《To change a destiny》


 Chapter 1 - Elias, 15th May - 22:43

    The fluorescent lights in the bathroom flashed as they do right before they go dead, but the boy who was leaning against the sink staring at himself in the mirror didn''t seem to be bothered by the flickering.


    He sighed and pulled one hand through his dirty blonde hair but when he did, he saw the white bracelet around his left wrist. When he looked from the bracelet in the mirror to his green eyes he saw that he looked tired and pale, but he figured that was just the white pale light playing a trick on him


    Tomorrow was his 18th birthday. But the white light from the bracelet just made his coming birthday an anxious event. It was often a death penalty to turn 18 and have a white bracelet, it only changed color if you find your fated partner. And if you were one of the unlucky people you where the youngest of the couple and then you both die when you turn 18.


    But there was still hope that he was the older one of the two, then he would have some time to be able to find his soulmate before she turned 18 and they would be able to live happily ever after. He shrugged his anxiety of when someone knocked on the door and as he turned to meet his mother with tired eyes.


    She had the same dark blond hair like him, but her eyes were a bright blue on the border to gray. Those almost gray eyes seemed to be tired too as she glanced at his bracelet and then meet his gaze.


    ¡°Elias, there is still a chance too...¡± She began with a whisper but was interrupted by Elias. ¡°Yes, I know¡±


    Even though he knew his mother meant well he could not hold her worried gaze and turned to the mirror again. All this was reminding them about what happened to Elias big sister 11 years ago. She was the youngest and it was over so fast nobody could even blink.


    ¡°The seminar is tomorrow at 11:00, and you will be there and get the chance to see the world before finding your fated wife and get tons of little children.¡± She reassured him from her place at the door.


    Ever since the beginning of May he had had nightmares every night about his birthday, that he would be found dead tomorrow in his bed just like his sister. The lack of sleep made him feel so tired and on closer inspection, he had dark bags under his eyes.


    Of Course, the world and the system took steps to make sure the bug did not kill too many and there were 1% of the people that did not survive the bug. In the richer zones at least where they had the money to travel to the many social gatherings out in the world designed to get people to meet.


    But when your parents have to work 16 hours shift to make sure they had food and heat Elias did not have the budget to travel around the world at the age of 16, so he had to take the system trip. An all-inclusive trip designed and paid for the system, everyone at the age of 18 is eligible.


    But even though Elias look forward to the trip he was worried about two things, first was the matter of being alive and the second was that he didn''t know if his parents would be able to afford heat when he and his wages left the household.If you asked many people in the slums you found that they didn''t see any differences in the world before and after the system, some even said you were worse off after the system.


    Sure, corruption was at a low minimum and everyone had work but the rich were still greedy and did not care for the slums.


    Elias shook his head to clear his thoughts. What was the meaning of him looking for a soulmate when they both were doomed to live in the slums and work long hours and then die from a disease or work accident.


    With clenched fists, white-knuckled he started at that tired young boy in the mirror and let out another loud sigh and left the bathroom.


    The bathroom door clicked silently when he closed it and the corridor outside of the bathroom was dark except a small flickering light and Elias sighed again.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    They had two lights and both of them would die soon so they were trying to save as much they could from them, fluorescent lights were not cheap to replace.


    But as Elias moved down the corridor the light went out and was replaced by a more orange tone flicker that came from a candle.When he came closer to the doorway he heard whispers and stopped to try to hear what his parent said. But he could not make sense from the whispers but he heard from the tones that his mother was sad about something.


    He could only guess what she was sad about and did not want to hear anymore what they talked about so he devised a plan to sneak past the kitchen door and reach his small room.


    He decided to sneak past fast and hope that his preoccupied parents did not notice him.


    As Elias snuck past the door he heard his father murmuring comforting words to his mother that where sobbing and it hurt him more than he thought it would. Off course they would be sad, how could they not be? But the feeling of not being able to do anything about it hurt more than his mother''s actual tears.


    When he reached the door to his room he quickly opened it as it made the door squeak less than opening it slow. And in a heartbeat, he was in his small room with the door closed.


    The room was so small that you had three steps from the door to the bed that looked a bit cramped in, not really fitting the room.


    On the wall next to the door sat his discom on the docking station and glowed with a faint green light. The discom was an awesome piece of technology that one could use to control anything and where often integrated with the home itself.


    But Elias discom was the old generation, really old generation. And with it, he could only turn on and off the lights, surf the net and take the occasional com call from people he knew.


    When he swept his hand over the discom it¡¯s panel began to shine to show that it was fully charged and ready to be used.


    He took it out of the docking station and laid down in the bed and started to ponder on what he should do to make the time go on. When he remembered that he hadn''t bought a ticket for the rail yet, why buy a ticket beforehand when you are likely to die. But if he would survive it''s good to know what time the speed rail leaves for CC Stockholm.


    The rail would take an hour and a half and he let out a sigh when he saw the price of one ticket. And to his despair, he realized that he would have to wait an hour in CC Stockholm before the seminar started. To top it off he also notices that that rail should be the same rail that the rich kids took from the fancy residential area to the school in CC Stockholm each morning.


    The northern slums were at the northern edge of the Swedish zone, and the reason for that where something about the pollution going north with the cold north winds sweeping the barren lands left from the great wars. And that meant that Elias had to go from the slums through the other areas with the rails, and they always looked down on people from the slums. Even though it was impossible to get off the rail when you were on it if you didn''t have clearance to get off in that area.


    One of the benefits of having the bracelets as identification when you board the rail if your slum you are only allowed to be in the slums or the CC¡¯s.


    And another benefit is that if you are from the slums there are only a few seats to book and there was none left. Elias let out a sigh and turned the bright screen off and put his arm over his eyes.


    ¡°Typically my luck, I¡¯ll have to stand for an hour and a half and listen to the spoiled brats when they go to school.


    He peeked past his arms to the ceiling where the constellations were drawn by his big sister when he was a little kid. With a smile, he remembered how angry his parents had been that she used her school lunch money to buy that luminescent color.


    After being told off for hours by their parents she had just grind at Elias and whispered that being hungry was worth the luxury of giving her little adorable brother a great gift that would make him remember her for always.


    Elias felt that it became harder to breathe and that his throat felt horrible dry, like if his own body decided to end things by strangling before the system bug would. He could only stare up at the small specks of paint and try to stay alive.


    After some time he thought that it might be the bug and quickly checked the clock on the discom. He was sure that this was the bug killing him but he saw that the clock was only 22:58, so he had an hour left to live, at least.


    He gained control over his body after a while and let his arm fall down beside him and turned to the side and the docking station caught his eyes. Elias slowly got up from the bed and took two steps and put the discom at its place and swept his hand over the screen and the light went off. Before getting into bed again he undressed and looked the room over one more time before crawling down under the blanket. With one last look at the constellation, he closed his eyes and waited for the final verdict, would he wake up tomorrow or would we join his sister?

 Chapter 2 - Liam, 16th May - 08:00

    When Liam stepped out of the car in front of the rater small station, people turned to look at him. He was, of course, accustomed to People watching him, a 16-year old boy with his brown neatly trimmed short brown hair and his shining brown eyes.


    And he knows that they would always look at him with envy and awe, his family were the richest family in this zone. And there were often girls who got close to him only to sigh deeply when they saw that their bracelets were still white. But they were all rather silly in their wishes for a match made in heaven. Liam knew he would not meet his soulmate in this zone, he had been paraded around to all the prominent families already and there was no match on the British island.


    This to his father''s anguish because that meant that Liam''s soulmate was not someone from the higher social ladder. But Liam felt rather free now when he finally was done with all the small exclusive parties with the rich children and their families. And now Liam would travel the world on an epic journey to find his fated wife and then bring her home and present her in all her glory. He was only 16 years old but this was the ordinary age to make the journey, but he hoped he would find her fast.


