Utopia (ON HOLD)

The Arcanum

Connor sat up in the bed groggily and looked around.

"You have finally awakened," I noted. "You've been unconscious for six hours. The whole city will be looking for us."

At this, he managed a grin. "For you, maybe. Not me. I'm not a registered citizen or one of you."

This was getting more curious by the second.

"Who are you? Where do you come from?" I asked suspiciously. "You don't seem like an Utopian."

He smiled and stretched. "I'm not, but let's worry about that later. Are you a rebel?"

I frowned. "Don't you dare insinuate such a thing! I am loyal to our government. They give us more than any other people would. Utopia is perfect."

Connor raised his eyebrow. "Yeah? And why would you have a place like this then?" He gestured around us at the hideout.

My cheeks burned. "I stumbled onto it during my childhood, and found that is makes a perfect place to relax and think. I do not think anyone else knows."

"Oh, drop the formal language already," he snorted. "Girl, you're even more weird than I'd expected."

"I do not understand. Is this not the English you understand?" I asked, trying to hide a smile.

He promptly slapped his palm on his forehead.

"Careful!" I warned. "Don't you dare get a concussion because I'm really bad with those. As in, really, really bad. I once tried and actually made it worse."

Connor sighed. "So you people actually believe what the government says? You are just idiots. No perfection comes without a price."

"We give our best efforts to serve this city."

"Seriously? You don't even know---never mind. Don't ask." Connor immediately turned away.

"What don't I know?" I asked.

He looked at me cautiously and took out a small device from his belt.

"This is an Arcanum. None of you know what it is, since it's from where I come from. I'm from an agency where they monitor the entire world and make sure no international laws are broken."

"And...?" I said, not getting it.

"Your government knows about this, but they still break a lot of international laws, and I'm here to stop them. But it's a lot harder than I thought."

He pressed a button on the Arcanum and a blue screen popped out. "Do you even know what the government does behind you citizens' backs? This."

A video on the screen started playing, and I gasped.

Therese. Danae. Wesley. Michael. Nearly ten people were strapped onto a giant torture machine, screaming in terror.

The video panned to another place. There, the government's High Scientists were making some sort of machine and aiming it at another person---a stranger whom I didn't know.

Suddenly, I heard a voice in a place the camera couldn't reach.

"Start it."