That split second of silence was all it took for Xavier to scan her face. The whole house was silent. Even the birds seemed to have gone quiet. Ailith held her breath. Disbelief shown in his eyes.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” A silent plea.

She shook her head. Time seemed to have stopped in that moment.

“Did you already agree to move?”

“Yes, I did.” A lie. But a half truth in itself too. She had allowed the woman-Clarice to update her treker. And she was indeed planning on showing up to whatever location Clarice wanted her in. Ailith supposed that meant she was now a rank 1, albeit not having it put on her record yet.

“And when were you planning on telling me all this?”

“Was I supposed too?”

Hurt flashed through his eyes. “Ailith, we’ve been friends for 12 years...don’t I deserve at least that?”

Her silence was answer enough.

Xavier’s face hardened as he stood. “I see. It was my mistake. I was too blind to see that you never felt a thing towards me, not even as a friend.” He made his way towards the door, paused. “Congratulations Ailith. Even if you’ve never seen me as anything except a nuisance, I’ve always liked you, be it as a person or a friend.” He left then. Without so much as looking back.

Her wall collapsed and Ailith sagged. She hated it. Hated how quiet the house was without him. She hadn’t noticed but it felt empty without his presence. Her only friend. She fell into that void and met the darkness that had been relishing about her pains from afar. This time, there was no one to pull her out.

As if mocking her, her treker pinged.

Ad: Want to experience romance? Longing for an adventure? Well, you’re in luck! Now presenting, the latest model of virtual reality lenses. Made out of the lightest material on the planet, the VR6180 is specifically designed so you won’t feel a thing. You won’t even be able to tell it’s there! Buy it now and don’t regret missing the opportunity.

Below were 2 options. ‘Buy’ ‘ignore’

Ailith pressed ignore. 9:00. Shit. She had forgotten to check for the time between her run and Xavier’s shocking proposal. Grabbing the bread he had left on the table, she set out towards the station. What had felt cool and freeing earlier now felt cold and empty. There were no birds chirping and clouds now seemed to gather. A rainy day. Great. Just great. Scientists had found a way to control the weather decades ago however, it still seemed as random as it had before the invention. She stuffed the stale bread in her mouth and tied her hair up.

The train was as silent as usual but this morning, something about it was off. An eerie vibe hung in the air and she suddenly had an uncanny feeling that someone was watching her. Hearing the light buzzing in her ear was all it took for her to bolt off the train at the next stop. She was glad she did as it blew up only minutes after the train departed the station. Metal shards flew everywhere and glass rained down on the streets of Vertlyn. Then they came. Dressed in all black with a red band on their cuffs, they took out deadly weapons and attacked. Ailith quickly ran into a nearby alleyway and hid as best she could in its shadows. People were screaming. There was so much bloodshed. Some were frozen in shock, some were running, others were dead, lying on the dirty street with their faces still in terror, not having had time to run or react much. The authorities had obviously been called numerous times but, there was yet to be any sign of their appearance. Her eyes instinctively scanned the alley behind her, checking for any potential weapons and escape routes should she get attacked before turning back to the crowd of people now forming with makeshift weapons in their hands, the surviving children now hiding behind them. ‘Idiots’ This was already a lost game. Not only were they highly outnumbered by the people launching this attack, they were outskilled too. Whoever had planned this attack had done it surprisingly well.

‘Impressive’.

She studied the faces of the dead, not entirely sure what she herself was searching for but, it was the face of one person that made her draw breath. The blank eyes of the woman from the train remained unblinking. Dead. But no, it wasn’t the familiar face that drew her in but rather the expression that this young woman bore. She only looked to have been in her late 20s. Her hair was a magnificent golden color and had it not been for the bruises and scars, her face would have looked incredibly beautiful as well. Deep blue eyes, impossibly long lashes, a lean nose, and a luscious lip to tie it all together. However, her final expression was that of an old, tired person. Seeming to have been carrying the burden of a hundred men. And deeper within that, relief. Relief, happiness, freedom, and a hundred other things Ailith couldn’t decipher.

Ailith startled and moved deeper into the alleyway, chills running up and down her arm.

She left the woman there-in a sea of blood-staring at a dark sky and a promise of things to come.

Ailith felt more than saw the person creeping up behind her. It was the dark presence that the person carried with them that caused her to unsheath her hidden dagger and whip herself around.

The person attacked.