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.

---- Goldstar arrives at Pristine City one. He concludes that a Harvest has taken place at the School. Goldstar along with Tailyn goes back to the Core. He meets Iyler, after a long time. Goldstar and Iyler are dating in secret.

---- The meeting with the Premiere takes place, where Goldstar is told that he must make a Transfer. He is to take Iyler with him.

---- Aija witnesses a strange event one night – light emanating from Rez's body. The kidnapper is after her 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. Zuri and Ze didn't know where she was and were worried about her. They find her, but something is off about her.

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****7.1 - Aija****

Rain poured heavily.

The sound of the rain against the glass of the greenhouse drowned out other sounds. It wasn't the induced rain. It was natural and had started pouring heavily, trapping her in the huge circular glass room.

Aija lay on a bench staring up at the angry clouds; the pouring rain arguing with the thunder. The fragrance of lavender filled the air mixed with the smell of wet earth. A few drops of rain escaped into the glass structure making the insides cool. 

It was the calmest she had felt in a week.

Aija had taken Monday off, feeling uneasy. The entire week she had been careful with Zuri and Ze. Even the junior volunteers – Caroline and Keira – had been asking her if she was alright every day. Both Zuri and Ze had difficulty keeping their curiosity tethered but managed not to ask her too many questions. Somehow, Zuri had let it go. Surprisingly, it was Ze who wasn't entirely convinced that she was doing fine. But, he didn't nag her about it. For that, she was relieved; only slightly.

It wasn't that Aija didn't want to tell them what had happened. She herself had a hard time keeping things a secret from them; especially from Zuri. Not telling them about Rez wasn't the tough part. It was not telling them what had happened after.

***

Aija had followed the man out of the gated housing complex. He had led her to a car. Not a LeviCar, an actual ancient car that had wheels that touched the ground. She had stared at it for an entire minute, despite the man's hurried demands for her to get in.

People couldn't own cars without special permission from the Leadership. Permission was second to being able to afford one in the first place. Not every family was given permission. Cars were only used by the Leadership for a few of its purposes and if a family wanted to use a car it required an authentic need for them. No one could own cars for the sake of owning them. Everything was accessible by walk or LeviPort Bus or the trains and the Leadership ensured that they allotted housing for people as close to their workplace as was possible – which was the reason Aija lived at the School Housing although her family had their home in Innermost.

This man owned a car; which meant he either worked for the Leadership or his family was rich enough to afford one and had received permission from the Leadership.

Aija had looked at the man. He had raised his brows at her, his patience running thin. She had gotten into the car and put on the seat belt. When he got in and saw the belt strapped in, he had said, "I see it's not your first time in a car. Most don't know about the seat belt."

Aija hadn't said a word in response and he had started the car. "You need to switch off your Geo-Location." he had said.

She had looked at him, startled, so he had said, "I won't hurt you. I promise."

Reluctantly she had switched it off. She had remained quiet the entire time as he drove them somewhere – out of Innermost. It was her first time outside the Capital. She had looked around; curiosity had gotten the best of her. The further away she moved from Innermost the denser the areas seemed to be occupied by people. High-rise buildings didn't exist out of the Capital. There were more medium height buildings and more residential areas crowded together unlike at Innermost, where everything was spaced out and interspersed with greenery. The further they moved, she had observed that the infrastructure was getting poorer. She hadn't expected that. She had thought all places were the same all over the City. But, it was getting clearer and clearer that it wasn't the case. Zuri had told her once about it, but she hadn't been able to believe it.

For the most part of the drive, they were quiet and Aija looked out at the new surroundings. She thought of her previous car experiences. It had been a long time since her last time in one.

She also wondered if she was voluntarily walking towards her end. What if this man had the same intention as the other two and had only pretended to save Rez, in front of her? But, she felt comfortable with him. It was almost like she knew he wouldn't harm her.

A long drive later, they had reached a modest-looking house. The man had led her inside and locked the door. Aija's heart had pounded crazily. Would he hurt her? Had she been wrong about him?

"Remove shoes here." he had said pointing to the shoe rack.

She did so and followed him in. He had given her a glass of water and said, "I'm Etrie."

She had studied him and kept quiet. She had accepted the glass of water though.

"Just relax for a minute." his voice had been feathery. "Sit."

He had seemed calm that they were at his house. She had wondered why he had been so skittish and why he had wanted to get out of there fast.

Aija had taken a seat by the kitchen island. Etrie had kept an eye on her as he had some water and then sat opposite her. She had been looking around the house – for escape routes in case things had taken a bad turn for her.

When she had seemed visibly calm he had told her, "The reason I wanted to get out of there in a hurry was because you're in trouble now."

Aija had frowned.

"You saw something you weren't supposed to." Etrie had explained. "And that man - he would have killed you if I hadn't found you in time. He'll search for you now, for you've seen what he does. He won't be happy to have left you alive."

Aija had remembered that man. His eyes had held such intensity. She couldn't deny that he surely would have killed her. But, just for a moment, he had held back and then fled. Had he known Etrie was there somewhere?

"What did he do to Rez?" she had asked.

Etrie had sighed, "It's going to be a long night. You must be hungry."

