At the moment of the explosion, Zach’s brain was occupied with the same contractual procedures, case studies, and figures which had dominated his thoughts for the last twelve years. His full attention was focused on the first of his exams which would start in just over an hour - he would ace it, of course, and be one step closer to his dream position.

Security officer might not be the most glamorous, or the most highly regarded of corporate roles, but it was all Zach had ever wanted or needed from life. It was what seven generations of Lang men and women had done; and he would honour them - and his birth-company - by becoming the very best officer Terraco had ever raised.

It was these thoughts that kept Zach walking, oblivious for several seconds after the massive detonation broke the morning’s silence, sending the other commuters around him falling to the pavement, arms covering their heads.

Zach’s EyeWare tried to replicate the sound in a static-like buzz and crackle, and it was this that woke Zach from his Zen-like revision. Slowly, he turned, refocusing his eyes away from the revision notes scrolling unread across his visor, and instead on the plume of thick black smoke which stained his otherwise pristine city.

A breaking newsfeed scrolled along the bottom of Zach’s visor and he highlighted it, enlarging the view until it filled his vision: live footage from one of the city’s drones, hovering directly above what looked like a school.

On the video Zach saw smoke curling out from the skyscraper’s roof and main entrance; and in the walled yard he saw teenagers fighting and tripping over one another in an effort to reach the exit. Others, he could see, were sat on the grass, too confused to move; while a few lay near the main building, unconscious or worse.

Even as Zach stared, uncomprehending, the corners of his visor began flashing red, while a friendly female voice began speaking over his headphones, ‘accident detected near your position. Please proceed to your nearest evacuation point.’

At the same time the arrow, which had been leading Zach to school, swerved away, directing him instead towards whatever area had been deemed safe from the explosion. He followed the arrow with his eyes, saw other Terraco employees begin running in that direction and, for the first time in his life, Zach considered not doing as he was told.

Why did Zach hesitate, when Terraco’s directions were clear? Raised by his company from age eight, Zach knew better than most how to follow orders, and yet within him there was a small kernel of something that had existed before his training; a voice that, while not exactly rebellious, was willing to question the right of things.

In the corner of Zach’s screen, a familiar Terraco News presenter appeared, talking in a sombre tone. ‘What you are seeing is a live feed from the site of a massive explosion at the R-Tech educational facility 3362. No information is yet available on the cause, or how many are injured but security officers are inbound and we hope to learn more soon.’

The words, “security officers,” reverberated in Zach’s mind, waking him from his stupor. ‘I’m a security officer,’ he said aloud, ‘or at least I will be soon.’

‘It’s not my company,’ Zach responded sternly, as if holding a debate with himself. ‘It’s got nothing to do with me.’

But the voice that answered him next was only in his head and had the gruff tone of his long-dead mother. “Employer doesn’t matter; department doesn’t matter; rank doesn’t matter,” she had said, ever the idealist. “Our job as security officers is to protect all employees that abide by the contracts, and to bring the breachers to justice.”

There had been an accident, there would be people panicking, possibly wounded, he could see them now on his screen, those unmoving figures. Zach was trained to deal with this sort of situation; he had studied first aid and crowd control; he could help.

The warning came again through Zach’s EyeWare, the female voice sounding more insistent, the flashing arrow more urgent, as if sensing his conflict.

For one moment more Zach lingered, unsure what to do, and then he clenched his fists and set off at a sprint, not following the arrow, but using the nearby pillar of smoke as his guide, running against the flow of fleeing commuters.

It had seemed that a very long time had been wasted as Zach stood dithering, but as he approached the school’s gates he saw there were still people picking themselves up from the ground, and when he glanced at the newsfeed - still running in the corner of his visor - he realised that less than a minute had elapsed.

He stopped, just short of passing through the gatehouse, realising that since he wasn’t a qualified security officer, he wouldn’t have permission to enter a rival company’s school; if he tried, he would only cause more confusion by triggering the alarm.

