The Program [COMPLETED]

Chapter Three

"Where did you come from?" Aiden demanded.

Zariah sized him up, looking at him with a gaze so accusatory, it nearly made him flinch. She replied in a critical tone. "Fifth Unit."

"Fifth Unit," Virgil echoed. He opened his mouth to say something, but promptly closed it. He nodded politely to Zariah. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lieutenant Virgil Aeriona, and this is my comrade, Lieutenant Aiden Lycroft. Welcome to Second Unit."

Zariah pursed her lips, barely uttering a word. She looked over the assignment listings. "So, we're in Abree City?"

"Looks like it," Virgil answered coolly. "Our pilot is Cain Eamon. He'll be waiting for us in the hangar, with our care package."

"Let's get a move on, then," Zariah said flatly. Aiden took point, leading them along the route the other soldiers had taken to get to the hangars. Meanwhile, Virgil and Zariah brought up the rear, following him to their destination. Virgil kept making small talk with Zariah, who didn't seem keen on participating. Eventually they made it to the hangar, where Cain was waiting by their helicopter.

"'Bout time. Get in, we're late," Cain ordered bluntly. He flashed Zariah a hostile glare. "You too, infer." She returned his scowl remorselessly.

Virgil went first, taking a seat along the left side of the helicopter. Aiden climbed into the aircraft next, strapping himself in beside Virgil. Zariah matched his movements expertly. Aiden didn't really know what he'd expected her to be capable of. After all, she shared his Lieutenant rank, with the exception of being placed in a different Unit initially. Aiden hadn't known anything but the customs and laws of Second Unit. After all, what did he even really know about the world beyond these walls that the Program hadn't taught him? The thought gave him the beginnings of a searing headache. He allowed the thoughts to escape him, and submitted to his seat in the helicopter.

***

They arrived in Abree City only a few minutes after their expected arrival time. They'd been dropped off with a large crate of supplies that would keep the city sustained until the next Consignment Day. For now, Aiden, Virgil and Zariah remained with the crate, awaiting the arrival of the local civilians to take their package for the month. Abree City was a fairly small city, with an abundant population. Aiden had only been here once before, for a Consignment Day he'd attended two or three years ago. The city was mostly concrete buildings, average looking homes, the occasional shop and a couple schools. What made it significant was that it was a seaport city, and therefore its primary focus was water purification. Abree City was one of multiple cities that gave the rest of the country access to clean water. Aiden had pointed out multiple purification outposts from the helicopter, along with Program outposts here and there. The city's borders were very visible from the aircraft; appearing as thick, gray lines from the air above. Cities across the nation were divided into nine sectors, each under the protection of a Unit of the Program. Abree City fell into Second Unit's sector, meaning that every single human being living in it was Aiden's responsibility. He respected that fact. Each of these people were people Aiden was sworn to defend, and he would not break that promise.

He might have found the city more interesting if he weren't so focused on Zariah. She only spoke when she was spoken to, and gave especially vague answers when she did. Aiden knew better than to accept them as the truth. It was more than evident that she was hiding something. The three of them stood at the town square, the giant crate behind them. They had time to kill before the city folk arrived to pick up their cargo. Virgil had decided to spend the downtime questioning Zariah, which seemed to unnerve her. Aiden kept his mouth shut. He had many questions himself, but they had a job to do, no matter how tedious and uninteresting. He was determined to stay focused, even though he found Zariah's presence very disturbing. He had been raised understanding that the Program was never to be questioned, and he was obligated to abide by it.