    Not because he was worried about not finding her in the 2 years he had, but 2 years of travel sounded very gruesome and extremely tiresome. Even though the system had its bug it was very rare that anybody died from it. Well, maybe them lazy people in the slums. He turned around and waved to his mother and father and gave them a last smile before stepping toward the speed rail that would take him from there small town to the CC London, the rebuild version of the prewar London that was destroyed during the great war.


    He only knew about pre-war London because of the school that insisted that they should learn about the pre-war cultures, customs, and geography. Something about tomorrow''s leaders should learn from past leaders mistakes.


    His mother and father waved and Liam thought he saw tears in his mother''s eyes. With a sigh, he turned around and walked along the side of the platform. There were a lot of people that just made a path for him to walk and then just squeaked when he went by them. Some even stared at him with dreamy hungry eyes, what would they do to have a chance with him?


    He could never grasp how soft and desperate people where. While taking out his discom to check which platform the rail departed from he noticed a cute girl with big blue eyes just staring at her bracelet and whispering a prayer to it.


    He just shook his head at her and felt the small vibration from his discom and he saw that he got a text. People were truly awful creatures, they knew he got a lot of text and then persisted to send those things to him. He put the new text in the trash can directly and didn''t even care to check what it was.


    Suddenly he felt how he was pushed back and when he looked up from the screen he realized that he had not been pushed, the man in front of him had not moved out of his way.


    ¡°Excuse me! Excuse me, good sir!¡± explained the man and with a glare from Liam, he shrank back a bit.


    The man had worn clothes and looked rather stressed so Liam smiled at him and said ¡°It¡¯s okay, but you shouldn''t stress so much. The world doesn''t end when you are a little late, and if you slow down a bit this sort of thing will not happen again.¡±


    The stressed man hurried away from the platform and Liam got a bit irritated that the man didn''t offer to help him to the rail or something for making trouble for him. But the rudeness of the people from the slums was no news for Liam, but he often wondered about why they always choose to be lazy until they had to do something and then stressed about it and causing mayhem for others.


    No, people in the slums had to blame themselves if they couldn''t handle their district. If you procrastinate and choose to live poorly and do nothing about it, they could, by all means, be hungry and freezing.


    The doors to the rail he was taking opened and he stepped on and felt a pleasant freshness from the rail¡¯s AC. Even though they lived on the British island the weather was hot and clammy, but before the great wars, it was said to rain a lot. Sure it was not only the fault of the great war that the weather was rather uncomfortable but the pollution from the slums was to blame too. Typical slum rat¡¯s to affect the rest of the world with their problems.


    He quickly found a place and settled down in a comfortable leather armchair, a privilege for only the first class citizens of the systems. Liam shuddered when he thought about how the dirty slum children would destroy these chairs if they were allowed into first class on any speed rail.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    When he felt that the speed rail started to move he brought out his discom and started the tedious task of deleting all the text messages that people persistently sent him


    After a little while of frustration over the stupid people that kept pestering him he looked up and saw that there was a girl with blond hair and blue eyes sitting opposite him in the cart.


    And when their gazes met Liam could not to his horror stop himself from blushing and he glanced at her bracelet and it was still white as snow.


    She was the kind of girl Liam could see himself with and proudly show off to his friends at parties. But he did not want to turn home now when his adventure just begun.


    He just got away from the supervision of his parents and the stupid rules his social status put on him. So it would not be a good thing to find his soulmate now but some company would be rather fun to have. But a girl with some manners and some social status would not be bad at all to find. There are some horror stories about higher classes having slum soulmates, but for Liam that sounded like a really bad match for him.


    What would he do with a lazy, god for nothing slum girl that has sold her body for change just because she and her stupid parents didn''t want to work like normal people?


    There are even stories about couples that get disowned by their families just because the soulmate is from the lower classes and Liam could understand that.


    He shyly looked at the girl again and managed a little smile but the girl was not watching so he fixed his collar of his shirt and sat up more straight. Even though Liam knew that the girl would be interested in him even if they were not soulmates, a short flirt was not unheard of when you were out looking for your fated one. But the girl just meets his gaze with a flat uninterested stare and Liam felt his cheeks getting red, not by blushing but out of frustration. Here he actually tried to make contact and showed interested in a girl and she only stares at him.


    To calm himself down he looked at the discom to go over his travel plans. First, he was going to the CC Paris in the French district for two days, and he could not for his life figure out what he was to do for two days in a central city.


    He had of course been to France before and stayed in the CC Paris but that was years ago and he could not remember that much about it.


    After that, he would go to the district of Denmark where he would stay for a night and then move on to some speck on the map place and go to a festival that would last for two days. If he could fire whoever made his travel plan he would do it right away, but it was the system that made it from some algorithm to maximize the exposure to different people and soul mate candidates.


    Many people complained about the system and how it runs things especially those people in the slums who just complained about everything. They say that the system only favors those who are already rich and that the bug is killing too many people.


    But of course, those people from the slum did not understand the system and why it was a marvelous system that helped the world. It gave them work if they wanted to and it gave them soulmates on a silver platter. That the bug killed off too many is just humbug, Liam had never meet anyone that lost anyone to the bug so it''s clearly not that big of a deal.


    When the rail slowed down Liam looked up at the girl that was still just gazing out in the empty air he got angry again. Why was she even in the first class when she lacked the manners of someone in the higher classes.


    Liam stood up and started to make his way over to her. She can''t believe she could get away with treating him like this could she?


    The girl just annoyed when he got close and Liam felt his cheeks turning red again. Who was she to look annoyed when Liam came over. But Liam put on a smile and meet her annoyed gaze.


    ¡°No, I do not need any help.¡± She said after a while of staring into Liam''s eyes and he counted to ten before responding.


    ¡°Girl, just because your pretty does not mean that you''re worth anything. Remember that and just shut up when you''re in the presence of your betters.¡± He said with pressed lips and trying his best not to blow up.


    Something hit him on the leg and the girl seemed to be really angry about something. As Liam looked down on the object that hit him he saw that the girl was using a white thin cane to hit him over and over again.


    ¡°Crazy slum rat!¡± He said as he went over to the speed rails emergency intercom and pushed the button to call the guards over.


    She was clearly not from the higher classes, no one of the higher classes would be able to recognize him and hit him with a cane.


    As the rail pulled in to the platform the doors opened and two guards rushed into first class ready for anything. Heavily armored brutes that sole purpose was to protect the higher classes from the lower people. After Liam explained to the guards what happened they look confused but then proceeded to remove the girl that still didn''t understand what she had done wrong.


    As he left the speed rail he could not believe the lengths those slum rats went to feel a bit better about them self, think what they could accomplish if they choose not to be so lazy and poor.

 Chapter 3 - Elias, 16th May 08:00

    The wind blew through Elias'' hair and for the first time in several days he felt fully rested. The dark circles under his eyes were now nearly gone, it''s wondrous what a nights sleep can do. After he had checked that he was alive at 00:01 he had slept through the whole night without any nightmares. As he pulled his worn windbreaker higher over the ears and mouth he thought that it was weird that he felt relieved that he survived the first night but didn''t care that much about that every night now was a fight for survival, a fight he could not win on his own.


    As he stood at the speed rail station and waited for the clock to reach 08:00 the wind was now picking up and he shivered. The windbreaker did its thing but his black thorned and worn jeans did not offer that much of protection against the north wind rushing through the slums.


    Elias had realized that morning that all his clothes were worn, thorn or he could not even to begin to guess the original color of the garment. Most of the clothes in the slums where like this, patched with so much fabric that only some highlighted features were of the original fabric. He shivered again and peered down the tracks in the direction the speed rail would come. It was 5 minutes left until departure. The only thing he saw where cold and empty metal tracks that went on for miles, he shivered again.


