Obsidian awoke to a loud knocking at his door.

"Obsidian, why aren't you in your POD," his mother called from the other side.

He looked around his room disoriented. My POD? He blinked away the sleep from his eyes and remembered. He had fallen asleep on the floor. The crushing weight of his future on his chest. At least he knew sleep hadn't erased what he felt.

"Sorry, mother," he called back. It was time for his lessons, and he needed to change his wrinkled shirt.

"The Regent called upon me. He is waiting for you," she chided.

Obsidian rolled his eyes and climbed into his POD. The hiss-click of the door closing him in.

The familiar blue screen greeted him, it displayed a monitor for Obsidian's health readings and his daily schedule until the screen flickered and the face of the Regent was shown. "Good morning, Obsidian."

"Good morning," he swallowed, a sense of guilt behind the words.

"Let's begin," the Regent started, and Obsidian's lessons began like they always did.

Facts from multiple subjects were given and it concluded with tests that Obsidian passed easily.

"Wonderful job as always, Obsidian," the Regent praised.

Obsidian swallowed hard again. Now was his chance, "Sir, I was thinking, and I'd like to request a transfer to Sagittarius," it was the main hub for medical studies with more labs than Gemini, "so that I may better prepare for my role as —"

"Denied," the Regent interjected, his face never relaying any emotion as always.

Obsidian clenched his fists. Transferring to another city was not entirely uncommon for teaching or assignment and he had over-excelled in what they had to offer at the Med Levels on Gemini. But transferring was only granted for the best of citizens. Not citizens like Obsidian whose record was permanently tainted by his father's actions.

When his father had first been exiled, his mother and him had been pariahs. They had followed strict rules and curfews to appease the Regent. Their neighbors had seemed to move on and forget his father and his transgressions. Not the Regent. The Regent remembered.

"Sir, I have achieved much in my studies here, but I fear that I am being held back by what Gemini lacks. Sagittarius has a vast medical laboratory of knowledge in what they study. Their labs help protect the cities from disease instead of simply treating their citizens. I feel I could help Gemini in its future if I were to understand more." The pulse and breathing monitor displayed in the lower right hand of his POD screen peeped faster. Obsidian tried to correct the irregular and quickening chirps without betraying his emotions. He was desperate for any reason to leave Gemini. Even if it was just for a short time.

The face on the screen stayed frozen in an emotionless stare. Finally, the Regent spoke, "Obsidian of Level Eighty-Two, you are to complete your union with Fuchsia of Level Ninety-One in two weeks' time. The city of Sagittarius has nothing to offer you. You've surpassed all medical training any facility could teach you. Request denied."

His pulse jumped with a loud ping, "But if I'm to lead the department someday, I should be able to pull my knowledge from my life experiences as much as any of my peers have been able to do so." He knew arguing with the Regent was not what good citizens did, but he was desperate.

The screen froze again.

Sweat moistened his still clenched fists.

The screen lagged and stuttered as the Regent spoke, "In consideration of your father's missteps, it is logical to assume that you are at risk of treason. It is not logical to risk your genetic intellect level any further. We require your offspring for the good of the city."

"I swear to you, my duties to the city will not faulter. I only wish to expand my knowledge for the good of the city," Obsidian spoke the words as calmly as possible.

The Regent paused only momentarily this time. "Your request is based on fairness of opportunity and expanding knowledge for the good of Gemini?" He asked.

"Yes," Obsidian assured.

"Request approved on the condition that your studies are to be completed no later than two weeks' time to ensure you are back for your assigned union."

The screen shut off as the door to his POD hissed and popped open. He sat up, clutching his hand to his chest where his heart still hammered wildly. Approved? Really? A whooshing noise came from the communication tube on the wall of his room, then the thud of a message can. He jumped from his POD and pulled the can free to open it, holding his breath. Inside were transfer orders. Signed and sealed with the Regent's stamp of approval.

He had hoped to feel more joy, but the weight on his chest remained.

Two weeks.

Two weeks was all he had in freedom from Gemini, from the city that exiled his father, from the city that demanded he be assigned to Fuchsia, the city where he would live, work and die. It was only a reprieve, and it was only two weeks.

No, the majority of his thoughts weren't the joy he expected. The majority of his thoughts were bleak. There was no true escape from his future. But a small, very tiny piece of hope remained, setting his heart into chaotic arrythmia.

Maybe there is escape, he wondered hungrily, clutching his transport orders.

—

The chilly gas whistled in the air as the decontamination began. It was required before and after every transfer.

