Sector 10

Chapter 7

Silver.

"Mei?"

Silver.

"Is that you?"

"Silver!"

I was jolted out of my trance. Jon was kneeling in front of me, waving in my face. He had dragged me away from the edge of the roof and rested me against the door we came out of. I blinked and rubbed my eyes.

"What happened?" I asked, frantically.

"I- I have no idea, you just completely spaced out," Jon said.

I sat upright and looked at him. My mind was swimming.

"Let's go home."

---

After hopping off the tram, we walked to my place in silence. It was 8:07am and the sun was climbing the sky, meaning there were less people as those that retired to their beds in the day were doing so and those with the day cycle had just started waking up. It felt like there was a boulder rolling around my head.

"You... have a sister?" I said, breaking the silence.

Jon nodded. There was a pause before Jon asked me if I was okay.

"I don't know," I told him.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

"I had a sister... That's all."

"Had?"

I didn't reply.

We finally made it to the door of my apartment building. The sky was getting lighter. Jon gave me a concerned look when I said goodbye to him.

Once I was inside my room, I sat in the middle of my bed, eventually lying down on my side. I curled up into a ball disparaged myself to sleep, tears sprinkling my pillow.

The following night, I got it bad from Sean. I slept in and the person I was assigned to execute had already left the designated sniping area. I would've had to get my hands dirty. This one was a hacker, but they knew how to put up a fight. I had to follow him through many alleys, down to an old warehouse, settled behind apartment buildings. The only light in the main room was a single bulb hanging four metres in the air, casting an eerie glow on the walls closest to it. It was still dark, but he heard me. The fight wasn't pretty.

I couldn't wash the blood off until I got back home. I let the water run over my hands as I looked in the dirty mirror. The person I saw was pale with a flimsy figure. They had cold eyes that look like endless pits of darkness. All I could see was a selfish, weak girl. One too pitiful to protect anyone.

It took me a while to realise I had zoned out again. My hands were now numb from the continuous downpour of cold water and my eyes were glassy and distant. In the white light, my circles couldn't be more defined. I looked like a ghost. I switched the tap off and leaned over the basin, my hair sliding over my shoulders and towards the inside of the sink. I looked back out toward my room. I looked at my gun.

I just needed fresh air. That's all. In black pants and a white jumper, I walked out of my apartment room and to the elevator. Like everywhere else, the inside was lit up with lines of neon light attached to where the wall and ceiling met. I pulled my hood over my head and tucked my hair inside of it. When the doors opened, I dug my hands into my pockets and walked around the reception desk. It was rarely occupied. I have learnt it is because majority of the people that live inside this apartment block are a part of the day cycle, which is why it often felt empty and lifeless. I instinctively took out my phone and pushed the metal door open with my shoulder. I expected to feel the cool night wind on my face, but I made contact with something much more solid.

When I stepped back, I realised it was Jon. My eyes were probably swollen so I avoided eye contact. Unsure if I wanted to talk to him, I kept walking. He rested his hand on my shoulder, but I shook it off.

"Silver."

I stopped walking.

"I'm here for a reason, you know."

I turned and looked at him with tired, sunken eyes.

"Let's go somewhere," he said quietly.

---

A few hours later, we were sitting inside an abandoned building that had seemed to have experienced much demolition. We were sat along the edge of an opening that was once an exapansive window, letting all the night air blow in. My arms were wrapped around my knees and Jon was silently sitting next to me, his arms holding him up from behind. The side of my head was rested on my knees as I watched Jon, his eyes closed. We've been sitting like this in silence for a while now. I was too tired to talk, and Jon respected it. The breeze blew strands of his dark hair off his face as he took a deep breath in. He opened his eyes, and we made eye contact. His were a light blue, like the sky when the sun is out and soaring over the clouds. If you looked closer, you could see streaks of a vibrant green emerging from the pupil. I looked out towards the city; he might as well know.

"She was ten, I was fourteen," I said. "My sister. Her name was Mei. We weren't living in the best place at the time, and it was just us. I was told to look after her..." I paused and gulped back emotion. "...with everything I had. One day, I left to get food for us. I came back to the aftermath of an explosion. Never. Never have I ever forgiven myself for leaving her alone."

I looked ahead as if I said nothing. I dreaded thinking about it. I dreaded remembering it. That was when I heard Jon's shoes shuffle against the ground as he stood up. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to his level. Then, I felt his warm embrace. I was too shocked to return the gesture, it was too unfamiliar. Tired, I pushed my forehead against his chest and closed my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Silver. I had no idea," Jon said.

"My name is Ai."

Jon's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "Hello Ai, I'm Jonathon," he replied with a grin.

My shoulders felt lighter, as if a heavy weight had been lifted off after holding it for so long. I sighed out of relief. Relief from what? I don't really know. All I know is that it felt better.