Chapter 1

    "It's the year 2510, March 7th. 

    And the War is still going on. 

    Honestly, I am sick of it. Sick of all of it. The mines, the bad news, the power-outages, the deaths. 

    With all the men being gone off to training or the War, we women have to work 24/7 just to keep our city up and running.

    There are countless jobs that need to be filled and the population is growing less. 

    Basically, the factories that create new humans are making more men to fight in the War. So there are less women to help in the cities. And with

 all the accidents that happen in the mines and power stations, the female population of Psylia City has been lowering significantly.

    Our Governor, Lalia Phasstia, assures us that she has requested more workers from the Center. The Center is basically the main board of leaders that rule all the separate cities.

    It has been six months since Lalia said that and I haven't seen any new workers so far.

    So now the younger girls are being forced to work longer hours and, in an effort to reserve power in case of extended blackouts, Lalia ordered that all electricity can only be used in public workplaces. So no lighting for homes, no cooking food in an oven or on the stove-top. I feel like one of those people I used to hear about way back then that lived in the wild. Which was apparently a place surrounded by trees and creatures called "animals".

    Now, 700 years later, the only green life I've ever seen is the pictures from my mother's old family album. I once tried to create a plant, which is what the green things were called, but that ended in a mess, as did all my other experiments. Now I am way too busy with work to have time to even think about trying new things.

    Life is dull and just the same thing over and over. A never-ending cycle that sucks the life out of you. Then again, my life was already sucked out before I had begun full work. My biological mother died in a mine accident once I had only been four. And of course I had never known my father.

    In fact, I had been the last child in my city to be born of people. After the War had begun, the Center ordered factories for making humans. It was sad to think about children growing up with no parents. 

    But this is the world; my world. I was born into this madness and now

I've gotta push through and try to survive.

    But now that I - "

    "Paisley! The Cart is leaving! We need to go now!" yelled a voice from behind me.

    I shut off my small recorder and made a mental note to finish my Audio Diary later. I pulled my dusty goggles down over my eyes and turned to see the Mine Overseer for the mine I worked in, A.K.A. my adopted mother, Dalia Sulivania.  She reached one of her tattoo-covered arms toward me and pulled me to a small vehicle called the Cart which brought the miners for the shift back to the surface.

    I was shoved into the crowded seating area of the machine and grabbed a pole overhead to keep myself steady as the Cart chugged forward, upward to fresh air.

    Dalia stood beside me, not using a pole or a seat. She had ridden on

Carts for her whole life. And I would guess, at 39 years old, she would have gotten the hang of the movement by now.

    I, being only 17, had not.

    "If I catch you on that audio recorder again in these mines then I will have to give you another mark," Dalia said, crossing her arms.

    "Sorry," I apologized, pulling out the small device and handing it to her. "I had nothing to do while they were loading the crystals."

    "How about helping? Hmm? Bad marks will harm your future. But good ones might just get you working above-ground."

    "Like Candice and Ari?" I asked.

    "Yes. They worked in the mines for their teenage years as well. But they showed to be good workers and were promoted."

    I sighed. 

    Suddenly the Cart took a sharp turn and I almost toppled into another

worker. 

    Dalia remained as stiff as ever and barely even moved.

    Eventually, the ride was over and the doors opened into the bright lights of the lunch station. This was where mine workers hung out between shifts and ate and also saw medical attention, which was needed many times.

    I followed Dalia off and we walked out of the station, into the slightly dimmer alleys of Psylia City. The air was heavy with a thick fog from the mines, but it was a hundred percent better than being inside the mines.

    "I am going to record our working status in the book and will meet you back home," Dalia said. "Clean yourself up and then meet me and Candice at the Tech Station in a half hour."

    "Okay," I said as we parted ways and I began the long walk back to home. I could shorten the walk by taking the metro, but that cost too 

many alios, the form of currency in our country. My family didn't get paid enough for their work; at least that's what Dalia said. But the government had always been unfair about wages and things like that.

    So I endured the walk and eventually stepped into my small home alley filled with fires. These fires were controlled though. Ever since Governor Lalia said no more electricity to workers' homes, the people had to come up with other ways to see in the dark alleys.

    So we burn the trash we have and it lights up places for a little while. But it also creates a very smoky atmosphere that adds to the overall depression of the city.

    I found my house number, which I shared with Dalia and Candice, Dalia's daughter. The home was small and barely held anything except a large bundle of blankets for sleeping, a heatable oven for cooking, a metal tub, and a small radio which broadcasted the news.

    I slipped off my shoes and all my protective gear. Leaning over the tub filled with the water which got changed out every week, I washed the soot off my face and cleaned my shoulder-length black hair as best as I could. 

    Then, as I waited for my hair to dry, I picked out clothes that weren't my work ones, basically the only other clothes I had, and out them on. I turned on the radio as I did this and listened to the broadcaster's excited voice, wondering what was happening.

    " . . . Tomorrow he will be coming to meet with Governor Phasstia to discuss the capture of the deserter. Araggio Leopio is a master hunter and believes that the deserter now dwells in the alleys of Psylia City. He could be dangerous and we warn the workers there to keep their guard. But Araggio says he will have him soon and the deserter, whose soldier name is Sev Urite, will be executed for this treason."

    I flicked off the radio, hoping that the deserter was caught. The last 

thing Psylia City needed was a dangerous man running around. 

    Though I had to admit I was curious about him. Why would he run away from the War? Weren't all soldiers made in the factories given traits that make them unafraid of dying or war?

    Also I'd never seen a man before, only pictures. 

    "Oh well," I said to myself as I grabbed my shoes and put them back on. Then I walked back outside and locked the door behind me. 

    I exited the shady alley and got onto one of the main streets, heading toward the Tech Station.

                             Chapter 2

    The Tech Station was just as cramped as always, with spare parts for vehicles and dirty rags laying everywhere there was room. 

    I stepped as lightly as I could so I didn't mess something up.

    I could hear voices ahead of me and saw a figure sitting on a bench talking to another woman on the floor holding two objects.

    "The work keeps getting more and more dangerous down there," the bench lady said. As I got closer I saw it was Dalia. "And with fewer workers I'm having to stretch the ones under my care so they can work longer hours. Which is also bad because it puts them in danger more often. Ever since the last cave-in more girls have been asking about safer jobs."

    "And . . . are you going to give them safer jobs?" The woman on the floor, Candice, asked.

    "I don't know. I don't know if I can afford to lose so many good workers. We have already begun to fall behind on our crystal delivery and soon the authorities are going to come over here and fire me, or shut the mine down. Either way I'm going to lose my job and then how will we survive?"

    "Like we always have. Find another way," Candice said as she leaned back over her two parts which she was connecting together with complicated wires.

    Dalia sighed and looked up, noticing me. "Ah, Paisley, come on and sit next to me. Sorry you had to hear that."

    "I'm old enough to know about financial troubles now," I said as I sat next to her and watched Candice work. Candice's dyed white hair was pulled into a messy bun and her face showed scars from electric stings.

    "What are you working on?" I asked.

    "Someone brought a busted Cart into the shop today and me and Ari have been working our butts off trying to fix it. It was a technical problem, which is strange because it was from inside."

    "How is that strange?"

    "The Carts usually only get damage from the mines so all their damage would be on the exterior, not interior parts."

    "We think someone was messing with it," said a deeper voice as another woman walked into the room. 

    Ari smiled at me and then pulled out a long tool from a belt around her waist. She gave it to Candice and then sat next to me.

    "Messing with a Cart?" Dalia asked. "Why?"

    "Maybe they were trying to use it for getting somewhere," Ari said. "Somewhere not in the mines. Candice saw that the vehicle had been 

'reprogramed', so to speak, to make it a driving vehicle for the smooth roads, not the tracks in the mines."

    "So they wanted to use it to escape or something?" I asked, my mind wandering to what I had just heard on the news about the male deserter in Psylia City."

    "Possibly," Candice said. "Finished! The Cart should be back to normal once we put this chip back in."

    Candice handed the chip to Ari who walked back out of the room.

    "Why would you think that someone would try and steal it to escape, Paisley?" Dalia asked, looking at me intently.

    I explained what I had heard on the news and Dalia gasped. "A man in Psylia City!" Then her eyes wandered off like she was lost in thought. "I haven't seen a man in this city for so long."

    I guessed that she was remembering her husband, Candice's father,

who had been taken off to the War as well.

    "He sounds dangerous," Candice said. "Maybe Paisley is right, maybe he did mess with the Cart to use it to get away. But someone must have scared him away before he could finish."

    "Exactly," I said. "I wonder if he would try to steal another one. Maybe we should put the Carts in lockdown for the night."

    "Or . . . " Dalia seemed to be deep in thought. "I wonder how much they would pay someone if they brought in the deserter."

    Me and Candice both looked at her, intrigued. 

    Ari walked back into the room and gave Candice a "thumbs-up". "The Cart is back. And I heard what you guys were talking about. If there's a chance we could catch him and get extra alios, then I'm in."

    "But shouldn't we just leave that to the hunter guy that's coming to find him?" I asked.

    "We could find the deserter faster," Ari reasoned. "Just think about it. We know the city and we also know he just tried to steal a Cart to escape."

    "'Maybe' he tried to steal a Cart. We don't know that for sure," I pointed out. "And the radio said he could be dangerous. Besides, how would we find him?"

    "I could find him," Ari said. "If he is armed then it must be one of the guns form the War. Which means it's powered by Dark Voltage."