He hadn't asked if she needed anything, he had simply proceeded to make a salad – from scratch. He didn't seem to have pre-packed food in the CoolStore. How had he even managed to get fresh vegetables and fruits? Where were they available? He had made two cups of tea as well. It had seemed to Aija that he had been hungry all along. He had placed the salad and tea in front of her on the kitchen island and took one of each for himself.

He hadn't spoken a word the entire time they had eaten. It had put Aija's nerves on edge. She still hadn't been able to decide whether he was going to harm her later or not. Aija had found that she wasn't hungry and had, for the most part, just pushed the salad around in the bowl while looking around the house.

After he was done and she had had enough of pushing the salad around he asked, "Are you comfortable here? Do you want to sit on the couch instead?"

"I'm good." she had said, half making up her mind to run. The image of Rez's lifeless body had kept bothering her.

"You must at least try to have the tea while it's warm. You will feel better." Etrie had said taking his seat opposite her. She had nodded. "I told you my name."

"I haven't."

Etrie had smiled. "Okay. I see that you still don't trust me."

"No." she had agreed. "Please tell me. What was it that he did to that poor boy?"

Etrie had rubbed his temple, clearly making some kind of decision. "What you witnessed, it's called a Harvest." he had said finally.

Aija had sat quietly waiting for him to continue.

"Rez's soul was Harvested – taken by him. He's a Harvester. They have been Harvesting souls for years now."

Souls.... So, they weren't just magic lights. Aija had found that she believed what he said, even though it sounded purely impossible, maybe because she had seen it with her own eyes.

Etrie had been looking at her for some kind of reaction. He had been expecting more than her calm acceptance.

"Why?" she had asked, her tea forgotten.

"Well...." Etrie had said thinking; debating something with himself and asked, "Have you heard of the word 'alien'?"

She had nodded not thinking much of it. Instead, she had wondered why he had gone off topic.

Etrie continued, "Well aliens exist. Earth isn't the only planet with life. And aliens have been on earth for a very long time now."

He had stopped to gauge her expression, "Are you okay?" he had asked when she hadn't replied.

Aija had nodded. She hadn't known how she was supposed to react to that piece of information. Was she supposed to freak out at that thought? Or was she supposed to rejoice that Earth wasn't alone? Or was he toying with her and she was supposed to really fear him?

When she hadn't said anything, he spoke, "I'll continue."

Again, Aija had only nodded.

"There is a group here on Earth which is trying to take control of the planet."

"What?" she had finally found her voice.

"Yes. It is just as bad as it sounds." he had told. "In order to take over Earth, they need something called as an Àvo. And for the Àvo to work..." he had hesitated.

"Go on...."

"Well, for the Àvo to work, they need certain special kinds of souls from the race they want to destroy. They plan on destroying the human race and then take control of Earth. They have been Harvesting souls for a long time now. Only a few can do this – Harvesting – they are called Harvesters. Many can recognize these powerful souls, but few can collect them. The man you saw, he is a Harvester. He's one of the most powerful ones out there. We've been trying to capture him, but he's too good at getting away."

Etrie had kept quiet giving her time to process everything he had just said.

"So, those people who go missing..."

"Most are people whose souls have been Harvested."

Aija had tried to make sense of it all. "But, he looks human." She had wondered. "Aren't people from a different planet supposed to look different?"

Etrie had smiled, "We come from a planet that's very similar to Earth."

"What do you mean 'we'?"

Etrie had nodded, "Most of us on Earth are from the same planet. I work for the group which has been trying to stop these Harvests. We believe that this planet belongs to humans and that they need to be given another chance to do it right."

Aija had then looked at him properly, for the first time. He looked human. He had black hair and brown eyes. But, as she had observed longer, she found him taller than most humans. Also, his movements – there was something very precise and graceful about them. But, then again there were humans who were taller than others and had certain preciseness to their movements as well. She was confused now.

Etrie had looked towards the door and said, "Someone's angry."

By the time Aija had responded, the main door opened and closed and the girl from earlier entered the kitchen. How had he known? Had he heard her? Maybe that's what set them and humans apart? She hadn't heard the girl's footsteps even once she had entered the house; Etrie had known she had arrived even before the front door had opened.

The girl had scowled at Aija, then at Etrie and then stormed off upstairs.

They had sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Do you really believe that we humans can do better?" she had asked later.

"Yes," his voice was laced with empathy.

She had taken a sip from the cup of tea. It had gone cold.

"So, you believe me?" he had asked, his carefulness echoing in his voice.

She had nodded.

"Not everyone accepts this easily. Not even those who have seen a Harvest."

"Well, I believe for me it was the Harvest that made me believe you, if I hadn't not seen that with my own eyes..."

Etrie had smiled. "Well, now that that's out of the way – you need to be careful. That man will be after you. I'm surprised he even let you go, before fleeing."

Aija had nodded.

Etrie had proceeded to explain more about Harvesting and the organisation he belonged to.

Aija had learnt that his people are called Ytai and their planet – which was very similar to earth, according to him – was called Ytèan. She had also learnt that the organisation Etrie belonged was called R'ies and the one carrying out the Harvests was called H'eon. She had also noticed a lilting musical tone in his voice, particularly when he had spoken the words R'ies, Ytèan and H'eon. She had liked the tone of his voice.