    Elias turned his gaze to the skies instead and let out a sigh, how many more days would he be able to look at the clouds and guess their shapes. Admittedly, the clouds were always gray from the pollution from the factories but they still had shaped.


    But he smiled when he remembered the study trip they had taken to the cultivating zone where the air had been clean and the clouds were white and healthy. And as he were one of the lucky ones to survive his 18th birthday without a soulmate, the system let him travel again so today he would be able to see those clouds again. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts.


    ¡°No idea to think about clouds and get my hopes up, I can still die tonight or the next¡± He whispered to himself as the speed rail came sliding into the platform.


    The thing about speed rails are that the doors won''t open if no one is getting off at the station, and Elias stood at an end station in the slums. And to open the doors you had to scan your bracelet that would determine that you had clearance to take that cart or class. So if you didn''t understand where the door would be, and got denied entry you had little to no time to get to the right door.


    As he took an empty seat he looked at the ticket information that was showing on his discom. A system-paid trip for a dying man. He swiped it away and sighed when he realized that he only could sit here until the rightful owner entered the train.


    He gazed out through the windows and saw the barren and cold landscape that sometime before the wars had been full of green tall trees and lush forests. Elias could not understand why they even show this gloomy landscape, there were no real windows when the speed railed moved due to the speed the rail traveled in. There would just be specks and smears of colors as the speed rail swooshed down its tracks.


    As a factory worker, Elias knew the basics of speed rails, that they traveled with the help of magnetism and not electricity as the pre-war trains did. Those trains could still be found but in museums now when they had a much faster speed rail.


    He sighed and turned on the discom screen again in pursuit of something interesting to read about on social media. But as usual it was just about people''s lives and soulmates, the normal ordinary stuff people wrote about. But he couldn''t help scrolling through them just to realize that people''s lives just continued even though he could have died.


    The scenic view now changed to vast and blue oceans, it still looked cold and not that inviting at all. But it was the closest he had been to the oceans so he could not take his eyes off the view. Somethings you could not just read about to grasp the vastness, you had to see it for yourself. When the displays turned off and the normal windows where back he realized from the rich villa area that he had been sitting down for an hour. Elias had wished to jump off here and take a stroll between the colorful villas while basking in the summer rays. They even had that soft green grass he read about so many times, how did that even feel when you walked barefoot in it?If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He fought the urge to just sneak off, as a citizen of the slums he did not have clearance to get of here. But he could just rush off when the brats open the doors for him and evade the guards long enough to feel that grass against his feet.


    And being locked up for being an anti-system follower would not help him find his soulmate at all. They would bring down his parents to stare at him with horrified gazes as they realized that their son indirectly killed himself for a patch of green grass.


    But there was that time a slum citizen had managed to find a bug in the speed rail system, maybe he could find something like that and be pardoned his terrorist act of walking barefoot in the rich central areas?


    No, there had been many years since that and the bug hunters worked night and day to spot them before someone else did. Elias thought that the only bug left in the whole system where the unfixable bug that killed people.


    Elias snapped out of his contemplation when he heard a group of teenage girls settling in the seats behind him. He hated himself for glancing at his bracelet even though he clearly heard them whispering about him. That would be so awkward that one of the girls whispering and snickering at him would turn out to be his soulmate.


    ¡°Oh, she''s lovely!¡± he pictured his mother saying when he brought her home for the first time and then continue ¡°Where did you meet?¡±


    ¡°Well, she sat behind me whispering about that dirty slum rat sitting in front of them¡± he would reply.


    Elias did not even have to try making out the words they were whispering when one of the girls raised her nasal voice and exclaimed: ¡°Seriously, why do we have to take the same cart as them stinking slum rats?¡±


    This kind of slander was nothing new and the thing Elias hated the most was that they all said the same thing. Nothing new or creative, just the same thing over and over again. He tried ignoring the brats while looking at a map on his discom over the central area.


    ¡°They should have their own cart in the back, they bring that stinking pollution into all the carts they take.¡± Exclaimed another of the bitch brat trio. And Elias rolled his eyes and felt that they could just run before the speed rail instead if they wanted fresh air.


    As the bitch brat trio continued to spew the same nonsense as they always do Elias just thought about them being in the slum. Having great hair and long nails, but starving and freezing while they worked long days in the factories. How long would they make it in the cold harsh north?


    But when they started commenting about his ¡°lazy mother¡± he grabbed his discom harder and felt a wave of raging anger boil up inside of him. He could take all the slander but when they talked about his parents he felt he could toss these queens of the rails.


    But while he did some stupid breathing exercise to calm himself down he felt the discom vibrate and it let out a small ping. Someone had sent him a text and who would send him anything. All his friends had avoided him like he had a really bad smell about him when they realized that he would not find his soulmate before his 18th birthday. It was a text from one of his former friends and after he read it all he just stared at the words in disbelief. It said something about reaching an important milestone in his life now when he where 18 and that he should take care.


    First, they abandon him when he needed the support in all the anxiety and now they seemed to care when he didn''t die. Sure he could still die but the statistics showed that he had a 70% chance of surviving a year more.


    As if they even knew what the hell he was going through now when they all found their soulmates before they hit 16 years old.


    The bracelets should have been the saving grace of humankind focused on finding love and soulmates. But for the ones on the other side of the bug it only showed them how the bracelets made people smug and selfish, the thing that made the world break in the first place.


    As the speed rail once again slowed down Elias look out the windows in shock, he had reached the city center of Stockholm. The bitch brat trio had already made their way to the doors as the speed rail came to a stop.


    So as Elias queued behind them to scan his bracelet to get out the girls sneered at him and waved their hands in front of their perfect noses. He just gave them a grin and they look scared and scrambled away out the door.


    Out in the platform he was stunned from the buzzing sound of many people in the same cramped space and the warm air hit against his face. It was much warmer here than in the north and he just stood there looking at all directions to orient himself.


    With a sigh he pulled out the discom and opened the map, he had places to go and people to meet.

 Chapter 4 - Liam, 16th may 10:45

    At the rail platform going over to Central city, Paris was full of people and Liam didn''t know what to do next. He had obviously booked a seat in the first cart, but how would he be able to get there if these many people were in the way and they didn''t move when he tried to walk into the crowd.


    When he was in CC London no one parted to give way for him and to Liam''s dismay it seemed people had a problem with hygiene but he had to get to the first cart, were the air condition and the nice comfortable seat was waiting for him.


    After a while of avoiding people in on the platform, Liam started to feel hot and took out a small handkerchief to wipe his face. But it tugged on something else in his coat pocket and out came a small chocolate bar that fell to the ground. When he bent down to get the chocolate bar his eyes locked with a pair of small brown eyes that were greedily staring at the bar. While picking it up Liam sniffed at the girl because he knew that all she wanted were to steal it from him.


    Then he got an idea on how to make the girl understand that you can''t have everything just because you wanted it and especially something that Liam has. So he opened the bar of chocolate and smiled at the girl, when he then started to give it to her she smiled brightly at him. The smile went away and tears started to well up when he quickly snatched it back and took the biggest bite he could muster from the bar. Liam grinned at the girl and said ¡°Nothing is free, work for it and you can eat as much chocolate as you like! But it is your parent''s fault you can''t have it now. Don''t be lazy as your parent''s, little girl.¡±


    As he turned around to finally get to the rail he felt good and satisfied that he help the girl learn an important lesson in life. Don''t be a slum rat and do something about it if you don''t like it.


    When he entered the speed rail he turned around to wave at the girl that was still crying and Liam just smiled at her.


    Like all speedrails, the cart looked identical as the last with big comfortable armchairs and plenty of space between the seats. It was a pure bliss compared to the cramped platform and the air condition made it even better.


    He found the chair that was booked for him and sat down with a sigh. Now he only needed to figure out what he would do in CC Paris during his stay. Liam had tried finding anything fun to do be everything was boring and not at all in the spirit of an adventure.


