Kyra's dreams were plagued with raspy voices and groping hands, warm breath on the back of her neck, and a dark figure whispering all of her worries. When she finally came to it was like waking from a nightmare only to walk straight into another one. It was pitch black, her face was frozen yet her body was roasting, and no matter how long she kept her eyes open they didn't adjust to the lack of light.

Something tight and soft held her body in place. Frowning, she edged her fingers across the soft sheets, feeling for the edge of the bed... the sharp corner of a table... a hard surface, free of any books... searching for something - anything - that would help her understand. Where am I? she wondered.

A dazzling blue light filled the room. Kyra sat up, gulping as she pulled a pillow close to her chest. The light burned into her retinas and made her eyes water, but was impossible to look away from; there was something familiar about it she couldn't put her finger on. As she watched something moved to impair the light; whatever it was was accompanied by a deep snore. Frowning, Kyra gripped the pillow and threw it. Like a spider whose web was disturbed, the pile jumped upwards and stretched out its limbs, ready to attack. Kyra let out a yelp and shuffled backwards.

"Good morning to you, too." The voice was gruff, thick with sleep, and accompanied with a yawn - the familiarity of it dissolved all of her worries in an instant. "Lights: on."

The room was ablaze with a glossy light. Kyra raised a hand to cover her eyes; glancing through her fingers, she examined the room. It was grey, spacious, and foreign. On the opposite wall was a door, to the right a bare set of drawers with a mirror set above it, and to the left a small bookcase.

Standing in the corner next to it was Ethan, his hair ruffled and his lids heavy, as though he hadn't slept a wink. He smiled and dropped back into his seat. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Confused. And sore, now that you mention it."

Sliding the covers back, Kyra stood and rolled up her right sleeve. The skin that was usually covered with her bracelet was tender to the touch, and flooded with deep purple bruises. Gasping, she crossed to the mirror, wincing with every stumbled step. The face staring back at her was foreign. Dark rings similar to those circling her wrists stained her under eye like paint. A bandage soaked with dried blood was taped to her chin. She pulled it off and examined the raw scrape, biting her lip.

"W-what happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"No, I... I don't." All she remembered was a sentence snarled in her ear: didn't anyone ever tell you the truth is treason in a world of lies?

Ethan looked her up and down with tired eyes. After a moment he sighed, rubbed his temple and said, "You were attacked by another citizen whilst riding the train last night. I found you before he could do anymore damage, but... well, he didn't leave you unscathed."

She shivered and turned away from the mirror, unable to look at it any longer.

"But, but... That stuff, it doesn't happen. Not here. Arabel, it's... it's safe. That's something from the old world." Kyra whirled to face him, one hand gripping her forehead and the other pressed against the wall for support. "Who was it? Do you know?"

Ethan bit his lip and nodded, slowly, as though she was a deer caught in headlights that could be spooked by the smallest of movements. He leaned forward in his seat and pulled a crumpled yellow file from behind him. It was thick, leading Kyra to wonder how many other attacks were in the man's file.

"I got you this, just in case you wanted to know more about him."

Kyra looked between the file and Ethan. Did she want to know? Did she want to be on the lookout for his face every time she turned a corner? Or was it better not knowing, being weary of everyone she came across? Pursing her lips, she grabbed the file and tucked it under her arm.

"Thank you. I'll... I'll read it when I'm ready."

Ethan frowned but said nothing. His bracelet flashed brightly again. Kyra looked away, her eyes clenched shut, both from the light and the prickling feeling at the back of her eyes.

"We were supposed to train today, but given the circumstances..." Ethan's voice faded into a whisper.

Kyra turned to face him. "Sorry." Her voice was small.

His face was pinched as he gnawed on his lip lower lip; Kyra couldn't help but compare him to her brother, and the way he acted when he was deep in thought. "It's not your fault Kyra, not in the slightest. Maybe I should just take you home."

Though her voice was even, her face gave away what she truly felt. She shot him a tight lipped smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine to train, really." Anything was better than going home to the mess she'd left behind last night.

Ethan didn't look convinced. He tapped his fingers on the edge of his seat, thinking. "I don't think you're up to the lesson I had planned for today."

"But-"

Ethan smiled and held up a hand. "There's this place that we take new recruits once they've completed all of their training. It's sort of a graduation gift, I suppose. The reason we don't show you it at the start is because we're not sure if we can trust you."

"And do you? Trust me, I mean." Kyra stared at him with an unwavering gaze. He stared right back, his eyes searching her for something.

Without a word he crossed to the door and pulled it open, pausing with his hand on the handle. She didn't know what to do: follow? Hop back into bed? Before she could ponder it further, he shot her a smile and held out one arm.

"How about I give you the grand tour?" he asked.

"Only if you show where to get some food around here," she said, mimicking his tone with a sly smile and a flutter of her lashes.