    Dark Voltage was a powerful form of electricity that was used in every weapon used in combat. And Ari had been born with a strange power to see it.

    "I could find him, I know it," Ari said. "And then we can all split up the alios and maybe we'll even be promoted to a higher part of the city." 

    "Okay," said Candice. "Let's do it."

                            Chapter 3

    The next night we all met at Ari's place, because it was the least cramped, so we could plan how to trap the deserter. I honestly didn't want any part in the plan at all, but Dalia said I needed to be there just in case something happened to them while they tracked the deserter.

    If something did then I had to quickly get the authorities and lead them to the deserter.

    So, while the rest of them would find him, I would sit in an alley by an emergency caller device.

    Once the plan had been made, we set out for the alley where I would sit and wait. 

    "You know what you need to do?" Dalia asked once we reached the alley. 

    "It's not that hard for me to press a button. You are the ones chasing down a possibly dangerous deserter," I said, hoisting myself onto a large pipe sticking out of the wall behind me.

    Ari suddenly made a movement, like she was sensing something. "I feel it, the Dark Voltage is pretty close."

    "Okay, we will be back," said Candice. "Or we won't, then you will -"

    "I know! Just go already!" I yelled, tired of them telling me the plan for the thousandth time.

    They all nodded and walked away into the darkness.

    Once I was sure they were gone I pulled out my recorder. I had taken it back from Dalia while they had been planning. They hadn't even told me what they were going to do. All they told me was my job and that was it.

    I switched on the recorder and said, "Year 2510, March 8th. I am currently waiting by myself as my adopted mother and sister, and my friend try to track down and take down a deserter. 

    "It is honestly quite nerve-racking to wait here. I feel like I'm waiting for something bad to happen or someone to pop out if the shadows.

    "But, if this all works out then I could have a much better life. I could live up in the better parts of Psylia City, or go to a whole new city. I could actually have running water and not have to work for it. Life could be so much better. But only if this works."

    I kept talking into my recorder. It made me feel better and not so alone. Until, suddenly, I heard a crash like glass had just been broken violently on the ground.

    My hand shook so bad I dropped my recorder. I reached for any weapon I had, which was none. Once I realized I had nothing I just rolled

up, tucking my chin to my knees and trying to make myself as small as possible. This was a strange alley and I had no idea who or what was in the darkness. To make it worse the only light I had was the flames of one burning garbage can, which was starting to die out.

    I did have the emergency caller behind me, but it would be too late for me if I called right now and aroused whatever was out there.

    So I just stayed as still as possible, not daring to breathe.

    My eyes stared into the darkness until I saw a shape take form. It was a human, not some scary beast. They had both sides of their head buzzed, and the top held a dark mass of tangled hair. It could just be a female worker coming home late. Short cuts were common among the workers. Most girls said that their hair got in the way, and it was a nuisance to clean, so they cut it off. That's what Dalia had done, but I rather liked my long hair.

    "Hello?" I said to the figure who I believed was a woman. "Hey, do you need help?" I un-curled and hopped off the pipe, picking back up my recorder as I did and hiding it in my pocket.

    The woman said nothing and backed away.

    Maybe she was shy or scared of something.

    I slowly got closer to her, but as I did I realized how tall she was, and how big her shoulders and arms were. 

    I stopped. 

    It couldn't be. 

    I started backing up and the figure's eyes narrowed. I screamed and dashed off down the alley, tying to get away from the figure, who I know knew was the male deserter.

    But he hadn't had a weapon on him. Had he left it somewhere to fool Ari?

    But I didn't care about that right now. All I needed to do was get away. I looked behind me and realized that he wasn't there. Maybe I had outrun him.

    I stood there, feeling mighty proud of myself and wondering if he had just run away, scared of the authorities I was going to contact.

    I started walking again and finally reached another alley which held an emergency caller. 

    But just as I was about to press the call button, something stung me right in the neck. I pulled out a small diamond-looking dart and 

immediately my eyes began drooping. I fell to the ground as a large figure dropped into the alley and my eyes went black.

                            Chapter 4

    "Why is it so stuffy in here?" was my first thought as I awoke out of my sleep. The room I was sitting in was hot and stuffy and smelled of burnt garbage. Not that I wasn't already used to that smell.

    It was also super dark with only one small neon light laying on the floor to light up the room as much as it could.

    I sat on what looked to be a couch with rips all through it and springs sticking out of the fabric.

    "What a dump," I whispered aloud.

    "It's all one can have once they are running," a voice suddenly said and I jumped. I remembered the chase down the alleys and seeing the 

deserter. He must have taken me here.

    I shivered and looked to where the voice had come from. He sat on a couch in about the same condition as mine, looking down at his arm where he was fixing something.

    I looked down at my own hands and realized that they weren't bound at all. I could just run if I wanted to. But, as I scanned the room, I realized 

that there didn't seem to be any visible exits.

    "Where am I?" I asked.

    "In a 'dump'," the deserter said sarcastically, not lifting his head.

    "I mean am I still in Psylia City?"

    "That's a need to know basis."

    "Whatever, the authorities will come for me soon anyway. Once Dalia sees I'm gone she'll call them."

    "I'm guessing Dalia is one in the group of idiots who thought they could

trap me."

    "Why do you think they are idiots?"

    "Who else would think they could capture a former soldier who has been trained in over a hundred ways of combat and stealth?"

    Now that I thought about it it did seem like a faulty plan. "Well," I said. "Why am I here?"

    The deserter said nothing.

    "Okay . . . then I'll just guess. Hmm, maybe I'm actually some sort of powerful person and I've been living a lie this whole time! Maybe you're here to bring me back to my true mother who is an underground queen keeping people safe and healthy and I'm her lost princess!"

    The deserter finally looked up at me. "Now I'm guessing everyone in this City are idiots."

    I wanted to retort back but I couldn't speak. Let's just say it was my first

time seeing the face of a man clearly; and I was awestruck. 

    His face, fully illuminated by the neon light, was pale and long strands of his unkempt black hair was falling over his brown eyes. He had tattoos up the back of his neck and dark scars mixed in with them. And his eyes looked like they had seen many horrors. 

    He wore what looked like armor with metallic decorations. But the strangest thing was that he looked no older than nineteen. I wondered how young boys go out to fight in the War. "What?" he asked, and I realized I probably looked super stupid right now, just staring at him.

    "Sorry," I said quickly, looking away from his squinted eyes. "I've just grown up only seeing women, that's all."

    "Yeah, and I've only seen men, but you don't see me staring like I've just seen a ghost."

    I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, I asked you why I was here. Am I actually

someone special?"

    "No, I just couldn't have you tell the authorities about me."

    I sighed; goodbye to that dream.

    "So I am still in Psylia City?"

    "I didn't say that."

    "Then where am I?"

    "I already told you, it's a need to know basis. And you don't need to know."

    "Can't you tell me anything?!"

    "You are annoying. There."

    I crossed my arms. "How about your name?"

    "Nope." 

    "Well, fine, but I'll be open and tell you my name. It's Paisley. Paisley Joshua."

    "I really don't care."

    "Okay! Then if you don't care let me go!"

    He said nothing.

    I rose from the couch, my frustration rising. "Then I am leaving!"

    He said nothing and didn't even move!

    I couldn't believe my luck. I looked around the room and decided that one of the walls looked flimsy enough. I ran at it and rammed it with my shoulder. It turned out to be a lot harder than I had thought.

    I fell back on the couch, rubbing my bruised shoulder and staring

 menacingly at the deserter who was looking back down at his arm.

    "What are you doing?" I asked.

    "Fixing," he said.

    "What? Are you some sort of cyborg?" I had heard about people who changed in their body parts for fake metal ones. I had even met a few in

the mines. It looked like the deserter was fixing his arm, or something on it.

    "No, this is my transmitter," he said, and I was surprised he actually told me something. "I send messages with it. And, in case you get any ideas, it can't contact any person trying to kill me."

    "Why did you run away anyway?" I asked, and, to my great surprise, the deserter lifted his head and I saw a painful expression on his face.

    "I wasn't going to be brainwashed anymore," he said simply.

                            Chapter 5

    I just stared at him. "Brainwashed? Are you saying every soldier fighting in the War has had their memories erased and-"

    "No, not like actual brainwashing," he interrupted. "I just mean that the War is still going on because of a lie."

    "How so?" I sat forward, hoping that he would start telling me things.

    He opened his mouth, then closed it and gave me an untrusting look. Then he turned back to his transmitter.

    I slouched back into the couch and crossed my arms. My stomach made a noise. "You wouldn't happen to have any food, would you?" I asked.

    The deserter let out a groan. "I want to work without and noise." he 

said, giving me a peeved expression. "Can you just shut up?"

    "I'm hungry."

    "Hungry? I have gone days without eating. You will be fine."

    "Well I'm not a trained soldier like you. Do you want me to die?"

    "And have peace and quiet?" he asked as if he was actually considering my death. "That would be nice."

    I decided that I needed to escape. The walls were all to hard to break down, but how had I gotten in here anyway?

    I looked down and saw a large bundle of wires and parts that the deserter had stolen, no doubt. That could be covering some sort of hole or hatch. 

    He was looking down at his transmitter again and I slowly slid across the couch, toward the pile.

    I reached it and removed one wire, looking at him to make sure he 

didn't look up.

    I removed another piece and another. Finally, I could see a circular piece of metal in the floor with a handle on it. A hatch!

