An overwhelming feeling takes over me. The feeling like I'm falling. I hear screams from above but don't open my eyes. Just as I'm about to hit the ground I feel arms circle around my waist and pull me close to a warm chest.

I feel safe.

Water circles around both of us and I pull myself closer to the person. I feel like we're both going to die. I feel like nothing can save me anymore.

"You're an idiot."

So what if I am? It's not my fault I feel safe.

But despite everything I don't feel even a tinge of sadness. Just... guilt?

I pull myself even closer to the person, finding calmness in their arms.

I feel safe, like I've never felt before.

I gasp in a deep breath and start coughing as I wake up. I groan in pain when I try to raise my head from the steering wheel and blink a few times when I see the blood splattered all over my body and the car.

*******

8 people killed and 56 injured in the attack at Roraria.

An unexpected attack at Northern Cornylia leads the inhabitants to evacuate in the middle of the night.

Last night military aircrafts were seen scattered all around the country.

Even more people losing their lives in Noxa: exactly 15 people killed and more than 120 injured.

The government states to have had nothing to do with the...

I shut my laptop and stare at the plain slightly cracked white wall in front of me instead. Way better than reading about strikes, uprisings and deaths. Worse than that, the government doesn't even want to admit to have done it. They're just looking for a way to shut people up without scaring away the rest.

I sigh in relief as I hear footsteps coming towards the kitchen and a few seconds later a sleepy Elon walks in. My little brother yawns as he takes a seat at the table, running a hand through his hair, ruffling even more than it already was.

I smile at him. "Good morning. Sleep well?" He just grunts in response. He puts his head on his arm on the table and starts dosing off.

I sigh and take my own cup and put it in the sink before pouring him a cup of coffee. Being addicted to coffee like I am, he immediately sits up and gulps the whole thing down as soon as I nudge his arm.

I walk to the sink and start washing the dishes left from last night. I was too lazy to do it then.

"Remember that April is coming to visit today so come home sooner ok? Don't stay out late like you usually do." I look at Elon to see his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. I smile at the sight.

"I didn't know she was coming today. You never told me." He glares at me as he puts his empty cup in the sink.

I shake my head at him. He's had a small crush on April for a long time now. "I didn't know it until last night. She called me and told me she was coming. You were already sleeping then." I know he wasn't sleeping. He's usually up till late either waiting movies on his phone or playing video games. He's a night owl. I can't say I'm not either.

"Well, fine. I'll come sooner. How long has it been anyway? 3, 4 years?"

I finish washing the dishes and dry my hands on a towel. "Yeah, I think It's been 3 years actually. Who knew your crush could last so long though? How long has it been? 6 years?" I laugh when I see his cheeks turn the familiar shade of red.

"Shut up!" He narrows his eyes at me.

"Just go get ready." I push him towards his room. "Oh and Elon."

He turns to look at me with a questioning look. "What?"

"Wear something nice." I wink at him and he groans and blushes again before walking to his room and slamming the door.

I shake my head and walk to the living room to wait for him, bringing my laptop with me.

Elon and I have only had each other in this world since our parents got taken away from us three years ago by the government. Dad used to work for the last government before the revolution broke out around 4 years ago. After the new government, a group of 13 people who call themselves the Nex, took the power, everyone associated with the last one got captured and, in most cases, killed. They would've captured Elon and I too if it wasn't for the fact that our identities weren't written in the database.

We are actually even considered as ghosts to the society. We're not anywhere on the system. Our parents wanted to keep us safe so the same thing that happened to... My eyes snap to the picture frame sitting on the coffee table next to the couch.

Well, they didn't want us dead.

That actually has created a few problems for us these days. We can't do whatever we want and we have to stay under the radar so we won't ever get questioned. That's hard considering we're poor and we need an I.D. to show who we are to be able to get a job. It's a miracle I have a job at the moment.

The sound of a door slamming brings me out of my thoughts. Elon walks out of his room with his backpack slung over his back.