So instead he began helping to right the people who had become tangled in the crowded gateway: a teacher, more scared than his students; a boy whose hair was sticking up on end; a couple of young girls, clasping one another’s hands.

It was unusually dark beneath the school’s wall and for some reason the fleeing R-Tech employees had chosen to remove their visors - the devices slung over arms or gripped tightly in fists - making navigation even harder.

A boy, who had completely lost his EyeWare, blundered through the entrance and practically fell into Zach’s arms, staring up at the Terraco boy from huge, petrified eyes. ‘Why aren’t you wearing your EyeWare?’ Zach shouted over the yells of the surging crowds, even as he helped the frightened boy to his feet.

Seeming more scared of the Terraco officer looming over him than anything he had just been through, the boy shook his head, dumbly; pulling himself from Zach’s grasp, and staggered away. ‘They’re broken,’ he yelled back, starting to run. ‘They’re all broken!’

Watching the boy flee, Zach’s brain took several seconds to register what had just been said. EyeWare, broken? Zach had never heard of such a thing. Even a single faulty visor was rare, and in a school like this they were talking hundreds, if not thousands of sets.

The idea of being without his visor sent a cold shiver running through Zach - he would be lost without the device, his very life depended upon it. But while his body shook, the logical part of Zach’s brain latched onto another, more pertinent, realisation: for so many EyeWare to have a problem, it had to be a fault on the network, and that might mean...

Turning to the security gate, Zach again noticed how shadowy it was beneath the gates - the darkness causing much of the confusion. It should have been obvious from the start, for it meant that the sensors were almost certainly offline.

Surging forward, Zach pushed his way into the crowded passage, half expecting the blaring of sirens over his headphones, or for the shutters to come crashing down. But as he moved deeper and still he wasn’t detected as a trespasser, Zach began to speed up, apologising as he forced his way past the frightened people.

And then he was out the other side and back in the light, freed from the panicked masses. Around him most of those knocked flat by the explosion had risen, and only a few still lay on the grass. Of those he could see, all were awake and moving, and already they had someone kneeling over them, tending to their needs.

The blast didn’t appear to have extended beyond the school’s walls, and even those near the building looked more scared than injured. So instead of making for those that would need only time to heal, Zach sprinted towards the burning school, mounting the short flight of steps and skidding to a halt before the black doorway.

Shielding his face against the smoke, Zach stared around at the three employees that stood nearby; the only ones brave enough to help the last stragglers to safety. ‘Is anyone still inside?’ Zach shouted over the noise.

The trio glanced at him, and then at one another, clearly confused by the stranger’s arrival. ‘I- I tripped over someone in the lobby,’ a boy said after a moment, and immediately burst into tears. ‘They might have been alive, I don’t know...’

The people all seemed so much more vulnerable with their faces exposed, their naked eyes staring out of their open faces. It was like they’d regressed into childhood; too young for their first EyeWare; and this helplessness only enhanced Zach’s determination to help.

‘Understood,’ he said, trying to demonstrate a level of confidence he wasn’t feeling; knowing that a show of strength was half the battle when dealing with emergency situations.

Remembering his training, another thought came to Zach. ‘Where are the school’s security officers?’ he called. ‘There should be a four man team stationed in the gatehouse.’

It seemed like no-one was going to answer, and then a woman who looked like a teacher spoke up. ‘I saw them run inside before the explosion,’ she muttered, quietly, staring at the floor. ‘They’ve not come back out...’

That wasn’t good, it meant that until R-Tech reinforcements arrived Zach was the closest thing to help that these people had. Breathing deeply, he moved to stand in front of the open door, staring fixedly at the black maw, as if trying to peel back the layers of smoke.

He needed to enter the building and search for survivors, Zach knew that much, but Terraco had drilled into him from a young age that he was more important than anyone from the other companies. What if he got himself injured, or worse, killed? His life belonged to his birth-company, and he didn’t have the right to gamble with Terraco resources.

