|YA featured story|
Welcome to 2325.
The natural world is no longer habitable, the government has been all but privatised and the 15-billion strong population has spent the last 170 years crammed into a single man-made continent.
When her father's...
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"I can see why Jax doesn't like you borrowing his car," I said, attempting to pry my stiff fingers from the armrest. There were clear indents in the pleather where my nails had been.
Zaphron was already out on the sidewalk, surveying the near empty street in front of Dad's estate. He smirked at me through the window. "You don't like my driving?"
"I value my life," I said, extricating myself from the passenger seat and joining him on the street. "And you drive like a madman."
He laughed and turned to face me, the intense colour of his eyes stark against the day-old bruising underneath them. "Well, this madman's driving got us here in good time. So we actually have a chance to search the place properly."
I snorted. "I think that had more to do with the weather warning keeping everyone at home. The roads were practically deserted."
"Which is why it was perfectly fine to allow for a little extra speed," Zaphron retorted with a playful poke to my ribs.
I drew breath to reply, but my gaze snagged on Dad's estate and all thoughts of dangerous driving were wiped from my mind. The tinted windows of the high-rises reflected the brooding sky, almost blending into it. It was a sight that should have felt familiar—like returning home, but all I got was a sinister sense of déjà vu. Like I was revisiting a past life that had ended violently.
My hands shook and my eyes began to prickle. Was I ready for this?
A gentle hand on my shoulder blinked me back to reality. Zaphron was looking at me, a tiny crease between his brows. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to," he said.
I squared my shoulders, trying to pull myself together. "It's not like we have any other leads," I said, striding off toward the entry.
He rushed after me, grabbing my hand as I extended it toward the scanner on the first security gate. "Whoa, slow down. The second your ID registers on the security system there'll be an army of people here to take you away."
I froze, embarrassment flooding my cheeks with colour. Shit. I had not thought that through.
Zaphron's gaze drifted from my face to our clasped hands—and I realised neither of us had let go. In fact, our fingers had somehow intertwined themselves without either of us noticing. The sight made my palm sweat against his.
Zaphron turned to the gate and scanned his free thumb on the reader—entering a pin. My eyebrows shot up when the gate clicked open.
"ZenSecure access," he explained, pulling me through. "I've had to guard most the people that live here at some point."
I stayed close to Zaphron's side as we headed into the estate. Anticipation grew in the pit of my stomach at the thought of being in a high security building—especially one protected by ZenSecure. I half expected to meet armed guards at every turn, but the lobby and elevators remained eerily empty—and Zaphron's hand around mine was unexpectedly comforting.
