Two days before the Selection

Morgan is waiting by the main door of the living unit. Their tank top shows off their new cyberarm. The shiny surface of the gray metal contours and curves to a mold of their left arm, with a noticeable bulk at the biceps.

Our eyes meet.

Heat crawls up my neck. Before I combust from being caught staring at Morgan's body, Devon speaks next to me, "Do you want to bring anything back to the Tower, Morgan?"

Their gaze tears away from mine. "No, it's alright, Dev. Thank you again for everything."

"My pleasure." He walks to the kitchen and takes something out from a drawer. An opaque plastic bag; I can't see what's inside, but I can hear the contents rummaging around. He tosses it to Ryan. "Don't get caught with it again."

Ryan pockets the bag while casting an accusatory glance at me. "As long as Lara here doesn't try to stab me again."

"As long as you don't come to my living unit all intoxicated," I snap.

"Fight later, the two of you." Devon raises his hands. "Can I get a goodbye hug?"

After a round of farewells and embrace, we leave Devon's living unit and head towards the car Ryan used to drive us here. Morgan and I climb into the backseat, while Ryan gets in front. As we fasten our seat belts, he disappears from the driver's seat.

"What on Earth?" I ask. "Where did he go?"

Morgan gestures out the window. Ryan and Devon stand before the two-level building, its 'Nightlaza Bar' neon sign buzzing above them. And they are hugging and—oh, gross—kissing.

"Earth!" I look away and stick my tongue out. "I did not need to see that. Argh, I wish I could wipe my memory."

Morgan laughs. "What? Can't stand seeing a kiss? Are you that much of a prude?" Despite their teasing, a faint blush darkens their cheeks.

"I'm not a prude," I retort, fighting back a blush of my own. "I just never want to see Ryan kiss anybody. And especially not Devon."

"Why not? They're pretty cute together."

"Devon deserves better!"

They chuckle in reply.

When Ryan teleports back to the driver's seat, his face is almost as red as his most intoxicated state. He switches the gear with a slam. "Alright, let's go!"

The car accelerates without a beat of warning, and my head smashes onto the headrest behind me.

"Earth, Ryan!" I yell. "What are you doing?"

"You okay, Lara?" Morgan holds my shoulder with their cyberarm as they examine me. Their other hand is firmly clasped around the grip handle on the car door, something I should've done the second Ryan's butt landed on the driver's seat.

"Wait, Lara?" Ryan gasps. "Are the two of you finally on first-name basis? When did that happen? Last night? The night before?"

My cheeks warm. "Shut up, Ryan! I'm not telling you anything."

"Why not? I'm your brother, Lara. I deserve to know—"

"Well, I'll tell you when you start telling me things first. Like, why does Devon call you Li—"

Ryan cuts me off by swerving sharply to the right, launching me towards Morgan. My hands fumble around the seat—and Morgan's legs, accidentally—as I push myself back up. Morgan tries to help me, but their touch on my shoulders and their permanent cardamom smell is more of a hindrance.

By the time I am upright again, my entire body is burning. I avoid looking at Morgan; I do not want to see their expression. Instead, I direct the full intensity of my glower at Ryan. "You did this on purpose!"

"Not at all." He grins. "This is how I drive."

"Then drive better."

"I'll try," he coos.

I fold my arms and glare out the window. Why did I ever expect Ryan to give me a proper answer to anything? He'll either ignore me or, worse, purposely crash this car to get out of the question.

The rest of the ride is quiet. Outside, the scenery is as enchanting as ever. It has been three days since I have been on Ground Earth, and I am still fascinated by the lush greenery and the vibrant buildings. I try to soak in every aspect of the passing landscape as it zips by me, because once I get back to the Tower, I may never experience this again. My heart sinks at the thought but I remind myself that NovaTopia will be even more beautiful. I'm sure of it.

After more than an hour, we arrive back at the entrance of the Tower, back to where this Ground Earth journey started. The formidable structure of the Tower looms over us, illuminated only by the neon signs of neighboring buildings. Even though we've never left the shadow of the Tower during these three days, the sight of the never-ending wall remains just as unsettling.