    His discom started to flash and Liam looked at it to identify the cause and saw that there was a small note about being vigilant and suspicious of anyone that looked like they were from the slums. He kept reading that there had been a leak of the scanning codes for money and there now was a small gang running around and stealing money from hardworking people.


    Typical slum rats not wanting to work and always looking for the easy way out, now even stealing from good and working people. Sure, he had never worked in his life but he had other plans for himself.


    As Liam the heir to the biggest discom manufacturer in the world, to be honest, the only discom manufacturer in the world. He had to learn how to lead and make sure the company went smoothly before he could take over and work. But when he did he should work for the rest of his life and take care of everything, the world needed discoms and he was the only solution to people''s problems. They should be grateful that he even considered taking over and helping every human being out there.


    When the rail started to move Liam looked up to see how many people were in his cart and he felt relieved when he saw that they were a total of four people.


    There where a mother and daughter sitting in the front and then Liam and an older gentleman sat in the middle of the cart. Or at least he thought they were a mother and daughter, the older one had a youthful sheen to her. But most of the higher ladies had this sheen to them, something about a technology that made you look younger than you really were.


    Liam''s mother had once said that youthfulness was natures way of saying that you were naive and needed guidance and it went away when you started to grow up and become smart and wise. So Liam figured that people that made them look youthful again were dumb and in need of some sort of guidance in life.


    But they were both pretty so he gave them his best smile and they both blushed and shyly smiled back. The older one whispered something to the younger one that immediately checked her bracelet that was still white as snow.


    The older gentleman beside him was flipping through the social media or news on his discom and Liam thought that it would be nice to be old and still care for the world and what happens to it.


    Would he be depressed that his generation failed to get the slum rats to do anything when he died?The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Sure, Liam had respect for his elders that worked so hard to get where they were today with the system and the whole saving humankind. But the slum rats needed to be dealt with otherwise they would destroy everything, like in the old days when lesser people revolted because they didn''t understand why they need rules and guidance. He thought he saw movement from the seats at the back of the carts and he realized that they where a total of five people in the train. How had he missed the last one? As he peers back to study the last person he only saw long black hair.


    After a while of sitting there peering and trying to figure out who it was Liam felt restless and thought about stretching his legs for a bit. Not that he felt curious about the hair, well the owner at least.


    As he walked back and saw the owner of the black hair he felt cold and started to go over his escape plan. The owner of the black hair was a young lady he meets several times on all the social gatherings Liam had to attend. She was one of those ladies that would always tell him how good of a match they would be for him and that the system clearly was broken for not matching them. As if the system could break!


    It was not unusual that young girls blamed the system for not matching them with Liam. But Liam knew the system was right, who in their right mind wanted a spoiled lady that harassed him and the system for not being soulmates. Some of these girls even offered to be mistresses to him even if they found their soulmates.And if she saw him she would invite him over to stay with them in CC Paris where he knew they had a larger villa. He could not say no and still be polite, the anguish of being Liam.


    So he had to escape before she caught him and destroyed his adventure with dinner parties and dances. Liam would rather spend a day giving out free chocolate to all the children of every slum then let her get her claws in him.


    He could escape back to his seat but the other option sounded more fun, leaving the first cart and go back one cart. To the masses.As he peered through the small windows in the doors to the next cart he saw that there weren''t that many people in the cart and quickly entered and felt rush of excitement as the door swooshed closed again behind him.


    This was the first time he went into the lower class cart and saw that there were big differences from his own cart. There were no big and comfortable chairs and the air conditioner seemed to not work that well.


    Two girls looked at him standing at the entrance and scanning all the people for thieves and other kinds of slum rats. Normal people were a tad better than slum rats but they were just so¡­. poor.


    ¡°Did you just come in from the first cart?¡± Asked a girl with blond hair and curious green eyes that were assessing him. The other girl had brown thick hair and a tired expression framing a couple of brown eyes.


    ¡°One would think it rather obvious when there is one door to the first cart and yours truly just came through it¡± Liam replied while he contemplated to just turn around and head back to the first cart if he''s new travel company would ask so stupid questions.


    ¡°Wow, you must be filthy rich¡± The brown haired girl exclaimed and her eyes widened as she fixed his bracelet with a stare.


    The blond girl just smiled at him with a smiled that said she would eat him alive if he didn''t get away from them.


    ¡°Money isn''t everything in the world¡± Liam replied and rolled his eyes when the girls performed a rather nice synchronized bracelet peeking.


    And then they performed a wonderful act of synchronized sighing and they both got an expression that told Liam how much they hoped to be matched with him. He started to feel a bit awkward and as a lottery prize that promised eternal happiness and riches.


    ¡°Well, Can you introduce us to any of your friends then?¡± The blond one asked after recovering from here disappointment and gave him a sweet smile.


    ¡°What would I gain from that¡± Liam said and started to get irritated that people were so openly greedy. These girls only wanted to know some rich guys and find a match, then get a free ride in life.


    Almost like those lazy slum rats that refused to see how work gave them money and the power of freedom.


    ¡°You can party with us in CC Paris, we are all alone tonight!¡± The browned haired one said and tried to give him a sweet smile but it didn''t feel genuine as the blond one smiles.


    Liam thought this over for a couple of seconds, it would be rather interesting to see the life of a normal person and how they lived. And meeting and doing stuff with normal people felt like it should be part of any great adventure. And the girls were kinda cute even though they were normal girls.


    ¡°But I''m on a trip right now and won''t be seeing my friends in a while¡± Liam stated and saw how the girls started to look defeated yet again.


    ¡°Don''t you know anyone in CC Paris that can party with us?¡± The brown haired one asked and still tried to give him a nice smile. Liam contemplated and a plan started to form in his head and he smiled at the girls.


    ¡°Do you have anything else to dress in then those rags?¡± He asked the girls and eyes their rather shabby clothes and grimaced. ¡°Yes, but you see these are our best clothes¡± the blond continued and then she smiled even bigger.


    ¡°But we can dress in anything you like, or maybe undress if that''s more to your liking¡± she continued and gave Liam a wink. Liam was shocked over this, why on earth''s name would he like to see them naked?


    What kind of thought process made her think he wanted to see them naked or dress them up, and he could not help himself and just shook his head in confusion.


    ¡°Why would I even want to see you naked, are you daft or something?¡± He asked but waived their answer away and continued ¡°Here is how we should do it, in the first cart there is a girl with black hair¡­.¡±


    When he was satisfied that the girls knew what they should do he went back to the first cart, snuck past the young lady and with a great exhausted sigh sunk down in his chair again.

 Chapter 5 - Elias, 16th May 10:20

    Elias looked from his discom to the building covered by glass windows and then at the discom again. This should be the right building but it looked different from the picture he had on his discom. He figured that the glass windows were, in fact, some sort of displays that could alter how the building was seen.


    To hide the otherwise cold and Nordic design, concrete and straight lines. And if the sky were grey why not just light it up with some more soothing colors. The more he looked at the building the more sure he became that this was the right building as the light shifted it looked more like the picture on his discom. But what to do now when it was 40 minutes left until the seminar started?


    He wondered if there were something to do inside or if it just were a meeting hall for the less fortunate lonely souls. Even the guards at the entrance looked gloomy and grumpy. Why they even had guards at the place were a mystery for Elias as he stood there contemplating his next move.


    He looked around for a place to sit but when he turned around he saw two identical girls whispering and looking nervously at one of their discoms. When a coffee smelling gust of wind swept over the girls he saw that the girls had different colored hairpins and he smiled, not even their parents could tell the twins apart.


    Then he realized that he had smelled coffee and looked for the source of the smell, and then he saw a small caf¨¦ with a sign that said ¡°Fresh coff¨¦ and sandwiches¡± and Elias felt how his mouth started watering.