    Then I realized where we were. We were in one of the abandoned safehouses in the mines. This room was built to withstand cave-ins and keep the inhabitants safe. The deserter must have been using it as his hiding spot for a while.

    I glanced back at him, he hadn't looked up yet. 

    I grabbed the handle and pulled up with all my strength. Working in the mines with heavy tools had built up my muscles so the hatch opened easily. Sadly, I hadn't thought about the squeakiness.

    The deserter looked up as soon as he heard the hatch opening and I knew I had to run. I hopped into the hole and slid down the rails of the ladder leading downward.

    I heard him curse above me as he jumped in as well.

    I reached the bottom and set off running into the dark mines. The smoke was thick and running in it was not a good idea. But I had to get away and find someone. I had been kidnapped by a madman.

    I heard him calling out after me but I kept running, not knowing at all where I was going.

    He sounded like he was catching up and I tried to speed up but couldn't because the rocks under my feet were getting sharper and taller. I found that my only chance of escape was to hide until he passed.

    I saw a dark corner and crouched against the rocks, closing my eyes. I saw him run up close to where I was and then he stopped.

    "I already told you that I am a super trained soldier," he said aloud. "You should have guessed that I was also trained to find enemies in the dark."

    Then, without even looking he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt

and pulled me out of my spot. 

    I kicked his leg but he didn't seem to notice. I struggled but he kept a firm grip on my shoulder and we walked back to the safehouse. Once we were back inside he locked me in the bathroom built into the safehouse in case the inhabitants were stranded because of rubble.

    I sat by myself, completely bored, oh, and I was starving like crazy. This psychotic deserter was going to kill me. Plus the bathroom was pitch black.

    I sat down and felt something in my pocket. It was my recorder, I forgot I had put it there. It was the only thing I had so I decided to record what was happening to me. Not only would it keep me busy, it would be evidence that I was kidnapped. I could show it to the authorities once I found another way to escape.

    I clicked the button and said quietly, so the deserter wouldn't hear me,

    "This is Paisley Joshua and I am being held captive by a rogue soldier who claims that the War is all fake.

    "First of all, why would the War still be going on if it didn't need to be? The Center has said many times how much they hate the War. I think that this guy, who won't even tell me his name, is mad."

    I stopped talking. A thought had just come to me. "Maybe he doesn't even know his name."

    I had heard that the soldiers were all treated as one. What if they were all seen as expendable people, that the government could make more of in a few minutes.

    The men were formed and grew up fast so they could enter the War faster. But who would want to name all those guys? They probably only had numbers for identification.

    I set down my recorder and thought deeply about what I had just

figured out.

    "How horrible to not have a name," I said aloud. "You aren't special or anything. Nothing sets you apart."

    I couldn't believe I was actually feeling sympathy for the guy who had taken me captive. I sighed in anger, sliding until my head was on the floor. I stared up at the dark ceiling. 

    As I lay there I was overcome by a sense of drowsiness. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and I was asleep before I knew it.

                            Chapter 6

    I was woken up once the deserter slammed open the door to the bathroom and bright light filled my eyes. I was blind for a few seconds, and rather disoriented.

    I slowly sat up, trying to figure out where I was. Then, reality came back and I groaned. I had hoped it was all a dream and I would wake up in my apartment, which was quite cozy compared to this.

    "Get up," he ordered from above. "We're moving out of here."

    My eyes adjusted to the bright neon light he was holding. "Why?" I asked.

    "No questions, get up," he said, more forcefully this time.

    "What if I'm tired?"

    Seeming to lose patience, the deserter leaned down and grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the bathroom. I struggled to my feet and walked quickly behind him.

    He let go of me and pulled open the hatch leading down. "You're going in after me, and no funny business," he said, pulling out a knife. "Or else."

    I gulped. He did have a weapon, but it was simple and crude, not the high-tech stuff the soldiers usually fought with. I guessed that was the point. So he couldn't be tracked by the Dark Voltage in the newer weapons.

    I nodded and he climbed down quickly, then signaled for me to do the same. I grabbed the ladder and scurried down.

    Once I reached the bottom, he turned off the light and we were thrown into pitch black darkness.

    "Come on," he said, grabbing my arm again and starting off.

    I guessed he also had good vision in the dark, because he stepped as if he was sure where he was going. I, however, had always been clumsy in the dark, and I stubbed my boots on rocks the whole way to the entrance of the mine.

    I saw some light ahead and saw that it was night outside.

    But I could see no bright lights from the city.

    We walked out into the fresh air and I breathed deeply, surprised by how clean it smelled.

    I looked around and realized that we were standing in a deserted part of a city. But the buildings weren't as close together and they weren't as tall.

    "What happened here?" I asked.

    "How would I know?" asked the deserter, rolling his eyes as he pulled 

me through the abandoned streets. "But it looked like this part of Psylia City never got finished. Probably an accident in the mines. Another way they are destroying innocent life."

    "What? Mine cave-ins aren't caused by people, it's just chance that they happen."

    "But they still make you guys work in dangerous environments? They don't care about your deaths, just like they don't care about those who die in the War."

    "Your accusations are ridiculous. I think the War did something to your

mind. What I don't understand is how."

    "What I don't understand is why you keep saying these things while I am the one holding the weapon."

    "I don't think you'd kill me, would you? I mean, you probably killed a lot of people in the War, but . . . "

    "Okay, just shut up!" The deserter turned on me, looking very angry. "You have no idea what I went through in the War! And no, I'm not going to kill you, because I can't bear to kill anymore people. I'm just going to find some place where I can dispose of you!"

    He turned back around and walked faster, dragging me with him.

    "Are you angry because you killed people?" I asked.

    There was no answer, only an angry grunt.

    "I'm also guessing that you're angry because you don't have a name."

    "No. I do have a name," he turned back around, but not so angry. "I was one of the last men to be born of humans. They named me, but that name was taken away and change into a number once I was taken into training. I never knew my mother, and my father was killed on my first battle."

    "I'm sorry," I said. "Hey, maybe I can give you a name!"

    "What are you saying? I'm fine without one."

    He turned and I caught a glimpse of a line of symbols on his uniform.

    7-U-8-10-24-3-67-G.

    "That must be his name," I thought in my head. "I can maybe use the first three symbols to create an actual name."

    I thought hard. "Seven, u, eight. Seven, ueight. Sev Uerite. Sev Urite!

    "I have a name for you!" I announced. 

    The deserter cast me an annoyed glare.

    "From now on, you will be known to me as Sev Urite!"

    "You had better not call me that."

    "Don't worry, Sev, only I will call you Sev, no one else will know your name."

    Sev shook his head and kept going. But I could feel that he was happy to finally have a name.

                                           Chapter 7

    We walked through the city for what seemed like hours. My feet were aching and sore and I was dead hungry. 

    Finally I saw ahead bright lights and I gasped. Sev was leading me back towards Psylia! But this wasn't the city I knew. This was the uptown part of the city where the rich and powerful lived.

    But why would he come back here?

    "Why are we going into the city?" I asked.

    "Not 'we', 'you'," was all he said.

    "What? Are you letting me go?"

    "Nope, but I need something from Psylia City. And you will go in and get

it for me."

    "How do you know I won't run away?"

    He turned to face me and slapped something onto my neck. 

    "Oww!" I yelled, rubbing my neck and feeling something lodged into the skin. "What the heck did you just put in me!?"

    "It will make sure that you get me what I want and then come back to me to deliver it."

    "Jeez. So is this gonna blow me up if I disobey or what?"

    "You will only find out if you run off. Now, what I need is your friend."

    "Huh?"

    "The one who works with the tech and also tried to capture me. The one who is gifted with seeing Dark Volatge."

    "Oh, you mean Ari."

    "Yes, whatever. I will need her special talents to escape this cursed 

continent for good."

    "I wouldn't get your hopes up. That she'll help you, I mean," I said. "Ari doesn't like being bossed around. Especially by a guy who made her look like an idiot by hiding his gun to trick her."

    "Don't worry about that." Sev drew out a small teblet-looking device. "This has a map of Psylia City on it, just in case you get lost. But that is all it does."

    I took the map and gave Sev an angry look. 

    "If you take more than a day to return then I will use the device implanted in your neck. So I suggest you hurry up," he said as I began walking off toward the city and he sat down to rest in a dark alley.

    I touched the circular object in my neck and wondered if it would kill me if I didn't return in less than a day.

    This guy kept getting scarier and scarier.

    I walked a ways until I reached the border between the old and new city. The authorities had put a crude barrier of metal poles up to cut off access the abandoned city, though it wasn't illegal to cross.

    I climbed over the barrier skillfully and was soon in the busy streets of Psylia City. The crowds of people and bright lights were all so new to my eyes and I felt like I could have stayed in this part of the city forever. 

    Rising high above the streets was the tower which Governor Phasstia resided in. It looked to glamorous and bright. The people walking around me all wore finely crafted clothes embedded with jewels and things that sparkled.

    But each person that saw me gave me a funny look.

    I guess I looked quite dirty and they knew I belonged in the lower city. I sighed and pulled out the map Sev had given me. I discovered that the way to where I lived was straight ahead and all I had to do was walk.

    Ugh, walking.

    By now I was so weak from walking and not getting anything to fill myself with. But I could survive. After all, I had always survived on the low rations of food given to the miners.

    I shut out my weariness and began walking straight down the walkway. I had no trouble with the crowds because the people gave me a pretty wide berth, seeing that if they touched me they could get dirt and soot on them.

