Four days before the Selection

When I peel my eyes away from the enchanting world of colors, I am met with Sánchez's deep brown eyes. Unwavering and intense, as if they are staring into my soul.

Heat crawls up my neck. I avert my head and clear my throat. "W- What?"

"I never thought someone like you would find Ground Earth to be beautiful."

"Why wouldn't I? I've never seen anything like this."

"I thought you'd prefer your safe little bubble up there." Sánchez jerks their head towards the Tower.

I crane my neck to look back at it. A never-ending wall looms over me, so tall that it disappears into the clouds. I can't see what's up there, just like how I couldn't see what was down here. Everything I have spent my life pining after—the stars, the space stations, NovaTopia—is hidden behind those wisps of vapor. Meanwhile, the world here is permanently in the Tower's shadow.

"You can't even see NovaTopia from here," I croak.

"People here would rather not see it," Sánchez says.

"You two alright?" Ryan calls. While Sánchez and I were talking, he walked further ahead but is now heading back towards us. His concerned eyes dart between us. "You seem drained, Sánchez. You should hydrate. Oh, right, I forgot to remind you two that there aren't free drinking stations around here like in the Tower. You'd have to buy drinking water. Here." He takes a card out of his wallet and hands it to Sánchez. "Buy some water later."

"Thank you, General Lorensky."

Ryan turns to me and raises his brows. "And Lara, you seem more well-adjusted than I thought you would be."

"This is nice so far," I admit.

"Definitely not 'uninhabitable', right?" he says with a chuckle.

My cheeks warm as I recall my earlier words. "No, there are so many people here."

"Yep. That's why there's always such a push for every child in the Tower to enroll as cadets; they need to have enough soldiers to keep up with Earth's growing population. And that's why they let people like Sánchez into the Tower too."

I glance at them. Our eyes meet again.

"Anyway, I need to go now," Ryan continues, "I'll leave it to you to find your old mechanic or whoever you plan to find, Sánchez. Remember to use the device I gave you if you're in danger."

"Wait, General, you're leaving us already?" Sánchez asks.

"Yeah, I want to get this mission over and done with. Also, I have to leave you, or you'll be associated with me and things will get nasty for you."

As if on cue, a random passerby yells, "Hey, Tower Tots! Suck my dick!" She finishes her taunt by gesturing both her middle fingers at Ryan.

"See? Exhibit A," Ryan says nonchalantly. He points at the NovaTopian logo on his uniform. "They always get mad when they see this. You two are fine, though. People here have never seen regular Tower residents before, so you'll blend right in with your casual clothes."

The person who provoked him is still glaring daggers at him—as well as at the other NovaTopian soldiers, who have raised their guns at her. The hatred radiating from her punches me in my gut, and memories from yesterday—has it only been a day since the attack?—rushes into my mind.

"Remember, they cannot know that you are from the Tower unless you want to be attacked again," was what Ryan said. I need to remember that.

"Alright, I'll get going now." Ryan combs his fingers through his curly hair. "Stay safe, you two. Take care of each other, okay?"

With that, he disappears, leaving us stranded in a crowded street amidst the jumbled buildings.

I hate his Gift and how it makes it so easy for him to leave.

Letting out an annoyed huff of air, I blow at the strand of hair on my face. "So, uh, where should we go?"

Sánchez saunters forward without answering. I follow behind them, weaving through the flood of people coming between us.

Ground Earth is a lot busier than the Tower; I've never been so close to this many people at once before. The more I look around, the more I realize that most Ground Earth dwellers have cyberlimbs and synthetic eyes. Maybe, when General Caelum was complaining about people on Ground Earth being 'mutants', she didn't mean mutations and third arms. Maybe she meant artificial body parts.

When I finally catch up to Sánchez, they are standing outside a small store and holding a half-drunk bottle of water. They must have really needed the hydration, as Ryan noted.

They shove the plastic bottle to me. "The rest is for you."

I take a sip. "Where are we going? Where's your mechanic? Are they far?"

Sánchez glances at the crowd. "Let's get out of here first."

We continue our journey, with Sánchez leading the way again. My eyes never leave their back as I try to follow them as closely as I can. The ripped right sleeve of their hoodie reveals what's left of their cyberlimb plate, while the intact left sleeve hides their toned left arm. Their side-swept hair bounces slightly at every step.

As we get further away from the Tower, the number of people dwindles and the buildings are less cramped together. Even so, it is still difficult to catch up to Sánchez. They are walking so fast it almost feels like they're trying to avoid me.

My heart falls at that thought. Are they avoiding me? Am I asking too many questions? Or do they just not want to talk to me?

I was so wrapped up in the idea of going to Ground Earth and getting their cyberarm fixed that I forgot the fact that Sánchez and I... aren't friends. Sure, we interacted daily for close to eight years, but it was always about our scores, our rankings, and how we were going to beat each other. We've never had anything kind to say to each other.

