, confused by the awkward moment, turned around and ran up the diagonal ladders on the wall, pointing the black light at every part he came across on the wall. "So you’ve come here all this time without telling anyone?" he kept climbing. "How many hours did you work on this building? Did you use your father's liquids and methods to peel off the Council's advertisement? Are there other buildings? What do they say?"
"Yes. I do come alone here often," Iris said, understanding the many questions roaming in his mind like cockroaches. It happened to her many times. "Part of the Council's advertisement had peeled on its own due to aging, probably erosion factors, which means the building, and the Ruins, are substantially old. Natural Pentimento usually happens like that, due to nature and aging. My father's methods are a bit unorthodox."
"Which means this is what the world looked like before the Beasts came." Colton's enthusiasm peaked even more. But then he stopped atop the ladder suddenly, gazing into the grayed distance of the Ruins. "But what really happened here? What happened to the world before the Beasts came?"
"Maybe you were right about the Beasts saving us from our own doing," Iris said, although she never bought into the theory. She was open for suggestions though.
"I know that was my original theory," Colton said. "But I can't imagine humans did this," he stared up at the sky. "I mean, we couldn't have done that to the planet. Look at how we crave nature. How we wish there were real and healthy trees and flowers in The Second. We love this world. Something else happened here. Maybe the Beasts themselves did this; destroyed the world to rule it thereafter."
"Maybe they destroyed us and then felt guilty about it," Iris was just playing along, hoping the
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