                                                            .        .        .

    The sun was beginning to rise once I finally reached the lower city. My eyes had to adjust to the darkness again and I had a hard time finding my way back through all the alleys to the tech station.

    I eventually did and was standing outside the door to the station. My eyes were drooping and my legs felt like butter on a hot day.

    I raised my hand to knock, but weariness overcame me before I could.

    I fell onto my knees, and then onto the dirty ground. I tried to force my body back up. But it needed rest and I couldn't fight it. So I just lay there and fell asleep.

                                            Chapter 8

    "Paisley . . . Paisley! Wake up!"

    I heard voices calling my name once I went back into consciousness. I tried to open my eyes but they were still so tired and heavy.

    Finally, I managed to open them a little sliver and saw Dalia staring down at me. "Paisley! Thank God you're alive!" she said, touching my face. "We thought you were dead for sure after we couldn't find you."

    "Move," said another voice as Candice came into view, shoving her mother aside. "Paisley! I told you to stay where you were!"

    "I did, Candy," I managed to say. I thought about telling them about the deserter, but I remembered the thing in my neck. I had to complete the 

mission. "I . . . I need to talk to Ari."

    "She's gone right now, getting the authorities," Dalia said, leaning back over me. "Once we found you by the entrance we took you inside because we thought you were dead or something. Then we found this patch on your neck and we've been trying to get it off."

    "It won't budge," Candice finished. "Let me guess, that was put there by the deserter."

    I nodded and then said quickly, "But you can't tell anyone that he kidnapped me!"

    "The authorities were notified after you went missing," Dalia said. :They don't know we found you. That's what Ari was going to go - "

    "Call her back! You can't bring the authorities here!" I yelled, finding enough strength to sit up, my eyes wide now.

    "Are you okay, Paisley?" Candice asked. "The authorities will come and 

you can tell them where the deserter went."

    "No, I can't." I pointed to my neck. "If I do he will set this off."

    "What is that anyway?"

    "I don't know! Sev didn't tell me. But I know he will use it if I don't bring Ari to him!"

    "Hold up!" Dalia narrowed her eyes. "Sev?"

    "That's his . . . well, made up name. I made it up."

    "And he wants Ari? Why?"

    "I'm guessing it's because she can sense Dark Voltage. But if I don't give her to him then - "

    "We know, he'll use that thing."

    "What do we do?" asked Candice. 

    Dalia sighed. "Call Ari and tell her to come back."

    Candice walked off and I breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Did he hurt you at all?" Dalia asked, turning back to me. "Or does he even have any weapons? We found his Dark Voltage gun hidden away in a garbage bin. He was pretty smart. Ari was furious."

    "He has a knife. But that's all I saw."

    "Why do you think he wants Ari's power?"

    I shrugged and hopped of the table. "Maybe so he can know where the authorities are, or any other soldiers. Now a days every fighter has a weapon powered by Dark Voltage."

    "So he'll just keep her with him forever?"

    "Or until he finds a safe place far away from all these cities and the War."

    "Do you think there's such a place?" asked Dalia, staring off as if she was trying to imagine it.

    "Maybe."

    After a half hour, Ari walked back into the tech station, looking annoyed. "So, I was told to go to the authorities, which is about thirty minutes from this place, walking at least. And I was almost there once I received Candy's call and had to head all the way back."

    "I'm sorry you had to walk a lot," I said. "But I need to tell you something. And the authorities can't know."

    "What?"  asked Ari, sitting down on the floor, which she did a lot once she was trying to calm down. I quickly explained what the deserter wanted. And once I finished I was not surprised to see a look of anger and indignation on Ari's face.

    "Me, help him!? What type of psychotic soldier is this! Tell you what. I'm gonna go, and I'm gonna break his nose, and then turn him over to the authorities for instant death!"

    "If you do that then I might die!" I yelled over her angry rants. 

    She stopped. "I know. And I wouldn't actually do that stuff. At least, not if it put you in danger. But I don't want to just hand myself over to him."

    "I don't like that idea either," said Candice. Then her eyes widened. "Wait a second, how about me and Mom go with you two. Maybe we can overpower him and capture him. Then we still got a chance at big alios!"

    "Not me," said Dalia. "I have a job here and I can't go missing."

    "Fine. Then me, Ari, and Paisley will go back to him and try to get him."

    "Again?" I asked. "He's not that easy to beat, you know. You saw what happened last time."

    "Yeah," Ari said, pushing her fists together. "But I still want a chance to break his nose. I don't care if he takes us all captive."

    "Okay then." Candice smiled. "Paisley, lead us to him."

                                            Chapter 9

    "No, absolutely not," said Sev the moment he saw me and Candice with Ari. "I know what you're going to say, and my answer is a 'no'."

    "Really?" I asked. "What were we going to ask?"

    "If you two could come."

    I clenched my fists, dang it. 

    "I am not coming with you, you psychotic deserter, unless they come too," said Ari. 

    "You won't have a choice," said Sev. He pulled out his knife. "Now you two will go back to your normal lives and by the time you tell the authorities I will be long gone."

    "Nope," said Ari, standing tall. "You can kill me if you want. But then you won't get my powers. Not unless they come."

    Sev's face looked like a mix of rage and fear. "Argh! Fine."

    "Great!" I said. "Oh, by the way, this is Ari and Candice. And guys, this is Sev Urite."

    "That's not my name." Sev said through clenched teeth.

    "Well, it's your nickname, how about that? Now, where are we going?"

    "Wait," Sev said, clicking the device on my neck. It fell off and he broke it on the ground.

    "Thanks," I said.

    "You did your job, more or less," he grumbled.

    "What!" Candice stared at the broken chip. "It came off by pressing it?"

    "Yes. It's a simple device," Sev said, smirking a little. 

    "I tried every tool I had to peel it off Paisley's neck and I never even 

tried to press it!!"

    "Calm down," Sev said. "It wasn't going to hurt her anyway. It was just a sticker."

    "So I could have run away at any time and not been killed?" I asked, unbelievingly.

    "Yes. But I knew that you had been raised under a fear mindset. So even though the device was harmless, you still thought it would kill you. And I made you believe that."

    "I have decided that I don't like you," Ari said. "But now we are too far away from the city to get help . . . great."

    Sev chuckled to himself and began walking. "Follow me, and don't try anything stupid. I am a highly trained warrior and you are no match for me."

                                                            .       .       .

    We traveled through the abandoned part of the city and kept going until we reached the end. I had never seen what was beyond a city until that moment.

    Sev motioned for us to follow him and hide behind a large fallen pipe that had been used in the mines for air circulation. We stuck our heads up and I gazed at a wasteland void of buildings and mines. It was just black, dark with barely a figure in sight.

    "This used to be a beautiful place," Sev said, as if to himself. "The fields were green and trees blossomed with fruits. Animals ran wild."

    "This all used to be green?" I asked, staring out at the bleak landscape.

    "Until the pollution from the city and mines destroyed it. And its animals."

    "Did they all die?" asked Candice, her eyes wide.

    "No." Sev rolled over so he sat against the pipe. "I guess I can tell you 

why I needed Ari's help. The animals that used to live all over the globe were infected by the exhaust from the mines. As you guys know, you mine crystals that create the Dark Voltage. The polluted air got into their bodies and over time they were changed."

    "Changed how?" asked Ari, still showing signs of distrust.

    "They became monsters. The animals bearing children got infected and their children came out as horrid, deformed creatures. They kept reproducing, each generation more deformed than the first. Then, they became real dangers once their lands were ruined by the bad atmosphere. So they had no food."

    "Are they all dead now?" I asked.

    "I wish. They're the whole reason this War is going on."

    "You've been fighting the animals?" Candice asked. "But what do they want from us?"

    "Their next meal," said Sev, his eyes wider now. "They had no other food so they turned to eating human flesh, even the bugs. They are who we've been fighting on the front lines. We created a problem, and now that problem is destroying us."

    I saw his hands shaking and I realized that he must have seen many of those creatures. Horrid and deformed. Capturing soldiers to eat.

    Sev closed his eyes and finished. "So that is why I need Ari's power. Dark Voltage now runs through the animals' veins, so she will be able to sense when one is coming."

    "You mean, there are some out there right now?" I asked, looking back over the pipe. The wasteland now seemed scarier than ever.

    "No," said Ari, "I can't feel any Dark Voltage nearby, so we are safe."

    "But what if one does come while we're out there?" Candice asked.

    "I wish I had my gun, but I left that in the city," said Sev.

    Candice cleared her throat and pulled something out from behind her. It was a gun.

    Sev grabbed it immediately, "How did you get this?" he asked.

    "Geez, a 'thank you' would be nice. But I grabbed it and took it back to the tech Station once we realized you had tricked us. I was bringing it along, just in case you tried to kill any of us."

    Sev checked the gun. "This is the only thing that can kill them, Dark Voltage. That's why the government keeps the mines up and running. Because we need these guns."

    "Question," asked Ari. "Why are we going out into a wasteland filled with man-eating, mutated beasts?"

    "I believe that there is a land beyond these cities and mines," said Sev. "I have looked at maps from the old world, and ones from now. The ones from now only show part of this continent, the others aren't shown.

So maybe they aren't as destroyed as this one is."

    "You are willing to risk your life, and our lives on something that may not be true?" Candice asked.

    "First of all, you two are risking your lives, you wanted to come" he pointed to me and Candice. "And I'd rather die out there than be tortured for life by the authorities. And what if it's real. Wouldn't you give anything to live in fresh air and blue skies?"

