I entered the living room, keeping my chin high. Malaki had taken a seat on the couch beside a sleeping Matilda, his eyes drifting from the maps to her in a swinging fashion that he must have believed to be subtle. He jerked from his daze when I walked through the open doorway. His eyes narrowed, taking in my red face before deciding not to question my disheveled hair or runny nose.

"We're headed home." I announced, trying to keep my voice flat. My chest still ached and my eyes threatened to open their flood gates all over again.

"Want me to carry her home for you?" Malaki asked with a quiet voice. "You don't want to injure your hand again."

I nodded before crossing my hands over my body. "I need to pay Bodhi. What does he want in return for his wrap job?"

"Don't worry about it." He gave me a soft grin. "He just wrapped it. If he wants anything, I'll handle it." I whispered my thanks as Malaki leaned down, gently lifting Matilda into his arms. He cradled her like a child and my lip threatened to quiver.

Anyone who had eyes could see that Malaki's feelings for my sister went deeper than just the surface. You could see the awe of her presence in his eyes, and whenever she entered the same room, he always knew. I found it secretly endearing when he made sure she was never lonely in a crowded room. Whenever Jack abandoned her at the bar, Malaki was the one standing beside her ready with jokes and a smile.

He craved her the way I wished that Leighton felt about me. Malaki was respectful and adored my sister, and it made me angry when she hardly batted her eye in his direction at the same time his heart stopped in her presence. Instead, she chased Jack with fervor, the man who treated her like scum and forgot about her every single day.

Malaki despised Jack, which made me like him nearly the most out of the Benton Brothers. Especially now after Leighton's intentions became clear, Malaki was my new favorite.

"Lead the way, Kate." Malaki prompted from behind me. I walked towards the front door, hearing his heavy boots behind me clunk against the wooden floor. I silently thanked him for being kind enough to never ask the hard questions.

I yanked open the rusty door, holding it open for Malaki to walk through. He was slow and careful, making sure Matilda didn't hit the frame. I shut the door after we both slipped through, the porch now embraced by the golden kiss of the setting sun.

"We need to move quickly before any patrols start to scavenge." Malaki noted, walking down the cracked sidewalk beside me.

"What about you? You have to walk home in the dark." I said, giving him a sideways glance.

He shrugged and gave me a grin. "They won't catch me. Don't worry. I'm out past dark more often than you think."

"That hardly surprises me."

We walked in silence down winding, dirty streets as the sunlight grew scarce. I lived across the river in East Sector so we had to cross the Hang Bridge and make our way around the main street to ensure that we weren't stopped by patrol.

Benton Capital was located in South Island, just as equal in poverty as the remaining five sectors. South Central was the only sector that was more well off than the rest because of its close proximity to the Ultrona Capital that controlled everything else.

The little, white house at the end of Gutzmann road in East had been my home from infancy. Matilda, Andrew, and I loved that house, and life was blissful until our parents were forced to join the Ultrona army and never came back home.

We never knew where they went or what happened to them. I didn't even know if they're even alive. They could possibly have decided to never write. Maybe they were being held captive in a foreign world as spies.

I doubted that they were still alive. I knew our parents loved us, and I remembered the day they were forced to leave only barely, the memory as fleeting as looking out on a grey street from the back window of a taxi. I could recall that it was cold and rainy, each of their kisses on my forehead before they disappeared on a military bus that never returned to our street.

Their departure was the real cause behind Matilda's drinking, the fiery blood that stirred her rage when she was drunk. I had been young, and though I missed them for the title they held, I never knew them to the same degree as my older siblings did. To them they weren't just their parents, they were Mom and Dad.

They each coped in different ways; Andrew fell into his studies to ignore them and Matilda drank them away. They both shut themselves down into their own little world where they forgot how much the real thing had to offer.

As Malaki and I walked the empty streets in East Sector, we started to point out stars that were especially bright, abandoned furniture in the streets or alley cats that prowled in shadow. We took turns, observing striped couches and horse head lamps. I pointed out a couple stars, which Malaki dismissed as the neighboring planets that glowed different hues.

He knew far more about astrology than I did. The red colored planet was Pugnam because of its volcanic surface and the yellow one was Dolor, a sand planet. Malaki then found another, which he called Earth.

Our universe was Ordinem with seven planets and Malaki talked on about more history, but I faded into my own mind. It was all things I'd heard before from Andrew, who like Malaki had read nearly every book he could find in the library or on the street.

We lived in a universe full of diverse history, one of every changing empires. There had been the Gods and after them the Serpents who created the worlds and the creatures to tend to their planets. Serpents weren't in existence any longer I remembered Andrew explaining. They'd died out by the end of Hydrian Age.

I hardly knew the rest of our history as I'd stopped paying attention by the time the centuries shifted. Andrew's lessons began to bore me, and he only wanted to repeat them more since we didn't have access to new books.

Emperor Tron, a demigod that sprung from a dying sun, had burned most of our books when he took over our kingdom on Viridis, our planet, and rebranded it as Ultrona. Andrew had told me our planet specifically had a large history, but I'd never taken the time to read about it. Most of the books were gone anyway.

"Did you hear that?" Malaki's words made me freeze on the sidewalk. He glanced around him as did I, scanning the road and nearby house windows.

"What? I didn't hear anything."

"Just keep walking. We're almost to your street, yeah?"

