In a nightmare world ravaged by misery, the Imperium offers utopia to a select few. When Arya and Everett are recruited into this elite society, they choose to leave their homes against their families' wishes.
Naive and young, Arya and Everett are...
The moment his name leaves my lips, an overwhelming wave of dizziness hits me. I keel over, only vaguely aware of the voices on the other side of the door. Just as my eyelids grow heavy, I start to fear that the next time I open my eyes, I'll have forgotten everything all over again.
The cold, shiny floor comes up to meet me as I tell myself, Don't forget him. Don't forget him.
▲
The next time I awaken, I find myself lying on a white bed again. I try to roll over on instinct, but two restraints in the form of sturdy wide straps — one across my chest and the other across my knees — force me to stay still. Agitated, I twist my torso in a useless attempt to free myself, stopping only when I realize that a voice is calling my name.
"Arya," the voice says again, softly but urgently.
I turn to my right, one side of my face pressed against the cool surface of the bed. I find Everett staring back at me, and I'm instantly relieved to have recognized him. He's lying on a similar bed a few inches away, also confined by restraints.
"Are you okay?" he asks me. I remain silent as I study his face, finding comfort in the familiarity of his gaze and confusion in the unfamiliarity of the rest of him. His cheeks are no longer sunken from lack of food, his deep brown hair is shorter, and his entire face is lit by a privilege neither of us has had before — good health.
I try to reach up to touch my face, wondering if I too have changed this way, but the restraints don't permit any movement. I look back at Everett when he raises his voice to grab my attention. "Arya! Talk to me, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I think so," I say uncertainly, my face growing warm under the intensity of Everett's imploring gaze.
Underneath the euphoric relief of knowing he's alright and that he remembers me, there lurks a sense of shyness, a strange newness. The boy I met every day in the burnt chambers, the boy I shared all my secrets with, the boy I knew every inch of almost feels like a stranger.
"The last thing I remember . . . there was this horrible pain in my head and I blacked out," Everett says, dragging me out of a disorienting spiral of emotions. "There was a big crowd and . . . Wait. Why are you here?"
I furrow my eyebrows as a new memory slides into place amidst the cascade of images vying for attention in my head. "The same thing happened to me."
Suddenly, a click echoes through the room, sharp and startling. I crane my neck just in time to see a man walking in. Exceptionally tall and dressed in a flawless pale blue suit, the man is handsome in the coldest, most disconcerting way. His steely eyes trail over Everett before landing on me.
"Ah, M929 and F930," he says in a surprisingly reedy voice, shutting the door before crossing his arms. He starts to move closer to our beds but appears to think better of it and stops. It feels like he's trying to keep a safe distance from us, not out of fear but revulsion instead.
"What's going on?" Everett ventures and I chime in with a question of my own, "Who are you?"
The man's thin lips curl in a smile that only deepens my distrust of him. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."
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Sorry for the delayed update! I intended to upload this chapter last weekend, but grad school has been absolutely overwhelming and I've only managed to catch a break today. Thankfully, I have a long weekend ahead and will try to get the next chapter up in a day or two.
Thanks so much for reading and please vote/comment/share if you're enjoying this story! x