    "Hah, blue skies," Ari scoffed. "The skies are gray. And they'll always be gray, no matter how much you wish for your little paradise."

    "I think it's worth a shot," I said, looking at Sev. He looked at me and nodded.

    "I guess I'm in too," said Candice. "Besides, I could never find my way back to the city from here."

    I smiled as Ari said, "I guess i have no choice than to be sacrificed for 

stupidity. But I will go with my friends. And I mean Candice and Paisley, not you, weirdo." Ari narrowed her eyes at Sev.

    Sev didn't say anything. He stood up and held his gun tightly. Then he stepped over the pipe and we followed.

    Our journey into the wasteland had begun.

                                         Chapter 10

    We had been walking for hours.

    There was no sign of the wasteland ending, but there was also no sign of life. 

    Thank goodness. 

    Sev's description of the beasts roaming around the wasteland had stuck in my mind and I was now jumping at any movement I saw, or at least I thought I saw.

    "Do you sense anything?" I asked Ari for the thousandth time.

    Ari gave me an annoyed look. "No."

    Candice walked past us, her face scanning everywhere. "Why can't we 

just go back?" she asked.

    "You can if you want," Sev said. "But you will be without a weapon and a lone person is easier for the animals to get to."

    "Ughh! Why did I decide to come with you guys?" Candice quickened her pace. "How long is this place anyway?"

    "I have no idea," Sev said. "Remember, I don't even know if there's any place beyond here."

    "Great."

    We kept walking and soon reached a large canyon that cut across the landscape. It was pretty steep downward and Sev spent many minutes staring down, trying to figure out how to cross the canyon.

    "We will have to climb down," he said.

    "That's way too steep," Ari said. 

    "You can't worry about that right now," Sev said to her. "You need to be

checking for animals, especially now."

    "Why?" asked Candice.

    "Because they tend to stay low. So who knows if any are down there."

    "I can't see anything moving," I said, bending over and looking across the rocks at the bottom.

    "They are masters of disguise," Sev said. "If they are hungry, then they will do anything to trick prey."

    "Then why the heck are we going down there?!" Candice yelled.

    "We need to cross this canyon," Sev said. "And I think there is water on the other side."

    "Think?" I asked as my mouth suddenly became dry at the the thought of water. I had gotten some from Dalia once they had found me. But I was thirsty again after all of the walking.

    "Yes. I can probably go longer without it. But you non-soldiers are more

 . . . how shall I say it . . . fragile."

    "Yes," said Ari. "Because we're normal people. Not idiot teenagers who think they're superheroes and end up getting everyone around them killed."

    Sev took a deep breath, and looked as if he was considering throwing Ari into the canyon. "Just watch for animals," he said. "I'll go in first."

    "And what if we leave you in there and return home?" Candice asked.

    "Then you will probably be eaten by animals and I will lose some dead weight."

    Sev smiled as he jumped over the edge. I ran over to the edge and watched as he expertly slid down the slippery slope. He kept one hand on the canyon wall as gravity pushed him deeper into the canyon.

    I wondered how that was possible. He made it look so easy.

    "Okay, show-off," Ari said under her breath. "That doesn't look to hard.

Just use gravity and don't go tumbling." She looked over the edge and sucked in her breath. Then she jumped, keeping one hand on the wall as she also began sliding.

    Ari did pretty well, though she stumbled a few times.

    I decided that I'd have to do it sooner or later. So I got to the very edge and jumped. The rocks underneath my feet slipped immediately. I had underestimated their unstableness. I felt my body falling and tried to grab the wall.

    But I was falling to fast now. I fell onto my knees and fell into a tumble. I could hear Ari yelling from below. 

    I gained speed as I kept falling, my mind going crazy. Was I going to hit one of the big rocks at the bottom and die? Or go black? 

    I felt the ground begin to even out and I eventually slid to a stop. Luckily not near any rocks.

    I breathed in dramatically, realizing that I hadn't been breathing for my whole "descent".

    "Are you okay?" asked Ari, running to kneel beside me.

    I saw Sev looking down at me and I knew I must have looked so stupid falling like that. He extended his hand and he and Ari helped me to my feet.

    My arms and legs felt bruised, but I could stand. 

    "Maybe next time you should start with your hand on the wall," Sev said, crossing his arms. "You hurt?"

    I shook my head. "No bad, at least."

    Candice joined us, her descent looking much better than mine probably did. Suddenly, as Candice came to hug me, Ari's eyes widened. She looked at Sev and said, "I feel it. The Dark Voltage in the animals. They're coming toward us."

                                        Chapter 11

    "We need to find cover right now," Sev said in a harsh whisper. His face was calm but the tone of his voice revealed that he was scared. He turned to Ari. "How close?"

    "Maybe a mile," she said. "But they seem to be coming fast."

    "Where do we hide?" I asked. "Won't they sense us?"

    Sev looked around. Then he looked up. "We need to climb up the other wall. It'll be too steep for the animals to climb. But we need to go fast."

    He ran to the other side of the canyon and began making his way up the rocks gathered at the bottom. He looked back at us and said, "Come on. Unless you wanna be eaten."

    We immediately followed, climbing through the large boulders. Once the wall became steeper Sev slowed down and began to scale it with his hands and feet.

    Luckily, I had experience with doing this. Miners were trained for rock climbing in case of cave-ins. So Candice, Ari, and I kept up with Sev and were up at the top in no time.

    "Are we safe now?" Candice asked, taking deep breaths. 

    "I don't know." Sev admitted. "There could be some above the canyon as well. I suggest we just get out of this area."

    He turned and we all started running as fast as we could to get away from the canyon. I looked back at Ari who had suddenly stopped.

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "They are here," she said, pointing forward. "They are coming towards us right now."

    Sev and Candice stopped. I looked forward into the dark, misty horizon. Suddenly, blood red eyes stared back at me. Then, a piercing cry sounded. 

    More cries answered and Sev backed up, pulling out his gun.

    We all formed into a circle and stared around us. More eyes peered out from the darkness and I knew that we were dead. Even if Sev could take out some, that cry must have alerted many others.

    In a way, it was almost unbelievable that I was about to die. I thought of how I had had plans for my life. I was only sixteen. What a terrible way to die, ripped apart by hungry, deformed animals.

    The first animal had stepped into the dim light and I saw it's horrific features more clearly. It had four skinny legs and a tail with only a few strands of hair. It's teeth were long and sharp and the sunken, red eyes looked like death itself.

    Sev aimed for the creature and shot it right in the neck. It screamed and charged forward. He loaded the gun again and shot it's face. The animal slowed to a stop and then fell over, black blood gushing from it's wounds.

    There were more screams from around us and something large swooped over us. We all ducked and Sev yelled, "The birds will try to grab you. Try to evade them!"

    "I looked up and saw three huge black birds with razor sharp beaks, diving towards us again. I ducked as their claws went out and rolled out of the way. The three passed overhead and I was about to stand once a fourth bird came swooping down and grabbed me by my shoulders.

    I screamed as I was lifted into the air. Now was the time. I would surely die.

    I looked up into the red eyes of the bird as it examined me with hunger. Its beak shot down and I barely dodged it. Was it gonna peck me to 

death?

    Then again, with a beak that sharp, one jab might kill me. I squirmed in it's talons and tried to get free, but it's claws just clutched me tighter, digging deep into my skin and drawing blood.

    I had never felt pain like that before and I grabbed one of it's skinny legs and tried to pry the talons open.

    The bird squawked and drove its beak toward my face. I moved but the end caught my forehead and I felt it tear across. I stopped moving. My whole body hurt and I don't think it even mattered if I fought back. I was going to die anyway.

    Suddenly, a bright flash of light shot past my face and hit the bird straight in the chest. The bird shooks violently, and then began plummeting toward the hard earth.

    Its talons loosened and I pulled them out of my skin as we fell. The bird

    hadn't been flying that high, but the landing was still harsh. I grabbed onto the bird and pushed it under me. Maybe it could cushion my landing. Once we hit the ground, the bird did soften my landing a little, but I was thrown off by the force of impact and my body went flying into a large boulder.

    I tried to sit up, but I felt my body shutting down. I would be out in a few seconds. I tried to move my hands, but all I could use was my eyes. Right before I blacked out, I saw two people running towards me. I felt the rush of wind and the sound of large engines. Bright lights shone down on me and I heard voices yelling and the sounds of gunfire.

    The two people grabbed my arms and and feet and lifted me onto a stretcher. They placed a mask over my face and poked something into my neck. But I didn't care. I was safe, with people, and not dead.

                                        Chapter 12

    Bright lights filled my eyes the moment I opened them.

    I squinted as my eyes got used to the brightness. I heard voices around me and hands on my shoulders. 

    No.

    In my shoulders.

    "She's awake," said the voice of a female as the hands left. I still couldn't see but I felt many people around me. 

    "That's fine," said a male. "We're done here. Get her up and tell her what happened."

    I felt a hand touch my forehead and a woman bent down and spoke to 

me. "Miss Paisley, how are you feeling?"

    I tried to move my arms and the woman put a hand behind my back to help me sit up. "I . . . I feel strange." I had a lot of questions for this woman. By then my eyes were accustomed to the light and I saw that the woman was no older than Candice and had long blue hair. She had to be from the upper city.

    "It will probably take some time to get used to metal in your body," she said.

    "What!?" I turned my head down to my left shoulder and saw metallic

 implants where there had used to be flesh and muscle. I almost fainted again.

