Time is cruel, maybe the cruelest thing on the list of human inventions. It slips away against your will. It doesn't matter if you're pleading to stop it or just need a little more to process whatever shit life throws at you. It just escapes without excuse, no exceptions, no compassion. All you can do is drag yourself and carry your wounds and pain along before time finally catches up with you again. Time is a thirsty, merciless beast, ready to devour everything you hold dear.

One month without Michael, and still couldn't believe it. I missed his quirky jokes, his irrational fears, even his never-ending and exhausting reminders to stay safe. I missed talking to him; he was a great listener. I missed teasing him too, he was always a great target. I couldn't stop thinking about him, not for a single day, no matter how quickly the days slipped by.

Kate was right when she said I'd be swamped during Narval Officer training. I felt like I was being abducted by nonstop duties and classes. It was hard to break out of the routine, but honestly, that's what helped keep my mind serene. Otherwise, I probably would've torched my entire bedroom with my roommates, Laura and Mark, inside.

Poor folks, they turned out not to be so bad after all. Mark was a timid guy with a massive, quirky personality that didn't take long to show once he thought there was enough trust, which, in my case, was by day three. One night, he gave a ten-minute speech trying to convince me to help him steal peanut butter from the serving area.

"Have you seen me?" he said, pointing to himself. "I'm practically skin and bones." Not true. Not even close. "If I keep getting like this, I'll be dead before Commissioning Day."

I remained silent, trying to come up with a polite way to tell him he was full of shit. But my gaze gave me away.

"Don't give me that look, Grace." He turned to Laura who was lying on her bed, with a book on her hands. "Hey. You. Help."

She didn't even raise her eyes from the page.

"I'm talking to you." He walked over and snatched the book from her hands. Uh-oh. Never touch Laura's books.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She jumped off the bed. "Give that back right now!"

Mark hopped from bed to bed as Laura chased after him, knocking over everything in her path.

"Mark, you're a child." I said observing the scene.

As Mark ran past me, I quickly swiped the book out of his hands.

"I'll help you." I said. "But just if you leave Laura and her books alone."

A satisfied smile crossed Mark's face as Laura gasped and kicked him in the stomach, making that smile vanish.

"I think that wasn't necessary." I said to Laura watching Mark folding himself on the floor and letting out a loud groan.

"I think it was."

Laura was... just Laura. It was hard to describe her with a single type of personality because she had the most ups and downs of the three. One day, you could see her happily socializing with everyone in the dining area, offering to help with the cleaning in the training yard, or playing night games in the living room. Then, as if soaked by a dark spell, she would lock herself in our room and stay there for days. No talking. No laughter. Nothing. Just books. And you'd better not disturb her during that time, because you could easily get one kick or two, as Mark got that day. Did I mention she was one of the best in combat class? Scary as hell.

However, I found some kind of balance with her—thanks to the rivalry, I guess. I was good at combat too, and Kate usually paired us together, which might seem like a bad idea. But after a month, our sparring in class significantly reduced our arguments in the room. And when you have to spend a lot of time with someone in a small space, that can actually be quite handy.

Combat class was fun, though I wasn't about to admit it. What would they think of me? I'd almost developed an obsession with improving, that's why I decided to get back into my old running routine, just like the one I had when I lived on The Other Side.

Before crossing the border, I used to run through the white forest every day, and my favorite part was practicing kicks on the crumbling, sickly pale logs. Michael always joined me at the very last moment. I missed that so much. Who would have thought I'd miss destroying rotten pieces of wood in a half-dead land?

I ran alongside the wall, heading north from the Narval House to the gates just before sunrise. The quietness of the moment felt healing and in just a few minutes, the tension of the past weeks eased from my chest. Suddenly, I spotted a silhouette in the distance. I guess I wasn't the only one who enjoyed these moments of peaceful silence.

A long, perfect braid fell down her back, with a hair tie marked by the Reg Triangle. Her elegant Narval Officer uniform made her unmistakable. Shit. Heather. What was she doing here?

I passed by her, my arm nearly brushing hers, and she was startled. Apparently, she hadn't noticed me approaching as she strolled slowly in the same direction, heading north, completely lost in thought.

It was just a brief moment, but I felt her gaze like a knife sticking in my back. Ten minutes later, on my way back toward the Narval House, our eyes met again for a second—this time face to face as I passed her going in the opposite direction. She didn't seem to care about being discreet at all. Her gaze pierced through me again, without mercy.

From that day on, we saw each other every morning. She never skipped her stroll, not once. Over time, I learned it was part of her routine, though I couldn't tell why. It was awfully early for a casual walk, and that part of the border was completely empty and rather dull. Just sand, a few dry trees in the distance, and the endless grey worm wall, of course. So why didn't she pick another place to stroll? Not that I could judge; I was out there running too.