    He had tried the black brew one time at his work when a supervisor from the main branch had come to visit his workers at the factories. The rich liked the taste and Elias understood why but it was not something that people in the slums could afford to import och even drink on a regular basis.


    With a sigh, he realized that he would not have the money to afford it now either. But the system would give him travel money after the seminar when the system registered them for the trip. But as he stood there he saw a lot of people rushing past him, well-dressed people hurrying to get somewhere.


    Didn''t these people have any work to go to or something, in the slums only the to old were out and about at this time of day?


    Everybody else, where deep in the factories or at school.


    As he pulled his hand through his hair he felt that his discom vibrated and checked it to see that it was an article from the factory news outlet that went out to everybody registered as a slum resident.


    It a news article about some scanner codes that been stolen and these stolen scanner codes was used in random robberies of rich people. Right back at them Elias tough and then read on about how the slum residents should keep themselves at home to not be mistaken for being a terrorist.


    Well, that didn''t bother Elias because he had the systems own approval to be out and about. Not even some scared brat could stop him from that now, and why would he even care if that poor poor brat lost his hard earned money?


    He was not afraid of being targeted because people from the slums stayed together and crimes against other slum residents were unheard of in this day and age. Some old-timers had told them that the system did save the slums in that aspect, before the great war the rich had put poor against poor. Something about a quote that said, ¡°When the rich men wage war, it''s the poor men that die.¡±


    ¡°Look, I said that this caf¨¦ sucks and there is always some dirty slum rat hanging around this place.¡± He heard someone say and looked over to the small caf¨¦ and saw two well-dressed girls sitting there and talking.


    ¡°Well, It¡¯s funny to see how they dress in the slums! Just look at his dirty old pants, they must reek so bad¡± Replied the other girl and Elias realized that they were talking about him.


    He rolled his eyes and wondered if everyone outside the slums were this shallow and sheltered. Then he didn''t need a soulmate and the world could just burn from a nuclear fire.


    Elias mood was going dark and he felt he had to get away before he told the girls off, they were not worth it and probably too stupid to understand anything about him or the slums. He peeked at his watch and realized that it just been five minutes since he last checked and started to walk down the street. He passed the twins that looked out of placed even though they were not that downed dressed as him. They were now peeking at him when he passed them and he sighed as he figured they were scared of him like everyone else in this part of the small world.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    When he reached a shop with a big front window he saw in the reflection that the twins were arguing and then both stopped and checked their bracelets and then glanced at him. He was shocked and could not help to peek at his own bracelet but it was still white.


    He shrugged and looked at what the store had in the display window and almost started laughing. There was a mannequin wearing a pair of clearly new jeans with a lot of wear and tears. Who would even think about selling new jeans with holes in them?


    He looked down at his own worn down pants and the gaping holes at the knees and he smiled. In this twisted city, he was actually kinda fashionably with his slum jeans and he could still not wrap his head around that anyone could buy already torn pants.


    Rich people were so weird that it baffled Elias how the world could even keep spinning. Here he was wishing he had money to buy new and clean pants and they were selling torn jeans for more than he could ever wish to own.


    Code, computers, and robots he could understand but people seem so illogical. A computer always told you what it was processing at the moment while a person hides their emotions and thoughts for some reason. If a computer broke down you could fix it with a software or hardware based code, but a human being had to get drugs and therapy.


    When he checked the reflection he saw that the twins stood closer to him and was still arguing over something and one of them pointed at him and whispered something. Elias just waited for them to say something about him or the slums but he could hear one of the twins saying ¡°Ask him then!¡±


    ¡°No, you do it¡± whispered the other girl as a reply and Elias could not stop from feeling nervous. He clenched his fist that felt sticky now and his mouth was drier than a furnace but he faced his fears and turned around to face the girls.


    ¡°So, did you need something from me?¡± He forced himself to ask and meet the girls gaze and he felt his cheeks go red and he cursed his stupidity.


    As he wiped his sweaty palms against his pants and tried to smile at the girls he still thought they looked out of place and they looked as nervous as he was.


    ¡°Well! you see we, saw you outside¡± The girl with the pink hairpin started.


    ¡°The seminar hall and..¡± continued the other one that had a blue hairpin.


    They shared a look and then nervously looked at him and Elias could not help himself and he finished with ¡°you''re wondering if I''m going to the seminar ?¡±


    The twins smiled at him and both of them nodded a yes in reply and then they both started to blush. Elias suspected that these girls felt as lost as him and that they were not from the central city or even from the rich area, maybe they were cultivators?


    He nodded a reply to that he was attending the seminar and they got worked up and they both grabbed each of his arms and then started to pull him to the glass building.


    ¡°You will sit with us, won''t you?¡± The pink hairpin asked and smiled at him when he just gave them a dumbfounded expression as a reply.


    ¡°Why?¡± He thought out loud and the girls just looked at him and then they started to snicker at his dumbfounded expression.


    ¡°We are from the southern cultivation zones, we don''t know anyone here¡± Explained the blue hairpin and let her sister continue


    ¡°And we wanted to get to know someone and grandmother always told us to grab the radish out of the ground before it went bad.¡±


    ¡°I see¡± Elias replied and taught over the answer they given him for a while and then added. ¡°Your grandmother seems like a wise woman¡±.


    The girls laugh out loud without a care in the world and while they lead him inside they introduced themselves as Freja and Ella.


    Ella was the pink hairpin and Freja the blue one, they both had thick blond hair and blue shining eyes. And a healthy sunburn that witnessed that they actually were from the cultivation zone and were used to working outside on the fields. They bombarded him with questions about the slums and how it was to work in the factories and before Elias even had the time to reply to all there question a clock started to ring and he realized that the seminar was about to begin.


    ¡°We should start moving into the seminar hall before they close the doors¡± The twins agreed and they started to make their way inside the great hall while the twins explained how it was to be cultivators.


    They talked about how plants made sense and that where the only thing in the world that made sense and Elias told them about the robots and computers. When the tall doors to the hall shut closed the twins laughed at a story about when he tried to make a robot make dinner for him and his family and the aftermath of that failed experiment.


    They became quite when a woman raised her voice to welcome them to the seminar for the system paid trip around the world in the last effort to find their faithed ones. Elias and the twins sat down at the back of the hall and Elias tried to wrap his head around the twins and why they even wanted to talk with him.

 Chapter 6 - Liam 16th may - 14:20

    The weather was warm and clammy when Liam left the cool speerail cart at the CC Paris station. He sighed and rolled his eyes when he saw that this platform was full of people from every path of life.


    In this case, those people actually help Liam with his plan to mess a bit with the young lady in the cart. She had not noticed that Liam was on the same cart as her and he decided to take a step into the crowd to hide from her.


    As the black-haired maiden stepped out on the platform the two girls from the second cart came up to her and the maiden stared at them in horror. Liam knew exactly how he would have felt if it were him they came up to in a place as this.


    ¡°So, Liam said you would take us to a party and introduce us to some rich boys.¡± The blond-haired exclaimed with fake enthusiasm and continued


    ¡°He said that he would visit you if you did¡±


    And the look of sheer disbelief and horror he saw in the young lady''s face made Liam feel all fuzzy inside and he could not help himself from grinning. He had offered the girls some money and the chance of a party if they did this for him and they jumped at the chance, money and rich boys. Liam decided to leave them and sneak off further into the crowd, the whole thing could blow up in the wrong way if she saw him there with that big grin on his face.


    But he heard some protest and some more argument that Liam had said she would.


    As he came out of the sea of people he was warm and sweaty, two things Liam hated to be. And to his dismay, he remembers that the inner city of CC Paris did not have any roads to travel on.


    Sure, roads and cars where a luxury only a few people in the world had these days. After the great wars ended almost all the fuel was used up and that left the fuel price really high. And to maintain a working road was not that cheap either for that matter, they had to get workers to get on their lands every year and with the worker came the price of reliable security too.


