Sector 10

Chapter 6

I spent most of this evening either trying to figure out what to wear or simply collecting my thoughts. I rarely get days for breaks but when I do, I don't normally do anything too adventurous. I was leaning against the railing of the fire escape, breathing in the city air. The place where I stood was clouded in darkness but if you look to the side, you can catch sight of the vivid lights of the city through a sliver in between buildings.

I was eating a bowl of tuna and salad, gazing out to the artificial luminosity. If I were to continue being a part of the night cycle, I would have to get vitamin D this way. I don't mind it: not being in the sun and all. Ever since I was a small child, I tended to stay up much later than I should've. Looking back, I'm surprised at how much Mǔqīn tolerated it. She'd let me stay up and I would watch her finish her work with Fǔqīn. Mostly typing up documents that I didn't understand.

I halted my train of thought when I heard voices below. I watched two small boys walk to a circular sewage drain. Whispering, they worked together to lift the lid out of the ground. Fiery light emerged from inside and the two boys both squeezed through the aperture, one after the other. As they closed the opening, I caught a glimpse of the cave systems. These lead to the slums, although it was very difficult to find the underground neighbourhood if you didn't know your way around. After checking the time on my phone, I decided it was time to go.

I had made my way over to the station wearing a short black suit jacket on top of a white tank top, black jeans, and a pair of platforms. It felt weird to not be wearing a hood, my head felt exposed – cold, even. My hair was tied up in a ponytail. I kept instinctively raising my hand to tug at my non-existent hood, but since it wasn't there, I fidgeted with the chokers around my neck instead.

The stations were normally some of the most crowded places in Sector 10. These are the entryways to not only the underground monorails, but the ones that rise up to fifty feet in the air. When the tram I was taking finally arrived, I was immediately swept away by the sea of people straight into the entry of the vehicle. The inside was much more claustrophobic. Gripping on to the railing lining the baggage area on the roof, I braced myself as the tram started. The rides are a lot smoother nowadays. The vehicle never touches the ground, it is pulled by a magnetic force straight to its location, as far as I know.

The ride lasted for about ten minutes, the tram emptying, then refilling on its way. Shinjuku Dori was my stop. After I agreed to go on a date with Jon, I found out that he hadn't actually planned it, so I suggested a visit to the Botanical Gardens, my favourite area of the expansive city. I followed everyone up the concrete steps and out of the station, people splitting off like tree branches. I plodded towards the side of the exit and scanned the area. We had arranged to meet outside the station.

At long last, I spotted him. He was evidently searching for me too. We made eye contact and from a distance, I saw him narrowing his eyes. He'd never properly seen my face before. I shuffled towards him.

"Silver?" he said as he casually pointed a finger at me, palm facing up. I nodded and slid my finger along the inside of my choker.

I cocked my head, motioning for him to follow me and we walked along a road to the garden. I listened to him hum quietly as we wandered. It was a gorgeous place, especially at night-time. The entrance was an arch of intertwining wire and glowing artificial flowers that lined the similarly styled fence around the entire garden. I took a glimpse at Jon's face; it was lit up in awe. We both stepped through the arch and proceeded to explore the entire garden.

These trees were modified to be able to provide oxygen for an entire city, even when there were very few of them. They were no longer one hundred percent natural, but that didn't hide its beauty. The trees had shimmering steel moving up its trunk and in the foliage were lights dangling from the branches like raindrops. The leaves themselves lit up with purple-pinks, and green blues shone through the grass at the base of the trees. Scattered around the ground were intricate sculptures carved by artist that grew up in Early Tokyo. We passed one that displayed a weeping woman carrying a small child covered in disease, presumably hers. A representation of the woes of those underneath. I quickly looked away as soon as I spotted it - it was too familiar a scene.

I let Jon lead the way as he explored the garden. In the middle was a large tree, with glowing pink flowers instead of leaves. A cherry blossom tree. This tree was the biggest, with twisting branches reaching out to the other trees.

"Wow," Jon sighed, "we don't have trees like this in my old sector."

"These are unique to Sector 10," I replied.

Jon raised his hand to one of the branches and plucked a flower from the tree, the brilliance of its light not faltering once. He handed it to me with ease, opposite to my reaction. I awkwardly took the flower and slipped it under the tie in my hair, looking up at him afterwards. He smiled of approval before resuming admiring the garden. I watched him from a distance, leaning against a tree as he explored the garden. He looked like a small child, discovering a completely new world. Maybe that's what he was.

"I wonder what this would look like from above," Jon called out to me.

"Would you like to see?" I called back.

He bobbed his head up and down excitedly. I took him back out the garden and to an old building a few blocks away. The doors were locked but the glass on one of the windows had been shattered and broken off. Through the dark, I guided him up some well-worn stone stairs. A lot of them. At the top of the stairs was a metal door with a horizontal bar handle lining the middle of it. Jon assisted me in pushing it open and we both stepped outside. Up here, the temperature had dropped at least seven degrees.

Jon beat me to the edge of the roof. "I once wondered what it would look like from above too," I said when I joined him.

From above, the garden looked like patches of multi-coloured bushes. When looking at the garden as a whole, you could notice the faint subtle pulsing of the light as if the garden was breathing.

Through my peripheral, I saw Jon teetering over the edge a bit too much. I rested my hand on my handgun as it sat inside its holster because yes, of course I brought it. Whether it's to act as a sign of intimidation or a plea to leave me alone, I wasn't so sure myself. As expected, Jon lost his balance. I switched the gun's mode to grapple but was never given the chance to use it. Without activating it, I heard the grapple being shot. Confused, I peered over the edge to see Jon, dangling in the air, held up by a gun very similar to mine.

"That's a long way down, you know," I said.

Jon looked up at me and gave me an awkward laugh. "Do you know how to go up?" he asked.

Amused, I replied, "it's where your thumb should be resting."

Slowly, the grapple ate up its line and lifted Jon up. I helped him crawl back onto the roof and we both sat down with one leg dangling over the side. "What do you do for a living, Jonathan?" I queried.

"Oh, not me. My dad's the one that works," he said.

I raised an eyebrow. Son of a magnate, that makes sense.

"He's a weapons manufacturer," he continued, "we used to just deliver weapons overseas, but majority of our clients lived here. That's why we moved."

"Wait, so does that mean you're Jon Sanders? Your father made my stuff," I said, pulling out my gun and compared it to his. Almost exactly the same. The only difference was the J indented into the handle of the gun.

"He wants us to continue the business, but I'm not very good at the technical stuff and Lila has no interest in guns and that."

"Lila?"

He looked at me, confused. "Didn't I tell you?"

I met his gaze, shaking my head.

"I have a little sister."