"Ready?" He nods. I take my bag and stuff my laptop inside before following him out of the door.

I have two shifts today; one at the diner down the street from our house and one at the library. I drop off Elon to school before going to work. We couldn't afford to get a car for him so I always ride him everywhere while sometimes he just walks or takes the bus.

The car glides on the streets and all the traffic. My car isn't anything like the others on the streets. It's one of the oldest models. Sure, it doesn't have tires and actually glides through the air but it's still older than the newest inventions. Although it's been a while since there was a new invention. Since the Nex took over the country actually. That's exactly why the rumors about them being Supernaturals started.

Supernaturals usually don't like technology because they live longer than Humans and it takes a while for them to adapt to new things when they sometimes live for centuries; hence, the rumors.

I park the car in front of the diner and the helping jacks get out to help it lower to the ground. I get out and grab my bag, making my way inside. I spend the next few hours taking people's orders and walking around. Sometimes I wonder if people actually realize the country's in a really bad state or if they even care. They probably don't.

After my shift at the diner, I head over to the library. Usually, there's not much to do because people prefer getting books online rather than going all the way to the shop to actually get them. Books as they were before don't exist anymore. Now you can either buy special books that are made of resistant glass or you can buy chips with the eBook on them to read them on your device. Seeing as usually there are not many customers I bring my laptop to study. I'm saving up money for both mine and Elon's education. I still haven't decided what I want to study at university but I still need to catch up on basic things I missed when I dropped out of high school to work full time.

After that, I hop in my car and head home. On the way, I hope Elon remembers to come home sooner than every other day.

I make it to the top of the stairs, taking two at a time, and slip my keys in the lock, opening the door and walking in.

I jump and let out a small scream when I notice someone sitting on the couch. The girl has short curly dark blonde hair and her hazel eyes are glued to her phone. She looks up when she hears me enter and a smile grows on her lips.

"Evin!" She jumps up from the couch and hugs me.

"April," I hug her back before pulling away and closing the door. "How did you get in?"

She smirks. "I have my ways."

I shake my head at her. Of course, she would say that.

"It's been long," she says.

"It has." I frown. "Where have you been? Why did you decide to contact me just now? You know I exist right?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

She sighs. "I know, I know! Please don't kill me for going MIA all these years. It's a really long story, I'll tell you about it over dinner, that ok?"

I nod my head. "Elon should be here any minute now. What would you like to eat?"

She shrugs. "What if we order pizza?"

"Sure."

Another thirty minutes and Elon finally arrives. The food is here already and I'm setting everything on the table when he walks in.

"Elon!" April hugs my little brother while he stands there frozen. I try to hide my snickering behind my hand when I see his cheeks turn red. He sends a glare my way before hugging April back.

"April, what has made you finally notice we exist?"

My best friend pulls away and ruffles Elons hair. "Aw come on. You've grown up so much since I last saw you!"

Elon groans before trying to tame his dark hair.

After a while, we finally sit down for dinner and I ask April to tell me everything that's happened in the past few years she's been gone.

She and her mother had left the country after her father got captured by the government, much like my parents, and hadn't been back ever since. They had even asked me and Elon if we wanted to join them but as a 17-year old, I didn't want to risk getting out of the country if there was the slightest chance of ever seeing my parents again. Plus it would've been hard to pass the borders without having and existing identity. I stayed and Elon stayed with me.

I put a piece of the pizza in my mouth as April starts explaining. "Well, it was all ok when we first arrived. Mom found a job and I continued going to school. But then a few months later a man approached Mom at her workplace and offered her a better job. He knew we were from Imperium, it was no secret, and turns out he was too."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "And what did he offer?"

"I'm getting there. You see, I never knew there was an organization that was going against the Nex."

"Yeah, it's called the Resistance and it is located somewhere near Consurrexi," Elon says and April looks at him suspiciously.

"And how do you know that?" My best friend frowns at my brother. He shrugs in return. April doesn't seem convinced but she continues on with her story. "So, yes; there is an organization going against the Nex and the man who approached Mom was a part of it. He knew who we were."