Mentally slapping himself, Zach tried to push such thoughts out of his mind. There wasn’t time for such debates; there could be people lying just beyond the wall of smoke; one, at least, injured in the lobby: he needed to act, now!

But whether he would find the courage to move or not, Zach would never know, for any heroic acts were waylaid by a small figure erupting suddenly from the doorway.

Smoke clinging to her curled hair, the girl barrelled into Zach’s chest, and he clutched frantically at her, spinning in an effort to stop them both from tumbling down the steps. The pair whirled around one another - once and then twice - and then the girl slumped in his arms, and would have slipped to the floor if Zach wasn’t holding her to him.

Large, frightened eyes stared up at Zach from a face that was black with soot, and the girl’s hair stood up from her head in a frizzy, dust-encrusted mess.

‘Are you okay? Are you hurt?’ Zach asked, holding the girl by her shoulders.

For several seconds she lay in his arms, holding his gaze, and then she began to twist, wrenching from side to side in an effort to break free. She was probably upset at being manhandled by this unfamiliar employee, but Zach couldn’t let go.

‘I’m a security officer,’ he said quickly, though it wasn’t strictly true. ‘You’re safe now.’

Her struggles died, but it probably had less to do with his reassurances, than the simple fact that she had no energy left to fight. Air rasped from her throat as she moved her mouth trying to speak, and Zach bent closer, bringing his headphones down to her ear.

‘Inside,’ she managed, and coughed, ‘help him, please.’

‘There’s someone in there?’ Zach said, gesturing towards the school.

The girl nodded and the pair of them glanced towards the black smoke pouring from the school’s entrance, growing thicker with every second that passed. It was doubtful anyone could still be alive under such conditions and yet, when Zach looked back at the girl and saw the desperation in her eyes, he knew he would try, anyway.

There was an openness to her expression, that recalled something from Zach’s past. She didn’t look anything like the 3D photos of his mother, and yet there was something of the woman there; an unshakable belief, a rebellious twinkle in her eyes.

Forcing a reassuring smile to his lips, Zach whispered, ‘I’ll find your friend.’

With those words Zach tried to pass the girl off to the nearby teacher, but the girl clung to his forearm with a strength that seemed beyond her tiny fingers. She’s too scared to let go, Zach thought, but a moment later the girl began using Zach’s arm to drag herself upright, and when her eyes locked with his, she rasped, ‘I’m going with you.’

It took Zach several quickened heartbeats to realise what she had said, and then he shook his head vigorously, causing his light brown hair to fall across his visor. ‘This is my responsibility; you need to stay here where it’s safe!’

He put every ounce of command into his tone but, rather than convince the girl, it seemed to have the opposite effect. The girl’s eyes narrowed, causing the soot on her face to crack. ‘My friend; my responsibility!’ she growled.

Clearly she wasn’t the type that responded well to authority. He ran a quick scan of the girl’s implants, found her details, and began again. ‘Leila-’ he started, hoping the name would bring some sense to the girl, but she cut him off.

‘I know where Bastion is.’ Her voice was barely audible. ‘I can show you.’

‘Just tell me and I’ll find him,’ Zach said, desperately.

But the girl had straightened herself to face him, and while she wobbled slightly, she was standing firmly on her own two feet. ‘I left him...’ she rasped, her voice distraught, pain and surprise flitting across her face as her mind ran back over the events inside the school. ‘I had the chance to do anything, and I chose to run. I have to go back for him.’

It wasn’t just about saving her friend, Zach suddenly knew, if this girl didn’t go back she would never be able to live with what she had done; never forgive herself.

Helplessly Zach glanced toward the others on the steps, but they looked away and offered him no solution. It wasn’t just foolish to consider taking the girl, it was also against the contracts to endanger an employee in such a way.

‘You can’t stop me,’ the girl added, shrugging free from his grip. ‘Help or I go alone.’ And with that the choice was taken from Zach.

 ‘I can’t be responsible for your safety in there,’ Zach said, quietly, and so focused was he on the girl’s huge eyes, that the rest of the world faded into the background.