Obsidian had quickly said his goodbyes to his mother who was convinced her son had won some great honor that she had lost hope in ever having after losing his father. He hadn't needed to pack anything, as clothing and living quarters would be given to him when he arrived, and he hadn't wanted to risk bringing anything from his secret room. All he'd grabbed after learning he'd been approved for transfer was the small satchel he hung across his shoulder that held an empty notebook and a pen, and then immediately left for the elevator.

He had been lucky enough to not meet Fuchsia on his path to Level One.

"Decontamination complete," the computer announced in its robotic monotone.

As the doors opened to release him from the elevator, Obsidian tried his best to act as if it were his first time ever breaching the lower Levels. When in truth it was only the first time he'd ever taken the elevator to Level One when he usually took the more discreet ducts.

"It's so dark down here," he said to the guards, handing them his transfer orders. Level One did not have a single window. The fluorescent lights were all that made any amount of difference in the sparsely used corridors. It was why Obsidian felt it was so easy to sneak into his hidden room.

"You get used to it." The guard shuffled through the papers assigning Obsidian to the city of Sagittarius. "Doctor?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Shortly," Obsidian answered politely. "For now, just a student."

"And you're to study medicine in Sagittarius," the guard asked, perplexed like everyone else that Obsidian would ever choose to leave Gemini.

"It is my duty to the city to provide my services in a field where I excel. Not many would choose to be a doctor, but it is with great honor that I would take this burden so that others may stay safe in the city." He had rehearsed the line a thousand times. Obsidian had followed every step necessary to be placed in Medical. Far away from politics. It wasn't always as challenging as he would've liked though. Being a doctor in Gemini meant spraying Cure-All on wounds and diagnosing sleep-sickness, a job with little reward and little excitement. Obsidian wanted more.

The guard scanned his orders twice-over. At any minute the Regent could rescind the orders. Obsidian couldn't help but hold his breath.

"Whatever, kid. Papers check out, so get on your way. Board the Transport immediately," he gestured to the open door of the Transport.

Obsidian wanted to shake the man with the same excited frenzy building in himself but refrained.

"Yes, sir," he obeyed. Obsidian feigned apprehension and thanked the guard, climbing into one of the seats of the Transport.

The Transports did not need an operator to function. They stayed on a simple track in the Tunnels a moved forward and back as needed with a simple command of "Go," from the guards.

The door closed behind Obsidian, and he was left all alone as the Transport lurched forward.

A smile broke across his face that could not be stifled. His body electrified with hope. This must be what freedom feels like, he thought. It was something his father had mentioned from time to time. Something he'd said people craved above all else. Something countries of the past had built their whole identities on. His father had once gone so far as making him read a book that held quotes from the past's great leaders in freedom to understand the feeling it evoked. They were people who fought not only for themselves but for everyone to feel the thrill of freedom, his father had said.

He felt a rush of excitement that there was somehow a possibility that this would lead to something more. He had convinced the Regent to give him this tiny freedom, maybe he could convince him of more freedoms. For Obsidian, for his mother, and for the rest of the city. Maybe he could move to Sagittarius. Maybe he could get out of his union to Fuchsia. Two weeks was plenty of time to change things.

The Transport had sped up to its maximum speed and continued to cruise toward its destination. Soon he'd be in a different city. A different world where he didn't have to suffer the disappointed looks of his mother or cordial chatter from Fuchsia. For two whole weeks. No expectations from anyone except to study medicine. He would still need to do his lessons with the Regent of course, but maybe during those the Regent would see how happy the transfer had made him and agree to set him free.

He sat at the edge of his seat. Had he not been buckled in; he would've been jumping up and down with unabated excitement. His body trembled with his restrained joy. Then the Transport trembled with him.

The trembling grew with an accompanying loud rumble. And suddenly an explosion ripped through the front of the Transport and launched Obsidian, still buckled safely to his seat, into the dense forests of the Outlands.

Sunlight blinded him as tree limbs lashed and ripped through his clothes, leaving him bloodied and bruised as he crashed through the foliage. The transport bounced, lifting Obsidian weightlessly into the air a few times, always crashing hard into the ground after as it continued its rampaging descent. Finally, it came to a rest at the behest of a tree trunk thrust before him. The final jolt of the sudden stop ripped his hands free from the measly shield he made around his face. With a whip, Obsidian hit the back of his seat, and all went dark.