"Of course, Madam. This way, please."

Kyra linked her arm through his, smiling wider than she had with a stranger in a long time. It wasn't entirely real, but it was still a smile.

Maybe he won't be a stranger for much longer, she thought. Her smile grew wider.

---

"The people here aren't at all what I expected."

"How so?"

"I thought they'd be reciting laws and ruining lives from dusk till dawn, not-"

"Watching movies and eating cheese puffs?" he finished.

Kyra laughed. "Yeah. That movie sure was something else," Kyra said, turning to Ethan with a frown. His arm was against hers, having just led her away after she started an intense conversation with someone about her favourite author, his hand lingering politely on her elbow.

He smiled - all eyes and dimples. "We're usually restricted to documentaries."

"See, documentaries I understand. At least you learn something, even if it is on a topic you aren't that interested in."

"Movies generally have a moral lesson behind them." He shrugged and dropped his voice. "Jackass is a very rare exception. And a completely illegal one. But it's four hundred years old so technically it could be classed as a history documentary."

Kyra laughed.

For the past hour Ethan had been giving her a somewhat confusing tour. It included the dining hall, an entire floor dedicated to preparing delicacies from salads to greasy foods, and serving chatty Controllers; the first of four housing levels; and the common rooms - they had been Kyra's favourite. For one thing, the libraries were bigger than her house, and filled floor to ceiling with books. She could see herself sitting in there for hours on end and never getting bored. Below those levels were the laboratories and Controlling stations, rooms Kyra had already seen far too often for her taste. Needless to say, they'd been left off the tour.

In one of the media rooms they stumbled across Boomer.

"Watch out for this one," he'd said, nudging Ethan in the hip, where his arm naturally rested on the tall boy. "Last year he created a device that can melt, well, practically anything, and turn it into this gross warm goo. And if you piss him off he won't hesitate to melt your mattress. Although to be fair, I did accidentally set him on fire..."

His stories were as vibrant as his bright red hair, and hopefully not as real - they'd be in a lot of trouble if they were.

As they walked down yet another white tiled hallway, Kyra closed her eyes and rubbed her temple; though she'd only brushed the surface of the mysterious place, trying to navigate its identical halls was already giving her a headache. Even so, it felt good to let her mind wander, to think about something as simple as memorising, a talent that came naturally to her. She almost felt normal for a second.

Ethan placed a hand on her back, directing her towards the closest of the four elevators on the floor. It had white marble walls and glass panes that began at waist height and continued to the roof. The carpet was dark, contrasting with the silver rail around the middle. The floor levels passed in a flash of colour.

The top room of the Control Center had five levels, the top four ring shaped with a hole in the middle. The furniture was curved, soft and coloured in bright, bold hues. Unlike all of the furniture in the city, which was used to correct posture and relieve back pain, these chairs looked comfortable, like something you could fall asleep in and not wake up for days. It was devoid of people, something Kyra noticed with a frown.

The walls were all white, with a round desk in the middle. Kyra supposed they didn't need someone at the welcome desk if they never had any visitors. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, sending off sparkles as it hit the benchtop. Kyra ran her fingers over it, surprised to find it flat, and yet mesmerised by the lights that danced off of it.

"If you're this curious about a bench top, I wonder how you're going to react to what's next."

Kyra span to face Ethan, who was standing with his arms behind his back, a small smile on his lips.

"Here comes the real surprise."

A burning excitement flooded Kyra's chest as she followed Ethan to the wide front doors. They were made of a thick white metal and looked as though not even a missile could smash through. After typing in a code, they hurried through and clambered up the stone staircase. A strange light filled it, one Kyra thought must be natural, but her eyes were too adjusted to the artificial ones to fully recognise it. As Kyra reached the top, her heart pounding and head aching, she took in the view - and forgot everything else that was on her mind.

The cold air smelled of freshly churned dirt, and the pavement was slightly wet, as though it had rained recently. A fence separated her and Ethan from the outside world, but close enough to touch was a garden full of beautiful flowers. Trees of all shapes of sizes filled the enclosure, and as Kyra span to watch colourful birds flew between their boughs, singing their sweet, catchy tunes. A pond full of leaping, orange fish caught Kyra's eyes as she came to a halt, her arms outstretched as though that could help her take in the area better.

A tiny spot of purple caught her eye. Kyra stepped forward to examine a small flower growing at the edge of the pavement, in the small gap between the asphalt path and the uniform grass. Though there were flowers all around, this one seemed out of place - it was the only imperfection she had seen so far. She'd always thought the Controllers needed uniformity, for everything to be in its rightful place, but her opinion on the matter was slowly changing.

