March City: Rebellion of the Gifted [Book 2 | Complete | Fantasy/Sci-fi]

Chapter 1: March City, Destroyed

Lira's appearance shattered Ari's cocoon of safety. It was over.

Her name instilled pure terror in every March City citizen. So what was Lira, "the Dancer" and the second strongest User in the city, doing outside Ari's flat? Ari stared up at willowy Lira for several seconds, gobsmacked. Her stomach clenched. She wasn't prepared. Fully refreshed and rejuvenated after maintenance day, yes, there was no way she could lie her way out. Lira knew Ari had trespassed into Area Six and rescued Mina, blinded Cryo, the highest ranked User in March City, and got tangled in the rebellion that compromised the core of March City. Lira knew everything.

"H-hello." Ari swallowed and gave a grin. "What are you doing here?"

No, Lira didn't get vaccinated against the maintenance drugs. She wouldn't remember a thing after maintenance day, where students' memories were modified with whatever was decided by Central Administration, the mastermind of March City. The new memories would likely not include the kidnapping of Users, Kena the mad scientist's illicit experimentations to amplify their powers, the city's true nature as a toy for an outside power, and the riot involving almost the entire population, which almost got them all killed. As far as Lira was concerned, it was just another day.

Ari tried to rid her face of any guilt. Lira was calm and graceful as always, her hair perfectly straight and her cold grey-green eyes unblinking. She might not remember a thing, but that didn't stop goosebumps from rising on Ari's skin and her mouth going dry when she gazed at Ari steadily. Ari tried to keep her body language and face neutral. Lira had an uncanny ability to read through almost everything and predict people's reactions and movements, and the more a student tried to hide something, the more they would suffer before spilling the truth. Ari's heart slammed against her ribcage. Her mouth dried.

"I'm going to school, okay? You've chosen a bad day if you're here to give me trouble for skiving." Ari tried to sound cool and unaffected. Lira didn't bat an eyelid. She reached out a long arm and grabbed a handful of Ari's long-sleeved green hoodie. "Wha—hey!"

"Come with me," said Lira. Her tone was impossible to decipher, soft and melodic. Ari couldn't fight against her. For someone so slender, Lira had surprising great strength. Ari protested and received a laser glare, silencing her words in her throat. Mina, Ari's sister, hurried along, her face white, no doubt terrified Lira knew about the whole thing and was about to send Ari to her death.

Lira took Ari onto the ground in the lift in silence, and then to the teleporter. The streets stood empty, abandoned. The polished ground reflected the outline of buildings and street lights, with no traces of the riots that had taken place earlier. Switched off lights lined their paths at regular intervals. The faint hum of electricity reached Ari's ears. How many days had passed since the riot?

Lira squeezed into the cylindrical titanium structure, tugging Ari behind her with a steely clamp on Ari's wrist.

"What the heck are you doing, Lira?" Ari said, pulling a face. Lira faced forward; her stoic features reflected on the inside of the door. An undulant sound filled the air. Lights flashed on the side.

When the noises stopped, the doors slid open. Smooth grey marble ground stretched ahead with artificial dark green bushes set in delicate patterns along the edges. A large, multi-storey building stood at the top of a wide sprawling staircase. Green-tinted glass covered most of its exterior, through which intersecting sky bridges could be seen on the inside. The lights set above the front entrance stating 'Area One: Hospital' were turned off. Normally lifts glided up and down along the interior bridges, but today they stood stagnant, empty.

Lira ignored the rest of Ari's questions and just tugged her through the glass sliding doors. The air smelled of antiseptic and overly-filtered particles. Their footsteps echoed in a series of hollow noises against the large hall spanning at least a hundred metres left and right, and about ten storeys upwards. The lights overhead left the interior dimly lit, unusual as they were usually glaringly bright, and with a deadened feel. Normally the front desk would be stationed by receptionists and clerks of the hospital, but today they lay unmanned. Even the electric stairs stood still. It was as though all the students vanished and time stood still.