Five years later.

Right. Left. Center. Right. Left. Center. Right. Left. Center. My eyes panned in a perfect and efficient choreography. I focused on any little change, noise, or odd movement out of my understanding. But everyone seemed calm today. Eyes fixed on Brooke, who was ending her speech. However, I wouldn't underestimate the festivity. It was Foundation Day and as every year, Brooke gave that pretentious motivational speech in front of thousands of people. It was a sensitive day. The day the wall was raised. The day the world was brought to what we had today. I had to stay focused. No room for more attacks, especially with Brooke being such a tempting target for the rebels.

"... today is a day for gratefulness. A day that reminds us how lucky we are to be where we are. How important it is to embrace the technology that has been given to us, so we can be better and stronger..." Brooke was nailing the speed, just like she always did.

I stole a glance at her. From where I was, to her left, about a meter behind, I couldn't see her techno-human side. But I could make out her outfit – a white and silver dress, with pointed shoulder pads that resembled small wings. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a braided bun, giving her a tough and elegant look, and her lips were painted silver, matching her outfit perfectly. It was crazy to think she was in her fifties; she looked incredibly young. She caught me looking and shot me a smirk. Back to business, Grace.

"...To the new arrivals, welcome to the Reg Society. I encourage you not to be afraid and undergo improvement procedures, so you can experience the joy and welfare technology can provide you..."

"Liar!" A voice cut through the crowd.

My gaze snapped towards the source, ready to act if needed. Brooke paused momentarily, then continued. "The future is ours. But only technology is reliable..."

"Bullshit!" The voice erupted again.

Whispers spread through the crowd searching for the source of the disruption. Brooke paused again but then pressed on. "The techno-humans are the new face of humanity and today we also celebrate that."

"From ashes, we soar!" The voice yelled.

That was the Phoenix Group slogan, their war cry. Suddenly, a little red light flickered in the distance, catching my attention and I immediately knew what was going to happen. Without a second thought, I shoved Brooke as hard as I could, and we both crashed to the floor just in time. A shot pierced the air right where Brooke had been standing seconds before. So close. Screams filled the square and panic settled in. It was chaos. The security system reacted immediately, and drones hovered over us, searching for the shooter. People ran everywhere, possessed by the frenzy. Brooke's colleagues, Gabriel and Normand, came to help us.

"Take her out of here!" I ordered them. They nodded and shielded Brooke while I dashed through the crowd. I knew where the shot had come from, but I had to be faster to catch them before they escaped. I pressed the sensor under my left ear, and a shot of adrenaline raced through my veins. There we go. In a few seconds, I could sprint like lightning. I reached the under-construction building and got to the third floor. I had seen the light coming from that window. But the flat was empty. Only a few piles of bricks and some abandoned cement from the laborers. Was I too late? I approached the window from where I had seen the light. There were fresh marks on the edge. Someone had definitely been propping a weapon there for a while, waiting for the perfect moment.

Suddenly, someone hit me from behind, and I stumbled to the floor. Fuck. My vision blurred. Stupid Grace, always check behind the door! I thought to myself. I turned around to face my attacker, and as I did, a laser gun was aimed at my head.

"Tell Brooke Abbott this will soon be over." she said, her face covered with a scarf. The only things I could distinguish were her blonde hair tied in a bun and her right eye, which happened to be completely white.

She pressed her feet against my chest, pinning me down, and kept the gun firmly aimed at my head. Then, without moving the weapon, she took a small gadget from her belt. It was a metallic cylinder with a button on one end and a needle on the other. She placed that on my arm and pushed the button. Pain ran across my whole body as I felt my skin burn and a liquid penetrating my body.

"Consider this a friendly warning. Next time I won't be so gentle." She pulled the gadget away and then kicked my stomach. I doubled over in pain and she ran away. I reached under my ear and pressed my sensor. Nothing happened. I pressed it again. Nothing. What the hell? I glanced at my arm. In the place where she had used that gadget now, there was a bloody tattoo of a wing in fire. In the middle of it, a red point drilled my skin, where the needle had gone through.

· · ·

"It was an inhibitor of Reg technology," Brooke said. Her were eyes fixed on the footage of the attack playing on three large screens in the meeting room of the Nexus Court. I had just recounted my encounter with the white eye woman and how she injected me with something.

"I didn't know they could block our technology." I said looking at the tattoo.

