The Algorithm.

Chapter 7: Into the wild.

It took two days of running before Nova reached the outskirts of Circuitropolis. The sprawling city was behind her now, its shimmering lights a distant memory as she crossed into the wild, unregulated land beyond. The people out there weren't controlled by the Algorithm. They lived off the grid, disconnected from the meticulous order she'd known her whole life.

The wilderness was a stark contrast to the hyper-structured life in the city.Here, the air was thick with the scent of earth and damp leaves, and the trees stretched out like an endless sea of green, their branches twisting towards the sky. Birds chirped above, and the underbrush rustled with the movement of unseen animals.

Nova had heard rumours about these lands - stories whispered in hushed tones by people in the city.It was said that those who lived here were rebels, dissidents, outlaws who refused to be part of the Algorithm's perfect society.

But she was no longer part of that world. She had made her choice.

Exhausted and starving, Nova found a small clearing and collapsed against the trunk of a tree. Her limbs ached, her mind was still racing, trying to process the events of the past few days. Zara was out there somewhere, Nova couldn't bring her mind away from her, she was out there, fighting, trying to survive. And Nova? She was no longer just an obedient citizen= She was part of something bigger now,part of a rebellion she barely understood.

As she drifted off to sleep, her thoughts were filled with images of the city she'd left behind. The glimmering towers, the ordered streets, the people moving like a cogsima well-oiled machine. But in the darkness of other dreams, those towers began to crumble, and the people looked up, their eyes wide with fear as the Algorithm's control slipped away.