    As he stood in a relatively empty area of the station he decided to pick up his discom to check after some sort of transportation to the hotel and he overheard some people talk about getting something to eat before the next speed rail.


    He felt his own stomach rumble and he wondered if he should get some food before going to the hotel, but as he were not familiar with eating on his own and any restaurants in CC Paris he had to check on his discom to see if there were any restaurants on the way to the hotel. As he looked at the map over Paris he saw that there were, in fact, some restaurants on the way to the hotel that looked like it were closer to the station that he first taught. So he started to walk down the cobblestone streets of CC Paris.


    As Paris had not been that bombed the city core still had a lot of old buildings, unlike CC London that was newly built on the ruins of the old world. Liam could not help it and were in awe of the old buildings as he walked with his bag over the shoulder.


    It felt good not being recognized every step he took but the warm sun was slowly killing his resolve to walk the way. But the beautiful buildings made it easier to take the next step, what kind of house could you find after the next block?


    Something walked into him and as he looked down he saw that a little boy lay on the ground before his feats. And a woman came over shouting at Liam that he could have hurt the little boy and had to look where he walked.


    ¡°Excuse me miss, but why are you not yelling at your son instead of me?¡± Liam asked in confusion and looked from the women he figured were the boy''s mother to the boy still laying there on the ground.


    Liam gave her a smile to smooth over the whole thing. Sure, Liam could take some of the blame but the boy had clearly walked into him. The smile did nothing to defuse the situation and the women just scowled at him.


    ¡°He is just a little boy, and you walked into him so I¡¯m yelling at you for having your head in the clouds¡± Answered the women and kept scowling at him. And Liam felt that his patience was running out.


    ¡°Look here miss, I¡¯m his elder and it¡¯s clearly your fault for not learning the boy to respect his elders. ¡± He said with a serious tone and hoped that the stupid fish would come to her senses and see her and the boy faults in this.


    But the women just help her son up and the turned around a spat on the ground right before Liam''s shoes and left. Liam just stood there like a question mark and peered after the duo. What had just happen? Where ordinary people this vulgar and extremely rude all the time, no wonder the world where tilted. He felt a pang of doubt that this trip was the right thing to do anymore. If people were treating other people like this the world was doomed from the start and why would he even want a soulmate that was a spawn of these people?


    A moment later Liam staggered in on a restaurant that he decided on from checking earlier. He stood there at the door and waited impatiently, he was both warm, clammy and felt dirty. But no waiter came to show him to a table and Liam looked around but there was no kind of person in the room.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The decor looked a bit old and used, if Liam weren''t so hungry he would have left to find something better. But now he was here and super hungry so he would eat if only a waiter came. He wondered if they all had a break or if they died in the heat.


    Liam bit his lip and started to get really frustrated that no one came to take care of him. This trip had not been living up to all the hype from his friends and he felt out of place in a world that seem to hate everyone.


    But an open restaurant would want customers right? And letting them stand for several minutes at the door is a really crappy business practice right?


    After a while, his stomach growled highly and he decided to go further in to look for someone to guide him and take his order. And he was not surprised to find two waitresses standing beside the bar and were busy with something.


    He let out a loud cough to let them know that a paying customer was standing here and not getting any help. The waitress looked at him but they had a questioning look on their faces. Liam let out a sigh and waited for a bit to give them the chance to redeem themselves from this fiasco of customer service.


    ¡°Eat or drink¡± Asked one of the waiters and the other one continued to wipe down the bar top with a rug. Liam felt how he was starting to build up a not so healthy frustration with the normal people.


    ¡°Eat, of course, have been waiting for almost 10 minutes to get a table.¡± He said with a tone that made clear that he had enough shenanigans from them.


    The waiter looked a bit confused and shared a look with her colleague that had paused the wiping to look at him too.


    ¡°Waiting on what?¡± Asked the waiter


    ¡°On a table, so I can eat¡± Liam exclaimed slowly so the daft waiter could understand him. What is up with normal people and why are they so out of touch with social ethics.


    The waiter shrugged and then started to move to a table near the window and asked him if this were suitable for a real good sir that he was. Liam did not doubt that this was the restaurants best table and accepted it with a nod.


    And after a short while, the waiter came back with a laminated piece of paper that to Liam''s joy was a menu so he could order food. But nothing sounded like anything he had eaten before so he ordered the days special. To be honest, when he and his parents had eaten on restaurants they were considerably fancier and they did not even have a menu. But as his father was a bit of a snob they had their own chef that would travel with them and cook for them. And Liam had now started to feel that this was a big mistake because his grandmother had told him that if the service is bad, the chef is probably a slob too. But he needed to eat something and decided to eat the food for the adventure.


    Through the window, he saw how people rushed by but he noted that most of them were children and elderly. At lunchtime shouldn''t there be more people running around and why were the children not in school and why had the elderly time to loiter around.


    With a shake of his head he let out a deep sigh, the food was still not here and he could not understand how normal people could live such a hateful and lazy life.


    He looked down at his bracelet and wondered if he would find his soulmate, he knew that his soulmate would gain the most from getting matched with him.


    But would she even comprehend what Liam was feeling and wanted to do in order to change this dysfunctional world?


    Most of his relatives found their soulmates from the higher classes, it''s logical that they would.


    They understood each other on many levels but then there was Liam at the top, who from the lower classes could grasp the top?


    He felt that he was doomed to meet a girl from the slums, a poor and lazy girl that would drive him crazy. His father had met his mother at the age of 7 on an event and they were happy, but then again they were from the same class.


    A small cough took him back to the restaurant from his thoughts, it was the waiter that wanted his attention. She had and tray with the daily special and Liam stomach growled a response to the cough.


    ¡°An onion soup with a smoked duck toast¡± She proclaimed and started to place the two plates on the table and Liam gave her a nod. She scampered away to do stuff that waiters do when the customers didn''t see them.


    He eyed the soup and sighed, it looked like onion water with a layer of oil at the top. And the toast looked like it was prepared a week ago and for the first time in Liam¡¯s life, he felt homesick. But he was hungry so he dug into the soup and tried the toast, but he could just manage a few spoons and bites. He reached for the salt and started to apply a good amount, if it only tasted salt it would not taste so bad he figured.


    He won the battle and finished both the dishes and his stomach felt less empty. But it was not a good experience at all and he decided to ask at the hotel''s he was gonna stay at what restaurants were good for his next meals on this trip.


    The waiter understood that he was finished after multiple attempts got their attention with looks, discrete waves and in the end snapping of his fingers. But his waiter moved slowly to get over to him like he offended them both.


    ¡°Did the food taste good?¡± She asked and gave him a smile that let Liam knew something was wrong. He got a lump in his throat and he tried to figure out what was wrong and what he could do to fix it.


    The two waiters looked at each other and Liam understood that there was a secret there and he knew that a secret often is a negative thing for those who are not in on it.


    ¡°How much should I pay¡± He managed to get out in a level voice and he sounded calm, but on the inside, some sort of panic was brewing. And he lifted his discom to let the girl swipe it so he could pay but she only smiled at him.


    ¡°Young sir, there seems to be a mistake.¡± She said slowly and she was grinning and he thought he could hear a small snicker from the bar.


    ¡°We figured that you were a beggar so we gave you last weeks food, and of course it''s free of charge.¡±


    Liam stood up in an instant and left the restaurant but those twos waves of laughter followed him out on the streets. Now he just wanted to throw up and decided to go to the hotel as fast as possible.


    As he reached the hotel lobby most of his anxiety had died down, and he felt more at peace with the whole thing. But he told himself to close that restaurant with any means possible, they would pay for their crimes of making him the butt of a very bad joke. He could have died from the food and they just laughed at him.


    The man standing behind the receptionist counter perked up and gave him a welcoming bright smile. And before Liam could say anything the man picked up two keys and laid them on the counter.