‘This is my choice,’ she responded, her gaze locked on his, her chest heaving with fear or excitement. ‘Whatever happens, you’re not to blame.’

‘Fine...’ he muttered. He couldn’t know if this was the right decision - his training had never covered such a situation - but Zach knew that if he had anyone close in his life, there would be nothing that could stop him from going back for them. So he took the girl’s small hand in his and turned to face the roiling mass of smoke billowing from the door.

‘Stay close and don’t let go,’ he muttered. He felt her squeeze his hand, and then they were taking a deep breath and stepping through that black portal.

No more than three paces inside and the pair were plunged into complete darkness, the shouts and sirens from outside silenced as if that world no longer existed.

Zach’s EyeWare tried to compensate by switching first to night-vision and then to infrared, turning the smoke first green and then red. Finally the visor settled on echo-location, a perk unique to security officers, using waves of sound to map out his surroundings, showing the unseen floor as a grid of blue lines, broken occasionally by fallen rubble.

Glancing to the side and down, Zach saw the girl had been transformed into a mesh of interlocking blue triangles. He had no idea how his companion was coping without her visor - she had to be completely blind in all this dust and smoke - but she looked vaguely in his direction, and then without a word began striding into the gloom.

Zach held back, knowing the girl’s desire to find her friend as fast as possible but also knowing that the faster they went, the more chance there was of them being injured. Still, the girl tried to use her tiny weight to drag Zach along, and only when she tripped over an unseen sheet of plastic did she finally slow, and let Zach set the pace.

Edging across the blue, net-like floor, the pair pushed deeper into the building, the smoke now so thick that Zach was struggling to catch his breath. Why were the fire suppression and ventilation systems not working? Had the explosion knocked them out? Were R-Tech facilities so poorly constructed?

Around him the room creaked and groaned and more than once the wire mesh shifted suddenly as a part of the building moved and settled. The third time it happened Zach threw himself flat, dragging the girl after him; convinced the whole ceiling was about to come crashing down upon them.

When there was no sudden explosion of sound or pain, however, Zach uncurled slowly. ‘We’re okay,’ he whispered, as much for his own benefit as the girl’s. The smoke was thinner down here, too; the air easier to breath.

There was no response, and Zach glanced at the mesh outline of the girl, only then feeling the shakes that were passing through her hand and up his arm. Leila was anything but okay; she was petrified, and when he tried to pull her closer she refused to budge.

‘You should leave,’ he said, glancing towards the still visible doorway, a square of white against the thick smoke. ‘You don’t need to risk your life.’ He felt the girl’s grip tighten, clutching at his large fingers, and suspected she was realising that he was right.

But he heard Leila’s breathing slow as she brought her shaking under control and, although the girl didn’t speak, he sensed her answer: she would not turn back. This girl was stronger than her small frame suggested; braver than Zach had been led to believe was possible of an R-Tech employee.

A slight stab of heat pierced Zach’s heart and he had enough sense of himself to know it was jealousy. There was no-one in his life that would put themselves through such ordeals for him; Zach was alone in the world. As much as he loved his birth-company, he knew that his feelings weren’t reciprocated - for Terraco, he was just a number, easily replaced.

‘Tell me something about yourself,’ Zach said softly into the darkness, knowing he had to get the girl’s mind away from the impending danger.

‘I don’t want to die,’ Leila breathed, and while Zach thought it a joke, there was an oddly sincere edge to her voice, as if this notion was only recently realised. And before Zach could respond the girl went on, ‘I want to live, I want to become something great; I want to become the sort of person that can change the world.’

Zach watched the wireframe girl and smiled to himself. Everyone wanted that, to rise through the ranks and reach a managerial role, where their decisions would carry more weight. ‘Something else, tell me something no-one but you knows,’ Zach said, needing the girl’s undivided trust, but also wanting to hear her response.

Zach didn’t know much about girls, but from watching the Terraco entertainment channels, he expected the girl to reveal that she dreamed of unicorns or had a thing for eating pickles. What he didn’t expect was Leila’s quiet response, ‘I hate my company.’