I was just so curious. Still, we never spoke, even though sometimes I thought about breaking the silence. But what would I even say? I just... hated her. I hated how privileged she was, how strong and untouchable she looked. I hated that perfect braid she wore every single day, showing off her shiny, wavy hair. I hated those crystal-blue eyes that seemed to belong to another world. I hated that she was stronger than me and that nothing seemed to disturb her calm. I hated how brave she looked, so commanding as if she were the guardian of the wall, the queen of the gates, the sentinel of the whole Reg Society. As if she feared nothing—no, more than that, as if she had never experienced fear in her entire life. A life without fear. How would that even feel?

But being her enemy wasn't exactly a winning strategy. Not at all. A better idea was to stick with just not being her friend. I could handle that.

There was something almost ritualistic in our encounters. We passed by each other every day, the same silent standoff. It was like we were playing a game of who-could-ignore-who-better. However I gotta say, It was oddly comforting in its own messed-up way, if that makes sense. Same time, same place, same chilly glare. Maybe that's just how it was supposed to be, and honestly, I was fine with that.

I wondered what would she think of me. Would she have curiosity or was I just another blurry figure in her daily routine?

After a month of running, my speed had finally started paying off in combat class too, and Laura was practically spitting fire every time I pinned her down. Honestly, the best part of my day hands down.

"Don't get too comfortable, Grace. This won't last forever." Laura huffed from the floor as I held her down.

"Oh, let's just enjoy the moment while it lasts." I answered, unable to wipe the wide grin of pure satisfaction off my face.

Kate, our combat instructor, was grinning too, but in that sneaky way, I'd come to recognize. It was the look she got when she was plotting something unusual, whether it was a surprise test or one of those dreaded night-time combat drills. Either way, something was definitely brewing.

"Hey, little karate kids, come here, please, and pay attention. You've been working your butts off, so this weekend, I'm proposing something a little different from the usual bed-to-training routine. Are you ready to hear it?"

Half of the class erupted in applause and shouts, the other remained skeptical. You could never trust Kate's surprises, we'd learned that the hard way.

"We're going to the City!" She yelled.

Now the other half joined the first. The city. I'd heard so much about it. It was basically all anyone talked about in Narval House, supposedly the most fun place in the entire Reg Society. Michael and I used to talk about it too, even though we didn't know it had a name. From The Other Side, all we could see was a wave of colorful lights stretching toward the sky in a smooth, flowing motion. We used to imagine what it could be. Michael was convinced it had to be a circus. As if we knew what a circus even was, ha. I loved how imaginative he was—even after all the awful things we'd seen, his dreamy, childlike wonder never faded. How would his spirit be now?

"What's wrong with you!" Mark pulled me came back to reality. "Aren't you excited?"

I gazed at him, taking a minute to ask myself that very same question, but Mark decided to do the thinking for me. "Grace." He placed his hands on my shoulders and locked eyes with me. "The City means real pizza, real sushi, neon bars, underground parties... You following me?"

"Yes." I forced a smile, hoping it would make me feel more like I was supposed to feel—kind of happy, nervous, excited... I should feel something, right?

"Why does that look like the fakest, cringiest smile I've ever seen?" Mark asked, wrinkling his nose as if my smile was disgusting.

Before I could answer, Laura came to my rescue. "Leave her alone, you pain."

Mark gasped. "I just want Grace to have fun, for once."

"I do have fun." I stated.

"You do?" Mark raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "When? During combat class?"

I tried to think of any other time in the past two months when I'd had fun besides combat, but nothing came to mind.

"Yes, in combat class. Basically." It was the plain truth.

Mark rolled his eyes. "See? That's not healthy. You need to have REAL fun."

"Don't listen to him, Grace. You do you. Forget about the rest." Laura said.

I sighed. "I'm curious about the city, really. I just think I'll be more excited once I'm there."

"I'll take that!" Mark cheered. "I promise you'll have plenty of fun." He leaned in and whispered, "But watch out for the Techno-humans... you know they can read your mind, right?"

Laura sighed, exasperated. "Oh, come on. Ignore him. Don't believe a word he says."

I nudged Mark's arm, and he chuckled. I was actually pretty curious about the Techno-humans—Mum and Dad had talked a lot about them to Michael and me when we were younger. They were people who had undergone enhancement procedures, a trend in Reg Society. Kate, with her head implant, was sort of one of them, though Techno-humans typically had a lot more than just that.

The night before going to the city, I woke up in the dead of night, covered in sweat, my heartbeat pounding in my throat. I had dreamt about Michael. He was hanging from one of the empty holes in the dead ground of The Other Side. I ran to help him, but the floor was slippery, and I couldn't move fast. My legs felt weak with every step and the shadows of the dry branches covered me like sharp claws. I was close; it was a long run, it was dark too, but when I finally reached him, instead of pulling him out, I pushed him down. His panicked screams echoed painfully in my ears as he fell, resonating even after I woke up. I'm fucked up, I mused to myself. What was that dream supposed to mean?

