"What?!" I exclaimed in a rusty whisper.

I rubbed my eyes because of the itchiness. The rubbish bin didn't smell as bad after a while, but the awful scent of burning debris and dust from the recent explosion was prickling my eyes.

"I said, I've just hacked your nanochip," the mysterious biker and terrorist replied. "Now it doesn't work properly. I haven't removed it. They can't be removed, you know that."

I did. But I couldn't grasp what he meant.

"Hacking your chip means that now it only sends irrelevant data instead of the truth. We're safe in that sense. All sensitive data that might compromise you is filtered out before the GSNS can obtain it. Your real thoughts and actions are 100% yours now. Get it?"

I nodded briefly even though I was terrified. "Wait. How did you manage to hack your chip? Even thinking about doing it would get you caught. It's punishable!"

"Well, I didn't hack my chip myself. My boss did it for me. She's-"

"Was she the first to do it?! But how?" Curiosity was burning inside me.

"She had help too. One day, you'll find it out." He smiled briefly. "Now, we're running out of time. By the way, have you seen my weapons before I hacked your chip?"

"No, I-"

"If you had, there's no need to worry." He didn't let me finish. "There's a two-minute backtracking protocol which erases from the GSNS logs what you've seen and thought two minutes before you got your chip hacked."

He started storing his weapons and ammo back into his backpack in a hurry. He was detaching his firearm as if he had done it a million times.

"We have to get outta here. These nosey cops will make our escape hard, but don't worry. I'll take you somewhere safe."

"B-but- you've... just... bombed the BioBank." The music of my voice sounded out of tune.

"I won't hurt you. I can explain. Everything. Later. But you need to do as I say, okay?"

"I... I can't." I didn't want to go with him. Everything felt surreal. "B-bombing b-buildings and murdering people is unethical. I hate v-violence. Ever since I was taught history in school. What do you want to achieve?"

He stopped putting his stuff in the backpack and stared at me with a frown. My pacifism collided hard against his cold demeanour.

"Isn't it obvious?" The coldness in his voice iced me from head to toe.

"Besides, w-why do you think I'm c-coming with you no questions asked? I'm not a criminal like you. I don't want to be an unethical monster."

"Like the clones, I hope you mean?" His stare was hard on me. "You're young, but you must've already experienced what their laws do to us. They kill us when we get ill or become forty-five. They are monsters," he whispered with self-righteousness as if I didn't already know that was true. However, something in the way he had uttered that statement made me feel like he had been branded by that harsh truth in a way that would make my stomach churn. He might have a backstory to reinforce that hatred.

That mysterious guy's long, wavy, light brown hair got in the way of his intense, green eyes while he was staring at me in the semidarkness. I felt as if I was a sandcastle and those imposing eyes were the sea, threatening to destroy me, to wash me away. I would have to yield to them, and the truth behind them, soon enough.

His voice was laced with sadness as he went on, "I know what I've done is awful. This world is sick. That's the reason why I've bombed the BioBank... and why you need to come with me. With my boss and my fellow rebels."

Was setting a bomb off to destroy an emblematic building an awful thing? No, it was worse. It was atrocious.

"I don't want anything to do with a rebel or someone out of the system! I can't-" I exclaimed, accidentally raising my voice.

"Not so loud, Dummkopf!" he whisper-shouted at me. "The clone cops out there could spot us."

I had a feeling that weird word might've been German. That foreign word I didn't understand had sounded as such, but maybe I was wrong.

I felt a tornado of conflicting sensations inside me, from the wild beating of my poor heart to the numbness of my legs. I detested violence and crimes. They only ensured more hatred. My experience had taught me that, but he seemed to be comfortable with perpetuating an endless chain of suffering.

We locked our gazes. I saw my scared, brown eyes in his menacing ones.

"An army of clone cops is still combing the area looking for the bastard who's caused this havoc, me. If you talk any louder, they could spot us," he complained as he turned to one of those holes on the side of the rubbish bin. "They haven't heard you. They don't know we're here. Good."

