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

Chapter 4: Ari

There was a flutter of unease in Ari's stomach as the skytrain pulled past the mountainous power plants of Area Eleven and into Area Nine, the poorest residencies. She'd never been here before and had no reason to be, until this point. Curfew was in two hours, but Ari could at least scout out the place Rale wanted her to snoop in.

She'd been flicking through old news articles on the scientists Rale showed her. There wasn't much information accessible to the general public. About a year ago, there was an official announcement from Central Administration about a rogue group of scientists who, instead of researching methods to improve the skills and abilities of voluntary low-rankers, actually used it directly on weaker Users without their consent, bypassing the laboratory testing phase altogether and against March City laws. The result was multiple surges throughout the city due to unstable abilities. The more Ari read, the more nauseous she felt. Rale was right. This was identical to what was happening now.

The floor was scuffed and uneven as she stepped onto the platform. Contrast to the gleam of Area Seven, the station at Area Nine was grey, dirty, and falling apart. Holes in the ceiling were patched with cement and left unpainted. Buildings outside were chunky and uniform like Area Eight, but even more decrepit; tiny apartments were lit by dim yellow lights. Students hurrying past her gave her second looks. She knew she looked out of place, but not recognisable. She'd taken care to wear a heavy newsboy hat with her hair tucked in and baggy dark clothing. Empty pod cars lined the streets beneath flickering street lights. There were no teleporters to be seen. It seemed students preferred to walk or cycle here.

What if they experiment on Mina?

Rale's snide comment echoed in the back of Ari's mind. What a sly move. He knew exactly where to hit her. Shon wouldn't risk his Peacekeeper career to help her. The Investigators would definitely arrest her if she were caught again. Rale was her only hope.

Ari swept past parked power cycles and flickering street lights; some lights didn't even turn on at all. Her eyes darted up at the flats on either side of her, taking note of the street names and building numbers. Inside the box-like flats, students marched back and forth, their noses buried in their notes. At this hour, students in Ari's area would be meditating or preparing for bed.

Uneven stone blocks on the ground made Ari stumble. Muttering a curse, she hobbled forward, pain throbbing in her big toe. The old student accommodation finally came into view. She stopped by the power box at the street corner. Short-circuiting the electrical lock, she swung the cover open, revealing the power circuit inside with wires named according to building number, just as Rale had told her. She placed a hand on the wire supplying the old accommodation and her other hand on her battery necklace. A brief discharge of electricity coursed from one end of her body to the other; her palm heated and the alloy coating melted just enough for her to touch the raw wires. Electricity coursing through her hand. Her eyes shot to the tiny, flickering red dots attached to the two inner corners overlooking the front entrance of the building.

With ease, she absorbed the current, causing the weak amber street lights to flicker. The skyline darked against the backdrop of the distant Area Two, the research facilities, where sky-high buildings of a glittering kaleidoscope shimmered with yottabytes of information from all across March City. In stark contrast, Area Nine would be in pitch darkness if not for the weak illumination from student flats and the faltering street lights.

The hairs on her arm stood up. She held on and the energy continued to build up — and then it released. The electricity surged. With a pop and the smell of burnt plastic, the lights of the building died. She did the same to the building directly opposite.

She slipped to the tiny alleyway that ran between the backs of the buildings. Hopping onto a stone wall, she scrambled onto the rusted ladders and climbed to the top before making her way across the rooftops. Tiny lenses of tiny cameras glinted at her from the opposite building. As Rale had predicted, cameras watched the abandoned building from across the street and from directly above.