—

When Obsidian woke, the blinding sun's rays had begun dampening. He blinked and winced at the throbbing all throughout his body. He knew his face was hurt, his hands more so, and his legs were stiff and painful to move. The thunderous pounding of his heartbeat rattled his ears and magnified the ache in his head. It was all he could hear aside from a high-pitched deafening tone. He reached for the release of his seatbelt and found his hands fumbling, numb and cold. He managed to free himself and stumble from the damaged Transport.

Behind the Transport was a path of destruction. It went on for as far as he could see. It hadn't occurred to Obsidian that he had travelled beyond the view of the Tunnels. He could barely see the peak of a city in the distance over the trees and he was unsure if it would've been Sagittarius or Gemini that he was seeing. Looking back at the Transport there was hardly much of it left aside from the seat Obsidian had been strapped to. A gaping hole of torn and scorched steel. He recalled the sound of an explosion. It was not something Obsidian had been familiar with at all. In his lessons, he had been shown a video of one of the twelve cities igniting and breaking apart at launch for the Great Migration, only that once having any record of an explosion. The experience was unsettling.

Tears spilled down his face as he considered how near to death he had been. With a slow, shaking pace, Obsidian began to follow the path of destruction back to the city. Miles away, it would take him hours to reach the tunnels from where he had been ejected and then more to reach any city.

The guards had to be on their way to rescue him. Right? Obsidian considered.

Never had a Tunnel exploded. Never had someone been stranded in the wilderness of the Outlands. No one went outside. Obsidian was breaking a rule. Regardless of how it came to pass, it was still an unbreakable law. Which meant no one was coming. Maybe they wouldn't let him back in. Maybe he would be exiled like his father. Maybe he would die in a POD.

Obsidian shivered.

If he were to simply walk back through the Tunnel to Sagittarius, if at all possible, he could argue he had never stepped foot in the Outlands and therefore avoid exile. He would be safe, but it would be unlikely for the Regent to allow him stay in Sagittarius now. And his union to Fuchsia would proceed as planned.

A wicked thought flashed across his mind. He could avoid exile from the Regent. He could avoid ever seeing Fuchsia again. All he had to do was survive in the Outlands.

It was a daunting task and Obsidian wasn't sure he was up to it.

His whole life had been lived in the city. Every day went the same. If he had ever been injured it had hardly been a scraped knee that he could remember. Now he was limping through the wilds.

Every out of sight, distant shadow was a possible threat. The creatures of Eden Major were blood thirsty. The Regent had taught him of such horrors as man-eating plants and the just as carnivorous animals they consumed. There was only death outside. And he was crippled prey.

He continued to stager in the direction of the Tunnels, unsure which direction he would ultimately take. The sun had begun to creep low and turn the sky into a burst of orange and pink. Looking out the window of his living quarters, he had never seen the sky with this much clarity. Every color in the Outlands was more vibrant without a grime covered window in front of it.

Too beautiful to be so deadly, he recalled thinking. But now he knew otherwise. He could feel the dangers that hid just beyond what he could see in the density of the forest. He could feel the watchful eyes of the trees or what hid behind them.

The sun was setting quickly now. The shadows of the forest crept further along Obsidian's path. They felt like hands reaching out to pull him into their depths. In the distance, he could hear rustling movements among the leaves and whistling echoes of what he could only hope was the wind. He clenched his aching hands and willed himself to continue limping forward. The air in his lungs began to burn with each increasingly rapid breath. He knew he would need to stop for rest soon.

The twin moons rose to their peak illumination now that the sun had finally disappeared. The night sky was brighter than Obsidian had expected. Stars sprinkled overhead; a thick milky-white band streaked across the sky. On the forest floor, tiny fauna began to glow with bioluminescence.

Magic, thought Obsidian. Although he knew it was just the wonders of science. Living in the city, so high up above the forest, he had no idea of the little wonders that littered the land. It reminded him of the lessons about Old Earth. Curiosity quelled his fear, and he approached the glowing fungi.

Foraging was something people on Earth had done to survive, Obsidian considered. They would gather wild foods and eat them. His stomach rumbled. He reached into the soil and plucked a single mushroom, inspecting it for signs that would indicate poison. As far as he knew, and he knew a considerable number of things, this particular plant was not poisonous. The only problem was that it had not occurred to Obsidian that something could not be poisonous but also be very much not good for you to consume. He choked down a large bite of the bitter flower and resigned himself to never try that again.

He tossed the stem back to the ground causing a scattering buzz to lift a dozen small lights into the air. Obsidian watched with curiosity as the lights revealed to be small insects. Their yellow-green bodies fluttering away in a slow flashing frenzy. He gasped and smiled at the wonderfulness of it all.