She had learnt about the informants who kept track of H'eon's members and gave information back to R'ies about possible Harvests. She had learnt that the girl's name was Maya. She had learnt that there were many other planets with life and beings from Ytèan and other planets lived on Earth.

She hadn't realised how much time had passed, until Etrie had mentioned the rising sun. They had stayed up the whole night.

"How did you know who I was talking about last night, when I mentioned my friend?"

Etrie had shrugged. "You said you hadn't seen him in a long time and you seemed worried. I had seen that boy lying on the ground near a dispenser. He..."

"What?" Aija had demanded, anger coursing through her. "You told me he was alright!"

"He was!" Etrie had insisted. "I tried to see what was wrong with him. When I shook him, he woke up a little. He told me he felt as if someone had hit on the head. But, he looked fine. He went back to sleep and from what he mentioned I knew Thieron and his two partners were close by – which meant Rez was in trouble. So, I left him. I assure you he's fine." He had added the last sentence looking at how angry she had been.

"He better be alright!" she had warned.

"He is..." Etrie had said running his fingers through his hair. He had looked as tired as she had felt.

"Who's Thieron?"

"He's the Harvester who killed Rez. He works for the nephew of the Leader of H'eon. He's strong, he Harvests really powerful souls."

Aija's curiosity hadn't been quenched and she had asked, "Who's the other one?"

"The other one?"

"The other man with him – the one with golden brown hair. I saw after Thieron."

"Oh.... Luka..." Etrie had frowned. His voice was a little hesitant and she had wondered why.

"I have seen him a couple of times from my school. I have seen him see me." She had admitted rather reluctantly.

"Say that again." Etrie had alerted.

Aija had told him about her encounters with Luka. Etrie had stood, lost in thought and paced about the kitchen, his thoughts demanding concentration.

"What is it?" Aija had asked.

"Be careful." He had said, still distracted by his own thoughts. "They work for someone very powerful. Thieron wouldn't even think once before he puts his blade through your heart." he mumbled looking out at the brightening day.

Aija had looked at Etrie as he had paced through the room. She had calmed down. She still had doubts on whether she could trust Etrie, but she had believed him. Believed what he had said was all true.

"I'll have someone keep an eye on you." Etrie had informed her, finally looking at her. "I'm sure Thieron's next target is you. Also, what do you think of this – come with me on my next Harvest stopping mission."

"Huh?"

"The next time I get information of a Harvest, I want you to go with us. You will feel better saving people. Also, you could join us. You decide, though, after the next time."

"I don't understand. Me? I'm not good at this. I...."

"Relax..." he said gently. "Many times such situations arise. You aren't the first human to get caught in the midst of a Harvest. Many times people get killed for witnessing a Harvest, but many times if we are successful, we are able to save not only the person whose soul would have been Harvested but also the one caught in it by chance." he had explained. "Several times they want to get involved to save other humans. We take them in and assign them to different teams."

She had looked at him like he was crazy. Could she help him? Her? She could see that he wanted her to join him. He had eagerly waited for her to speak. She had shifted on the stool, it suddenly felt hard.

"I'm not very sure you are ready to accept 'no' as the answer."

"You're perceptive." he had smiled, amused by her.

She had guessed right. He did seem eager to have her work with him.

She had sighed, "Why?"

"I believe you will do well. And, if you want to live I think you'll have a better chance if you are with me."

She had mulled over it, while he had made two more glasses of tea. She hadn't even finished her previous cup of tea. He hadn't spoken a word the whole time. He later placed a cup of hot tea in front of her and discarded the old one.

"Well?" he had asked her.

"I still want to go to school. I can't miss it for anything."

Etrie had laughed and she had stared at him puzzled as to what had warranted his sudden burst of laughter.

"Of course, of course.... You can continue to live your life as you wish." he had grinned, trying to control his laughter. "It's only when we get information of a possible Harvest that you need to go with us. Also, no one would dare do a Harvest in broad daylight. Not even Thieron. It all happens late in the night."

She had frowned at him and stood up. She had stretched and said, "Fine. Just once...."

"Then you can decide whether you want to continue."

"Or not." She had added.

Etrie had smiled. "You've had a long night. Sleep for some time. I'll take you home later."

Aija had slept well even though the place was new; even with all the thoughts that were caressing the edge of her mind. She had been really tired. She had woken up later to find two missed calls from Zuri. But she hadn't called her back.

Etrie had dropped her home. They hadn't taken the car – it would have been too conspicuous during the day. They had taken the Sub-Terra Turbo. It was faster than the Terra Turbo Trains. Etrie had later tapped his Scroll to hers and their numbers were exchanged into each other's devices.

As he saw her off near the gate of the Housing Complex she had asked, "Why are you all helping humans? What's in it for you?"

He had smiled, "Because not all of us are bad. And, we don't need a reason to do the right thing."

She had looked at him, trying to discern him; his intentions.

"I'm Aija," she told him her name.

He had only smiled, nodded once and left.

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