Secret Aversion

Chapter 1

*Ari's POV*

There was usually a machine, a door, perhaps a fantastical warp capsule or vortex between two realms. Ahead of me was a bare highway, surrounded by forests with gnarled branches yet to grow leaves this spring.

        The pathway to the other realm wasn’t too extraordinary in my case, but the tension, the faint giddiness of reaching the other side was the same. The border between Brilliant Cove and Nightingale was the machine. It was the vortex that would eventually suck us into Nightingale.

        Brilliant Cove was a strange city. I moved there months ago, only to find it a puzzling place. It wasn’t until later I realized I stumbled into a dangerous territory. It was a territory controlled by a larger force, by its neighbouring city, its rival, Nightingale. It was the cause to every problem, every capture, and the ultimate conquering of Brilliant cove. Our home.

        I’d be dead meat if it wasn’t for Arian McCoy. He was as strange as the city I’d moved to. He was my mysterious neighbour who was part of an even more mysterious family. For a person so cold and unapproachable, no one expected him to show any kind of attention to a girl. Especially one who was the complete opposite. He was there with me every step of the way, from the time I moved to Brilliant Cove, to now, as we began to leave it. To this day, I didn't know why he did all of that for me. It was surreal, but I would never go back. I never regretted moving, and meeting all the amazing people that also took part in this adventure.

         Apart from the fear, a slight calmness settled over me. In the soft gush of wind, and the clear night sky dotted with stars, it was hard to ignore the peace. I’d always been a fan of the stars. Being on the bike, my arms secured around Arian, I could take a look at them. It all felt nostalgic, and I wanted this ride to never stop.

        Both of us had been quiet for some time, because of the evacuation or the beauty of silence in such a dismal situation. A night of prom, the most magical yet tragic moment I had, was the last image in my head. Had I not had that moment, I wouldn’t be in this state of sanity.

        I opened my eyes, staring at the rubble on the road. “Nightingale must be an undeveloped place. With a corrupt government and poor facilities,” I said, enough to be heard over the wind. “Why else would there be runaways? Why else would there be a border?” Runaways were people who had crossed the Nightingale border to flee from its control, and though I didn't live life as one, I knew it was painful.

        “Nightingale is not undeveloped.” Arian’s words held mystery, pitiful yet venomous. “It’s a miserable place. It runs on rules and loyalty. A factory of robots without emotions.”

        “Sounds like you,” I teased.

        “Those who had emotions, either trespassed the border to run away or became agents or officials working under the Project,” he explained, his voice becoming tight.

        “Agents and officials don’t have emotions either.” They were the people working under Nightingale and forcing people out of Brilliant Cove. They seized our homes, and I’d never imagine one with sympathy or concern. I rested my head on Arian's back, wishing I could remove my helmet. “Except you, and Boston. And Rowen.” They had emotions.

        “Rowen and I aren’t from Nightingale,” Arian said, keeping in mind his closest friend of sixteen years. “Dad was from Nightingale. He was an agent once, and got promoted to an official. He had lived in Nightingale for the longest time.”

        “And he isn’t a runaway?” The McCoys were a special family, and through many obstacles did they come to where they were now.

        “Not if he’s an NO, and he worked at the headquarters,” Arian answered. Being a Nightingale Official, an NO, must be tough and Boston regretted it. I knew he did. A silence stretched between us, filled with anticipation. “He met mom one day, while driving back to Nightingale from the headquarters.”

        “And he stayed here?” I asked. He didn’t reply, and I looked at the back of his head. “I can imagine what happened.” In fact, the possibilities ran in my head with a clutter of words and visionaries. “Did he hate Nightingale?”

        “It wasn’t Nightingale,” he said. “It was the Project.”

        The Project was an ongoing enigma people knew was the cause to ruining their lives. They didn’t need a reason for it or details, since nothing could stop them from hating it. I, myself, knew it was an amelioration project created by Nightingale. A project gone wrong, led by the wrong hands, and forced upon us. It started everything, put me where I was now. I’d assume its goal was to e*****e us, and do lots worse than that. Two names clung onto my memory, Roscoe Donegan and his son, Emerson. They inaugurated that Project, and had our homes taken away from us.

        The border came into view, a wide stretch of a stone bridge guarded by two Nightingale Runaway, or NR, Agents holding rifles. A large, open area of trees and a rippling river ran under the border. The rapids of water crashing against the boulders reminded me of a beach shore.

        It was my second time here. The last time was when Arian’s older brother, Evin, had showed me the border from afar months ago. It was a normal world back then, as he showed me the city like anyone would for a person who was new to the neighbourhood. The days went by too soon, but I couldn’t regret being here. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.

        The last of any citizens from Brilliant Cove crossed the border, and under the streetlight glow, I tried to find familiar faces. I failed as they disappeared into a thick fog halfway past the bridge.

        “Stay on the bike,” Arian told me as he continued to move us forward. From his pocket, he fish out a card and showed it to the NR Agents. They allowed us to keep going.

        I couldn’t estimate how long the bridge was to Nightingale, with the fog ahead of us. Instead, I watched the river drift below the bridge, shimmering under the moonlight.

        We slowed and a metal gate about chest-height opened before us. There were more NR Agents here with clipboards and scanning machines. The shoulder bag I had slung on was checked, and Arian didn’t allow them to body-scan me. Agents sure cooperated well with each other. If Arian wasn’t one of the agents, or he wasn’t here with me, I’d never feel as secure as I did now.