‘Oh.’ Zach said, too startled to think of a clever response. Surely this was a joke, or maybe the strain of their situation, for no-one could hate their very reason for existing. ‘But your career?’ he asked, confusion making his tone more severe than intended.

‘I don’t want it,’ the girl rasped, and while Zach was still reeling from this, she added, ‘what I want is to go into space.’

Blinking at the glowing figure before him, Zach tried to make sense of her bizarre choice of words - no-one went into space anymore; there was nothing out there.

Belatedly, he realised this must be the dry R-Tech sense of humour he had heard so much about. It was gallows humour - an attempt to lighten their grim situation - he convinced himself, and with the relief of understanding, he let out a snort of laughter.

There was no response from the glowing figure and he watched the mesh of her face, wondering if she would smile, or if she would continue to hold up her end of the joke. But when the girl spoke she said only, ‘let’s move,’ and there was an undeniable chill to her tone.

Confused, Zach watched as the girl began to crawl away and then, shaking himself, he scurried after her before she got too far from him. He took her hand once more, and she let him, but he sensed from her stiffness that she was still annoyed about something.

What? What had he done wrong? Zach pondered this for a moment before deciding it didn’t matter; it wasn’t like he would ever see the girl again after today. If nothing else, at least the girl’s fear had been squashed by her annoyance.

Playing safe, the pair proceeded on all fours, the square of light receded behind them until it had vanished altogether. A text box popped up in Zach’s EyeWare informing him that, “air conditions are at dangerous levels,” and suggesting that he, “stay low and not panic.” He dismissed the message with a hiss through gritted teeth.

Even this close to the floor the air was becoming clogged by smoke. He had trained in this type of situation, but he had been wearing protective clothes and an oxygen mask, and his visor had been instructing him every step of the way. Preparation was key for these sorts of operations; no officer should just run off alone and without the proper equipment.

Not for the first time Zach wondered how much trouble he would get in for this break in protocol. Why had he given in to instinct and emotion, when at every other point in his life he had followed Terraco’s logical orders? What had he been thinking?

Stopping suddenly, Leila pulled free, causing a moment’s irrational fear in which Zach thought the girl had been swallowed by smoke. But before he could call out, he heard a tearing sound and then her small hand was back, pushing something into his grip.

Rubbing it between his fingers Zach realised it was a scrap of the girl’s clothes, and he knew what the girl intended. Why had he not thought of this? Quickly he tied the cloth across his face, using it to filter the air, and instantly his nostrils filled with a faintly sweet smell that was all too familiar - awakening memories Zach hadn’t realised still existed.

Given that everyone used the same company-issued deodorisers it made sense that this girl would smell like his deceased mother. Still it caused a lump to form in Zach’s throat, and in his heart he suddenly knew why he had come: because he was human, after all, and because it was what his mother would have wanted.

‘Thanks,’ Zach muttered, gruffly.

There was no response from the girl, but he could hear her fiddling with something and cursing softly as she did so. ‘I think my EyeWare’s busted,’ she muttered, finally.

‘It’s not just you. It’s everyone at the school,’ Zach answered, beginning to shuffle forward once more. He hadn’t realised the girl didn’t know the full situation.

‘But yours is alright?’ the girl asked, a quaver in her voice the only reminder that she might still be scared for her life. She quickly answered her own question, however. ‘Of course it is; you were probably outside the blast radius.’

There was silence for a moment as they continued to move through the dark. ‘It must be a connection problem then,’ Leila said, thoughtfully, curiosity winning out against the other emotions in her tone. ‘The visor is active, and the device is still powered up; that means it can’t connect to the Network and so it’s gone into sleep mode.’

Given that the girl was a trainee engineer, it wasn’t surprising that she could work her way through such a complex problem. But the fact that she could do it while in their current life-threatening situation: that was a pleasant surprise.