"That's not creepy at all." I frown at her.

She chuckles. "I know, when my mom was telling me about it I was freaking out. But then we thought about it and finally took their offer."

"What if they were just from the Nex and were trying to lure you in?" Elon asks with a frown.

April shrugs. "I'm a Werewolf you know, I can sense if someone is lying. My mom is too."

Elon just sighs in response.

April narrows her eyes at him and continues. "So after a while, my mom finally took their offer and we started working for the Resistance."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "So you've been back in Imperium for a long time now then?"

She shrugs. "I guess."

"Why didn't you come to visit us sooner?" I frown at her. I haven't seen my best friend for a long time! Give me a break.

"I'm sorry. I've been everywhere throughout the country. At one point I even had to go to foreign countries. I was in Lickon for six months. But I know that doesn't fully explain why I didn't come to visit," she says, looking guilty.

I shake my head at her with a smile. "It's fine, don't worry."

"So, my mom stayed in Dural and is working in a great lab there for the Resistance. I came here to be in the army, I am an Alpha blood which means I'm stronger than many Supernaturals." She smiles. "But anyway I had a proposal for you."

I nod my head at her to continue.

"The Resistance is recruiting new members because they said and I quote 'the war is coming and we need all the people we can get to win the country back' and they're not wrong. We really do need all the people we can get to help us. We need more people who are willing to fight in the army because at the moment there aren't many, which is really unfortunate. So I thought I could let you know and see if you wanted to join." She looks at me expectantly. Elon turns to look at me too.

"Um, I have work here. Elon has school. I don't think we can really move right now. I'm sorry." Elon seems relieved while April's face falls.

"Oh, ok. Well, if you change your mind, just contact me then?" I nod at her and she stands up from her seat. I walk her to the door with Elon behind me.

"It's been really nice seeing you again. Maybe we should hang out sometime? When I'm not working?"

I smile at my best friend. "Sure, just let me know whenever you're free."

She nods and leaves.

I sigh as I drop down on the couch, closing my eyes.

"Thank you for not taking the offer," Elon says.

I open my eyes and look at him, sitting on the couch, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"It's fine." I offer him a small smile which he returns. "But why?" I frown in confusion.

He sighs and sits back on the couch, closing his eyes. "I just don't want to lose you too."

I remember always promising Mom and Dad that I would take care of my little brother. I'm going to stay by my word. I won't let anything happen to him. Even though he's 18 and technically an adult I will not leave him alone, not now, not ever.

I give him a pat on the back and clean the table, washing the dishes. Afterwards, Elon leaves to his bedroom to sleep and I go to my room.

Later that night, when I'm studying, I hear the sound of something crashing in the living room and hurriedly jump to my feet. I open my bedroom a crack and see Elon sitting on the couch, holding his head in his hands as if in pain. I open the door wider to walk out but stop when I notice something on his arm. It's a mark, a red sizzling T shaped mark with a line running through the middle horizontally. I stare at it, not being able to move. What is that?

Elon groans as his pain gets worse and stands up, walking to the front door. Is he going to go out in that state?

Apparently, he is because the next thing I know he opens the door and stumbles out. I run to him, trying to stop him but he's already going down the stairs. I take two stairs at a time, almost slipping and falling a few times. He finally opens the front door of the building and goes out. I arrive at the door as it starts closing and throw it open. The cold autumn wind immediately blows in my face.

"Elon. Elon! Wait!" I call after him but he doesn't seem to be hearing me. Then all of a sudden the wind blows harder and I close my eyes to avoid anything entering them and when I open them, my little brother is not there anymore. My eyes widen in fear when I can't find him anymore. I run to where I last saw him before he disappeared and see a few drops of blood on the ground. The mark, the brand would have probably caused it. I follow the few drops until they completely disappear. I look around for a while but see nothing but dark streets, lit from the dim streetlights.

What the hell just happened?

This chapter is now edited. ✅☑️☑️