I crane my neck upwards. It was only two days ago when I was staring up like this for the first time, and yet, it feels like years ago.

I used to be so, so far from Ground Earth.

Around me, crowds swarm the vicinity. A long line of people cuts through the masses, with NovaTopian soldiers patrolling alongside them. Ryan leads us to the entrance of the Tower towards the front of the line. Every soldier salutes him as he passes by, while the Ground Earth dwellers glare at him. Thankfully, Morgan and I are mostly ignored.

As we step into the Tower, the vibrancy of Ground Earth is vacuumed into a white void. All the colors and fun messes are replaced by spotless, monotonous slabs of architecture. This is the view I should be used to, and yet, my heart feels hollow.

A row of security desks greets us a few feet from the Tower entrance. As we approach one of them, more soldiers stand at attention.

"General Lorensky."

"Good morning, fellas," Ryan says. "These two are with me, so let them through."

"You are free to enter, General," the soldier behind a monitor replies, "but the two of them will have to go through the examination room as per protocol."

"Even though they're with me?"

They nod with a small, sheepish smile. "Apologies, General. This is a required process for everyone who is not born in the Tower or a general. If we skip this step and get found out, the punishment will be severe."

"Alright." He turns to me and Morgan. "I'll see you two up front, then."

"Hey, wait up!" I say. "Let's wait for Morgan together! They'll be the only one going through this examination thing."

Ryan looks away, his jaw clenched. "I'll see you two up front," he repeats with a strained voice and walks away.

Before I can call him back again, the same soldier behind the monitor tells me to place my hand on a scanner. I follow his instructions. There's a brief pause before the soldier frowns.

"Hm, Cadet Lara Lorensky. I see your records here, but your birthplace is not registered."

"What? That can't be right. I was born here."

They shrug. "You are not listed in the Tower registry."

"But Ryan can confirm that I am. Right, Ry—" The rest of my plea withers away. Ryan is gone, like always.

I turn to Morgan; their confusion mirrors mine. Dread crawls up my gut. I turn back to the soldier. "Is... Is Ryan also not listed in the Tower registry?"

"Um, we've never checked since he can just walk through security as a general." The soldier taps a few more buttons. "But I don't see any Lorensky's in the Tower registry, if that helps."

I understand why Ryan was so eager to leave now. He knew about this. He knew, and yet, he never told me.

We are not from the Tower.

The realization hits me like a bucket of ice water. Chills shoot through my bones, and my breaths devolve into desperate, labored gasps of air.

I don't hear what the soldier says to me, or what Morgan is nudging me about. The world blurs around me. Everything is foggy and muted.

Morgan takes me by the hand and brings me to a room. When they leave, a stranger appears and tells me to take off my clothes. I change into a gown, pass through a series of machines, and gaze into lights so bright they linger in my vision. After everything, my clothes are returned to me, folded and hot to the touch. Ryan's tracking device rests on top of the clothes pile.

His stupid tracking device that barely worked.

Anger boils within me. I grab the device and crush it with my hand. Then, I put on my clothes and stuff the deformed gadget into my pocket.

Ryan continues to avoid eye contact even as we reunite in the elevator. My mind spirals as the elevator rises. Maybe it's because of the de-acclimatization syndrome, or maybe the news is still disorienting me. If I was not born in the Tower, then where am I from? The Tower is all I know. The Tower and the cadet training and all my preparation for the Selection. I don't even remember my parents.

But Ryan knew our parents. And yet, he does not tell me anything, just like how he didn't tell me about his relationship with Devon, or his secret identity as Liam, or any of his missions on Ground Earth.

Tears well in my eyes. I can feel Morgan's gaze boring into me, silently urging me to talk to them, but my head is spinning, and I don't think I can stomach their look of pity.

So when the elevator reaches our floor, I stomp out and head straight to my living unit without speaking to anybody.