Aris lived on the North side of the Green View Echelon, not too far from where Alex lived, so the three of them walked briskly to his apartment. Once inside, they had a chance to calm down and reflect on the situation.
“Maybe we’re just being paranoid and nobody will notice we hacked the system,” Aris said.
“Oh, they’ll notice,” Alex replied.
Before they left Alex’s apartment, Alex activated the camera on her computer. Using her access pod, she established a live remote feed, allowing her to view her apartment from Aris’ place. They all gathered around and watched. A few minutes went by and nothing happened; her apartment looked safe and sound. Aris lost interest and stopped watching.
“I think we’re being too paranoid here, nobody’s coming for us.”
“Wait,” Alex said in a hurried tone.
Aris rushed over just in time to see three armed guardians enter Alex’s apartment. They spread out and searched the tiny dwelling. One of the guardians pointed to the empty drawers that were still opened. Another guardian pointed directly at the computer. They walked over to the computer and confiscated it, causing the feed to cut out.
“Still think we were being paranoid?” Milo said in a mocking tone.
“I think coming here was a mistake,” Alex said. “It’s only a matter of time before they search all the apartments on this floor.
“Alex is right”, Milo agreed, “they were able to track me down me in this building in a sea of chaos. We must leave now.”
“Guys, we can’t go now, this place will be crawling with guardians. Besides, your image is probably being blasted on every monitor in this place.”
“This is all your fault,” Milo said aggressively as he grabbed hold of Aris and slammed him against the wall.
“Milo, relax, let him go,” Alex said with authority.
Milo released Aris, but was still in his face. Aris caught his breath and straightened out his jacket.
“They shouldn’t find you here because they don’t know Alex and I even know each other,” Aris said.
“How did you ever graduate with that puny reptilian brain of yours.”
“What?”
“You moron, you’re assuming they’re only going to knock on the doors of people she knows. What’s more likely to happen is they’ll search every apartment on this floor, and when they haven’t found her, they’ll shut down the entire building.”
“There’s over a million people in this building on any given day,” Aris retorted.
“It doesn’t matter, trust me. They have ways of tracking people down.” Milo’s rage began to boil again, “Why did you have to mess around with the computer?” he snarled.
“Leave him alone, Milo. What’s done is done. Now we just have to deal with the situation we’re in.”
“Hey, pal, your nose is bleeding,” Aris ridiculed.
Milo raised his hand to his nose just in time to catch a drop of blood.
“What’s wrong with you?” Aris taunted him. “You should go easy on the steroids; they’re obviously making you a little high-strung.”
“Milo, are you okay?” Alex asked. “Just tilt your head back, I’ll bring you some tissues.”
“That’s the third nose bleed this week. I think it’s the altitude up here, it’s drying out my sinuses.”
Milo took the paper towel that Alex handed him and held it against his nose to stop the bleeding.
“You know, since nobody is looking for me, and Milo is falling apart, I’ll go on a reconnaissance mission and assess the situation.”
“That’s a good idea, Aris. Thank you,” Alex said.
“No problem. It’s the least I can do.”
Aris left his apartment and walked toward the tram. With his head down, he was trying to maintain a low profile while inconspicuously being on the lookout for guardians. He spotted several within his short walk to the tram. It was not uncommon to see guardians patrolling the pyramid, but their presence was stronger than usual.
Aris boarded the tram and within a few minutes was at the ground level. He casually exited the tram and went over to a vending machine to buy a drink.
“What, two Units for a Titus Boost, that’s a rip off!” he said to himself. He held out his hand an inch from the sensor on the vending machine until he heard a beep. Then a mechanical arm selected his beverage from the shelf and placed it into the receptacle.
Aris opened his drink and stood idly by, scanning the area. There were several guardians positioned at every entry and exit point scanning the faces of people as they walked by.
A bipedal robot approached Aris and began speaking.
“Hello, Aris. May I interest you in a Titus Boost?”