I was afraid of becoming the cops' target if they found me there hiding with him.

"They're still patrolling. Damn," he complained. "They're just... everywhere! I was hoping we could sneak out during a changing of the guard. But-" He let out a frustrated sigh. "We need to wait it out a bit longer, I guess."

I took a good look at him while he was busy spying out of the rubbish bin as he was finishing up packing his stuff. Nice biceps, big hands, broad shoulders under that black, skin-tight T-shirt, a nice, oval face with a strong jaw. He was a handsome yet scary devil with a godlike physique.

Did he look appealing? Maybe.

Did he look deadly? Absolutely.

Did I have any chance of escaping? Nope, not in a billion years.

I was regretting my rash behaviour. I had only come to ground zero after the explosion because I wanted to find my brother, not to get sucked into a rebellion.

What a stupid way to die: accidentally spotting a terrorist who was hiding from the clone police in an empty rubbish bin. Because I was sure he would want to get rid of me because I didn't want to go with him or be part of any terrorist organisation. Either that, or he would be forced to kidnap me or something.

"What's your name?" I welcomed that softer tone.

"Daphne. Daphne Peneus," I replied as he turned to face me again.

I bit my lower lip and felt dizzy. Would I ever come back home? Would I ever see my father again? Would I know what had happened to Daniel?

"You belong with us now, Daphne. Amanita's rebels," he told me when he was done packing. "There's no way back after hacking a chip."

He was making me feel regretfully tied to him, to them –the rebels–, and sullied because of it.

"Amanita? You mean-" My eyes went wide open at the mention of that name.

"Yes, the trendiest nightclub in Thalis. It's our cover."

Wow. The giant, mushroom-shaped building with a red roof by the east coast! One of the most exclusive places in my city was the cover for a terrorist group. Damn.

Hesitation was searing me inside-out. I felt curious to know more about them, about Amanita,... about him, too. He was watching me intently. My fists were clenched and I was still breathing hard due to stress. If I wanted to survive that shit, I had to know more and adapt. However, I didn't feel like I had a choice. That was bothering me.

"We need to flee from this place and get to Amanita as soon as possible. I need you to meet my boss." He sounded uneasy. Maybe he had guessed my apprehension.

Then, he harshly zipped up his backpack. Did that someone mean bad news for either of us?

He sighed deeply.

"Look, I'm not gonna kidnap you if you don't wanna come with me," he admitted with a sad expression on his face.

His whole body was tense. I assumed he didn't like giving me the choice to flee. Maybe he was sure I'd take it.

"It's your choice. But I assume that, after what's happened here, you will want to meet her." The look in his eyes was grave and full of pride. "She can offer you protection. We want to save the world from the clones. Maybe... so do you. Won't you come with me?"

I stared deeply into his mesmerising green eyes. In them, I saw a silent plea to believe him, to accept going with him.

"Won't you tell me your name, at least?" I asked, hesitating.

"Siegfried Thor – and no." His abruptness caught me off guard. "It's not a pleasure to meet me."

He averted his eyes. He looked like a lone wolf marking his territory and keeping his distance as if he didn't want me to get to know him. I swallowed hard.

Did that mean I was in trouble? I didn't quite understand why he was being kind to me one minute and harsh and distant the next.

"I don't understand-"

"Understand what? Look, there's no undoing what I've done to your chip. I've hacked it only because not doing so would've gotten me, and my boss and the whole group, in trouble," he explained in a foul mood then. "Because you've spotted me during a mission. You would've tipped the clone police about me by accident due to your fully functioning chip. I had to do it. I'm sorry, but you're no longer a civilian."

"I can't... I don't think I..." I felt the oxygen lacking to voice my thoughts. "I don't like this. I'm sorry. I can't come with you."

"Do you think I like it? No, I don't. You're not the only one who doesn't like the current state of affairs. You're like me now. A criminal, if you like. But it's best if you come with me and meet my boss. It's the only way to keep you safe from the clones."