    The woman put a hand on me and said in a calming voice. "It was the only thing we could do for you. The animal's claws dug deep into your flesh and had cut off the nerves to both your shoulders. These implants

were the only way you could use your arms again. Don't worry, we will come back later and cover them up with material your skin tone so nobody notices it."

    I just nodded. I didn't know if I could say anything. My life had changed so fast. First I was kidnapped; then I was dragged through a wasteland, though that was my dumb idea; I was almost bird-food; and now I have metal inside of my body. 

    "We didn't have time to wash you once we picked you up," said the woman, bringing me out of my thoughts. "So I can show you your room and you can shower and change into nicer clothes there."

    Shower? I had almost never heard that word. But I knew it was something rich people did once they wanted to get clean. Though they were never dirty because they never worked.

    The woman motioned toward the door and I hopped off the white table

i had been laying on. Suddenly, I remembered Ari and Candice and Sev. I wonder what had happened to them. Had they escaped? Or were they now locked up?

    "Um, my friends, Candice and Ari," I started.

    "Your sister is safe here in her own room. Regretfully, the deserter escaped, with Ari. Please follow me."

    "Can I see Candice?"

    "I am taking you to your room. Then I will come back and bring you to meet someone. You will see Candice there."

    We walked down a hallway and she brought me to a door which slid open automatically and I entered.

    "There are clothes for you in there for after your shower. I will be back here in thirty minutes."

    "Oh, wait. What's your name?" I quickly asked before she walked away.

    "No one asks me that. I am known only as 'servant' or 'doctor' here," she said, looking solemn. Then she smiled. "My name is Naylin."

    "Okay,"I smiled back. "Thanks for . . . fixing me."

    She nodded and the door closed.

    I turned to examine my room and I was awestruck by how big it was. The room itself was bigger than the apartment me Candice and Dalia shared back in the lower city. It was neatly furnished with elegant statues of warriors. Everything looked very expensive, from the bed to the curtains hanging over the large windows.

    I walked over and looked out to see Psylia City stretched out before me. It was night so the lights were all on, making it look like a woven, neon blanket.

    I quickly found the shower and I have to admit having warm water pouring down on me and everything smelling like flowers was one of the

best things that had ever happened to me.

    After I was clean, which felt strange because I had never been clean before, I walked out to find my clothes laid out on my bed. I put them on and examined myself in the mirror.

    Black stretch pants with a long fitted pink shirt dotted with sequins. Shoes that didn't pinch my feet. And a pretty pink headband to finish.

    I looked so different. And I was glad that the shirt covered my shoulders so I didn't have to look at my new implants.

    Just then, there was a knock at the door and I heard Naylin's voice say, "Miss Paisley, it is time."

    I opened the door by pressing a button and Naylin smiled. "You look much better now. I will take your dirty, bloody worker clothes and get rid of them after I drop you off."

    "Who am I going to see?" I asked.

    "Captain Araggio Leopio," said Naylin. "He has questions for you about the deserter."

    "What questions?"

    "he wants to know where he's going so he can track him down and finally put an end to him."

                                          Chapter 13

    I was soon sitting in a very scary office facing an even scarier person. 

    The room was dark and had the decapitated heads of deformed animals hung on the walls. There were jars filled with things I didn't even know existed. Plus it was freezing.

    But the room wasn't cold. 

    His stare was.

    The man sent to kill Sev, Araggio Leopio, sat at his large desk which glowed red because of lights built into it. Reminding me of the animal's red eyes.

    He had said nothing since Naylin had showed me in and now I was 

feeling very unsafe. 

    And the worst part about his stare was that he was staring through fake eyes. It was quite obvious that he had lost his real eyes, or had had them removed, and now wore a device looking like large glasses over his eye sockets. Which was worse because I didn't know where he was looking now. So I tried to stay as still as possible, though it was hard with my knees knocking together.

    I finally decided to break the strange silence. "Do you know when my sister's coming in?"

    Araggio leaned back in his metal chair and finally opened his mouth. "I asked for a few minutes alone with you. You have spent the most time with the deserter."

    "Sev," I corrected automatically.

    Araggio bent his head in confusion. "Soldier 7-U-8-10-24-3-67-G does 

not have a name. He was given that number since he joined the army and that is how we call him. But it is interesting that you gave him a name. It must mean you two have . . . bonded?"

    "No way," I said. "He hates me. And every time I call him 'Sev' he does this glare thing."

    "Miss Joshua, I have a job to do, and I need to find this deserter, or Sev, as you like to call him, and kill him."

    "You don't mince words, do you?"

    "The truth is faster. And what I need right now is the complete and total truth from you."

    "Or?"

    "Or?" Araggio raised an eyebrow.

    "What will happen to me if I don't tell you? Aren't you supposed to threaten me with something?"

    He smiled and I shivered. "Oh no, no, no, I always get the truth out. It's my job, Miss Joshua. And I do whatever I need to do to get it." He rose from his chair and circled around the desk. Now standing in front of me he stared down and said. "Now, tell me, where is Sev headed?"

    I closed my mouth tight and tried to stare defiantly up at him, though I probably didn't look that impressive.

    Araggio sunk down to my level. "Miss Joshua, you were captured on March 8th by Sev and how did he treat you?"

    "Like a prisoner," I admitted. "But we would have all done that. He was trying to protect himself."

    "Yes, and you were his shield. Do you know what he would have done if we had come for him in the mine?"

    I shook my head. 

    "He would have held you at knife-point and threatened to kill you. And, 

do you think he would have killed you if he had to?"

    I was about to shake my head "no", but then I stopped. Would Sev have tried to kill me? 

    "I spoke with your sister earlier and she told me that he also put a fake bomb on you. Miss Joshua, you are defending a liar and a killer. Do you know how many of my men he killed escaping, before he came to Psylia City? Do you think he won't do it again? What do you think will happen to your friend once she isn't useful to him anymore? If she dares try to run or rat him out he will most certainly kill her."

    I tried to make myself believe that Araggio was lying. But I knew he was telling the truth. Sev didn't care about anyone. He just wanted to leave the War behind and go somewhere safe for himself.

    "He said he was crossing the wastelands, trying to find a new place where there isn't deadly animals and the War," I said. 

    "Well, then he is a fool. There is nothing beyond this wasteland but more wastelands. Thank you, Miss Joshua, for sharing. But we cannot let you go yet. I still need you for my trap. We need to lure Sev to his death."

    "I told you where he's going, isn't that enough?" I stood up from my chair but Araggio grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back down. I hadn't even felt his hand there, probably because of the implants.

    "You will go with us."

    "Fine. But is Candice coming?"

    "No, we have no more need of her. She will be taken back home. Servant!"

    The door slid open and Naylin stepped in and walked to me. She took my arm and guided me out. 

    Once we were outside of the room and the door had shut I asked, "Why is he like that?"

    "Captain Leopio  has been scarred by many things he's seen in the War. I guess that hardens a person. But his tracking skills are undeniably incredible."

    "He just got the truth out of me, and it looked like he wasn't even trying."

    "He is good at that sort of thing."

    A deceiver, I thought. He got inside my head and made me believe Sev was evil. But who is more evil? Sev, or the people trying to kill him?

                                        Chapter 14

    I followed Naylin back down the hallways. But instead of leading my back to my room, she took me down several flights of stairs and into a darker area of the building.

    "Where are we going?" I asked.

    "The Captain wanted me to introduce you to the other two people coming along on your trip to capture the deserter."

    She stepped into a large room which had the looks of a laboratory. I followed and looked around.

    It was rather messy with bottle and vials spilled across tables and books open and some on the floor. Naylin's eyes searched the room and she 

called, "Mr. and Mrs. Haravena. Are you in here?"

    I listened for anyone. Naylin shook her head, "They must have left looking for something."

    Just then, I heard voices coming down the hallway. 

    "The formula was supposed to work! I can't believe you forgot the last ingredient! Now we have to start all over and that'll take hours!"

    The voices got louder and Naylin rolled her eyes. "That's them."

    She stepped out of the room and crossed her arms.

    "What? We were getting something. And I thought we were leaving tomorrow."

    "You are, but the Captain wanted me to introduce you to someone who will be accompanying you."

    "Who?"

    Naylin walked back into the room and two people came around behind

her. The man and woman were both rather tall and wore long coats. The woman had bright red hair pulled into a messy bun and bright blue eyes. One of her eyebrows were raised as she looked me over, then she laughed, "Is she supposed to be our assistant or something?"

    "No, but you will be watching her so the Captain doesn't have to. And maybe she can be helpful. She's from the lower city so she knows how to work and she's no doubt strong. Also, you will need to cover up her implants in her shoulders."

    "We don't have time to watch a teenager right now," said the man. He had dark brown hair and green eyes. His nose was very pointed and his eyes stared me down. But both him and the woman didn't look older than 25.

    "These are the Captain's orders, not mine," Naylin said, then she turned to me. "This is Paisley Joshua. Paisley, this is Toby and Marianne Haravena,

top scientists in Psylia City. Don't worry, you will be in good hands, though they argue quite a lot."

    Naylin smiled and walked out of the room. Marianne walked toward me and asked, "We'd better get those implants covered, and then you will help us finish up our serum, that someone," she cast an annoyed look at Toby, "messed up."

    "I told you we were out of it," he said.

    "Oh, that's why we found more in the storage downstairs?" Marianne said sarcastically. 