It seemed her thoughts on everything had changed lately, and all because of a simple test. She knew the Vinctures would change how she spent her time five days a week, but her outlook on life? That was something she had never even dreamed of differing. Those three-hundred and sixty-five days she'd planned to wait didn't seem so important now.

"This place... It's so beautiful."

"Wait till you see it from up there," Ethan said, motioning to the roof of the strange, circular building. "You get the best view on the roof, especially at night. Inside the city the stars are bright, but outside? They're blinding."

Kyra walked forward, following the path away from the wall and closer to the building in the middle of the square enclosure. A staircase spiralled it, allowing access to the rooftop. She crossed to it without a second thought and traipsed up it, stopping to look behind halfway up. Ethan was several steps below her with his arms wound around the railing.

"Ethan are you okay?"

"Did I, did I ever mention that I'm... afraid of heights? I think it comes from living underground for so long. I never really, never go to high places." He sputtered the words out in a matter of seconds.

She frowned. "I thought you'd been up here before."

"Yeah." He looked up at her through long, dark lashes and added, "With my dad."

Kyra understood the pain of not being able to return to a place she once loved without her father. She felt it everyday; avoiding the office in her own home, looking down as she passed a guard tower, distracting herself whenever she had to walk across the city river.

"I think" - Kyra trudged down the stairs until she and Ethan were at eye level and held out her hand - "if you can stand at the edge of an underground chasm, in the dark, waiting for a death machine that travels at maniacal speeds, you can walk up a staircase."

A shaky laugh slipped through his lips as he rubbed the nape of his neck. "Stands to reason."

She took his shaking hand in her steady one. His other hand lingered behind her - whether to catch himself if he slipped or to stabilise her was unclear - and took comfort from it. When she finally reached the top she was breathless for more than one reason.

The base of the distant mountains was covered in wild green trees, twisting this way and that to create a swirl of emerald hues. Halfway up the green turned to steel grey, and then to pure, icy white. The snow covered alps blended into the sky, so much so that Kyra didn't know where the clouds began and the peaks stopped. An icy breeze that smelled of pine trees blew back her hair as she crossed to the rail, her breath coming out in a faint white fog. From above the fence separating them from the outside was barely visible, and Kyra felt as though she was actually in the forest, actually free.

"How are you doing over there?" Ethan asked; she didn't have to look to know he was grinning.

"It's breathtaking - literally. But... The government said the world before was destroyed. The forests burned down, the rivers polluted, the mountains barren. How does all of that exist?" Kyra wondered.

Ethan smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes; they were glassy and set on something in the distance. He was standing as far away from the railing as possible. "This exists because of us. The Controllers, who everyone claims to be so afraid of, are saving the world. A bit ironic if you ask me." Ethan shook his head and straightened up, turning to face Kyra. "We've spent years correcting what our ancestors destroyed. All of the lakes and oceans, all of the forests and animal habitats - they're being fixed. We're restoring the natural balance. And yet there are people out there that continue to criticise."

Kyra stared down at her hands gripped around the railing. "I grew up believing all you guys did was control people, brainwash them. And all this time you've been keeping the whole city going. You help us, create inventions for us, save the world for us. Don't you ever want to give up?"

"At least three times a day," Ethan teased with a light laugh. It was quickly silenced by his pursed lips. "Do you remember what I said the other day, when you asked about citizens who deserve the zaps?"

Kyra nodded; she'd thought about his words a lot since then. "You said they are difficult simply because they enjoy the chaos it brings, and that they want to be different and then complain about being treated differently from the citizens who show the government respect."

"Right. Well, those are the citizens I get sick of. Quite frankly, I sometimes want to make a movie out of them. It'd be an interesting watch," he said dryly.

Kyra grinned and pushed her windswept hair out of her eyes. "Better than those jackasses we saw earlier, anyway."

Ethan laughed and shook his head once more. "It's citizens like you that make all of this worth it, Kyra. The ones who actually try, the ones who understand we're only human, after all. We're all the same. So thank you."

He looked away as he said it, but not before she glimpsed the faint blush rise to his cheekbones. The sight of it filled her chest with warmth. Whether it was fuelled by the concussion or the drugs she'd been put on to help her heal faster, or simply because she wanted to, Kyra crossed to his side. They were inches apart, so close Kyra could feel the warmth of his skin though it didn't touch her.

"Anytime, Ethan."

— author's note —

Hey everybody! How's it going? I haven't been active much because I just had TWO WEEKS of exams (such fun) but I'm trying to catch up on all my notifications and messages today.

What did you think about this chapter? I wanted to give you more of an insight into Ethan's character and the Control Centre.

Thank you all so much for your support! Your feedback honestly means the world to me, it's so nice to know people are enjoying my work. I think I'm going to update again on the 10th both as a thank you to you guys and as a celebration of my 18th birthday!!

Anywho, this note got really off topic so I'm stopping now. Thanks again.

- Brianna