The story so far:

---- Aija is a Volunteer at the Pristine School at Innermost. She works along with Zuri and Ze, who are her friends. Aija witnesses a strange event one night – light emanating from Rez's body. The kidnapper is after her soul, next, but he leaves her alive and goes away. Another man finds her, he wants to take her somewhere else - Aija though wary of him agrees. Aija learns of the existence of the aliens – the Ytai. Also, about the R'ies and H'eon, Harvesting and Àvo from Etrie. Etrie tells her that the man, who Harvested Rez (Thieron), will now go after her. He tells her that the spy/kidnapper's name is Luka. Etrie asks her to work along with him. Aija agrees to work along with Etrie on Harvest Stopping Missions.

---- Thieron is in the Open. Alton asks to visit him – something he had been avoiding for a long time since he punched Dhor-Wo, and broke his nose and jaw. Alton is not angry with Thieron for hurting Dhor-Wo; he tells Thieron that he will send him to retrieve the Àvo. Thieron finds a photo of his family in the forbidden section of the Mansion. He hears the voices of two women in the forbidden section and wonders who lives there and what secret Alton is hiding.

---- Thieron and Nala check out a new target, and realize that Etrie's team was trailing the same target.

---- Aija's parents tell her that she has received the notice for engagement from The Leadership. She hates the idea of it, but there is no escape.

---- Aija meets Quinn and likes him.

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****13.3 - Aija****

"So, how was it?" Rei's voice sounded serious.

"Good," Aija answered as she walked across her Apartment at the school housing. Her parents had let her go early, pleased with her easy acceptance of Quinn. They were probably expecting another rebellious tantrum from her, and seeing Aija and Quinn having fun was perhaps a great relief for them. Avi and Asahi, however, hadn't been pleased.

"Really?" he sounded suspicious.

Aija laughed. "Yes, Quinn is genuinely nice. I can see things working out for us."

"Well, you sure sound happy," Rei observed, still a little suspicious of her. "I hope you're not doing anything you don't want to."

They were having a voice conversation, and she wished she could change it to a video call so that he could see that she genuinely was happy. But, Rei was in school, taking extra classes and was walking from one to the next.

"No, I won't ever have to do anything I don't want to. Quinn's assured me of that," she said, entering her apartment.

"Alright, send me his number. I need to speak to him."

"You mean - scare him."

"That too...yes"

There was a knock on the door. "I think it's Zuri. I'll call you later."

"Okay, stay safe."

It wasn't Zuri, but she didn't want to tell that to Rei. Zuri had access to her Apartment, and her door would auto-unlock for her like Aija had access to Zuri's Apartment. Could it be Ze? But why would he come?

She looked at the lock screen and saw Kuna's face. He knocked again, and Aija wondered what had made him come all the way to her place. He had never done it before. She opened the door, and he walked in before she could say anything.

"Hi?" she croaked in surprise as she closed the door.

He looked all over the place and finally settled on a chair.

"What brings you here?" she asked, sitting on the sofa opposite him.

"Who was that boy you met today?" he almost sounded like he was accusing her.

"Why?" she got defensive, hearing the tone of his voice.

He noticed it and tensed. "Just asked..."

Aija didn't answer, so he said, "I can't have you putting other humans in trouble. Thieron was there today. Thieron was personally there."

"Then maybe I'll stop accompanying you from now on. Because one day, I'll be marrying him, and I can't put him in trouble."

Kuna flinched, and she immediately regretted saying anything. She wanted to go on Harvest stopping missions. She wanted to help them; to help humans.

"Marry?" Kuna looked at her, clearly hurt by her words. "Then, in that case, I would like to have my blade back."

"I'm sorry," she said immediately. "I didn't mean that."

"I any case, if you've decided to marry him, you must not come with us. No husband would like his wife disappearing in the middle of the night on dangerous missions."

"I won't be marrying him for a few years."

Kuna looked sad. He was about to say something when the auto-lock of the door beeped twice, and the door opened, letting Zuri in. She walked in and froze as soon as her eyes fell on the Ytai. Her mouth was wide open, in shock.

Kuna was standing with a blade in his hand; his reflexes incredibly swift.

Zuri and Kuna regarded each other, unmoving for a moment, and Kuna must have recognized Zuri because he put his blade back into its place on his holster.

"Is this Etrie?" Zuri asked Aija, who was still staring at Kuna.

Kuna looked at Aija, his expression a mixture of surprise, betrayal, and accusation.

Aija, who was also standing now, sat as she sighed. Kuna would hate her for the rest of his life.

"I know everything." Zuri declared as she sat next to Aija and went as far as to motion him to sit as well.

Kuna stared at Aija in anger as he hesitated but relented and took his seat on the chair again. He was furious; if looks could really kill, she would have been ashes, burnt by his anger.

"I'm sorry..." Aija managed to say.