    "I meant out of it in here."

    "Whatever, Toby, just roll the table over here so we can get this over with."

    I looked down at Marianne's left hand and saw a silver wedding band on the ring finger. So these two were married. 

    "Bring me the tools," ordered Marianne as Toby brought a table on wheels over. She turned to me and said, "Get on. This will only take a few minutes, and it might pinch a little."

    I climbed onto the table and closed my eyes. Toby and marianne continued to jab at each other from across the room and I tried to block out their voices.

    Marianne started and the coverings were in place about ten minutes later. I looked down at my shoulders and was relieved to not see any tubes or metal there, but material that felt and looked like skin.

    "Now," said Toby as Marianne pulled off her gloves. "I will start on the mixing and you can get the girl to help you cut up the petals."

    Marianne nodded stiffly and motioned for me to get off the table. She brought me over to a table on the far end of the room and I sat in a hard chair. Marianne put a sharp knife in my hand and directed me. 

    "You are going to cut up four of these petals into inch long pieces and then pass them to me at this other table. Make sure you wear gloves and this mask so you don't inhale the fumes." She passed me a pair of gloves and a face mask. 

    I looked down at the petals and asked, "Are these plants?"

    "Yes, have you never seen a plant before?"

    I shook me head. "I thought they were all gone."

    "No. Plants give us air and without them we would all die. Now there aren't any growing out in the wild but we have special areas in buildings for them. They make the Oxygen we need and then we send it out through the city. There are many oxygen factories per city."

    She left and I began cutting, thinking about what she had said. That was another thing the government never told us. How many more secrets did they have?

                                          Chapter 15

    I spent many more hours stuck in the lab, listening to Toby and Marianne's constant bickering. By the time five hours had passed I was ready to go back to my room, but Naylin hadn't returned.

    I had been helping Marianne mix ingredients for a serum they kept talking about. And, as I stirred a glass of a bright blue liquid, I wondered what they could be using it for. 

    "How's it going, Paisley?" asked Marianne as she walked up behind me.

    "It's done." I passed the glass to her and she nodded, examining the liquid.

    "Toby, bring the rest over here. I think we finally did it." For the first 

time since I met her, Marianne smiled.

    Toby rushed over and held out a vial containing a clear liquid with lots of red dots floating inside. He poured it into the glass in Marianne's hand and we all watched as the mixtures combined and settled into a light grey fluid inside the glass.

    "Did it work?" I asked.

    "Only one way to find out." Toby said. He ran over to a cage hidden in a corner of the lab and opened it up. "You," he pointed to me. "Grab one of the rats out of this cage."

    "Rats?" I had no idea what he was talking about. But I walked over and looked inside the cage. Little animals with four legs and furry white coats skirted around. Their eyes were red, which brought back bad memories. I backed away, "They're animals, they're gonna hurt me."

    Toby shook his head. "These are pure animals. We have grown them in

areas free of pollution so they haven't been changed."

    "Why can't you pick one up?"

    Toby raised his head and looked at Marianne who looked to me. "Paisley, just do what he says."

    I squinted my eyes and stretched my arm into the cage. The rats began to squeak and I grabbed the closest one. It squirmed in my hand so I tightened my grip and it squealed more.

    "Bring it here, quick," ordered Marianne as she picked up a syringe and filled it with the liquid we had just created.

    I held out my hand with the rat on it and she injected the fluid into its body.

    Immediately the rat fell over in my hand.

    Marianne placed the glass down and checked the rats pulse. "He's sleeping soundly," she said. "That means we have successfully finished

the serum."

    We all clapped and did a little cheer. I put the sleeping rat back inside the cage. "When will the serum wear off?" I asked.

    "In a couple hours," said Toby as he closed the cage.

    "Um . . . Mr. Haravena," I started. "Why didn't you pick up the rat? Are you allergic or something?"

    "No," he said. "I just can't touch anything that's alive. That's why Marianne fixed you up, and she cuts the leaves, and handles the live things."

    I turned to Marianne. "Does he have a medical condition?"

    She shook her head. "Touch his hand."

    I reached for Toby's hand but my hand went right through. I almost screamed. "Is he a ghost!?"

    "No. He is something I made to be my assistant. I was married to the 

real Toby Harvena, but he had to go to the War. I couldn't get along without him, so I made his identical twin. But the fake Toby can only hold non-living things. If he touches something living, as you just saw, it goes right through him."

    "Is that why you fight with him all the time?"

    "Yeah, he's fake so he doesn't care. Of course I'd never do that with the real Toby. We loved each other so much." Tears sprang into Mariane's eyes once she said this and Fake Toby walked so stand beside her, though he could not touch her.

    "Did he die?" I asked.

    "Oh, I don't know. But Toby was never good at battle or fighting. He was more brains, and there's no way he could have survived those beasts out there in the wastelands."

    "I'm so sorry."

    Just then, I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Soon, Naylin was standing in the doorway. "Time for departure," she announced. "Are you taking Toby along?" she asked Marianne.

    Marianne nodded. "I will need his help."

    "And I presume the serum is finished?"

    "Yes, and it works great. All thanks to Paisley. We couldn't have gotten it done fast enough if she wasn't helping." Marianne said, placing a lid over the glass holding the serum and packing it into a bag. She turned and smiled at me. "Once we catch up to the deserter all we need to do is shoot him with a needle and he'll be fast asleep."

    I choked after hearing Marianne. They were going to use the serum on Sev? And I had helped create it. I was the reason he was about to be captured. 

                                           Chapter 16

        We were taken onto a large plane and ordered to sit down. Marianne had to strap me in because I didn't know how the seatbelts worked. After she finished with me, Marianne locked the bag with the serum in a safe so nothing would happen to it during the flight. Then she strapped herself down next to me. Toby sat on her left and I was on her right.

    The first few minutes were edgy silence, but Marianne finally broke it by asking, "Did you have an actual father?"

    " . . . Yes, but I never knew him. In fact, I never knew my mother either, she died. I was adopted by a good woman, but I still wish I could have known my parents. Did you know yours?"

    "I was born before the War had begun. Once the animals were just starting to get dangerous. I had a beautiful, normal life in the high city. My father was a mechanic, and Mother was a hairdresser. Toby was one of her customers, and that's how I met him." Marianne looked at Fake Toby and he smiled at her. "It's not the same without him gone."

    I placed my hand on hers. "I don't really know love. Well, true love."

    "Love was everywhere before all the men went away. Governor Phasstia said we can make our society great with just women. But the truth is, men and women need each other."

    "I don't remember my father, so the first man I've seen in my life was the deserter."

    "That's sad that you got a bad impression of them from him."

    "But I didn't. I saw that men were strong and how much different they are from women. I know this is crazy to say, but I don't think he did 

anything wrong."

    "Are you serious? The deserter killed people to escape his base."

    "I know, but he was trying to get free. He told me about how the War is unnecessary."

    "But if they don't fight then the animals will attack us and kill us."

    "This world has so many smart scientist, if they could come up with a cure for the animals then we could restart life. And then the War would actually be over."

    Marianne stared at me, her eyes welling up with tears. "And then, Toby could come back? But he's probably dead. Ripped apart by some horrid animal."

    "We don't know that for sure. You need to stay hopeful."

    "If I do then I will most certainly be let down."

    Suddenly, we felt a jolt and the plane began moving.

    Marianne looked out a window and announced, "We're about to take-off. The end of the runway is up ahead. Have you ever flown before?"

    I was about to say no, but then I thought of my frightening flight with the bird trying to kill me. "Yes." I shuddered.

    There was silence.

    "Paisley?"
    "Yeah?"

    "Do you actually think the deserter was right? Can we end the War?"

    "I feel like the government won't want us to."

    "But why wouldn't they? They are always talking about how they are fighting to end the War."

    "The deserter said those are lies."

    "Do you believe that?"

    "I don't know. I feel like I want to because I just hate the life I've lived 

since I was a kid. I might just want a better world and I'm blinded to the truth."

    "I think there's one way to find out," Marianne said, smiling. "I wonder what it'd take to create one of those serums to stop the animals. There's a lab in the bottom floor of this plane, stocked with lots of ingredients. Once the plane reaches normal cruising we can go down there and ty our luck. And if we succeed, the government will have to stop the War."

    I smiled back, "I'm with you."

                                          Chapter 17

    Once the plane was at a stable cruise state, Marianne unstrapped herself and I followed suit. Fake Toby also came with us as we carefully descended a spiral staircase to the lower level of the large plane. 

    There was a room closed off with strong glass that held tables full of scientific equipment and bottles.

    Marianne pulled out a card from her pocket and scanned it at the entrance to the lab. The door slid open and we all entered.

    "Somewhere we have a sample of animal blood," Marianne said to herself as she began checking every drawer and shelf, looking for a vial of blood.

    Me and Fake Toby joined the hunt and soon Fake Toby called out, "I found it!"

    Marianne rushed over and grabbed the vial. It looked like regular red blood, but as I looked closer I could see small black dots everywhere in the vial. 

    "That is the pollution," said Marianne. "We just need to find a way to get it out of the blood flow."

    "You would probably need a chemical that kills it," I suggested.

    "Exactly. Something to make the white blood cells stronger so they can counter the infection."

    "What infection?" asked a cold voice as the door to the lab slid open. Captain Leopio walked in and stared down the vial. "What is in there?"

    Marianne pulled the vial to herself and said, "Animal blood. We were gonna try and find a cure for the animals."

    "And why would you do such a thing?"