“I already have one, thanks.”
“Would you care for another refreshing drink?”
“No, I’m not interested. Now buzz off,” Aris said in irritation.
“Very well. Have a pleasant day,” the robot said before walking away.
“Stupid robot.”
Aris took another sip of his drink before heading back upstairs. He figured he had seen enough. Once he arrived back on Green View Echelon, he realized Alex and Milo’s paranoia was justified. The entire floor was swarming with guardians. Evidently they were going door to door, searching apartments. Aris slowed his pace so he could gather as much detail as possible. From what he observed, the guardians made a brief announcement, citing some obscure anti-terrorist law before barging their way in.
They were only a few doors away from Aris’ apartment, so he hurried inside to warn Alex.
“How’d it look out there, Aris?” Alex asked as soon as Aris entered the apartment.
“Not good. They’re going door to door searching people’s apartments.”
“Please tell us you’re joking,” Milo said.
“Unfortunately not, they should be here any minute.”
Almost as if he had planned it, there was an aggressive knock on the door. “Guardians! Open up!” they announced.
“What should we do?” Milo asked.
“Don’t worry, they’re not looking for you, Milo. Just stay calm and act naturally.”
Aris opened the door, allowing the two guardians to enter. “How can I help you?” he said with an overly enthusiastic smile. “Would either one of you care for something to drink?”
“We’re here under the Anti-terrorist Act, Declaration A – subsection 7.1.” one of the guardians said pushing his way passed Aris.
“Ah, okay, whatever that means,” Aris replied.
“Have you seen this girl?” another guardian asked as he displayed a 3D digital image of Alex.
“No, but I wish I had; she’s beautiful.”
The guardians ignored Aris and helped themselves to a complete inspection of his apartment. They saw Milo sitting on the couch looking nervous. They looked him up and down then proceeded to the bedroom. They walked in and out of every room, checking high and low. “All clear,” one of the guardians said.
As they proceeded to leave, one of the guardians stopped. Milo’s heart was pounding uncontrollably. He kept telling himself to keep it cool, but it felt like he was going to pass out or have a heart attack. The guardian walked across the room and stopped. “Nice view,” he said.
“You can’t go wrong with mountains,” Aris said.
One of the guardians held up a device next to Aris, capturing Aris’ bio-stats. It came back clean. He then aimed the device at Milo. Information about Milo’s recent arrest populated, which piqued the guardian’s interest. The guardian took a step closer. Aris’ eyes shifted back and forth between Milo and the guardian.
“Why are you so nervous?” the guardian asked.
“Guilty conscience I guess,” Milo replied. “I used to shoplift candy when I was a kid.”
A silence hung in the air as the guardian processed Milo’s vocal modulation in his access pod.
After a moment, the guardian said, “You two have a nice day.” The guardians turned around and left
Aris’ apartment. As soon as both guardians exited, Alex removed her invisibility cloak and breathed a sigh of relief.
“I can’t believe that worked,” Aris said. “You should patent that thing.”
“It’s funny you say that, Milo suggested the same thing to me last week. You guys may have a lot more in common than you realize.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” Aris said.
“Alex, we should think about relocating you,” Milo said. “It’ll only be a matter of time before they do a thermal-image scan and detect three bodies in here.”
Chapter Eleven
Alex figured security was keeping a close eye on her apartment so going back there was out of the question. The three of them laid low for the night and stayed at Aris’ apartment. When they awoke the next morning, Aris went on another recon mission. Upon his return, he reported the security presence had died down. Nevertheless, they still wanted to proceed with caution.
They reasoned the best opportunity for extraction would be during lunch time when it would be the busiest. At noon, thousands of people flooded the restaurants, parks, shopping districts, and trams, making it difficult to locate and identify one individual amongst the crowd.
Alex wrapped her long brown hair up into a tight bun and put on a hat. It wasn’t much of a disguise, but it would have to do. Milo grabbed her duffle bag and they made their exit.