I glanced through the big window at the back of the room. The moon was so large that the night felt small. Mark was sleeping bundled up in his blanket, with a cute and peaceful expression on his face. Laura was also wrapped in her blanket, but not peacefully at all. Her eyebrows were always furrowed at night, and this was no exception.

I stood up and left the room, hoping a walk would help me shake off Michael's dream. I took the staircase and wound my way up to the terrace Kate had shown me the day I arrived. I pushed the door, and bingo, it was unlocked.

But just a couple of steps in, a voice called out.

"Who's there?"

Damn it. I was not alone. "It's Grace."

I moved forward, closing in on the place where the voice came from, and there, under the moonlight, in the exact spot where Kate and I had sat on the very first day, was Heather. She stood on the roof's edge, staring at me. Her braid was gone this time, and her wavy hair flowed freely over her shoulders. Her uniform was gone too. Instead, she wore a casual, comfy long shirt with black athletic leggings underneath.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to get some fresh air." I said.

"Newcomers can't come here."

Ugh, that tone of hers. Annoying as hell.

"Well, I can, because Kate let me. Plus, I don't see why this should be banned."

Heather sighed and turned her back to me, brushing off my words.

"You shouldn't get that close to the edge." I said, because seriously she was just a few inches from falling. Heather looked down and then laughed.

"Why are you here?" I asked her. "Is this another of your stroll routines? Wall walk at 5 am and rooftop visit at 3 am? Do you even sleep?"

Heather turned to face me. "Do you ever stop saying all that crosses your mind?"

"As hard as it may seem I filter quite a lot. Especially around certain people."

She laughed again in that irritating way. "Clearly, you don't filter enough."

I closed my eyes to contain my growing anger. "What's your problem?" I asked.

"My problem?" She echoed.

"Yes. Why are you so insufferable with me?" I asked nearing her.

"Excuse me? You're the one who barely attacked me the day I brought you here, remember? You're lucky I didn't report it." Heather said.

"You say that as if it happened out of the blue when you know quite well the reasons behind it. Although I doubt you can understand them."

Heather shook her head as if the fact that I lost my brother was meaningless.

"It's you the one who doesn't understand a thing. This isn't just about you." She gazed at the wall. "I hope you get it soon."

"Whatever." I hated that patronizing, childish attitude of hers. There was no way to pull her down from the pedestal she had placed herself on.

Suddenly, among the distant city lights, a tower illuminated by powerful, fluorescent blue lights rose behind Heather. I jumped over the rooftop fence to reach her.

"What's that?"

"The Nexus Court," she replied.

"I'd like to say I know what you're talking about, but..."

"No idea?"

"None."

"They don't teach you a thing on The Other Side, do they?"

"Oh, wow." I couldn't stand that superior tone. "They teach us what they know, which is quite limited. In case you hadn't noticed, there's a wall separating us."

"Alright, alright." She seemed to ease her tone a bit. "The Nexus Court is the place where all the political figures live, the place where all the decisions are made."

"Looks a bit intimidating."

"Not at all. If you ever have the chance to see it up close, you'll see it's really beautiful. They have a big garden surrounding the buildings and the most amazing spaceship hangar in the whole Reg Society."

"You've been there?" I said.

"Of course. I'm the Border Lead, remember?"

Sure, I remembered. How could I forget? I took a moment to observe the Nexus Court, and it looked like some kind of lighthouse illuminating everything. Well, not everything. If you glanced at the other side of the wall, you could see it was engulfed in darkness, a darkness I knew all too well.

Heather sat on the edge of the roof and gazed at the sky.

"Do you mind if I join?"

"Sure, but don't blame me if you slip."

"Don't push me then." I said while sitting next to her.

She laughed. "If I wanted to get rid of you I've done it quite long ago."

"Sure." The soft breeze brushed against our faces, and Heather closed her eyes, enjoying the moment.
"You didn't answer my question, by the way." I said, breaking the silence.

She frowned not really grasping what I was referring to.

"What are you doing here?"

"Why do you care?" She asked.

"Oh, I don't, but I'm noisy."

She smirked. "I can tell." She paused and after a breath, she answered "Let's just say that sometimes solitude is good."

"Is that why you walk every morning too? Seeking more solitude?"

"Is that why you run every morning?" She shot back.

I paused, looking up at the sky as I thought about it.

"Partly, yeah. Partly because I want to beat Laura, and eventually Kate, in combat training."

She nodded as if she already knew about it. "Kate is a hard bone."

"Tell me about it!" I pointed to a huge bruise on my arm, then pulled up my shirt to show another on my stomach. It was deep dark purple with little red blood dots all over the place.