"We knew the Phoenix Group was developing something new. Since they infiltrated, they have more information than ever, this isn't a surprise," She turned to me looking concerned. "So they know how to deactivate our technology..." She said to herself.

"And also how to leave crappy tattoos." I added. 

"The tattoo is just a joke for their ego. It will fade." She explained and then sighed. It had been a long day. Luckily, there hadn't been any more incidents, but the panic from the assault still lingered and It had been broadcast on every screen. Everybody was talking about it.

"Come here." She said and I moved infornt of her.

"Wanna go and grab some dinner? I think we deserve to relax a bit." She circled her arms around my wrist and pulled me closer.

"It sounds like a great plan, but I don't think it's safe. At least for you."

"I love how protective you are. In that case, we can order something in my room." She smiled.

"As much as I'd like to, today I need fresh air. " I said pulling away from her.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

Brooke cared about me. For real. As strange as it could be, she had human emotions behind all those prosthetics and I had grown to appreciate her over the years. It hadn't been easy to get us there, but the fact that I was practically glued to her allowed me to get to know her pretty well. She was insanely smart; you could talk to her about anything in the world, and you'd have a very interesting conversation. Although her ideas were quite radical to me. 

She happened to be very pretty also and undeniably sexy, which led us to have casual sex sometimes. Of course, it was nothing serious for either of us, but it had been fun for a while, that's for sure. However, now I felt the need to break free from that cycle.

"I'm fine. I just need a change of air. But I can bring you something on my way back," I said.

"It's ok. I'll grab something in the canteen." she replied, sounding a bit annoyed.

"You sure?" I said.

"Yes, I'm exhausted. I'll go straight to bed." 

I felt bad for her. She probably wanted more freedom than she could have. Sometimes I wondered if she envied me. But I couldn't keep sacrificing myself for her. I had very little free time, and the Nexus Court felt like this massive prison to me. Three huge white buildings dominating the skyline in the middle of this sprawling complex. And that's what all the high-ranking Reg members called "home". And I, as Brooke Abbott's top security guard, was practically stitched to her, and it was exhausting. I needed to get out, away from all those fancy looks and big egos. And with each passing day, that need just felt stronger.

I hopped in my spaceship and jetted off to the city, making a beeline for the Bonnie Bar like it was my second home.

"Well, well, well, look who's back again." Tanya, the bar owner, said as she whipped up a cocktail for a regular at the counter.

"How's it going, Tanya?" I replied with with a smile.

"Better than you, sweetheart. I've seen you on TV. Quite a rough Foundation Day, huh? Your sexy boss okay?" Tanya winked, referring to Brooke.

"Yeah, she's all good. Safe and sound and back to doing her sexy boss things." I said.

"And what about you?" She came closer to me, simultaneously wiping the counter.

"I'm alright, just feeling a bit drained. Could definitely use some fun," I sat on the bar stool.

"Well, I've got just the thing for you, darling." Tanya reached for a bottle on the shelf and slid a glass in front of me. A green liquid filled the glass and then she slid a purple fruit inside.

"No clue what this is, but you know what? I couldn't care less,"

"That's the spirit, honey!" Tanya exclaimed with a grin.

I took a long sip from the glass and my throat ignited like it was on fire. I coughed, and Tanya couldn't help but laugh.

"Hang in there, girl. You'll feel better soon." she said between laughs.

"Hope so, otherwise you'll have to call the Fire Department and tell them a customer has combusted." I managed, trying not to spit out the fiery concoction.

"You'll survive, girl, don't be so dramatic," she said while picking up some glasses and placing them under the counter. "So, any plans for tonight?"

"Not sure yet. Any girls catching my eye?" I said looking around.

"There are a couple who've been eyeing you since you walked in,"  I glanced over to see both women checking me out. One was a blond with a pixie cut, and the other was a brunette with luscious, wavy locks. "I'd say the brunette's pretty into you. Want me to send a drink her way?" Tanya was always eager to play cupid at her bar.

"You know the drill, Tanya. No brunettes with wavy hair." I reminded her and she raised an eyebrow.

"Again with all those rules. Come on, girl, you've got to live or you'll end up like me, old and lonely." Tanya said.

"Excuse me? First of all, you're never alone! Have you forgotten about that lovely lady you snatched last weekend? Or the one from the month before, what was her name... Leslie or Layla? Oh no, there were two women!" I exclaimed. Tanya tossed me her rag in protest, but I caught it mid-air. "And second of all, you're not that old!"