"For what?" Zuri interrupted. "I had already caught on to her. I had also seen you and the other guy." She informed Kuna. "Are you Etrie or Kuna?"

"Kuna," he mumbled, livid with anger.

"It's nice that I could meet you." Zuri continued ignoring his anger, and Kuna started to look increasingly uneasy. "I'm going with you the next time you go on a mission."

"No, you are not." he snapped furiously.

"Oh, yes, I am." Zuri declared with finality.

Kuna looked tired and annoyed. "I need to talk to you, alone." he looked at Aija and walked out of the house.

Zuri and Aija looked at each other, and Aija shrugged. She seemed unconcerned in front of Zuri, but her thoughts were running wild. She knew Kuna was furious, and she had upset him even before Zuri had entered, making things worse. She stepped out and closed the door behind her.

"How dare you tell her anything?" he asked, trying his hardest not to shout. "And why didn't you tell me she was coming?"

"She had already seen me with you. And I didn't know she was coming. She has access to my Apartment; she can come anytime. She won't tell anyone else, I promise."

"Enough." His voice was as rude as he could manage without shouting, and Aija felt dreadful.

He rubbed his forehead with his hand, thinking.

"Look, I'm sorry. I really am. But, Zuri's important to me and..."

"If she were important, you'd lie to keep her safe."

Both of them stared at each other; each angry with the other.

"Etrie is going to be so mad," Kuna told her.

"I'll speak to him."

He placed his palm on her cheek so softly; his touch startled her. His palm was soft, and he held it so lightly across her cheek she thought she imagined it. His touch was light like he was afraid of truly touching her. He didn't say anything; he just walked away as she stood there, stunned by his gesture. She saw him take the stairs and disappear as he went down around the bend.

It took her a moment to realize that her heart was pounding. She calmed herself before she went back in.

Zuri was eating a fruit salad, and the package reminded Aija of Taylor and others like her who packed food so late at night, and it upset her further.

"These are almost nearing their expiration date," Zuri said, pointing to the box in her hand. "Aren't you eating anything?"

Aija sat next to her.

"What was that about? What did he say? He's handsome."

Aija rested her head in her palms.

"What's wrong?" Zuri stopped eating.

"Kuna is upset, and I know Etrie will be furious. And, I haven't told you the complete story."

"Which part?"

"The part where my life is in danger, because I saw a Harvest and the Harvester didn't kill me that night, and he's after me now. This is dangerous Zu, which is why Kuna wants as fewer people as possible to be involved."

"Why didn't you tell me about this Harvester being after you?"

"Because I didn't want to scare you; also, a girl died when we tried to stop Taylor's Harvest. It is real danger. I saw her bleeding...I..."

Aija started crying, and Zuri held her.

"You should have told me," Zuri whispered.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Zuri. I don't want you to come."

"I am going." Zuri's voice was firm.

Aija sat up straight and looked at her friend, indignantly.

"If you are putting your life at risk, so am I. I want to be with you. No matter what; I'm more determined about this now. I'm not letting you go into danger alone."

Aija couldn't convince Zuri to stay out of it. She was unsure as to whether she, herself, was welcome anymore. After what she had told Kuna, Etrie would probably decide Aija shouldn't go anywhere with them as well.

After a while, when Aija was sure Zuri couldn't be convinced anymore, they changed the topic of conversation. They talked of Quinn and had dinner.

***

Zuri was eating a pint of ice cream when Aija's Scroll chimed. It was a message from Avi. 'Turn on the news,' it said.

It had to be something serious, so Aija commanded the central system to turn on the DigiScreen and tuned into the Television with her Scroll. As the DigiScreen flickered into existence on the wall, she switched to the news channel on her Scroll, and the image of a building covered in smoke and fire popped onto the wall.

Zuri and Aija looked at each other. The headlines read, 'Blast at Research Institute.'

Aija tensed. It was where Quinn's father and oldest brother Thomas worked. But, it was a Sunday, and she had met both at their home that morning. Still, Amir was the Director, and he would have to get involved with the Secures to know what happened and why.

The News Reader was saying, "...occurred at approximately eight tonight. It was heard at a distance of five kilometers away. The Department that blew up was researching cures for the Green Plague. It is estimated that the recovery will take years, hindering the research as much of it was destroyed. Nothing much is known about the cause of the blast, but the Secures are suspecting an internal malfunction in an experiment. Details will be available once they are able to clear the fire.

"It is suspected that there were a few Scientists working today. Institute Director Amir Ersco is still unavailable for comments. The Secures have blocked off..."

Aija picked up her Scroll and called Quinn. He picked up on the fourth ring, "Aija?"

"Quinn! Is everything okay? Your father?"

"Dad's fine." his voice broke.

"Quinn?"

"Thomas was working when it happened. We haven't heard from him still."

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