He was right. I had become a criminal. A co-conspirator. A murderer by association. And my only option in terms of safety.

I suddenly remembered that eight-year-old clone girl playing with her technocat near the dam.

Georgina was her name. Her technocat malfunctioned and I saved her. I would've loved being friends with her despite being so different. But, when her parents came, she called me a murderer. To clones, all trad trash are murderers.

She had been right – eventually. But this time things were a lot more serious than the death of a robotic pet: if I escaped with that guy, Siegfried Thor, I'd be helping a criminal to escape. Accepting that fate would someday taint my hands with blood too.

Siegfried chuckled darkly while he watched me reflect.

"Agape's gonna kill me for this." He briefly massaged the bridge of his nose. "We get picked according to our skills. No offence but... I barely know you, but I'm sure you're nowhere near ready for this. The life of a rebel."

I couldn't argue against it. Cold sweat was running through my body inside-out. I shivered.

Of course, I wasn't ready to endure the life of a rebel! I mean, that guy had just bombed the BioBank. Was I prepared and willing to do something like that in the future? Blowing up buildings and murdering people? Nope, not bloody likely! I was not a murderer or a criminal of any kind. I didn't want to become one.

"I don't know... I..." What could I tell him? I went paler and my arms shivered as seconds went by. The realisation that I was a useless member of a terrorist group dawned on me.

What could I do? How could I get out of that one? Would his boss, that so-called Agape, prefer to get rid of me if she knew I didn't fit in her terrorist group?

I was just a common nineteen-year-old girl who worked as part of the cleaning personnel in a cosmetic surgery clinic for clones, like my white coat with the company logo denoted. My concerns revolved solely around the well-being of my family and a stupid dream job that wasn't meant for me, that is, becoming a mechanic someday.

I was also a traditional human, like Siegfried, which made me part of a community with virtually no rights, under clone rule, with Apollo 'The Living God' leading them. They harvested our organs and controlled our lives with scrutiny, among other ruthless acts supported by their laws. It had been so ever since the Prevalence War, which had taken place almost forty years ago. Clones had been in complete political and military control after that, making our lives miserable.

It was 2141, and I was just born into that mess, never knowing anything remotely different.

"Hating clones has never made me wish to murder them. I just want them to leave us alone. I can't be a rebel," I replied with a weak voice.

"Being a rebel isn't easy, Daphne," he replied with pity. "You'll have to do things you might not approve of. For the greater good. You need to come to terms with it. A war is about to begin. Wouldn't you like to help us succeed in defeating Apollo and the clones? You and the ones you love would be free at last, just like you want."

"Yes, I'd love that, but-"

"Look, don't worry. We'll figure something out," he added after a heartfelt sigh. He must've realised that I wasn't ready to come to terms with the truth of my new state of affairs. It was hitting me hard like driving a car at full speed and crashing against a concrete wall. "Will you come with me and talk with Agape, my boss? I promise you can go anytime you want if you don't want to have anything to do with us. But let me tell you something."

I hesitated and stared deeply into his lovely, green eyes.

"My boss and I need your help, Daphne. We really do." He put a hand softly on mine. "Help me change the world, Daphne."

I wondered what I could do –or what he thought I could do– to help their cause.

"What do you say?" he insisted.

I let out a nervous, shaky sigh.

The previous week, on Friday, I honestly thought my family and I were safe after passing our annual check-up in the BioSolutions Centre, also known as our annual humiliation devised by clone doctors. But only a week later, my brother was dead and I had become a rebel.

Safe? I guess I was wrong.

Hello, my dear sugar cubes!

This conversation isn't over. Will she accept going with Siegfried?
Got a question, if you don't mind: is Daphne likeable to you?

*Note on foreign words: 'Dummkopf' is a German word for 'idiot'.

Stay tuned to know more! 😊

XOXO

MS