"It's right around the bend up there." I pointed down the street where the road curved right. I looked back to Malaki and he nodded before we proceeded forwards again. We walked with a quick step and checked our backs for any suspicious characters.

We are almost there. So close...

"Let go of me!" Matilda lurched forward out of her sleep, nearly throwing herself onto the concrete. Malaki jerked in surprise, managing to grab a hold of Matilda mid flight. She landed on her feet, trying to throw Malaki off her.

"Matilda, calm down!" I hissed.

"Where am I?" She cried out as Malaki held onto her wrists. With ease, he crossed her arms, twirling her around until she was pinned backwards against his chest.

"Matilda, it's Malaki.  Let's go inside and sleep, ok?" His voice was nearly a whisper against her right ear and I watched her face light up.

"Malaki! When... did you get here? And I want to go inside and eat candy!"

"Let's go then. You can lead me there." She nodded and Malaki released his grip carefully, letting her walk in front of him while he hovered to steady her if she fell. I walked silently beside the two as Matilda blabbered on.

"I like chocolate the most, and vanilla with strawberry. Red velvet cake is so good."

"It's delicious. It's the best cake I've ever eaten." Malaki played along with a smile.

"Did Jack make it home?" She asked, tottering lightly as Malaki went to steady her. He glanced to me with downcast eyes.

"Yep, he made it home alright." I chimed in. "He went to bed early so he could get a nice rest from all the activity today."

We made it to our front porch and I helped Matilda walk up each stair. Malaki didn't move another step, watching us with his hands in his pockets. "I should be on my way back. I'm glad the both of you got home safely. I hope the hand heals, Kate."

He began to turn away but I spoke before he could leave. "Malaki, just stay the night. I feel bad making you come all this way to just walk home in the dark. Please? None of us would mind one bit."

Malaki turned, biting his lip in hesitation. "Malaki," Matilda giggled, "Stay and eat cake with me!"

His cheeks turned faintly red before his head sagged and he nodded. "Thank you for your generosity."

I grinned. "Okay, now stop being polite and come in!"

I laid awake under the covers of my bed, staring at the ceiling. I let my eyes wander along the cracks, tracing them as they ran together with the next. Physically I was exhausted, but my mind just couldn't slow its rhythm. It buzzed with the events of the day, mainly Leighton.

I knew I shouldn't be thinking about him but I couldn't stop. I let him get to know me, to get so close to me. He'd snapped my heart in two. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep breathe. This will get better. There will be someone better.

Wouldn't there be?

There had to be that one person who was the best match for me out there somewhere. I believed in soulmates, in that person who would understand you better than anyone else. Of course, there were others who could make you happy, but there was still the one. He was out there somewhere, hopefully looking for me too.

Why can't Leighton be that person? It was a foolish thought that I already knew the answer to. Leighton obviously didn't value me enough to be the man I was meant for. He only wanted me for his own needs and didn't even consider my own. That's why he wasn't the one.

I sat up straight, silencing my inner dialogue. I leaned over to my side table, turning on my lamp. Light filled my room of shadow, casting warmth on the plain tan walls and scratched hardwood floor. Other than my bed and side table, my room was empty except for the large mirror that sat against the wall. A picture of our family was tucked into the top left corner of the mirror's frame.

We were a happy group. My father was holding Matilda and I while my mother held Andrew, his little hand on Dad's shoulder. Matilda looked liked our mother and Andrew like our father, but I couldn't place who exactly I looked like of the two. Neither had my hair color or my eyes, not even a glimmer of resemblance in the features of my face. Maybe there had been a grandparent who I could have drawn my image from.

I slipped out of bed, my throat dry. I needed water and hopefully it would ease these swirling emotions inside me. In my nightgown, I walked towards the bedroom door and opened it slowly so it wouldn't squeak. It was quiet in the dark hallway and I made my way towards the staircase.

Downstairs was black like the night settled outside and all the curtains were drawn over the windows. Andrew must have closed them before he went to bed. I peered into the living room to check on Malaki. He was sitting on the couch awake as day, staring blankly at the wall. His eyes shot to me immediately, startling me at first.

"Hey Kate."

"What are you doing up?"

He chuckled. "I could ask the same."

"I was thirsty." I shrugged.

"I heard noises." His words made me shiver. "It might have just been a cat getting into the garbage, but I just usually can't get back to sleep easily."

I nodded before turning into the kitchen. The wooden cabinets were closed and the center island was covered in dirty glasses and plates. I retrieved two clean glasses and filled them each with water from the sink.

"Neither can I. I make up reasons to stay awake, mostly reasons to worry or simply nightmares. Especially with everything that's been happening lately." I sighed. I took a seat beside him on the couch, offering him the second glass. Malaki nodded his thanks before taking it in his hand

We sat in silence, each sipping our water as we gazed at the wall. I realized then that Malaki and I were both seeing far different things. A funny smell filled my nose and I scrunched up my face in disgust. "What is that?"

"What?" Malaki asked.

"Smell."

He sucked in deeply and his face contorted. "I smell it."

"What is it?"

Malaki's eye widened. "Smoke."

Fire. Something's on fire.

He jumped up and hurried towards one of the windows. I scurried behind him, my eyes bulging at the sight outside. Thick puffs of smoke filled the sky like the clouds on a rainy day. The smell was growing more intense as the night sky blackened.

For all I knew, hell was opening outside my front door.

--

Map of Ultrona for your reference: