Zaharah hated crying. Not only because it stung her eyes and made her throat raw. But because crying meant admitting she was not okay and had never been okay. That her life was a lie, and she'd been walking around with a mask on.

Crying sucked. She'd rather hold all of her feelings back, lock them behind a dam. Sometimes the pressure behind it became too great, cracks would form and her feelings would leak out. Mostly anger. But on rare occasion, someone would come along and lob a giant rock at that dam, and burst it open.

The Director had lobbed that rock this morning, obliterated the dam, and everything spilled out. Months and years of anger and sadness and grief overcame her all at once.

Zaharah sat on a bench at the far end of the South Shore arboretum. Where no one would hear her soft sobs, or see her tears. Where she could keep a shred of her dignity. The pond and the trees wouldn't judge her, neither would the birds, frogs and fish that called them home.

Her feet and hand had long gone numb, and the feeling was spreading up her arms and legs. The bench swayed and rocked like a boat on rough water. The feeling would pass—or it could if she calmed the fuck down.

Skorpi sat on her shoulder, patting her head with a claw, his soft beeps undercut by the drone of the pond's filtration system. At least he was here for her.

Zaharah wiped her face on her already soaking wet sleeve and her buzzed in her pocket, sending a tingling through her stomach. A generic ringtone blared from the speakers instead of Nova Star. She closed her hand around the phone, the vibrations like a whisper of breath against her numb hand.

She picked up, prepared to scream at whoever was on the other end to go away. But by the time she raised the console to her lips, only a strangled "hello" escaped.

"Zaharah? It's Dr Cyan. Are you okay, sweety?"

"I'm..." She hiccupped. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't sound fine." When Zaharah didn't answer, she sighed. "I told Aleesha not to stress you out. I heard her yelling at you from out front."

Zaharah almost laughed. She couldn't imagine her reaction would've been any different if the Director had been gentler with her approach. "I... I don't want to move to Europe. I don't even know anyone there." God, she sounded like a child who didn't want to go to preschool.

"Okay." Dr. Cyan's voice changed from motherly to resolute. "Then you're not going to the UEC, Zaharah. I'll get you and Jade to the mainland before Aleesha carts you off across the pond."

Zaharah sat up straighter and swiped at her tears, wondering if the rush of water from her dam was affecting her hearing. "Wait, what?'

"You had plans to move to the mainland after you graduated, right? Well it's time to move your plans up. You're leaving tomorrow. I'll get you off of Denden to a place where Aleesha can't touch you."

"I—"

"I don't have a lot of time to talk. It's check-up day for the younger kids and there's going to be a line out my door soon. If you want my help, come to the lab at whatever ungodly it is you get up. Okay?"

"Okay."

Zaharah sat there on the bench with the phone in her hand until it became so slick with sweat she could barely hold it. Control the things you can. She'd listened to Dwight, and the Director, and Cammi. Listening to Dr Cyan wouldn't hurt. She didn't want to leave Denden, but moving to the 700 was more palatable than moving to Europe.

She checked her watch: 10:15. Her digital art class started at eleven, but she could get some packing done before then. She walked the rest of the way to the apartment complex and stuffed her board in the locker.

With most of the residents at school, the building was silent enough for her footfalls to echo. It wasn't until she banked the corner to her apartment that the sounds of conversation reached her. Markus hadn't said anything about having visitors, and the only thing worse than having company over was having unexpected company over.

The door to 2f stood ajar and when Zaharah slipped in, she met Pharahdox on her couch, mug in hand, speaking with Markus. Under other circumstances, she may have been happy to see Pharah on her couch, but she felt like a steaming pile of shit and looked like it too, judging by the way Markus and Pharah were staring at her.

"Morning," she said, and drifted by them like a ghost. She made it to her room before Markus caught up to her. He didn't say anything, just stood in the door while she threw open her closet and drawers.

Everything except her clothes, shoes and art stuff was Denden property, not that she'd want to lug a whole computer behind her. She would pack her art stuff last, since she preferred to carry them herself instead of trusting their safety to flight crew known for tossing luggage around.

"Did something happen?" Markus asked.

Zaharah reached under the bed and pulled out her two suitcases. He didn't know. And if he didn't know, that meant he wasn't going with them. Jade wouldn't like that. Zaharah wouldn't like it either.

She plugged her suitcases in. "You should talk to the Director. It's uh... It's serious."

Markus nodded and went back into the living room, and Pharah took his place in the door a moment later.

"I'm sorry, was this a bad time?" She adjusted her brown messenger bag on her shoulder. It went well with her cream coloured halter and matching short skirt. Damn, she looked cute. "I apologise for barging in like this. You weren't responding to my messages so I decided to drop by."

"It's fine, but you're uh... You'll need to find someone else to do your logo for you. Jade and I are leaving Denden tomorrow." Zaharah brushed past her into the living room.

Markus' voice drifted in from the balcony, muffled by the door. He leaned against the rail, head bowed, the stray dreadlocks from his ponytail falling into his face.

Zaharah crossed to the painting in the little hall between the kitchen and living room—a generic piece of a boat on water. Behind it sat a safe about the size of her head. She hadn't looked in it since their first day in this apartment, didn't have a reason to. The code was a mixture of their mom's and dad's ages at the time of the accident—Jade's idea.

The door slid open and Zaharah took the memory stick from inside. It contained the original copies of their passports, birth certificates, medical records, family history and a bunch of other stuff they'd need to navigate the bureaucracy of the UEC. Or the 700, should she choose to defy the Director.

"Leaving Denden?" Pharah asked. "Did something happen?"

"Her Almightiness, Director Sanders has seen it fit to rip Jade and I, not only from Denden, but from the Bahamas altogether, and whisk us away to the UEC." She pat Pharah's shoulder. "It was nice knowing you just Pharah."

"Wait, maybe I can do something. I'll talk to Director Saunders. She can be hard sometimes but she listens." Pharah checked her watch. "I have a meeting soon. Is it alright if I call you later?"

"Sure." Zaharah smiled. "And thanks." She saw Pharah out and went back to her room. Skorpi had made a little nest for himself in her pile of pants and had got himself tangled in one of her necklaces.

"God damn it, Skorpi." She picked him up by the necklace and set him on the desk where it would be easier to untangle. The chain had slipped into the gaps of his segmented tail. She was halfway done with freeing him when the front door to the apartment slammed.

Jade stomped into the room a moment later and tossed her bag onto her bed. Excuse my language, but what the entire fuck is going on? Elliot came by the school and said I needed to go home to pack because we're leaving Denden tomorrow.

Zaharah worked the clasp of the chain loose. "A security breach. Someone got into the servers over the weekend and stole our information. Someone the Director thinks is dangerous."

Well call the fucking police then? Or better yet, the Makana. Why do we have to leave?

Because I was dumb and curious and exacerbated an already horrible situation. Zaharah kept that thought to herself and went for something simpler instead. "I spoke to the guy."

What guy?

"The guys responsible for the security breach. He called my phone on Chore Day, which is why Dwight took it." She couldn't look at Jade as she said it. Part of this was her fault for entertaining Cammi's nonsense.

A pillow crashed into her face. "Ow!"

And? Jade asked. What did he say? Don't just leave me hanging.

"Well... that's the part that's so weird. He said he's trying to help me. And he was able to voice command Skorpi through the phone."

Jade's lips parted. Only dad could do that. Do you think—

Zaharah shook her head. "No, he didn't sound like dad at all. Or anyone I recognise. He made Skorpi access my arm and run some kind of programme. And now." She showed Jade her arm. "Look, the buttons wouldn't even light up before."

Holy shit. Do they work?

"Yeah but I don't recommend touching them." She sat beside her mountain of clothes. "When I asked the Director she said he's an old colleague of our dad's but that doesn't make any sense."

True, dad wasn't that friendly with his coworkers. Hell, he didn't like having some of our family around. It had to be someone who was really close to our family. Did you get a name?

"He goes by Cammi, or Cam I guess," Zaharah said. "Does the name sound familiar to you?"

Jade shook her head, and they fell into silence. Zaharah looked down at her arm, the glowing lights on the buttons. She traced them with the fingers of her good hand. The last this her father had done before the accident was install this arm. And knowing him, he wouldn't allow anyone have control over its systems.

The Director is not your friend. That statement made more sense to her now than it did when she read it the last time. And what about Cammi, was he her friend? He'd sounded so sincere on the call, like he really knew her. And he'd apologised for freaking her out.

Jade hopped off her bed and sat at Zaharah's computer. Her face was pouty, eyes glass. Zaharah had always envied her eyes; they were big and expressive like their mom's. Are you scared, Z? Should I be worried?

"You're fine, Jade. And yes, I'm a little bit scared, but not of Cammi strangely. I'm scared of the things he said and did. They're making me doubt everything. I mean, the Skorpi thing can't be a coincidence." She rubbed her face. "There's so much shit I have to tell you Jade but..." She rubbed her face, thinking of what Dr Cyan told her. "There's something I need to do first."

If there was any chance they could escape going to the UEC, Zaharah would take it. Even if that meant defying Director Sanders.