Ailith was exiting the room when a loud "BOOM" sounded, followed by a quake. The floor beneath her shifted a bit before returning to normal. In that split second, there was not a sound to be heard. It was utterly silent.

The smile on the woman's face disappeared as she turned deathly pale. Not a trace of it to be found. She looked once at Ailith and ushered her out the door before dialing a number.

Her eyes were dark and there was no hint of the cheerful woman she had been mere seconds ago. "Amber, you told me you had it under control." a pause "No, you take direct orders from me now. Do not spare a single person, do you understand?"

That was all she managed to hear before the woman shut the door on her.

She slowly made her way back to the station.

‘Gods, a rank 1.’

If gods did exist, they would surely be watching over her as fate could not have changed so easily for her. Ever since the test results had been dropped that she was a rank three at the age of 6, she had assumed that she would live in the suburbs her entire life, never daring to think about the city.

‘The city. Vertlyn, her new home.”

She was beaming by the time she reached the platform.

But Ailith allowed herself only a short moment of pure glee before she let the questions flood her.

‘What was the noise that sounded soon after? The whole building shook with the impact. Was the resistance related to this? And if so, what did they want? Who was the woman talking to?’

Her curiosity of the resistance had everything to do with the curiosity of her parents. Even without anyone telling her, she was able to figure out that they had played a role in it. It was pretty obvious when she thought back to how her parents acted. Even if it killed her, she was going to get to the bottom of this damned resistance.

As usual, the train was silent but Ailith didn’t mind. She was too overwhelmed by her own questions and joy that she had passed, sparing no time whatsoever to sulk at how depressing the suburbs were. She knew why everyone kept to themselves. Any misstep in words could send one careening toward the gallows so fast they wouldn’t see it coming. She shivered.

“Hello. What's your name?”

She startled.

Upon seeing her reaction, the man only chuckled lowly. He couldn't be much older than her. Most likely in his early twenties.

She looked into his eyes. The voice inside her started to scream. ‘run’ ‘run’ ‘run’ She didn’t need her experience as a fighter to know that this was a dangerous man.

He wore the clothes of a typical dosser, worn shoes and clothes. His blond hair was shortly cropped and he hunched over, as if his back hurt. But she saw through his disguise. Beneath the clothes, she could glimpse his lean muscles.

Some people in the train were gaping, but they quickly turned away when she whipped her head towards them.

“I don’t know you. Why should I tell you? ”, she replied, praying that her face maintained its empty composure.

“Can’t a guy talk to a cute girl without being questioned?”

“Cut the crap. We both know that’s not the reason you’re talking to me.

He chuckled again. “Very well.”

‘RUN’

His gaze turned stern suddenly and he truly looked at her. It took a good amount of effort not to flinch away. Then, he carefully slid a piece of paper into her coat pocket. In a barely audible voice he said...

“We have the answers to your questions. Tomorrow night”

He swiftly got up and left the cart.

She was itching to know what the paper said but opening it here with so many onlookers could result in problems, so she waited. She had waited her entire life so it wasn’t as hard to refrain herself from reaching for her pocket just this once.

The rest of the ride she maintained her indifferent look and kept a calm pretense. And she remained like this when authorities barged into the cart and beat and hauled away a pleading, crying woman. When they shot several of the men who tried to help. She kept her face grim and like the majority, remained silent. The paper burned a hole where it lay in her pocket. Still, she remained silent.

Only when she reached her home safely, shut all blinds, and hid in her closet did she dare to reach for the crumpled paper in her pocket.

Her breath caught as she read it. On it was a single word.

‘Dorrance’

Confused, she flipped it over several times to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. ‘Dorrance’ The small town that had yet to be cleared of the radiation that had resulted from the attack of nuclear warheads. It had happened just several months after her birth. Rumours said that the government themselves had attacked it just to rid of a useless town and didn’t bother to clear up the air.

‘What does it mean?’ She pondered.

Whoever they were couldn’t possibly want for her to set foot inside Dorrance. She would be dead in a matter of seconds. Still his offer was so tempting. And she was so curious. Ailith assumed a man like him had his ways. This was probably her only chance to find the answers to her questions. She would surely regret it if she just let this opportunity pass her by. If she could find a way to sneak curfew...

She shook her head. No, it was too risky. Especially with the attacks that had been happening in the city.

‘Still…’

‘Who was the man? Why was he offering her answers? What was his involvement in the explosion... if he was even involved?’ By now, she had figured that it was an explosion.

Ailith knew that even thinking this put her at risk. She had taken her test and found herself to be a rank 1. She could live her life in luxury, never have to worry about a thing. Reading this, even listening to him, put everything at risk. She burned the note. But even Ailith knew, she had already crossed the line.

Exhausted, she lay down on her bed. She didn’t know whether it was the grogginess of her tired mind or her curiosity acting up but, she decided that she was going to go to Dorrance tomorrow.

Ailith Gallow was going to go to Dorrance. And who knows, maybe she would get some fun out of it too.