"You'll tell me when you're sixty-five, young girl." She said, recovering the rag.

I took another sip of my drink and when I darted back to the spot where both girls were, the brunette one was nowhere to be found.

"Hey there," I heard behind me. I turned around to see her, with a confident grin on her face. "Where you looking for someone?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, I thought you'd vanished into thin air for a second there."

She laughed.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to disappear on you." She said

"No worries. I'm glad you're back." I replied, flashing her a smile.

"Mind if I join you?" she set her drink down next to mine.

"Not at all. What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah. And you're Grace, right?" She asked.

"Oh, wow. Am I famous or something?" I joked.

"Well, kind of. You're Abbot's shadow, aren't you? Plus, I saw you in the news today. You saved her life,"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her tone of admiration.

"Sorry if that came off as a bit fan-girl-ish." Sarah said, with a hint of shame in her eyes.

"It's all good. Just trust me when I say, most of the time, I'm just playing the part of a human statue next to her. Nothing thrilling about that." I explained.

"In that case, you'd be a pretty cute statue to me." My cheeks flushed and I took a sip of my drink to disguise.

"Well, before I risk getting slapped, I need to be honest with you. You're beautiful, no question about it. And you seem like a kind and intelligent person, but you have to know, you're not my type." I said

"Are you sure? Because I could swear you can't take your eyes off me." Alright, Sarah was oozing confidence. Gotta hand it to her.

"Well, I told you, you are indeed beautiful. But that doesn't mean anything." I said.

"Aha, what if I convince you, that I'm actually your type?" She said leaning closer to me.

Her hair was really stunning, following on her shoulders and dancing at every move she made. She happened to smell really well too, like vanilla. Vanilla was nice. She had brown eyes which were far from that other color... You know that one called... Whatever. Brown was nice.

Two drinks later, and there we were, in the bathroom of the bar. Really fancy, Grace, really fancy. But what can I say, it was part of the course these days. I'd fallen into the trap of constantly seeking distractions, and casual sex seemed to be the best way to hit that spot. Plus, Sarah had some serious skills with those lips of hers, that much was certain. I ran my fingers through her hair as she kissed my neck. But suddenly, my lungs went rigid. Oh no, not now. But before I could even catch my breath, panic set in. A frenzy of terror rose through my spine, and frozen sweat fogged my skin. And there I was, gasping desperately for air that never came. Why now? I hated it. Sarah noticed the sudden change and pulled away, concern written all over her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

I slowly sank to the ground as my lungs and mind wrestled to breathe. She hurried out of the bathroom and exploded into hysterical shouts.

"She's dying, help, she's dying!" I heard her cry out. Damn it. What a show.

A few moments later, Tanya burst into the room and pulled me up from the floor.

"Oh my gosh, again honey?" she exclaimed, clearly exasperated. Tanya had seen my panic attacks before. They were a part of me now, something I'd gotten used to since that very first one. They never seemed to leave me alone. Although I had noticed there were classic triggers that could easily provoke one. One happened to be thoes wavy undulations Sarah had.

It took me more than an hour to start feeling the air flowing freely in and out of my lungs. Sarah dashed off suddenly, saying she had some 3 a.m. thing to handle. Of course, I didn't blame her and Tanya stayed with me, cheering me up with her humor until I felt fine.

What a crappy day and the night promised to be no better. I barely slept. Not that I couldn't have seen it coming after that panic attack; nightmares were practically a routine. But damn, my sleep had been messed up since the day I left the border. Five years had passed, and I still couldn't rest well at night. Weird scenes and messed-up thoughts haunted my dreams; sometimes I saw the border, others Michael, but the center of all of them was always... her. It didn't matter that I never mentioned her, barely let myself think about her, and certainly never saw her again. But she still found a way into my dreams, like a nagging wound that wouldn't heal, like a ghost that refused to let me be. Sometimes I'd wake up drenched in sweat, sometimes gasping for air, and others, I'd wake up just wondering... where would she be right now?

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! First of all thanks for reading! 💖 So, yeah, it's been a while! Five years have passed and a lot of things have changed! Is there anything that surprised you? Also, there's this new character, Tanya. What did you think of her?

I love you all and remember to hit the ⭐to vote. Thaaanks! 

Ava 💫