Her words made Zach’s own mind begin to whir into action, running over the various questions that should have presented themselves far sooner to a security officer, but his thoughts were interrupted, when the girl said, suddenly, ‘link with me.’

Stopping so suddenly that he pitched forward and nearly head-butted the floor, Zach turned to the girl, thinking he must have misheard.

While linking had its practical uses - mainly the ability to share apps and files - it had a different significance with young Terraco employees. While Zach’s career-orientated life had left little room for such things, he knew that amongst his peers linking was considered very personal, the sort of thing done only with that “special someone.”

Linking allowed the other participants to see everything stored on a visor, from daily footage, to the types of entertainment they enjoyed. It was almost like offering someone a window into the user’s soul; all the things they might prefer to keep secret.

‘W-what?’ Zach stammered, in his surprise.

He had no idea what kind of a response to expect, but the girl’s answer was direct and logical. ‘My visor can’t connect to the network, but a local connection should be possible,’ she said, her voice remaining calm as she concentrated on the problem in hand. ‘You can share the echo-location app you’re clearly using, and then we can both see.’

Another brief silence, and then the girl’s voice came again, this time going high with panic as she realised what Zach was thinking. ‘Don’t go getting any ideas,’ she squeaked.

‘I... I...’ Zach said and then realised that their roles had been reversed. He was supposed to be the confident one, the one making the decisions, and yet this small girl had caused him to lose his composure with a simple, well-reasoned suggestion.

They were in a life-threatening situation and he would soon be a fully-trained security officer; now was no time to be acting like a love-struck teenager. Without a second thought Zach found the nearby signal coming from the girl’s visor and sent the link request.

In the corner of his visor, a small 3D picture of the girl appeared, Leila’s details and statistics listed below. Curly brown hair, brown eyes and the play of a smile on her lips - even though you weren’t supposed to smile during the taking of you ID - Leila was definitely better looking without the soot-blackened face and frizzy hair.

Staring at the image, Zach had to resist the urge to highlight it. Just one click and he could know everything there was to know about this odd girl. But even if their situation weren’t so dire, Zach wasn’t the sort to break someone’s trust.

Instead he tore his gaze from the image, and asked, ‘can you see?’

For a moment, nothing, and then a “thumbs up” emoticon appeared on his screen. ‘I-,’ Leila began, the girl’s turn to sound uncertain. ‘Thank you,’ she finished, quietly, though whether she was referring to the link or his coming with her, Zach wasn’t sure.’

‘We’ll find him,’ Zach said, squeezing the girl’s hand; feeling the warmth of her touch.

Without needing to speak, the pair began moving forwards once more, going more quickly now that Zach didn’t need to lead his companion. That was a good thing, for the sounds of the building were growing more ominous with every passing moment; they needed to find Leila’s friend and get out of here, quick.

It felt like ten minutes had passed since they had entered the building, but it was probably no more than one or two. The smoke-filled room seemed to stretch on forever, the pair of them looping through this soundless void.

And then, finally, there was something ahead, a mound upon the floor, little more than a bulge of the wire mesh; possibly a person, but maybe just more rubble. Zach switched to infrared as he crawled nearer and saw a faint trace of warmth in the shape.

Letting go of his hand, the girl scuttled ahead, dropping beside the form. ‘Don’t be dead, don’t be dead,’ Zach heard Leila hiss, the fear returned to her voice.

Quickly he knelt by the girl’s side and began dragging loose the metal chunks and plastic sheets that were covering her friend’s body. The girl had been right to go for help, for there was no way she could have lifted some of the heavier pieces, not alone and blind.

His arms bulging, Zach raised the last metal strut, barely able to clear Leila’s friend, before being forced to drop it with a loud clang.

Returning to the boy, Zach began feeling his way along the lifeless body, looking for an arm. Under normal circumstances his EyeWare could detect a pulse at twenty metres, but in these smoke-laden conditions he would need to do it the old fashioned way.

‘Please, please, please,’ Leila was repeating, her voice high. Zach pushed her aside as he found the boy’s hand: the girl’s panicked movements were only getting in his way.

