Ivy

I was pretty sure my ears had deceived me. Did I just hear Trevor right? Am I currently standing on the grounds of his Inc?

Of course I am... I mean, how else do I explain the sudden shift of weather, the bright skies and beautiful people? I mean... It was right in front of me.

"Your Inc?" I found my voice after some time. My heart was giving an unsteady thump in my chest, it made goosebumps rise above my skin.

"Yup. Like I said, we're at the purest sector, the safest parts of my Inc. and also the less scariest. People here are irritatingly too kind." He muttered.

I blinked, watching the lively surroundings, the little children, the cars and the bikes, the stores and the companies, the houses and the street lights. The pattern of the beautiful streets.

"Wow... This is um... Not what I was expecting." I croaked out, looking up at him.

A smile painted the corner of his lips. "Definitely haven't seen this side of the city huh?"

"Yeah, definitely. I never imagined you'd bring me here. I mean, after all you've said about how dangerous your Inc is, and how you don't want me to get involved in all of this."

His smile faded slowly as he took in a deep breath. "I didn't want to bring you here Ivy, but I had to. Bringing you here is better than you sneaking up on me when I'm not looking."

My heart jumped against my chest as I gulped. "What do you mean by that?" I asked quickly.

Does he know? Does he know what Roman and I are planning?

He shrugged. "I'm just saying Ivy. Besides, it's something I know you're capable of."

I relaxed.

"Anyway, like I said. I want to be able to protect you Ivy. I'm responsible for your safety in all this. You've gone too deep into the Inc's business. You know too much and I don't want to have to use LT wipe on you, ever again, that's why I need your trust." He pleaded with his words and his eyes.

He needed my trust? Which means I wouldn't be able to tell anyone about this? Damn it! His Inc was running an illegal business, something that may or may not be legalized by the governmental authority. How was I supposed to keep this secret?

As long as the Inc isn't known to humans, it remains a big threat to earth and everything in it.

If everyone here had a chip in them, what would happen if it all turned red? It would be the ideal robot apocalypse.

"Can I trust you? Can I trust you not to tell anyone about this?"

"Not even Roman?" I asked.

"Not even Roman." He repeated.

I bit my lower lip looking around. They were all once human like me, they are all humans, but with a higher advantage than normal humans on the outside. They all had a past, a past they've forgotten, a past they were made to forget.

They could still be saved, they could still be protected and brought out of this hell hole.

All they need is someone to make them see the truth about their Inc, about everything they believe in.

Could I give Ethan my trust? No, but could I pretend like I totally get it and I'm totally ready to keep my mouth shut? "Yes, you have my trust Trev. I won't tell anyone about this."

"Promise?" He asked, his eyes digging dip into mine.

"I promise." I said. "I don't wanna put you in trouble too, all I want is for everyone to be safe so, I won't tell everyone."

He visibly relaxed. "Thank you." He said.

I managed a small smile. "So, the purest sector huh? Tell me about it." I said as we strolled slowly down the sidewalk.

The muffled chatter here and there, the giggles by children playing, the lovely aroma of baked bread and vanilla in the air, made me wonder how homely it all felt, and overly conducive it looked.

"Isn't it obvious? They're the happy ones. The ones who considers themselves lucky to be here or even alive." Ethan said, sounding relaxed and carefree.

"The happy ones? I don't understand."

"Well, they didn't stand a chance of survival in the outside, some of them here are victims of diseases that couldn't be cured, some of them are accident victims, some of them are the suicide victims and some of them are the beggars you see on the streets. The Inc picked them up and gave them a better life, one without worries or sickness or poverty." He said.

I looked around, noticing the grateful look on all of their faces, they were indeed the happy ones.

"How were they cured? Those who were sick. Does your Inc have some kind of drug for every challenging disease in the world?" If that was so, why weren't they sharing it with the world? It could save lives.

"We call it the Chip. It is installed on each and every one of us. Once you have the chip in you, you automatically become like us... Strong, fast, super intelligent, etcetera."

Honestly, I couldn't believe he was telling me all this. Although I had managed to figure it out myself, but I wasn't going to let him know that.

He made it seem like the chip was such a normal thing, but I knew it wasn't. It was dangerous, and it made them different.

It saved their lives but, it also has a bad side. The system keeping the chips in check could fail any minute and it's either their chips turn red or they just stop working. What would happen to them then?

"That's uh... Cool." I muttered. "But it sure has it's bad side, right? I mean, I know it helps people but, nothing good comes easy."

A ball came flying in the air, straight to Ethan's direction, I didn't think he noticed it, but when he caught it without much effort, I remembered Roman saying something about their kind having extraordinarily strong reflexes.

A little boy of about six, with dirty blonde hair came rushing to collect the ball. "I'm sorry Ethan, I didn't see you there." He said, a hint of fear in his big brown eyes.

Ethan handed the ball back to him and ruffled his hair. "It's alright Jar, leave before your mom starts throwing tomatoes at me."

The boy giggled and ran away.

I couldn't help but notice the smile on Ethan's face, and come to think of it, the boy called him by his real name... They knew each other.

Did they all know each other here?

"Ethan uh?" I voiced out.

He didn't seem to react to it. "Yeah, that's my real name, in here anyways- but now that I have a new owner, I answer whatever they want me to answer."

"You're not a dog." I said.

"I know that, but...it's the way things are done around here."

I smiled. "Then I'd start calling you Ethan from now on."

He looked down at me, raising a brow. "No, you can't."

"Why?"

"I thought you were smart. It'll only raise suspicion." He said.

"Okay, how about whenever we're alone?" I asked.

He sighed. "Whatever you wish." He said.

