Hey y'all! So as some of you know, I've decided to add in one chapter each from the POV of Ethan and James. This is both to add some depth to their characters, foreshadow some of the events of the book, and pave the way for more of them in the sequel.

If you like this, I'll leave it and post James' chapter as well. If not, I'll delete it. Simple as that.

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Storm clouds rumbled overhead as rain fell in thick sheets, drenching the forest and digging deep into the soil surrounding Arabel. The city, however, remained dry. Its towers stayed bright, the stars above it stayed golden, and the river was as calm as ever. From the inside, it looked as though it was nothing more than a peaceful night, but from the outside, the weather dome surrounding it was covered in streaks from the rain, blurring the many lights of the city, and thunder drowned out all other noises.

But just outside the city, ten stories underground, a boy was snoozing, unaware of the strange things happening above him. That is, until his computer began to buzz insistently, like a fly against a window. With a start, he jumped in his seat, knocking the mishmash of silver he'd been working on to the floor. Despite its weight and strange size, the object bounced as if it was a round rubber ball, and each time it hit the floor there was a menacing crack.

Scrambling to his feet, the boy chased after it, tugging his coat around him to cover the shirt underneath; it was black, short sleeved and emblazoned with a right angle and the words 'Yes, I'm Always Right' – not exactly appropriate attire for someone of his status. But it was the only cool thing the Enforcers had brought back from their mission to the outside, and he simply couldn't let it be destroyed with the rest of the junk.

Scooping the contraption into his arms, the boy dove back towards his seat, and let it slide across the cold concrete, before skidding to a stop in front of his desk. Settling the object on the glass surface, he waved his hand in front of the computer, and in seconds it came to life. The name 'Ethan Thomas' popped up briefly, but was quickly replaced by a blurry female's face. He patted around the desk for his glasses and put them on quickly. Kyra, he thought with a frown. Being one of his best citizens, Ethan rarely had to check up on Kyra, meaning he knew next to nothing about her. But six years of watching out for her had taught Ethan a thing or two. It was strange that she was up this late, and even stranger that she had no intention of going to sleep. Like usual she had already taken off her bracelet, but that didn't explain why her energy levels were full to the max.

Despite his confusion, Ethan tapped on her face and watched as a list of thoughts popped up. It said exactly what she was thinking, but Ethan – who didn't really enjoy invading her privacy - summarised it into a few short words, the ones he selected being 'mother, get, out.' Ethan let out a soft snort and leaned back in his seat, getting ready for the angrier thoughts to come.

With a yawn, Ethan pressed the speaker button on the side of his desk and walked into the centre of the room to stretch. Despite having extra privileges such as television and unhealthy foods, the Controllers still had the same sized bedrooms as regular citizens, and almost the exact same furniture. Next to the entrance was his wardrobe, and though it was small, it mainly consisted of white coats and inappropriate shirts from the outside that his mother disapproved of. Across from the desk was his bed, next to that a door that led to his bathroom, and on the far wall there was a glass bookshelf, full to the brim of the most colourful knickknacks Ethan could find to brighten up the dull, grey room.

Ethan stopped his pacing as Kyra's thoughts went onto a new topic: the Vinctures. His computer let out a beep, alerting him to the rise in her emotional instability. That single thought split and branched off into even angrier ones, each more rage filled than the last. It was as though all of her anger had been stored up for one moment, and now she had finally let it out. Ethan knew it was wrong to listen, and felt his shoulders droop under the weight of his guilt for every second he didn't turn off his computer, but his curiosity was too much for him. The Citizens were so different, so unique - it was interesting to see how they lived.

Though he was across the room he could clearly see the words 'night sky' as they flashed across his screen, and out of habit, Ethan looked up at the plastic stars he'd taped to the ceiling; Controllers were not allowed to see the outside world until they reached a certain age, so when he was young and jealous of the citizens, he'd taped the glowing pieces of plastic up there to remind himself that even though he was missing out, there was a good reason behind it. He was a part of the glue that held the society together, and if he was unreliable, the whole place would fall apart. So it was only natural that the society wanted to test his loyalty by keeping him isolated for a few years.

"One star shone brighter than the others, as it had every day since my father 'died'. I'd always thought that because the star was brighter than the others, maybe it was my father watching over me. I knew it was stupid, that stars were simply brighter than others because they were closer to the earth, but it gave me hope that he was still alive."

Ethan whipped around to face the computer, eyebrows furrowed as he stepped forward. Though the voice was a robot's, the thoughts were definitely Kyra's, but they didn't make sense. Kyra had never thought about something like this, at least not when he'd been able to hear it, and yet she seemed so sure about it. But no, he thought, shaking his head. People didn't just disappear in Arabel, and they definitely didn't leave stars in their wake.

But my father did, Ethan thought. His chest tightened.

On the day Ethan's father disappeared, he'd been only ten years old and, at the time, rather naive. So when a star had floated into view, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that it was his father, sent to watch over him as he grieved. However years passed and the star stayed. If Ethan wanted, he could go up to the roof now and see the star, which would be as bright and close as ever.