They must have passed a dozen guardians on their way to the tram, but there were just too many people for the guardians to inspect. With their heads down, they kept moving. Once they reached the tram, there was a slight sense of relief, but they still needed to exit the pyramid and get far away. That was the hard part. For all they knew, what lay ahead could be far worse. They could very well be leading themselves into a trap. If the security breach was considered an act of terrorism, then no measures would be deemed too unreasonable.
The tram stopped at the base of the pyramid and the three of them walked nervously into the main area. Fortunately, there were thousands of people walking around so blending in was fairly easy. They merged into a scattered crowd and then into an awaiting taxi.
“Where would you like to go?” the automated driver asked.
“Ferndale and Willow,” Alex instructed.
Just as the taxi was about to pull out, two guardians stood in front of it. The guardians took out their lights and shone them all around the vehicle.
“Stay calm everybody,” Aris whispered through his teeth without moving his lips.
The guardians circled around and shone their lights into the main passenger cab. As their lights hit directly onto Alex’s invisibility cloak, the light waves enhanced the cloak’s abilities, making her even more undetectable. Ironically, had the guardians not done that, they may have actually seen her.
“All clear,” the guardian said, as he waved them through.
The taxi left the pyramid and made its way through the city. The Megaplex pyramid looked smaller and smaller as they covered more distance. After a long ride, they finally arrived at their destination. Upon exiting the taxi, they looked up at the old building in front of them. It looked just like the building they had seen in the video the day before, only much more rundown. They felt like time travellers visiting the future, or archeologists coming upon some ancient ruins.
“It sure doesn’t look like it did on the video,” Aris commented.
The building was not the only thing that had undergone decades of decay – the entire neighbourhood had succumbed to the effects of time and neglect. Many of the buildings were almost two hundred years old and were completely vacant. Any efforts to maintain them were given up years ago. The trees had grown taller than most of the buildings with their leafy branches, creating a canopy that nearly engulfed the entire neighbourhood. Grass and weeds sprouted through cracks in the concrete and moss made its way up the sides of the stone buildings, giving nearly everything an emerald hue.
Alex led the way to the side of the building.
“That one there on the second floor,” she pointed. “That should be my mother’s old apartment. Come on, one of you give me a boost.”
Clutching his hands together, Milo made a step. Alex placed her right foot on his hands and grabbed on to his shoulder for support. With relative ease, he hoisted her up enough so she could grab the first rung on the fire escape ladder and pull herself up.
The two boys each made their way up the rickety ladder and onto the equally unstable metal platform. Alex approached the dirty bedroom window, cupped her hands together, and peered through.
“What do you see?” Milo asked.
“Not a lot, it’s pretty dark,” she replied. “Milo, can you please hand me my bag?”
“Let me guess, you have more gadgets?” Aris asked.
“Maybe. You’ll just have to wait and see.”
Chapter Twelve
The three of them stood on the fire escape platform. Milo kept lookout while Alex reached into her bag and pulled out a device Aris had never seen before – an antique handheld radio.
“What the heck is that thing?” he asked.
“This?” she said, holding up the radio. “This is a special glass remover device.”
Milo laughed because he knew Alex was just messing with Aris.
“No way, is that another gadget you invented? How does it work?”
“It’s simple really. I just grip it like this,” she demonstrated, clutching the radio tightly. “Then to activate it, I just need to raise it above my head like this.”
“Yeah.”
“You might want to stand back,” Alex warned. She then forcefully bashed the radio against the window, causing the glass to shatter on impact. Aris felt foolish, but had a smile on his face.
“Not everything has to be so high-tech, you know,” she said.
Now that the window was smashed, Alex reached through and unlatched the locking mechanism. She hoisted the frame up, being careful not to cut herself on the shards, then climbed through. Milo and Aris followed behind her.