    ¡°Mr. Eidler, we have been waiting for you.¡± The man said and looked Liam over and then asked ¡°Did you find the trip interesting and pleasant¡±


    Now Liam knew that this man did not know anything about his trip but he could not help himself from scowling at the man who got a look of sheer panic. The man took a while to regain his composure but Liam gave him that time, it was not his fault.


    ¡°Would the young sir need anything else, like some nice company or a message maybe?¡± The man said as Liam took the keys from the counter. Now after this hell of a day a massage sounded like something he could need.


    ¡°Well, that offer sounds good. Just send someone up in an hour or so¡± Liam said and turned around to meet the piccolo that took his bag from him. And they took the elevator to the top floor to his room.


    Well, the room was the wrong word for a penthouse with all the luxury a man of Liam stature would need to feel at home. The bed was screaming his name and he almost fell for its temptation but he needed to get a good long hot bath before the masseuse came.

 Chapter 7 - Elias, 16th May - 11:15

    Elias and the twins were seated in the back of the seminar hall. It felt odd to have two identical girls with bright smiles on either side of him. He was still not sure why they were talking and hanging around him, but it felt good to have someone to talk too.


    The strange thing was that they choose him, a boy from the slum and not a city person. The city folks appreciated people from the cultivation zones, without them there was no food. He hoped that this wasn''t a bad joke they played on stupid boys from the slums. The hall felt so big it like you could fit a hundred people in it. But there were only three more people in the hall so it felt big and empty.


    The other three were one girl and two boys, they sat some chairs from each other. But the two boys were sitting close and it looked like they were whispering and glancing at the lone girl.


    She was obviously not comfortable with the whole thing and she continued to fidget with her glasses and kept looking back to avoid their gazes. Elias could not understand what the two boys were whispering like two school girls about. But then again he had hard to understand people in general, so he was not that shocked about not understanding.


    "I think that glasses girl is interested in you" Ella whispered and snickered as she elbowed him in the stomach in a playful way.


    Elias felt how his cheeks went bright red and he slid down in the seat to not proclaim his blush for the world. Well, he didn''t blush from Ellas whispers, but from Ella''s closeness. He was not used to girls and close proximity with them.


    "Ella, aren''t you a bit close?" Freja asked and leaned in against Elias. He looked from one girl to the other and tried to comprehend this predicament.


    Could you overheat like an engine blowing out overpressured steam? In this case, the engine was his head and it felt hot and red.


    The girls looked at each other and snickered even more before they sat up in their seats and gave him a look. Ella opens her mouth to say something but the door to the hall opened wide.


    All the heads in the hall snapped to the door, where a middle-aged woman with a youthful sheen stod. She looked like a newly polished piece of metal that you knew where restored and second hand.


    Elias had seen tons of women and some men have this aura of youthfulness. And he knew exactly where it came from, a piece of technology made and programmed in the slums and in the factory Elias worked.


    And he hated it and the people that used it, he had seen the horrors from the trails they had done before it was usable. Destroying poor people''s lives, to look a bit younger. The worst part is that these people didn''t care at all if people died for their vanity some poor person died for their vanity. It only made them look younger, but they were still as old on the inside and would still die from the same sickness.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The women walked slowly up to the podium and looked at each of them, holding their gaze for a few seconds and then sighed loudly.


    ¡°My name is Rita Fein, and I''m a representative from the System HQ.¡± She said with a bored tone and flipped her papers before she continued


    ¡°Today you are here because you all just turned 18 years old and are still alive, congratulations to you all¡±


    She droned on about how lucky they were that the system was taking care of them and that they should feel grateful for their lives, and that the system was in place. Rita Fein did not seem to like her work at all and read from the piece of paper she had with no emotion at all. She had an accent Elias could not place, but then again Elias had not met that many people outside the slum. And the funny thing about the after-war world where that the council had decided that everybody should speak the same language and that would be English. But there were still accents, but he guesses that where normal when you discard a entire language.


    Rita turned to a large display screen and started mapping out a travel plan that the system had sat for maximal exposure to people with a laser pointer. Elias felt restless and wonder why he had to waste his precious time in a hall with a woman that did not care for them or her job.


    This whole thing was just a ploy to get some more system propaganda in before they were let out into the world. All this information could have been tucked into a discom app, with an interactive map and all.


    After 20 minutes of monotone droning Rita turned to the bored youths and sighed and took a short water break before continuing about how the system was gonna pay for their trips and lodging. Elias was hit by the reality that he had a chance his sister never had, but he still felt that it was odd that they had to survive their fated birthday before the system cared when loads of richer younglings were off to travel when they were 16 years old.


    ¡°If you want to live in more expensive places you have to pay for out of pocket.¡± Rita said and looked sternly at them and added while she looked eyes with Elias ¡° And, don''t steal other people¡¯s money or property!¡±


    ¡°That''s that, should we start then?¡± Ella said while leaning in close again. Elias meets her eyes and for the first time noticed the deep blue color they had that was glittering like a vast sea.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this started then!¡± Freja said as she also leaned in close and smiled at him. Elias looked back and forth and were trying to figure out what they meant with it.


    ¡°Start what?¡± He whispered after a while and tried to stay calm with these two girls so close. The twins looked at him then at each other and started to snicker again.


    ¡°Out adventure of course¡± Ella started and gave him a smile and Freja continued ¡°So let''s go!¡± They grabbed an arm each and got him to his feet. Elias was afraid that Rita would say something about staying to the end of the seminar.


    But Rita Fein just looked at them and then continued about that you get registered at the front desk and that you could take off. She even looked a bit glad that people were starting to leave, she must hate her job.


    The twins dragged Elias out of the hall and they were brimming with joy and excitement and Elias felt so grateful to them. Their happiness was contagious and Elias started to feel at ease with the situation as they scanned their discoms at the front desk.


    As the twins danced out of the building Elias felt a pang of anxiety about if he would live to travel with them. It sounded kinda fun to hang out with these girls and exploring the world with their positive attitudes.


    ¡°So are we off to the slums to get your stuff first? ¡± Freja asked as they walked down the street to the speed rail station. She a few steps ahead of him and turned around to walk backward as he replied ¡°If it''s not that much out of the way?¡±


    ¡°Well, you are to accompany us home too so it''s only fair that you get to present us to your mother first¡± Ella said as a reply and Elias just looked at them dumbfounded and Freja added ¡°It¡¯s common knowledge that mothers care for who your child is taking on a trip around the world¡±


    Elias looked at them and gave them both a big smile. And hoped he would not lose them during the trip to find three soul mates.

 Chapter 8 - Liam, 16th May - 20:23

    There was a light knock on the door and on Liam''s invitation a girl came into the room and introduced herself with a curtsy. She was dressed in a shimmering dress of some kind of silk that complimented her figure in a good way, but her eyes were clear blue and were framed by black thick hair. Liam could not lie to himself about her appearance, she was beautiful and obviously cared for her appearance and how people saw her. The kind of girl that would never have to use that strange technology that gave people a youthful appearance.


    As any high-class hotel, they had a massage bench in the bedroom. It was common knowledge that you were stiff and tired after travels and needed something to get you to loosen up. And Liam laid down on the bench and waited for a bit but the girl just stood in the door and looked at him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get on with it then¡± Liam explained and started at the girl and wondered if everyone outside of the British island were daft. But the girl shrugged and took a position beside the bench and started to give him a message.


    ¡°Does it feel good?¡± She asked and Liam just stared at her feet. To be honest she kinda sucked at giving this kind of service, not even using essential oils that had a smell of wonderful flowers.


    She took a small pause and Liam figured that she went to pick out some oils but she started the massage again and nothing had changed. After a small while, he saw something strange, the hem of her dress was missing in his field of view. The only thing he could see where sunburned legs and feet. He could not help himself from turning the head to see where the hem had gone, and to his blushing horror, a naked stomach met his gaze. This daft girl had undressed right in front of him and was not even ashamed of it.