The heaviness in my heart intensifies. I lower my head, peeling my gaze away from Sánchez—and I spot the strangest and creepiest thing I've ever seen.

Shrieking, I dash next to Sánchez and crouch behind them.

"What is it?" they ask, pulling up their hoodie from their waist, ready to grab their weapons.

"What is that?" Not wanting to even look at it again, I point wildly in the general direction with the water bottle.

Sánchez's body relaxes. "Lorensky, what the heck. That's just a spider."

"A spy?"

"A spi-der." They approach the creature—a spider or whatever it's called—and pick it up. "See? It's harmless."

I have to bite my cheeks to stop myself from screaming a second time. "What kind of weird spy bot is this?"

Sánchez rolls their eyes. "It's not a bot, dumbass. It's an animal, and this species is everywhere here." They gently place the spider on a vine tracing along a wall. It crawls along the plant in an erratic manner, very much unlike a bot.

"We didn't learn about this animal in school," I protest. "I would've remembered this... thing. If this spy thing is everywhere, I want to get out of here."

"Told you you shouldn't have come."

Frustration burns inside me. "Yeah, well, I'm questioning myself about that now," I snap, "because why am I even here with you if you hate being around me that much?"

Sánchez's eyes widen with shock. "What are you talking about? I don't hate being with you."

"Then why are you walking away like you're avoiding me? You won't even tell me where we are going? I've never been here before; you can't just lead me around without telling me anything—"

"Because I don't know where to go, okay?" Sánchez retorts. There is an awkward pause before they grumble, "I thought I'd be able to remember how to get around, but I have been out of here for eight years. None of these buildings were here the last time I was here. I may be from here, but I don't know this place at all anymore. So, I'm lost. Happy?"

Silence falls between us.

Sánchez clenches their fist and looks away from me. I feel like a terrible person. This place must be as foreign to them as it is to me, and I placed all the responsibility of finding a mechanic onto them without trying to help.

I swallow the lump in my throat. "Um, is there someone we can ask? I mean, so many people here have cyberlimbs. We could ask one of them?"

Sánchez sighs. "Yeah, okay." They cast a few tentative glances around the handful of passersby in the area.

I look around as well. After seeing how Ryan was treated, I am a little nervous about approaching anyone here. But we don't have NovaTopian logos on us, so hopefully we won't face as much hostility.

"I'll ask that lady over there," I offer. Before Sánchez can say anything, I make my way towards the woman I've arbitrarily chosen. Two cyberlegs peek out of her long bodycon dress. "Hello, excuse me, ma'am?"

The woman raises her brows as I approach. Her eyes scan my body. "Hey there, young lady. What can I do for you?"

"Do you know where we can find a cyberlimb mechanic for my friend over there?" I gesture to Sánchez. They squirm under our scrutiny, tugging at their torn right sleeve.

"Oh, of course I do. I know plenty of mechanics."

"That's awesome! Where can we find one of them?"

The woman's lips curl. "Well, I can't tell you that, my dear. I own a business in the Neon district, and the mechanics I know are reserved for my employees. But tell you what, if you become my employee, one of my mechanics can work on your friend for free, as part of your employee benefits."

"Your employee?" I am dumbfounded by the suggestion. "You want me as your employee?"

"Why, yes, of course. My customers would love you."

That did not help with my confusion. "But I don't have any experience. At any job."

"You don't need any." She takes my ponytail and lifts it to examine it. "Once you let your hair down and put on some makeup, you'll be perfect."

"Oh, is that all—"

Sánchez cuts me off by grabbing me by the arm and yanking me away with such force I drop the water bottle. I am pulled into running a few blocks down before they let me go.

"What on Earth, Sánchez?" I shout between my heaves. "She's about to get you a mechanic for free!"

"She just wants you to work for her."

"Yeah, but it seems easy enough. All I need to do is to let my hair down and wear some makeup, or something."

"Her business is in the Neon district, one of the shadiest regions on Ground Earth. What did you think you're gonna have to do, letting your hair down and wearing makeup?"

"I don't know. She hasn't told me yet before you pulled me out of there!"

Sánchez slams their palm to their forehead. "You're hopeless. I'm not even going to try to explain it to you."

"Why not?" I fold my arms. "Are you jealous that she wanted me to work for her, not you?"

"Why would I be jealous of that? It's not a safe job; you won't even want it if you know what it is."

"Whatever it is, there's a reason she wanted me, not you, and it's probably 'cause I'm better than y—"

"She wanted you because you're smoking hot, dumbass."

A jolt of lightning strikes through me, freezing me to the spot. Sánchez seems to be stunned too. We both stare at each other, mouth agape.

Did they just call me... hot?

My heart tingles with the electricity, while Sánchez's entire face takes on a darker shade. They spin around and cough into their fist.

"A- Anyway, I know who I can sorta turn to for help," they mutter. "Follow me."