SILVER EYES (GXG)

Chapter 16: Night Of Stars (Part 1/2)

My Reg Bracelet marked five a.m., and of course, I was already awake. Because why would my mind let me sleep well for once, right?

To top it off, it was commissioning day, the day of that long-anticipated ceremony where Kate would announce who had passed the combat test and could officially become a Narval Officer.

I hadn't spoken to her since my little fury attack during the test, so I had no idea if she planned to suspend me or not. Just in case, I was mentally preparing for the worst.

I went for a run along the wall. Today was quieter than usual, no guards on the towers, no patrols, no early training sessions. With the ceremony, everyone had the day off, and the silence felt so odd, as if humanity had vanished, leaving only the wall behind. I wondered what future civilizations might think of us if all they found was this monstrous stone barricade, standing as our only legacy. I would feel chilly, scared, but most of all, sad. It was a wall of sadness.

Luckily, that day, the sunrise was beautiful, or at least, that's what I thought. The only thing I could see from my side of the wall were faint orange streaks stretching out from The Other Side. They had the sunrise. We had the sunset. How poetic, right? Or maybe just unfair to all of us.

It casually crossed my mind that Heather might be around, doing her usual stroll. Not that I was looking for her, of course. Not at all. But no matter how much I ran, scanning every corner of the wall, she was nowhere to be found.

Until I reached the gates.

Suddenly, a Narval spear landed sharply right at my feet. I stumbled back, startled, and fell to the ground.

"It's quite early, you know? Even for you."

The voice sliced through the silence like a knife.

I looked up and saw Heather sitting on the rooftop of the immigration control station. Her feet dangled over the edge of the roof, swaying in the air, while her arms rested casually behind her. She looked like she couldn't be more at ease.

"What's wrong with you?!" I said, yanking the spear from the ground.

"Sorry, I didn't think it would land so close. Just wanted to give you a surprise." She said as she grabbed the air purifier tube stitched along the side of the roof and slid swiftly to the ground.

"A surprise? You mean a heart attack."

She raised an eyebrow, looking thoughtful. "Isn't it pretty much the same?"

"No. It's not. What kind of 'surprises' have you had, exactly?"

Heather stepped closer with a grin on her face that confessed she knew I was right, but she was clearly having a blast teasing me.

Her perfect braid rested over her right shoulder, looking slightly different this time. Instead of a single braid that neatly wrapped every strand in one direction, it started as two braids, weaving separately before merging into one at the end. To me, someone who was more the type to just throw my hair back and call it a day, it looked like a work of art.

She leaned forward, reaching for the spear, but I tightened my grip.

"It's mine now."

"Give it back, Grace."

"Or what?"

Heather locked her eyes on mine, and then, without warning, she lunged at me, trying to pin me in some kind of judo hold.

"Stop!" I groaned. But I mean... it was Heather we were talking about. Her arm hooked around my neck, pulling me down, while her leg slid behind mine. How the hell was she so strong? She didn't look that strong. Sure, I'd noticed her toned arms that time we went to the underground pool (like I could forget that), but they were still kind of thin. Nothing about her explained that much raw power.