The rain slammed against his body as he ran through the muddy grasslands towards his destination. He commanded 2A to morph back into a watch and requested directions.

  “You have still yet to complete your mission. Are you sure you want to return to the City of Ionia”, 2A said in a womanly, robotic voice.

  Avery gritted his teeth, almost biting his tongue. “I did my mission. What more do u want?”

  “According to the reports, your mission is to kill the king, along with—”

  “I know!” He stopped and fell to his knees with his head down. His hair was completely soaked with water bouncing off his back or rolling down his face. “I know.” He buried his face into his dirty hands, trying not to break down in tears. “I can’t do it. I can’t.”

  “Archon will not accept that answer,” it replied.

  “I know he won’t.”

  He used his arms as support while getting up. He looked back at the direction he came from.

  Tim was there, alone. Avery shot him in the leg so he wouldn’t be followed. Now Tim is in pain, alone, in the dark rain, wondering why Avery did such a thing. At least that’s what Avery thought. He told Tim to forget about him. But how could he? No one could forget a childhood best friend.

  To Tim, they were childhood best friends. But Avery knew the truth. They were more than that. They were a lot closer than Tim could ever imagine. If only Avery could tell him the truth.

  That truth must be buried. If Avery were to tell Tim, Tim would probably grow to hate him. Everything would be a lie.

  Avery couldn’t do such a thing. He decided to not prolong the conversion before accidentally slipping up.

  “Sorry, Tim. I really am.”

  Avery took one deep breath and continued to jog towards his destination.

  ***

  It took him a while to get there. His heart was beating out of his chest, and his rigid breath didn’t make it any better.

  Underneath him was a flat, metal seal with fake grass on top. There was no way to open it—not for a human.

  “2A, open the seal.”

  “As you wish.”

  2A morphed into a small, flat circle with a handle parallel to the ground. Avery placed the flat circle on the seal and pulled with all his might. 2A used magnetic technology to stick onto the handle. Using 2A’s magnetic abilities, Avery managed to rip the seal open, revealing a hole big enough for anyone to climb that descends into darkness.

  “2A, flashlight.”

  It morphed back into a watch, which Avery wore on his wrist. He turned his hand and shone the light down. He could have used a ladder, but before walking around, he looked at the metal seal coated with fake grass.

  He was supposed to seal the hole shut while he was a couple of steps deep into the hole. No one was to know about this place, and if discovered, the seal would prevent them from coming to the City of Ionia. He knew this, yet a thought crossed his mind.

  He walked over to the seal.

  “2A, create finger slots for the seal.”

  “Creating finger slots will increase the risk of someone opening the seal, and could result in outsiders coming to the City of Ionia, threatening peace. Would you wish to continue?”

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  “Heh. Threatening peace, huh? Peace has been threatened since Archon took over SCAR. I’m doing this in the small chance Tim finds this place, and he probably will. He has a bullet wound. No doctor in the outside world will know how to deal with it. He will have to go to the House of… Answers.”

  “The House with Answers is guarded by—”

  “Yes, I know. I know everything about it. That SCAR agent protecting that place will get in Tim’s way. I know that! I know if they attempt to go there, their chances of survival are slim. But what else can I do? Nothing. The best I can do is create an opening for them. If they reach the House with Answers, she will tell them the way. However, they will need help opening this, so I’m trying to make it easier for them. So please, create slots so someone could rip the seal off the ground.”

  “As you wish.”

  2A morphed into a small mechanical drill. With its help, Avery carefully trimmed holes around the edges and sanded them down. Then, he descended into the darkness, covering the seal from behind. 2A supported him with a bright light as he reached the bottom.

  From there, he continued walking. He walked through the metal corridor, and white lights turned on with each step.

  He reflected on his time in the outside world while walking through the metal tunnel. He went to the outside world twice, both for different reasons. The first time we went, he was tasked to kill two people. Archon didn’t want a SCAR agent doing it since it would bring Ionia unnecessary attention. It was something along the lines of that. Avery couldn’t remember.

  Avery completed half the task. He killed someone—got his hands dirty. He never looked at his hands the same.

  And today, he killed someone as well. His hands tainted with death.

  Avery looked at his palm and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t want to associate himself with Archon anymore. He didn’t want to be his puppet anymore.

  He wanted to be free.

  He wanted to live with his mother and half–brother.

  There was one thing preventing him from his desires.

  One person.

  “I’ll have to chat with him,” he mumbled to himself.

  Avery reached the end of the hall, where another ladder was. The handles were cold, which wasn’t ideal since he was soaked.

  He climbed up the ladder and had 2A remove the top, using shockwaves to push it upwards, popping the hole open. Once he fully climbed out and returned the seal to its original place, he was greeted by the warmth of city lights.

  He was in the middle of a dark alleyway between two enclosed buildings, away from the main street.

  “2A, what is the time?”

  “It is currently 4:48 a.m.”

  That explains it.

  The night was peaceful. The city lights shone brilliantly as ever, and the absence of people made the atmosphere more relaxed. He heard cars zipping through the air, and saw one car with flashing LED lights that sent flashes of color across the buildings.

  His father would not be at the office at this time, so there was no point in going there. He could go home, but that would require a car since he would have to travel around forty minutes on foot.

  On second thought…

  “Maybe I will go to the office.”

  There’s always someone there no matter the time in case of emergencies. Avery wanted to see his father, but he wouldn’t be there. What if he waited inside the office? He could freshen up and grab something to eat while waiting.

  The office was down the street, so walking in the downpour wouldn’t be an issue. He exited the alleyway and turned left. The city shone with a mixture of interesting colors. If Avery were to stand at the highest point, he would be met with vibrant colors that filled towering skyscrapers illuminated by vectors of marvelous lights, featuring blue, purple, and neon hues.

  Normally, cars and buses would compact the city streets. But there was nothing as of now.

  Avery’s socks were drenched and filled with water. He desperately wanted to change out of his clothes and dry up, and maybe eat a granola bar or two.

  He walked on the sidewalk, surrounded by buildings. The traffic lights were green, even though no cars were on the road. He used this opportunity to cross the empty street and attempted to pull the door in front of him.

  Locked.

  “Strange,” he said. It was usually unlocked. Was it because he came at an odd time? That could be the case.

  The government building wasn’t special in any way. It was like the other buildings around the area, except for the SCAR Headquarters. That wasn’t even a building. It was a two–story structure in the shape of a circle. Avery didn’t know the architectural choice but always found it weird.

  He tried pulling again, but he failed. Avery then loudly knocked on the clear, glass door, hoping someone would answer.

  It was only a matter of time till someone did.