    "Because then the War could be over," I put in. "There would be no more fighting and the world would be changed. We could totally start over."

    "The serum wouldn't even work. The animals have no more white blood cells in them because everything in their bodies has been taken over and changed."

    "It's not a bad idea to try though," Marianne said. "I am one of the head scientists in Psylia City. I have the authorization to try whatever I want."

    "Yes," agreed Araggio. "You do have authorization. But not her."

    He suddenly grabbed my shoulder and escorted me out of the room. He then turned to Marianne and said. "You have until we find the deserter to try to make your serum. All operations down here will be shut off after

we land."

    The door closed and I asked, "Why wouldn't you let me help her?"

    "I have other uses for you."

    "But why are you so against something that could save our world? If you actually wanted the animals cured then you would have done all you could to help Marianne."

    "Mrs. Haravena should be capable."

    "You didn't answer my question."

    "I do not report to you, Miss Joshua. And if you ask me another question you will be executed along with Sev."

    He brought me back upstairs and made sure I was secured back in my seat. "You'd better stay here. If I come back and you're gone, I might just throw you out of this plane."

    He left and I let out my breath. Boy I really hated that guy.

    But it was very obvious that he didn't want the serum made. Does he want the War to continue along with chaos and destruction if life. The way he defended himself really showed his character.

    I thought about Marianne in the lab trying to make the serum. I wasn't a scientist, but I could help her. 

    Suddenly, the plane shook and shot forward. I didn't have my seatbelt on all the way so I was thrown to the side and banged my head against another seat. I struggled into a sitting position, rubbing my sore head.

    There was an alarm blaring and a voice yelled over the intercom, "Attention all passengers! We've been hit and are going down. Please get to a safe seat and fasten your seatbelts. We make contact with the earth in less then thirty seconds."

    I grabbed the nearest seat and fastened myself in. Then I thought of Marianne and if she was safe. She suddenly appeared, running up the

stairs. She was limping a little, but she made it to me and got her seatbelt on.

    The plane began shaking more violently and I felt it falling straight down in a nose-dive. I closed my eyes and held on for dear life.

    As the plane drew nearer, I felt it pull up to stabilize and create an easier crash-landing. It was just a few seconds more, then the plane made contact and me and Marianne were forced forward at the sudden stop.

    Once we had stopped, Araggio walked into the room, holding a Dark Voltage gun. "He's coming," he said. "The deserter shot down our plane, and now he's gonna try and kill us all."

                                        Chapter 18

    Marianne shivered next to me. "We need to get somewhere safe," she said. "Toby is still downstairs, but he's fine because he's not real."

    "We are in danger, I agree," said Araggio. "You two must go to the cockpit and I will deal with him. Mrs. Haravena, take her there, and then retrieve the serum for me."

    Marianne took my arm and led me out of the room. "Sit here." she motioned to a chair that was more hidden. "Do not come out if this place or you could be in danger of being killed."

    "By Captain Leopio?"

    "No. By the deserter." Marianne left.

    I rolled my eyes. Sev would never hurt me . . . right? My conversation with the captain came back to me. What would he do for freedom? I wondered if Ari was still with him. Or was she dead?

    I suddenly heard something break open and Araggio call out, "The serum, Marianne!"

    "Here it is," said Marianne from a distance.

    "Good, now go get safe."

    I heard footsteps coming in my direction and Marianne appeared, rushing past me. She took a seat nearer the pilot and I saw she was holding a small Dark Voltage gun. Just for safety, I guessed.

    "Paisley!" I voice suddenly called. It was Ari!

    I wanted to stand up and yell back, but what would Araggio do? What if he killed Ari? I decided to keep my mouth shut. But I heard Araggio shout out, "Ari Sebastian! We have come to rescue you!"

    "We know you have Paisley!"

    "I want to see the deserter. Or, shall I call him Sev?"

    "That's not my name, Leopio," said Sev. My heart jumped once I heard his voice. "And I will not surrender to you."

    "You will, or Miss Joshua will die."

    I sat up straight. What did he just say? Araggio was going to kill me if Sev didn't hand himself over? Would Sev let him do it?

    The pilot suddenly stood and pointed a gun at me. She motioned toward the doorway leading to Araggio. "Go or else I'll shoot."

    I stood and looked at Marianne. Her eyes held confusion, so she didn't know what was happening. I walked slowly out to Araggio and couldn't see Ari. She had to be hiding with Sev somewhere.

    But Ari wouldn't let me die. Never.

    Araggio grabbed me and pointed his gun straight at my head. "Now,

come out . . . or else. I will not hesitate to shoot."

    Ari appeared and smiled at me. "Don't worry, Paisley, you aren't going to die."

    "Oh, she will, if I don't get Sev," said Araggio.

    "Stop," said Sev as he appeared behind Ari. He looked different, more worn and tired. "I am here."

    I felt Araggio's gun leave my head. But he was turning it toward Sev. "I will just kill you right now."

    The gun went off right next to my ear and I was deaf for a few moments. I had closed my eyes at the bang, but once I opened them, Ari was standing, holding her stomach. Blood oozed from between her fingers and she fell to the ground.

                                        Chapter 19

    "Ari!" I screamed and I stomped my boot straight onto Araggio's foot.

    He yelled out in pain and loosened his grasp on me. I ran toward Ari and fell to my knees. 

    "Oh my gosh, I just got shot," she said weakly. "I always wondered how that felt."

    "You aren't gonna die, Ari," I said soothingly. "I can get Marianne and she'll fix you up. You aren't going to die."

    "Get back here or I'll shoot again," said Araggio, aiming at me now. 

    Suddenly, Sev stepped forward and said, "I will fight you. You leave them both out of this."

    Sev withdrew his knife, throwing his gun on the floor and stepped into a  fighting stance.

    Araggio took out a long black sword and charged at Sev. I watched as the two clashed and began fighting. I found myself hoping Sev would win. I knew he was just a bad as Araggio, but Araggio had shot Ari.

    "P-Paisley," said Ari, breathing heavily. 

    I turned back to her in fear and said quickly, "I am getting Marianne right now. Hopefully there's a first-aid on this plane."

    I stood and ran toward the cockpit, avoiding going near the fighting. I was desperate to save Ari's life.

    "Marianne!" I yelled and she jumped. "I need your help, my friend got shot and she's dying. You have to come make her better!"

    Marianne stared at me, shocked and confused. She stood slowly and I grabbed her arm and pulled to get her moving. She ran out of the cockpit

with me and I led her to where Ari lay. She looked at Sev and Araggio fighting and cried, "It's the deserter! He shot her didn't he?"

    "No, the captain was trying to shoot him, but then Ari got in front," I explained as Marianne knelt beside Ari's head and examined her stomach wound.

    "Why would she save him?" Marianne asked.

    "Because," I said, struggling to talk, "he's telling the truth about everything. The world needs to know, Paisley. I can't tell them, so you have to."

    "No, no Ari, you will. You can get better." I looked at Marianne. "Right?"

    Marianne sighed. "Paisley, if the shot went through some of her vital organs, then there's nothing I can do."

    "But maybe they didn't. We can't just let her die. We can't."

    "Miss Joshua!" Called Araggio's voice. I looked over and saw Sev lying 

on the ground, clutching his arm which was bleeding. "See how quickly I overpowered him? That's because he looked strong outside, but he has no ambition at all. He follows a blind wish, and all who follow him will die like him."

    Araggio pulled out his gun and kept it pointed at Sev as he backed toward the staircase leading downward to the lab and ramp to the outside.

    Once he had gone, Marianne said, "He's going to escape on one of the vehicles down there."

    We felt the plane shake as the ramp was lowered and I knew Marianne was right. "So he's just leaving us here to be attacked by animals?"

    "No," said the pilot woman as she stepped out of the cockpit. "He had bombs placed into this ship. And now we will all go up in flames once I set them off."

    Marianne stood. 'Okay, just stop and think. You'll kill yourself."

    "Myself? I am not even human," said the woman. "I am a robot, created by Captain Leopio for this very reason. no all evidence of your cause will be lost. And Candice and Dalia Sulvania will be dealt with as well."

    She pulled out a small device with one button on it. "Captain Leopio said he wanted to give you guys a small chance. So he set the bomb to go off in one minute after I hit this."

    She clicked it and I heard a beeping sound. Immediately, Ari said, "Guys, leave me here."

    "No!" I said. "You can get better, I will not let you die!"  grabbed under her shoulders and tried to hoist her up, but she wouldn't let me. Tears sprang into my eyes. "Ari, please."

    "No. I am too far gone, Paisley. Let me be so I can die here and not get eaten by animals later. But save Sev, he is telling the truth, I promise you."

    Ari never lies. I nodded and lugged her goodbye, tears now spilling down my cheeks. Blood from her wound got onto my shirt, but I didn't care. Ari smiled at me, and then took her last breath.

    "Paisley, we have thirty seconds," said Marianne. "I was working on a new serum for the animals downstairs and I need to get it. You get out and I will meet you outside the plane."

    She ran down the stairs and I looked over to Sev. He had closed his eyes as if he was ready to die. I couldn't lose someone else, even if he had done terrible things.

    I ran to him and shook him. He was knocked out. Araggio must have hit him with the sleep serum. But I didn't know how. I looked at Sev's cut and realized that Araggio could have spread the serum over his blade, so if he had hit Sev, it would have made him weaker. But Sev had to wake up soon because not enough serum had entered him to make him sleep an hour.