In a nightmare world ravaged by misery, the Imperium offers utopia to a select few. When Arya and Everett are recruited into this elite society, they choose to leave their homes against their families' wishes.
Naive and young, Arya and Everett are...
With only a few hours to go until daylight, Everett and I make it back to the bland safety of the pods. Tonight, we sneak into his pod, which is identical to mine in every aspect except for the clear marking on the door that reads M929 instead of F930.
"Do you think we'll get in trouble for what happened tonight?" I ask Everett as he turns to wedge his bracelet at the door jamb. There is an unmistakable tremor in my voice when I say, "Whatever we saw, whatever that thing was, it seemed like . . ."
I think back to the place Everett and I discovered when we followed the faint mechanical hum. The open area we stumbled across — overrun by unkept weeds — was a sharp contrast against the unblemished beauty of the rest of the Imperium. Although we're far from that place now, I still can't shake the extreme confusion caused by the sight of the surreal other place that emerged behind the rippling surface.
I'm dragged out of my thoughts when Everett walks over and slides his warm palm into mine. He finishes my sentence, ". . . Like something we weren't meant to see."
Nodding distractedly, I allow myself to be led towards the bed. Everett sits me down, his hands resting tenderly on my shoulders. I tip my head to look up at him in the semi-darkness. Outwardly, he looks calm, but I can see the tiny flicker of panic deep in his eyes, almost the same bright blue as the morning sky in the Imperium.
"We got out of there. No one saw us," he says before yawning softly. I catch his yawn immediately, and we both share a small laugh in a fleeting moment of light-heartedness. "We should probably get some sleep now, yeah?"
Silently, I comply as Everett coaxes me to lie down. I turn to my side to make room for him on the narrow bed, my back flush against his chest. We are pressed so close together that I can feel his heart beating against my spine through the fabric of our suits.
"We're safe now, Arya," Everett says, his breath warm against the nape of my neck.
I'm desperate to believe him. But my mind is stuck on the citizens' hatred for us, the viciousness of their attacks, the sickening fates of the previous recruits, and the Foreman's chilling words.
"No, not with these failed Chips, Everett," I find myself muttering. "We can't fit in amongst the citizens. And as long as we're broken, we're never safe here."
A gaping silence follows, settling over us like a heavy, suffocating blanket. I start to wonder if Everett has fallen asleep, but a moment later, I feel him exhale shakily.
"You're right," he says finally, his voice deep and close to my ear. "If our Chips hadn't failed, we'd be safe now. We'd never go anywhere except these pods, the garden, and maybe the Wellness Hub if we ever need to. We'd never have to worry about being attacked by the citizens. We'd never have seen that strange place we found tonight . . . And if we weren't broken, you and I wouldn't remember each other."
Maybe it's the faulty Chip in my brain causing my emotions to slip and slide beyond my control, but I don't realize I'm crying until the tears run across the bridge of my nose, down the side of my face. Everett tries to turn me towards him, but I resist and press my cheek into the mattress.
"All I wanted was a good, safe life for us, and I thought we finally won it when we were both recruited," I sob, thinking back to the recruitment cycle when our faces shimmered into clarity on the massive screen in the auditorium back home. "But they . . . They never told us about the price we had to pay for it."
"Hey, look at me," Everett insists, and I eventually give in, allowing myself to be turned until I'm facing him. When I search his eyes now, I only find conviction — all traces of the panic I had seen earlier are gone. "The citizens here . . . They may be safe, but they go through life never feeling anything real. They're just . . . Existing. Surviving. I don't want that life. I don't want a life where I can't remember this. Because you and I — we're the only ones really living."
As his words sink in, I struggle to make sense of my emotions, soaring and plunging in violent, painful waves inside me. But amidst the chaos, there is one thing that I do know with unshakable certainty, and I manage to put it into words despite the tears still streaming from my eyes.
"I love you."
"I love you, Arya," he smiles, his lips a whisper away from mine. He reaches up to wipe my wet cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "We're going to be okay."
I lean into Everett, my eyelids fluttering closed on their own accord as his warm lips meet mine. My heart gives a painful lurch, and at this moment, I can't decide if it is completely whole or entirely shattered.
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