" But-," I took in a shuddering breath, "Kayden this changes so much"

Kayden sighed in reply, he didn't need to agree, it was plain as the day.

" Did you tell Skye?" I asked, turning my eyes to Zane who was looking intently at me, curious to what is so important and sudden to shift my mood instantly.

" You are not with him? Ariel, you are in an unknown town, even the officers can't be trusted. The least you can do is stick with Skye." Kayden reproached, tone serious in disappointment but it only irritated me.

" Kayden, please. This is not the time" I groaned on the phone.

He didn't say anything and his reproach vibrated through the phone. But I can do things myself, I don't need to be dependent on Skye to stay safe I am capable to do that myself.

" I will call you, bye" I whispered softly, silently apologizing but refusing to listen any more of this.

" Okay, bye. Stay safe and be careful"

I hanged up the phone, placing it beside me face down.

" They are not the real officers" I whispered, raising my head to meet Zane's eyes. His face is blank, guarded and I don't know what he is thinking.

" How?" he asked the one-word question through clenched teeth and I lowered my voice even more.

" Kayden, my brother, cross-checked. They were not registered in any training academy, their bios had fake information"

" So they are not even actual officers?" Zane gave a humourless, hollow laugh.

"All those lashings and beatings," Zane announced and my breath hitched at that, eyes widening and my hands turned cold.

What is he talking about?

Zane was visibly shaking, not in fear but in untamed rage. I wanted to ask him to elaborate what he meant, what had happened with him but I held myself back. This is not what he wants to hear now, not a silly girl scratching his wounds.

"They were not even licenced?" He looked at me, eyes burning in slowly spreading fire and whispered harshly. He grounded his teeth together, visibly clenching his jaw; fists coiled.

I didn't have an answer for that, I couldn't reason the injustice and discrimination done against him, against all the colourless stuck here.

But I can do something now.

We sat in silence after that, lost in our own thoughts. But one question kept repeating in my mind, what do the government need them for? Why not use actual officers instead of poorly skilled actors?

------------------

I entered my Nanu's house and shut the door after me with a soft click. I leaned against the door, resting my head on the worn blue door and closed my eyes.

We didn't really talk after that, Zane and me. He had looked too bothered with the revelation, and uncomfortable with me around. It had hurt, he ignored me because he thought there was nothing to tell me that I could relate to and as a pinching truth, there really wasn't. Even though I never appreciated the value of the things I blindly enjoyed, I am really grateful to grow up gullible to the safety I was provided.

"All those lashings and beatings, they were not even licensed?" at that time all I had seen was the anger in his clenched fists but all I hear now is a child like longing to hear that what happened wasn't just done to him.

I hear it in different voices; Zane's baritone, Oreana's commanding voice, Jerrek's articulate dialogues. In all those children at the skate park. In Mick's voice and in those twin's.

I hear it in Ash's voice. "All those lashings and beatings, they were not even licensed?"

I snapped my eyes open, invisible tremors raked through my body at the morbid thought. No. Never Ash. Never another child pushed to bear this treatment.

Skye rounded the corner and I straightened up, removing all the evidence of sadness.

" Where were you Ariel?" Skye asked, folding his arms and gave me a stern look. I sighed at his antics, I don't have the energy to go through another one of Skye's lecture.

"I was training with Zane. Did you hear from Kayden?" I asked, moving to drop down on the sofa.

Skye sat down next to me and narrowed his eyes at me. "Yes, I did hear from him. Why were you with Zane?"

" To train and what do you think about it? Why are the officers with a licence?" I questioned back, giving a vague reply to move on to a more pressing topic.

" I don't know but definitely not to keep things legal and within the law. Why him, you could have trained with me?" Skye being Sky, he refused to drop the topic.

" Because he is a colourless and has awesome card throwing skills. But don't you think they could have received better compliance and assurity if they used actual officers?"

" No, officers have moral and so employing real officers would ha been a risk. So what if he knows how to throw cards, that is the lamest weapon anyone could use."

" It was cool, especially for target practising"

"I don't like him" Skye narrowed his eyes at me.

" Awwwwwe" I stretched the word, cooing at his confession. I drew my legs up and raised, kneeling on the sofa. I dropped on Skye like a sack of potato, hugging him sideways.

" I do" I whispered in his ear and my eyes widened at what I just said. I jumped off him and ran out of the room at the speed of light. If Sye finds me he will drown me in a pond. I saw a staircase and started climbing the steps.

" Ariel" Skye growled behind me, stomping on the wooden steps and I skipped two steps at a time. He will swing me down the stairs!

I am not feeling any kind of happiness with having him chase me as most siblings might, all I can feel is dread because I know he will pin me to the wall with knives. I shuddered at the thought. That had happened when I had stolen his favourite shirt and dropped mayonnaise on it.

The stairs shook as he ran after me like a charged bull. "Nanu. Nana. Help me." I yelled loudly in a nasal voice, lungs overworking in exertion.

The steps ended and I entered a wooden-floored hallway, I rushed past the only door on the floor.

I am so dead today.

The room was dark and covered in dust, definitely a storage room. Withing a second Skye was at the door and a knife flew past me, impaling the wall. I jumped through the boxes and cringed at the possibility of cobwebs getting tangled in my hair.

" Get back here" Skye yelled loudly behind me, blowing dust from the boxes.

" Noo-" my sentence dropped to a short scream as I stumbled over something, effectively stubbing my toe and landing on my butt. A sharp pain shot through my hip bone and I moaned in pain.

" Are you okay?" Skye asked in a voice somewhat hinting concern.

" No, I am not! You broke my three bones I am telling mom." I yelled at him half-joking as the pain started to dull. I rubbed my hand at the throbbing area and scowled at him. I am sitting in dust and cobwebs, with three not so broken bones and he has the audacity to raise his eyebrow at me in a 'are you seriously pinning it on me' look.

The audacity of this overgrown polar bear.

" What is that?"

"My broken bones?!" I snapped at him with narrowed eyes.

"No, what you are sitting on." He pointed at something and I followed his line of sight. I slide away from the boxes, slowly standing up while rubbing my back. Two rectangular cardboard boxes were stacked one over the other, covered in dust except a certain area where I was leaning. Ew gross, I am covered in dust.

But it was the bold blue letters that caught my eyes. 'AX10 Hoverboard 4th Generation'

I gave a squeal- scream in excitement, jumping on my spot as I clapped my hands in ecstasy. Skye bend down and blew the dust, revealing a similar box with similar contents just beneath it.

" What happened Ariel? Are you alright?" Nanu's voice ranged as he called me from bellow.

"Skye broke my three bones"