March City [Scifi / Adventure | Rewrite| Updates End of Month]

Chapter 3: Ari

Ari wondered what Mina was doing now.

The thought of Mina being dead or horribly injured was too terrifying a thought, so she kept thrusting it to the back of her mind as she took the skytrain into Area Eight. She didn't want to be caught jumping in an unfamiliar area where she didn't know where the cameras were and where the Peacekeepers patrolled.

The train hummed, moving soundlessly over the monorail track. Ari spun her phone, her eyes focusing on the blue light along the finger-length driver-shaped device. She barely registered the chatter from the students around her. The flashing neon signs and dynamic displays on the sprawling screens of Area Five faded to the sleek marble buildings of Area One. Squat, plain structures replaced busy kaleidoscopic architecture. The psychedelic colours faded to sterile white to reflect the healing facilities.

Area Eight was outside of Shon's jurisdiction; she didn't want to chance getting in the way of those people again.

She stepped off the skytrain in Area Eight and hopped into one of the waiting pod cars. The air was different here, more tense and hurried. Busy students marched at speed, lacking the friendliness and calm Ari was used to. The pod car took her down bland grey streets lined by bland grey buildings. When it stopped outside one of many identical building blocks, she realised the office of The Verity's editor was, in fact, just another residential unit, and in one of the poorer sectors of Area Eight.

She couldn't help but wonder if this was a stupid move. Although she had little to fear from thefts and threats of violence, intentionally entering the office of a small-time gossip magazine during a time when suspicion was high for terrorism was perhaps not the smartest decision. She called Fris as she ascended in the stuttering lift. Fris didn't pick up.

Mina always fussed over Ari's hovering. That was how she phrased Ari taking an interest in her work: 'hovering'. Well, look at what happened when Ari didn't 'hover'. She pushed away the negative thoughts and pressed her index finger against the 'office' door bell. A green light ran across her face. Her identity flagged up on the screen. Ari, Class 5-12, Rank A, 'The Transformer'. She cringed. Several seconds later, a suspicious blue eye peeped at her before the door opened.

"You showed up." The voice almost sounded surprised. Before she could retort, he allowed his door to slide back, jerking his head and beckoning her in.

"Of course." Ari swept past, briefly noting his gangly frame and bright eyes staring at her from behind thick glasses.

Ari only knew the sun had gone down by the disappearance of tiny slits of orange light peeping between the dark buildings opposite. The editor's room had no view to speak of; dense flats loomed from all directions, casting a claustrophobic atmosphere. The clutter inside his room did little to alleviate that; heavy wires, flashing machines, and multiple flat monitors took up two sides of his room. Books piled on the third wall. A foldable bed tucked discreetly behind one of the desks. Cushions lay around a small wooden table in the centre.

"Have a seat, Transformer. I'm honoured by your presence."

Ari sat down stiffly, not missing the snideness in his voice. A tablet, which displayed the next issue of The Verity in various draft forms, lay on top of a small pile of heavily-scribbled papers on the table.

"My name is Ari," she said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow, sitting opposite her and tilted his head with mild interest.

"That was the title bestowed upon you when you rank in the top twenty though, was it not?"

"That was when I was ten years old. The title gets snobbish after a while. I'm Ari."