"It has to be a coincidence," Ethan muttered as he paced back and forth. He'd always thought the star was unique to him, something that had helped him through that terrible time that only he could see, but maybe it was something else. "Stars are merely balls of fire. They aren't people, or-or signs or anything, really. But maybe..." Ethan broke off abruptly as theories ran through his head; maybe it was just a regular star; maybe it was an illusion; or maybe, just maybe, it wasn't a star at all.

In seconds he was sitting back down, tapping his fingers impatiently as he waited for the keypad to load. With all of the nervous citizens around, tension was running high, meaning that the Controllers – and their computers - were working overtime to control everyone. After a few long seconds, the desk glowed blue and a keypad appeared, on which Ethan immediately began to type. What he was looking for, he wasn't really sure, but suddenly the star just didn't seem right. It had when he'd thought he was the only person it had meaning too, but throw someone else into the mix and Ethan had a right to be suspicious.

As he typed, Kyra's thoughts continued to billow out, unfiltered and uncontrolled. They were mainly about the view from her window, about how beautiful the city looked. If only they could see the view from here, Ethan thought, but brushed the thought off. Citizens didn't belong in the Control Centre, just like Controllers didn't belong in the city. Neither group accepted the other. Of course he'd always wondered what it would be like to meet a citizen, but the odds of that happening were too slim, and Ethan was too shy to approach them anyway.

After what seemed like an hour of searching, the boy finally found what he was looking for, and with a click, the monitor went blank. Pixel by pixel the screen came into focus, displaying the city of Arabel in varying hues of darkness. From above you could see the perfectly planned out masterpiece in all of its glory; the identical streets, towers of every shape and size that slowly faded into factories, the buildings interwoven by a labyrinth of alleyways. A thick river ran through the centre of the city, separating the houses from the building sector. Two large sets of gates were situated at the East and West walls, hidden from the citizens on one side by a thin strip of farm land and by factories on the other.

Arabel was built strategically in the middle of a forest, with a wall - which was visible from the inside - and a high fence surrounding that, neither of which were visible over the tree line. It had been useful at the time of their construction, when their creators had been trying to keep the citizens safe inside the city and away from the infected. But now the fences were unnecessary. Nothing was going to harm them, and no one would want to leave Arabel anyway.

The housing sector of the city was made up of ten vertical streets and fifty horizontal ones, each full of houses that were narrow, tall and connected in long rows. Ethan searched until he located Kyra's house in the middle of the first sector, where a tan girl was perched on the windowsill, her eyes set on the blond figure across from her. Henderson, he thought, shaking his head. In all the years he'd known Kyra, she'd been a good citizen, but every time she got involved with James Henderson something went wrong. It was entertaining to watch, but the struggle she went through afterwards was not. For whatever reason, she had a problem with looking people she'd let down in the eye, and seeing her struggle for words and sweat was not something Ethan enjoyed. He tried to make it easier for her by giving her regular warnings, but it still didn't matter. She disobeyed him anyway.

Turning the camera so it faced the sky, Ethan zoomed in, focusing on the bright, still star ahead. It was strange how he knew its exact appearance. Not exactly round, but not flat either. It was a slightly different colour to the others as well, more gold than it should have been, like a mixture of the moon and sun. The sky behind it was inky black, though because of the occasional bang and rattle Ethan was sure the weather outside of Arabel wasn't quite as calm. The citizens weren't aware of the dome that protected them from severe storms and the sun's harsher rays, but in order to keep up the facade the Controllers had to let the odd tempest through. This, however, was not one of them. It sounded like the biggest one they'd had that year, and it wasn't even storm season yet.

With a small click, the camera went in and out of focus, so fast that Ethan skimmed past the star. But that's impossible, he thought, frowning as he frantically tried to backpedal. The star was barely higher than the weather dome surrounding Arabel, just high enough to be seen by a passing plane. As the camera lense settled on the star, Ethan examined it as pixel by pixel slowly changed. The thing was round, smooth, and undoubtedly familiar. Carved into the bottom was the word 'Shadelands', barely visible against the pale material of the orb.

No way, Ethan thought, letting out a sharp breath. When Ethan's father left, he took everything he had, leaving behind a single note as a goodbye. It hadn't said 'I love you' or 'you'll be fine' like Ethan thought it would. No, it contained a single paragraph, one that had never made sense, not until now.

Shadelands: a cry for help, a sign of danger, a warning. If you see it, come find me. I will never be too far away.

In all of his years as a controller, Ethan had come across some weird things, but nothing like this. What it meant, he wasn't sure, but he did know one thing; it was special, something unheard of, something unique; a mystery just waiting to be solved. And it was his job to figure it out. Ethan had no idea what the thing in the sky was, but there were two things he was certain of: his father had sent it to him, and it definitely wasn't a star.

— author's note —

What do you guys think? Please let me know your thoughts or theories in the comments, I'd love to know your opinions. :D