[POV Chelsea]

  The afternoon air at the Dam of Tomorrow felt heavier than usual, thick with a humidity that clung to the skin like a warning. After the suffocating tension of the assembly and interrogations, all I wanted was to feel human again. Era had remained in the room, immersed in that sepulchral silence that sometimes made me forget she was a person and not a statue, so I decided it was time to look for Sora. I needed the warmth of a normal conversation, the echo of our life before the sky shattered.

  I walked through Sector B, feeling the brush of the bck mesh of my combat suit beneath the old clothes. Sometimes I forgot I was wearing it, but in moments of nervousness, I could feel the material tighten slightly, adapting to my movements like a second skin. It was a comforting sensation, a secret armor that reminded me that, even if the world was chaos, I was no longer the helpless girl from the janitor’s closet.

  I arrived at Sora’s housing block, a concrete structure she shared with other engineers. She was outside, sitting on a small metal bench, reviewing blueprints under the orange glow of the setting sun. When she saw me, her face lit up, and for a second, the darkness of the previous night seemed to fade.

  " Chelsea! I’m gd you came," Sora said, making space for me beside her. "I was starting to think the guards had forbidden you from leaving your sector."

  "You know I’m not very good at following rules, Sora," I replied with a small smile, sitting down next to her. "Hey, I’ve been thinking... when will I be able to move here with you? Staying in the guest housing feels like being in a perpetual waiting room. Besides, Era is... well, Era."

  Sora sighed, closing her notebook with a tired gesture. "I spoke to Sarah about that today. Unfortunately, the Council is very strict. All newcomers have to go through a two-week surveilnce period. They want to make sure you’re not carrying any disease... or that you’re not an infiltrator from other groups. After what happened st night at the Leader’s house, they’re more paranoid than ever."

  "Two weeks?" I huffed, looking up at the imposing wall of the dam. "That feels like forever. But I guess it’s better than being outside."

  We spent the next hour talking about trivial things, a luxury I valued more than any food ration. We remembered our university professors, argued about which movies we would watch if electricity ever returned to movie theaters, and ughed at nonsense that would once have seemed insignificant. It was an oasis of normality—until the sound of rhythmic boots against the concrete shattered the spell.

  A group of five guards, led by one of the Leader’s subordinates we had seen in the mess hall, approached us. They weren’t walking like they were patrolling; they were walking with a clear objective.

  "Sora Tanaka," the leader of the group said, a man with a sharp face and icy eyes. "You must come with us. Inconsistencies have been found in your maintenance records and in your statement from st night. You are under suspicion of colboration in the Alpha Sector incident."

  "That’s ridiculous!" Sora excimed, jumping to her feet. "I’ve been working double shifts since I arrived. Ask Leo, he knows where I was!"

  "We’re not asking, engineer. Move," the guard ordered, extending a hand to grab her arm.

  In that moment, something inside me clicked. It wasn’t fear—it was a spark of rage that surged from my stomach to my limbs. Without thinking, I stepped between Sora and the guard.

  "Leave her alone!" I shouted, shoving the guard’s hand away.

  What happened next surprised even me. As I pushed him, I felt the suit beneath my clothes activate. There was a brief hum, almost imperceptible, and the force that shot out from my arm was not that of a twenty-year-old girl. The guard, a man who outweighed and out-trained me, was hurled backward two meters, nding with a dull thud against the wall.

  The other guards froze for a second, unable to comprehend how a small girl had exerted such power.

  "Chelsea, run!" Sora shouted, reacting before anyone else.

  I turned and grabbed her hand. We started running down the side corridor, away from the housing block. My legs felt like springs; each stride propelled me farther than I had ever imagined. The suit was amplifying my muscles, turning my panic into pure kinetic energy. We struggled with a guard who tried to cut us off at a corner, and with a simple shoulder movement, I knocked him aside as if he were a feather.

  "This way, to the lower levels!" Sora shouted, guiding me toward a storage area.

  But as we ran, I began to feel something strange. My vision started to blur, and a warm tingling spread across my neck. The air began to taste like wilted flowers, a sweet, cloying scent filling my lungs.

  "Sora... I feel... strange," I murmured, stumbling over my own feet.

  My legs, which moments ago felt capable of leaping over walls, now weighed as if they were made of lead. The adrenaline was being repced by a heavy, suffocating lethargy.

  "Chelsea! Breathe deeply!" Sora held me up, but she also seemed to be struggling to stay on her feet. "It’s... it’s a sedative. They did something to you... or they put it in the bread at the mess hall..."

  The world began to spin. The sound of the guards approaching turned into a distant echo, as if I were underwater. I colpsed to my knees, unable to keep my bance. The suit tried to compensate for the weakness, tightening to hold me upright, but my brain was simply shutting down.

  Before the darkness swallowed me completely, I saw Sora act with desperate speed. We were in an alley filled with debris and metal containers. With superhuman effort, Sora dragged me toward a rge industrial dumpster that stood half-open.

  "Stay there, Chelsea... don’t let them see you..." Sora whispered. Her hands trembled as she arranged me among trash bags and scraps of metal.

  She closed the lid over me, leaving me in absolute darkness. Through a small crack, I caught one st glimpse of her silhouette. Sora did not hide; she stood up, brushed off her clothes, and began running in the opposite direction, drawing the attention of the guards who were turning the corner at that very moment.

  "I’m here! Come and get me!" I heard her brave shout before my eyes closed completely and the induced sleep cimed me.