Heather winced in pain. "Oh, that looks... dreadful..."

"Yeah. There is a key Kate does... ugh... that one is impossible to overcome."

"I think I know which one you mean." She said.

"You do?"

Heather smiled. "I bet Kate hasn't told you who is the only person who has beaten up her."

I raised an eyebrow, running to the conclusion of her question. "You?"

Heather smiled and nodded "It only happened once. But I hold the title since then."

"Really? That woman didn't say a word about it."

"Of course not. It must be her biggest and most shameful secret." She laughed, gazing at the sky as if she were recalling the moment. Somehow It felt nice to hear it. A bit of humanity and chill vibes for once.

She turned to me, with her blue eyes shining. "Do you want to learn a trick to blow up Kate in the next training session?"

"Oh." It caught me off guard. "Um... sure, I'd do anything to win against her." It was the plain truth, but learning a trick, like right now? With her? I wasn't entirely sure. But who would say no to the Border Lead?

"Come on, then." Heather stood up and jumped over the roof fence to get onto the terrace while I followed her.

She stopped in the center and guided me to face her.

"Okay, she usually anticipates her opponent's moves by watching their eyes and body language." Heather explained.

"That's true; she's really good at reading us."

Heather nodded. "But what if you could throw her off by deliberately misdirecting her attention?"

"Ah, tell me more."

Heather gently grabbed my arms to position me, her hands were really warm, quite surprising to be honest. Quite a cold soul to have such warm hands.

"She'll make you turn around and hold you from behind." Heather moved to my back, wrapping her arms around my hip, her voice now close to my ear. Her hair fell over my shoulder, caressing my cheek.

"Oh, sorry." She said, pulling it back and tying it up in a ponytail.

"It's okay; you have nice hair" I didn't think much of it until I saw the surprised blink in her eyes. Then it hit me—I sounded a bit out of place. "I just meant, you usually wear it tied up, and now that I see it down, I think it looks nice on you..." Great, now I was making it even more awkward. My face was heating up like a stove. But when I glanced at Heather, she was fighting a small smile.

"Um, thanks." She replied. There was a pause and I looked down, because you know, that's what I did, when I was awkward. A very original and useful reaction, right? That was me.

Once she had finished with her hair, she returned to my back, but this time I noticed she left a little more space between us.

"Once she has you in that position, she'll likely try to do that key we both know." Heather continued her hands still on my hip.

"What do I do then?" I asked.

"You need to sense her next move before she makes it," she said. "You have to pay attention to the strength of her arms, when you notice she starts pressing you with her right arm, that's your cue to act."

Heather's hands moved, guiding me through the imaginary steps. It was clear she had done this a million times. She was precise and strong. Nothing I didn't already know about her, yet it was still overwhelming every time.

"You can quickly pivot on your left foot and twist your upper body to the right, catching her off guard," She said. "With your right hand, you can grab her arm and use it against her, throwing her off balance."

I tried my best to follow her, but let's face it: it wasn't the best place, it wasn't the best moment, and, most importantly, it wasn't the best person to be doing this with. My body seemed to freeze at her touch. Her eyes felt like daggers, and my nerves were a wild mess. As a result, I stumbled through the moves in the clumsiest and most pathetic way possible. Oh, God, what an image I made. Even if I were paid to watch a recording of that training session, I wouldn't want to see it.

"I... don't know what's wrong with me today..." I muttered after my fifth ridiculously bad attempt.

She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Nothing is wrong. You need practice plus... it's 3 am. Don't forget that." Her hand lingered for a moment before she stepped back.

"Yeah, I guess that doesn't help."

She nodded. "You'll get it, and I hope I see it." She gazed at her Reg Bracelet and sighed. "Well, I think I'll try to sleep now."

"Oh, so you sleep then!" I joked.

She raised an eyebrow "I do, and you should too."

"I think I will stay five more minutes if that's okay." I said.

"Up to you. But don't get used to this place, that spot is mine." She said with a smirk.

"I don't see your name anywhere, though." I teased.

"I rather mark my name on the skin of anyone who tries to take it from me."

"Oh. How nice of you."

"Yep, I'm very nice, remember it." She locked eyes with me before turning to leave.

"Noted. But you know, I can be quite nice too." I shouted as she left.

Her response came from the distance. "Good luck proving that. I'll be waiting!" 

Author's Note:

Heeey!😚 Thanks for reading chapter 4! 💖

This one was a bit long I might divide it in two in the future, not sure, did you feel it was too long?🤔This is version two of the chapter, btw! Little by little I feel this is getting the shape I want!  💖 

What did you think about this first encounter between Grace and Heather? I'd like to know your thoughts! 🤩 

Thanks a bunch for your support it means a lot!! 

Ava 💫