For a few seconds Zach fumbled with the boy’s wrist, unsuccessfully trying to find a pulse - the boy couldn’t be dead, not after everything they’d been through.

And all the time a sound seemed to be growing within Zach, like the rumble of his own frantically beating heart. He heard the sound but only as something far away and unimportant; the continued reverberation of the strut he had dropped, perhaps.

Beside him, Leila began to whimper, and so focused was Zach on his own fingertips, that he failed to notice the change in the sound until the girl began frantically shaking his arm. At last he looked away from the boy and heard the groaning and rending that was rising up through the floor on which he knelt.

Somewhere deep within the building there was another explosion and this time the mesh of the ceiling definitely dropped; causing a shriek from Leila. The boy’s condition no longer mattered; if they didn’t get out of here soon, they’d all be dead.

Grabbing the prone boy around the waist, Zach hefted him up over his shoulder like a bag of flour. Never had he been more grateful for all the hours of Terraco strength training, or the fact that R-Tech employees were smaller than those from his own company.

Even as the rumbling intensified, Zach snatched Leila’s hand, and began sprinting back the way they had come, dragging the girl after him.

Unable to keep up with his long stride, the girl went down, nearly pulling Zach with her. But he didn’t stop, and instead he wrenched the girl up by her arm, dragging her bodily over his shoulder as the wire mesh of the walls buckled and pressed in towards him.

From her lofty position he heard Leila screaming something he couldn’t understand, and behind him he heard the impact as several floors of the building collapsed, one atop another, ending their fall in an explosion of debris that obliterated the school’s lobby.

Shards of rubble rattled against his legs, and something threatened to trip him, but the light of the door was close and he staggered forward, feet going from under him as he burst from the building amid a shower of dust and small flecks of stone.

His vision cleared quite suddenly and Zach glimpsed the green yard stretching before him. And then he was throwing himself from the topmost step, as the glass front of the school exploded outward in an avalanche of twisted metal and plastic shards.

Hitting the path, the girl was thrown loose, rolling to safety a few metres away, while Zach went end over end, the sky and the land twisting around him. A crack as his shoulder hit the ground; a hollow thud against his visor, wrenching his head sideways; a snap as his hand was bent back; and then he was coming to a stop, sprawled across the body of the boy.

Too shocked by his close call, Zach didn’t feel the pain for a good few seconds, and then it exploded from a dozen different points at once. He tried to open his bloodshot eyes, but they were watering too hard to see. His throat was on fire and he started to cough, trying to expel the clinging smoke from his lungs, unsure he would ever stop.

From the corner of one watering eye Zach saw Leila push herself to her feet and come stumbling back towards him. She put a hand to Zach’s shoulder and he managed a grateful smile, thinking she meant to help, but instead she shoved him hard, rolling him from her friend, and letting him flop face-down on the ground.

‘Bastion? Can you hear me? Are you okay?’ The girl’s scared voice came to Zach from what seemed a great distance, and his eyes turned to watch her, his face pressed against the ground as he filled his lungs with the artificial scent of the grass.

The girl’s shoulder length hair was a tangled mess, her clothes torn, and her blackened cheeks scoured by the lines of tears, and yet, in that moment, Zach didn’t think he had ever seen anyone so striking. The girl’s love for her friend was almost palpable, and in his chest Zach felt again that pang, that there was no-one in his life that would care so much for him.

‘Leila?’ he tried to say, but the word caught in his throat, too quiet for her to hear.

And before he knew what he would say next, a pair of booted feet obscured his view of the girl. Figures were gathering around him, and Zach looked dazedly up to find that R-Tech security had arrived at last. He smiled, relieved that this mess was no longer his responsibility.

And then he felt the pressure against his neck, and his eyes rolled sideways, taking in the tagstaff pressed to his skin. They’re going to tag me, he thought, and then there was a bright blue flash, and his body went rigid, his smile of a moment ago locked into a grimace.

He heard the girl’s scream, far, far away, and then he heard no more.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3