        There was another metal gate a minute away, the narrow road turning black as coal. Another NR Agent stood at the gate, a person without a uniform standing next to him. He was neither an NR Agent, or an NO. We made a halt beside them.

        The NR Agent asked for our identity cards and I gave him mine. Arian unclasped his helmet and removed it. The solidity in his eyes was filled with pure hatred as he looked at the person beside the agent.

        Under the dull light, I couldn’t see the person very well. He had light hair and eyes glinting under the dull glow of the streetlight, and a cunning yet sweet first impression with his lips curling into an icy smile.

        “Arian, haven’t seen you in ages,” he said. He had the type of voice you could never trust, yet would allow to mesmerize you. “How’s Brilliant Cove?”

        “Why are you here?” Arian said, close to snarling.

        “Are you sure you want to speak to me like that?” the person asked. Arian didn’t react beyond a blink. “Man, you can never make me angry.” He put an elbow on Arian’s shoulder. “I decided to watch the evacuations, and people’s lives about to get destroyed. Their faces are hilarious.” What a vicious guy!

        “Good luck with that, you piece of s**t,” Arian said, putting his helmet back on. The person’s eyes glinted with vengeance, and he stopped the NR Agent beside him from taking action on Arian.

        “You’re the luckiest agent alive right now.” The person’s voice changed drastically from smug friendliness to pure malevolence. “I don’t know who that girl is behind you, and you don’t want me to know.” I didn't want him to know who I was either.

        “Your threats have no leverage,” Arian said, starting the bike. “Try harder next time.”

        My eyes glued to the person as we drove away. He became smaller and smaller, but I could see him provoked by his defeat and their clashes of ego. Who was he?

        I focused on my surroundings as we entered a world of stray darkness, yellow streetlights, and a downhill of caves. I wasn’t sure if what I saw were caves, but there were concrete paths along certain slopes leading to an enclosed area at the depths of the valleys.

        A humongous board, old and faded read ‘Platform A’ in front of the downhill caves. As Arian and I passed by, I saw the valley of paths extend beyond the distance I was able to see. It had little pathways between each section, burrowed into the ground and separated by stone doors.

        “Where are we?” I asked, a tremble running through my body.

        “At the cells,” he said. These were the cells? Were the sections I’d seen earlier the units by age?

        The Platform ended and another board signalled Platform B with a couple yards of space in between. Another valley of concrete caves showed up. At the very end of this Platform, Arian turned to the last section, parking his bike at the start of the path. We got off and he led me to the door, pushing it open.

        The caves were none other than tunnels with small circles of light scattered on the ceiling and cages on either side. Or I assumed they were cages, or prison cells. They weren’t very big, had cement walls, and doors with a square flap in the middle.

        We stopped three cells from the door, and an engraved #543 was on the lock. Arian swiped his card across the lock. It was a flat, black screen above the knob of the thick metallic door.

        Inside, I was revealed to the smallest living space possible. There was a single bed the length of the cell, a small wooden drawer and to the side was empty space. There were chains attached to the wall there, and ropes dangling from a hook.

        Arian caught me staring. . “Don’t touch those,” he said, and opened the top drawer of the shelf. He took out a pair of brown shoes and folded brown clothes. “You have to wear this from now on. Sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

        “I-I have to stay here?” I said nervously.

        “We have no choice. Keep this hidden,” Arian said, giving me my phone. “I’m kind of glad Ally put our numbers in our phones. This will be useful.” The mention of Arian’s fifteen year-old sister sent a jolt of sadness through my body. We had been through some tough times. I missed her, even if she hated me for half the time I stayed in Brilliant Cove.

        “Where will you go?” I said, my forehead creasing.

        He held my shoulders and walked me back till I sat on the bed. “Agents have other arrangements. I’m one of the agents in charge of Platform B. We got lucky.” I loved the way he said ‘we’, like it was just us two struggling to stay strong.

        “Where would your cell be?” I said. “If you weren’t an agent?”

        “Platform C Unit 1,” he said after thinking about it. My mind didn’t click on that. “I turned nineteen in February.” And he had never told me? But you haven’t told him about yours either. “I have to go. We came a little late.”

        “You’ll come back tomorrow,” I double-checked. “Right?”

        “Yeah.” The door closed, and the only way we could see each other was through the flap. “You won’t be able to get out after I lock it. There will be other agents coming to unlock or lock the cells they’re responsible for. Obey them and don’t talk.”

        I nodded, sure I’d mess up either way. He gave me one last, long look and shut the flap. Covering my face with my palms, I prepared for this journey in a congested cell.

        Where had I started? In a sunny, cotton candy city like Sunnywind, and where had I ended? In a gloomy, dreadful city like Nightingale. In between was the bridge to these two realms, the real border.

        Brilliant Cove was neither the good nor the bad, yet it was the beginning to my crazy adventure of smiles, tears, broken bonds, and bound relationships. Could I ever forget that city? It was the city which created the border, and the bridge between my two worlds. It was the city that introduced me to Arian, to his family, to my father’s pain after we’d lost my mother, and tears of joy and sadness.

        Nope. I could never forget what it had done to me. The good, and the bad.