Too beautiful to be so deadly.

His eyes followed the insects' path of flight as they dipped and weaved. Their lights making a zigzagging line that hung in the air so solidly that he cautiously reached out to touch it, but his hand failed to grasp anything. He stumbled after it, the world beginning to spin around him, letting the yellow-green zigzagging lines guide him toward something else that glowed, something large.

Obsidian froze. How could this be here? He hesitated but the curiosity was too much.

He approached the POD, nestled into a mound of soil under a tree with branches that draped their long red tendrils across the transparent lid. The tree appeared to bleed dripping beads of bloody sap over the top of the POD, as its branches guarded over it. Obsidian feared the strange tree guardian but approached the POD anyway, gently swiping away the blood and debris that hid the its occupant.

Inside was a girl.

She's just like the poisoned girl in the fairytale, he thought.

Her pearlescent skin was like nothing he had ever seen before. Across half her face fell long black hair. It spiraled like the serpentine moss cradling the POD where she slumbered. Frost glittered throughout the interior of the POD, casting its inhabitant in a shimmering glow. She was clad in the same navy jumpsuit worn by the ancestors on their journey to Eden Major. It seemed impossible that she could have slept so soundly for all these years. Yet here she was, and he was transfixed.

Obsidian considered what her name could have been. Although the children born in the cities were given names by the Regent, he had learned from his father's books that children in the past were given names by their parents. If she had been born in Gemini, Obsidian knew the Regent would have named her Ebony for the color of her hair or Snow for the fair white of her skin, just like the girl from the story. To him, she deserved better. Maybe a floral name from the city of Virgo, or a jewel name from Pisces would do. The people in the past had the same strange names as their ancestors. Names like Elizabeth that they would claim meant "God's promise," but really just held some tangible remnants of the ones who had come and gone. There were still no names that seemed to do her beauty justice.

"She is Eve," a voice answered, although Obsidian was sure he hadn't wondered aloud.

Obsidian froze, his hand hovering on the lid of the POD. His mind raced as he hesitated to turn and find the person who had followed and found him out. Surely they would drag him back to the city and the Regent's punishment. But above all else, he wasn't ready to leave the girl in the glass.

"She will be the one to lead the humans from their sanctuary. Thus, she is Eve," the voice spoke again, and Obsidian's skin tingled with a realization that it had hummed in his head in the same whispering volume as his own inner thoughts.

He considered whether it was possible for thoughts to come in other people's voices.

"These are not your thoughts. These words belong to me," yet again the voice spoke to him like a whisper in his ear.

Slowly turning to meet the face of the voice, Obsidian considered what he would say to convince this person to leave him in peace and never tell another soul of what he'd found. "I'm sorry, sir. You see I was on my way" his voice fell short. Never in his life had Obsidian felt fear as he did now.

Staring back at him with cold, black eyes that shone like pools of tar was a humanoid creature. Its body a twisting mixture of flesh and vines, as if it grew from the very ground it stood on. Thorns protruded from their violet and green iridescent husk where it blossomed deep cobalt flowers. It was still far less human than Obsidian had imagined any creature of the Outlands would be, and more a mixture of the native plants and insects of Eden Major.

The creature did not move. It stood some ten feet away, quiet and still as a stone statue. From what Obsidian could tell, its body did not expand or contract while breathing, if it truly breathed at all, and there were no nervous twitches or mannerisms that forced it to fidget as most humans would.

"She has eaten of the tree of knowledge, of good and evil," its face a lifeless mask as it tilted at an inhumane angle. "Did Eve free us to make our own choices, good or bad? Or did she simply just doom us to sin and die? You could free her and find out," it mused.

Obsidian furrowed his brow. The creature was without a doubt speaking of things Obsidian had only ever read in a book he'd left hidden inside the wall of Gemini. What could it know of the fairytale of Eve and the Apple?

"I know a great deal," it answered.

Obsidian gasped and fell back, bumping into the POD behind him.

"I know that she needs you. And you will soon find that you and all of humanity need her," it prophesized. "Are you willing to risk leaving Eden for her?"

Obsidian looked down at the sleeping girl's face. It was peaceful, illuminated by the lights of the POD and glow of the moons.

He turned to answer the creature, but it was gone.

Obsidian shivered and looked back to the POD. His hand moved across the glass lid as he imagined pushing her hair from where it had fallen across her face.

"Yes," he answered.