Broken glass crunched beneath their feet as each one entered. All three now stood inside a room, which was believed to be Mara’s old bedroom. After a quick walk through, Alex went back into the bedroom while Milo and Aris searched the living room and kitchen. Alex relished the fact that this was where her mother once lived, or at least where her mother was presumed to have lived.
The apartment was empty; however, Alex got a sense of where the furniture used to be based on the discolorations on the floor. It was another example of the sun’s powerful effects as it once poured through the windows, bleaching the hardwood floor except in places that housed large objects. Now that the sun’s rays had been mollified several decades ago with the gold particles in the atmosphere, these discolorations would likely remain there forever, almost like a photograph, preserving a moment in time.
Alex slowly made her way around the room, taking her time to examine everything. It was not that she was looking for anything in particular; she was just trying to absorb some lost piece of her mother’s history. The bedroom was connected to a bathroom so Alex entered it. As it was in her nature to be curious, she opened all the cupboards and drawers, and even huffed on the dirty mirror hoping a hidden message would be revealed in the fog. She turned the knobs on the faucet, but nothing came out. After taking one last look around, she went back into the bedroom.
“Hey, Alex, come check this out,” Milo called out from the living room. Alex went over to where Milo was standing. He was looking at something in the fireplace. Alex leaned in closer to get a better look at what Milo was referring to. Inside the fireplace, nestled in a pile of black ash, was a charred up teddy bear. It was pretty worn. The body was missing, the eyes were melted, and it was filthy with soot.
“Do you think that was supposed to be yours?” Milo asked.
“I’m not sure. We don’t know what happened to this apartment after my mum left. Another family could have moved in afterwards, not to mention we have
yet to find any evidence that my mother actually lived here. For all we know, she could have lived next door and just happened to run through this apartment during her escape.”
“Are you really going to stay here tonight, Alex?” Aris asked. “No offense, but these hundred-year-old apartments give me the creeps. Who knows what’s buried under the floorboards.”
“If you want me to stay here with you, I will,” Milo said.
“No, you should go back to the Facility, otherwise you might arouse suspicion and be placed on the government’s radar.”
The posse split up, leaving Alex in the apartment by herself. The fact there was no heat, hot water, electricity, or furniture did not bother her. Somehow, she felt at home. She occupied her time mainly by looking out the window and watching movies on her access pod. Before the sun went down, she did a few more laps around the apartment.
As the sun began its descent, Alex decided to go back to the room to set up camp. She took out her tattered navy blue blanket and made a cozy spot on the floor. Alex nestled in, preparing for a long uncomfortable night. She laid on her back and stared up at the patterns in the ceiling before closing her eyes. A million thoughts raced through her mind. She imagined her mother living in the apartment, and then thought about what her life would have been like if she were to live with her mother in the apartment.
After some time, she reopened her eyes. By now, the room was completely dark. A faint glow from the moon entered the room. Aris was right, she thought, this place is kind of creepy. It was at that moment that the following statement Aris had made entered her mind, who knows what’s buried under the floorboards. Alex immediately sat up, unhitched her access pod from her arm, and enabled the density scanner application. She held her access pod out in front of her and slowly walked around the room, scanning the floor. A green image, showing anything denser than hardwood, showed up on the display. It was mostly pipes and screws being displayed, but then she noticed something hidden beneath the very spot she had been laying.
Chapter Thirteen
By the time Milo arrived back at the Facility, there were several guardians waiting for him.
“Milo Rion?” one of them asked.
“Yes.”
“Please come with us, we have some questions for you.”
“What’s this all about?” he asked.
Milo was taken to a secure location inside the Facility and was instructed to take a seat. One of the guardians, Agent Archimedes, entered the room, exchanged words with another guardian, and then looked at Milo. Milo sat there scared half to death. Nowadays, lying was not so easy. Lie detection had been perfected so if the authorities wanted information out of someone, they could usually get it. He had heard the government had technology that could even read people’s thoughts, but that had yet to be confirmed.