"So, Ethan. Tell me, Do they take kids too? Jared seems to be around six and you said something about his mother?"

"They don't just take people Ivy. This is like a normal world, boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married, have a few kids, and when they get to a year old, they insert the chip in them."

"Wow... There's a church around here?" I asked.

"There are churches in each sector, hospitals and other recreational centers. We only have one highschool, which is Inc high... All teens and kids from each sector goes there."

"Each sector? Wait... There are other sectors?"

He hesitated before speaking. "Yeah, there are."

"How many?"

"Three. The Willing, the Futures and the Rebels."

"Where do you belong to?" I asked.

"The Rebels." He stated tersely.

"What's their deal?"

"We're the forced ones, we don't want to be here, but we don't have a choice... My sector is the most dangerous sector. Feared above all." He said.

"Whoa. How about the Futures?"

"I can't disclose anything about the willing and the futures Ivy, I have no business with them." He said.

"Oh, so uh... You have business with the purest?"

He sighed. "Like I said, the purest is the safest sector, it's the only sector that allows visitors from other sectors and even the outside world. The other sectors don't take a liken to visitors. And besides, there was a time I spent most of the hours here."

"There was a time? What Happened?"

I looked up at him to find his jaw set in a hard line, as if remembering a very harsh incident.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He simply said.

I decided to drop the issue, knowing it was threatening to ruin his mood.

"Do you all like know each other, in the Inc? You knew that little boy from earlier and he knew you too."

His face lightened up again. "You can't know everyone, just like you can't know everyone on the outside. I shared training class with his brother, junior year. I beat up his brother to pulp and called their mom a bitch and I was blessed with tomatoes the next minute... A very funny memory."

I chuckled. "The typical bad boy, always looking for trouble."

"More like, trouble always finding me." He smiled. "Ice cream?" He asked out of nowhere.

"Yeah, sure." I smiled back as his fingers intertwined with mine.

A small act that surprisingly sent a shiver down my spine.

We went into a small ice cream store, my senses were immediately filled with the amazing aroma of different flavors mixed together, it smelt and felt like heaven in here.

The walls were painted a pale sky blue with ice cream designs scattered here and there... I could see children playing at a kid's corner and some teenagers too.

"Hey stupid, can I get two scoop fill of vanilla flavoured ice cream... Grand packed." Ethan said to the girl behind the counter, with her back to us, her shoulders tensed up then she turned around, she was a dark skinned beauty, with braces on her teeth. she had thick curly hair, making her look so old school.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Sure idiot, you can go place your order next to the guy sitting behind the trash can at P4 mile street, I'm sure they sell better ice cream there, since that's where you obviously belong." She snapped rudely at him. I noticed her American accent on each of her words.

She was wearing a bright pink coloured shirt with the store name written boldly on the front.

But the look on her face was quite enough proof to know that she hated every minute she spent in here.

"Ouch." Ethan placed his hands across his chest, like an arrow has been pierced straight to his heart. "Look who's getting less good at come backs."

"Fuck you." The girl muttered, then she finally noticed me. "Who's the human?"

"My girlfriend." Ethan said without a minute passing.

"You mean your mission... You shouldn't be here, and you shouldn't be bringing," she eyed me from head to toe. "...outsiders here."

"Last I checked, the purest still welcomed visitors."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She turned back and yelled. "Yo! Dufus, bring in two vanilla flavoured ice cream, double scoops, grand packed."

She turned back to face me. "Hi, I'm Edith, daughter of Malcolm Steel, the head of the Rebel sector." She introduced.

I smiled. "N-nice to meet you, I'm-"

"Just an outsider." She spat out.

Ethan rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Is that a crime?" I found myself asking.

She scowled at me. "Nah, it's not. It's just that I don't like your kind, ya'all are too proud cause ya'all got what we all want... Freedom."

I blinked, stealing a glance at Ethan who replied with just a shrug, I turned back to face Edith. "Not all of us are free, Edith... It's not exactly all roses and bed on the outside." I said.

"I know, but ya'all got free will. You can't sell that around here." He muttered.

"I assume you're a rebel?"

"Yup."

I furrowed my brows. "They allow that? Like you're from the Rebel sector and you work in the purest sector... Is that like normal around here?"

Edith watched me for a bit before turning to Ethan. "Does Dad know she's here?"

"No, and I don't think you're gonna tell him either." Ethan said.

"It's none of my business, idiot."

"You got that right, Stupid." He replied.

"Fuck you." She muttered with a hint of a smile on her face as she left the counter. "Dufus, Imma come in there and beat your ass to mush! Where the hell is the ice cream I asked you to..." Her voice faded out as she went into another door.

"You seem to know each other pretty well." I said, spotting the smile on Ethan's face.

"We grew up together, trained together... She's like my little sister."

"Oh... No wonder you have the stupid idiot thing going on."

"Yup. Any other questions you'd like to ask?" Ethan asked.

"No... Not for now... I never thought you'd open up this much too me... It feels like I've climbed up a ladder through your walls."

He watched me with scrutiny. "You Ivy Fisher, are my responsibility. It's either I let you in or I let you out, and I think I made the right choice."

Guilt slapped me across the face, but I didn't let it show. I had his best interest in heart and I was going to let him reunite with his real family, with his twin brother and his Mom, if ever she's out there.

I would do anything to save him from this Inc, and even if it meant betraying him, I don't mind taking the risk.

"Yes, yes you did."

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Vote and comment:-)

Ethan trusts Ivy? What's going to happen if he finds out about her plans with Roman?

The purest sector means more to Ethan than he's letting on... What do you think?

Glory has been really silent, do you smell trouble?

Read on to find out!

Nora.