OVERRIDE

Chapter 1: Aertide

I watched as Lotus skipped along the dimly lit sidewalk, jumping in every puddle that littered the path. She stopped and turned towards me as I kept my distance to avoid getting splashed.

"Do we have to go back, Ave?" She asked, her orange curls slightly covering her face.

I smiled sadly down at her. "Unfortunately we do, Lotus. As much as I don't want to, you have a curfew."

Lotus poked her lip out, pouting at me. Usually this little act of hers would work and I would end up giving in because it was so cute I couldn't help but smile. But not today.

"No," I laughed, "that won't work this time. Let's go."

I offered my hand out to Lotus, she grasped it and we continued walking. Cars zoomed by us, their levitation giving off a bright blue glow and a subtle hum. The air in Arc-J3 was thick and polluted, just like almost all of Aertide. There was a time when it was bright and full of nature. But now, we passed old rusted metal skyscrapers, with graffiti around every corner.

"Good evening, ladies," an automaton said passing by us, the rim of his hat slightly covering his bright yellow eyes.

"Good evening!" Lotus greeted him back, and I nodded in return.

The more we walked, the more Lotus's joyful aura diminished. Soon we approached the last place she wanted to go back to. She made an abrupt stop and stared at the run down building that came into view. The orphanage. Lotus looked up at the sky, squinting to see the lights and outline of the beaming nation that hovered in the heavens.

"Ave..." She mumbled. I caught up and turn towards her.

"Yes?" I saw her face drop, almost as if she wanted to start crying.

"I... don't want to go back there. Mrs. Aderr... she-"

I leaned towards her and hugged her tightly, cutting her off. I knew exactly what Lotus was going to say, I had grown up in the very same orphanage with the very same Mrs. Aderr.

"I know. And I want more than anything for you to be free of her, all of you," I said, releasing her and placing my hand on her shoulder. "So I swear, I will do whatever it takes to get you out. I'll save up every penny, and one day I'll become your legal guardian."

"You promise?" She smiled.

"Promise," I smiled back poking her little button nose, and Lotus stood on her toes to do the same to mine. It was our little thing, even though we weren't related, Lotus would always be like a little sister to me.

We were brought back to reality, as Mrs. Aderr came charging outside holding a bottle, clearly in one of her drunken fits.

"It's past your curfew, wrench!" Aderr lifted her cheap mechanical arm as she tried to lean on the broken door. She launched the bottle at us, thankfully I was able to catch it before it struck Lotus. Her presence alone was enough to piss me off, but I didn't want to get ugly in front of Lotus.

"Aderr," I said sternly, glaring at her.

Coming slightly to her senses, she straightened up. Aderr knew all too well what it meant when I gave her that look, she had a mechanical arm to prove it. Aderr sneered, coughing a little before brushing us off and stumbling back inside. I turned back to Lotus, throwing the bottle aside.

"She won't lay a hand on you," I patted her head, "I'll see you tomorrow, same time as always."

Lotus nodded, slowly walking towards the entrance as she looked back at me for reassurance. I gave her a whole-hearted smile as she pushed the door open, and disappeared inside.

My smile faded as I examined my old hell hole of a home. The flickering holographic sign that glowed above the entrance read 'Aderr's Orphanage', if you could even call it that. It only reminded me of all the terrors that took place within this building. I hated it.

I still do.

I knew how Aderr acted whenever she got that drunk, and so did everyone else. But no one cared. Orphans like us weren't anything special after the war, at least not here. Their war, decimated our home, even though we weren't apart of it. It gave our leaders an excuse to ignore the "small things," like abusive caretakers. A lot of children often ended up running away, most never to be seen or heard from again. That was the last thing I wanted to happen to Lotus or to any of the children in there.

I was heading back, until Lotus came running out from inside the orphanage. She was panicked, and scared. In that moment, I had already thought of at least twenty different ways to kill Aderr.

"Ave!" Lotus cried out. I crouched down and embraced her.

"Lotus, what's wrong?"

"It's my friend Neva. We can't find him. They think he ran away!"

'Thank, God,' I thought.

It wasn't what I was expecting, but this wasn't exactly the best situation either. Even Lotus was aware of what happened to children who ran away in Aertide.

"Can you look for him? What if he doesn't come back? His little sister is crying," She tugged on my sleeve.

I looked up and saw Aderr leaning against the door, turning her nose up. She couldn't care less about Neva. My eye twitched in anger as I looked away from her.

"I'll find him."