    What Liam could think of as a possible explanation was that this girl was poor and jumped at the chance with the greatness that was Liam. But he hated that he let it affect him to the point of blushing, but then again this girl was a pro at this and very beautiful.


    He sat up and avoided to look at the naked girl, and he hoped that the dim light masked his red cheeks. The girl met his eyes and they were sparkling with anticipation and she pouted her lips in a seductive way.


    ¡°I am so sorry, sir!¡± The girl said and then sat down on her knees before him and gazed up at him and continued ¡°I thought you wanted me to undress with the stares you gave me, sir¡±


    Liam was dumbfounded and just stared at her for a moment and then looked at the wall. Something was off with the girl, she felt like she wanted to do this but something felt like she were so scared of doing anything wrong. Like a hanging threat of physical harm if she did something wrong.


    ¡°I know that I''m beautiful and rich, but I just wanted a message.¡± He said when he collected his thoughts. The floral decor helps him forget about the blue eyes and the naked sunburn skin, and after some thoughts, he figured that she was not from the slums at least. It''s commonly known that sunburn is something that comes from working outside, and the slum people worked inside for most of the time and the pollution made it hard for the sun to reach them.


    ¡°Then, why didn''t you order a masseuse?¡±


    The girl looked at him in confusion and Liam looked back at her with the same confusion. If she weren''t a masseuse what was she and why was she here giving him a message?


    He decided to go over the clues that he had before him, shining and neatly cut black hair, lustrous lips and eyes to die for, and a dress that showed off her assets. With a sinking feeling, he came to the conclusion that this girl was here to give another kind of service than he first taught. And when you come to a conclusion that tells you that you made a big mistake there are two courses of action you can take, fake it until you make it or own up too it and resolve the problem. Liam chooses the first.


    ¡°But, I thought you were one.¡± He told her in a matter of fact tone and kept his eyes on the flower pattern on the wall.


    The girl let out a burst of loud klining laughter and Liam felt that his cheeks were becoming even redder. He understood that this girl saw through him like he was made of a thin sheet of glass.


    ¡°I''m certainly not!¡± She exclaimed and smiled at him and her eyes seemed genuine for the first time since she entered the room.


    Liam could not accept that a girl had made him lose his footing and put him in a kind of situation that could cast him in a bad light. Sure, everybody respected ladies of the night but it''s frowned on from the social class he came from. As an escape, he started to put on his shirt but he stopped when he meets her questioning gaze from where she was sitting in front of him on the floor.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I''m only 16 years old, you know.¡± He murmured and hid in the shirt that was now half draped over his head and shoulders. Liam wanted to escape out of the room and never come to Paris again, they were not daft here they were completely mad.


    ¡°Honey, you are on the younger side for a customer but then again according to the system you are of age.¡± She said when she got up from the floor and seated herself on the big bed and waited for him to stop hiding in his shirt.


    Liam could only remember the stories from his friends of these kinds of girls that make a living by renting them self out to others. And it made him highly uncomfortable, not that she wasn''t beautiful but it felt plain wrong on so many levels. A thing the social elite despised were bastards, and for Liam to risk getting one is by far the most stupid thing he could do on this adventure. And the worst thing was that he could not devise a plan to get rid of her without talking to her and that meant, stop hiding in your stupid shirt like a little kid.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a customer, I refuse to rent you¡± He explained when he was fully dressed and looked naked girl on his bed. Liam hated the fact his voice sounded young and squeaky and not stern and grown up.


    ¡°Honey, I got paid for three hours and it''s only been half an hour so whether you like it or not I have to stay for the remaining time.¡± She said and laid down in the big bed. Her sunburned skin stood out form the snow white sheets and it looked like a painting from were Liam stood.


    How should he deal with this? What would his dad have done?


    After a short while when she figured that Liam would not make her company she went to her bag and took out her discom and then laid down on the bed with a sigh.


    ¡°Sure, but can you please get dressed again?¡± He asked after regaining his composure. It felt like he would have a heart attack from the culture shock of having a naked lady of the night in his bed. When he left on his adventure nothing had made any sense and he had met some really rude and awful people, and the day ended with this?


    She did not say anything and got dressed before returning to the bed again and Liam sat down on the bed too, he was intrigued by her on some level.


    ¡°Can I ask why you do this kind of work?¡± He wondered and the girl looked up from the discom screen.


    ¡°I guess that I have to earn money to survive¡± She muttered and Liam could not grasp what she had said.


    Of Course, you need money to survive, but is it worth renting yourself out like this in the nights?


    ¡°But what does your soulmate say about this kind of thing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Well, the dead are really the quiet types.¡± She said and gave him a smile before continuing ¡°You see, My husband died one day on the fields and I do not have any skills other than being beautiful.¡±


    ¡°But, it''s not an occupation I recommend for the young sir¡± She added and gave him a big brimming smile. Liam laughs at that and the tension in the room faded away slowly.


    ¡°But what about your family, can they not help you with money?¡± He asked and he started to understand why these kinds of adventures would change who you are. In the very core of his being, he felt a sort of hopelessness over that the world even had a place for the ladies of the night.


    She looked at him then she sighed and put away the discom and sat up. As she started to braid her hair she answered with ¡°Out on the fields, you only got you! After you find your soul mate you are not welcome to the family house except for short visits. Nobody has time or money to help out anymore and your problems are your problems.¡±


    ¡°Oh, how rude of me to not ask for your name¡± Liam exclaimed.


    He couldn''t care less for what this poor girl was called but it was courtesy to present oneself or ask for a name if they did not offer one them self. But he kinda liked this girl for her refreshing way of speaking to him, direct and honest. A rarity in Liam''s life where everybody wanted to be his friend or gain something from him.


    ¡°How nice of you to ask, its Zo?y¡± She answered.


    ¡°So Zo?y, what is the worst thing with being a¡­ lady of the night?¡± He asked out of curiosity.


    ¡°Liam, I am a whore¡± She proclaimed and Liam winched at the harshness of her language, that was something he was not used to or doubted he would ever be.


    ¡°But to answer the question, it¡¯s by far the violent ones¡± She continued and gave him a dark look.


    Now here was something Liam could not understand. Why would anyone be violent with a girl when making love, wasn''t it supposed to be soft, gentle and wonderful?


    Liam felt that his views of the world were tilted and that people were worse of then he thought, but then again these people could not handle themselves at all. It was Liam''s elders that were the one in fault over this, they need to keep the general population on a tighter leash.


    ¡°So, they do it too hard or what?¡± He could not stop himself from asking and he could not stop himself from blushing again. These kinds of questions were not something you talked about with strangers.


    Before she could answer there was a discrete knock on the front door to the hotel room and Liam started to move to the door. But Zo?y put a hand on his shoulder to stop him and made a hushing movement with her finger, with her bag in hand she went to the door and went out.


    He stood there dumbfounded a short while before going over to the door to make sure it was locked.


    ¡°No, He did not even touch me. I think he just wanted some drinking company and after an hour of bragging he passed out.¡± He heard Zo?y say in the corridor.


    Why would she lie about him like that?


    When no reply came he understood that she had talked to someone on her discom but he felt betrayed and hurt from the lie. Had he treated her wrong in some kind of way that made her want to smear his good name like that? With a shake of his head, he decided that he was glad that she left his life and hoped to never meet Zo?y again.

 Chapter 9 - Elias,16th May - 17:00

    The trio had just gotten off the speed rail and the twins were gawking at the sight, they had never been to the slums before.


    And Elias knew that most of the people were shocked the first time even if they came from the cultivation zones. Even though the cultivation zones were only a tad better then the slums, they did not have any homeless people.


    Most of the homes in the slums were owned by the factories, so in order to have a home, you had to work in one of them. They docked a bit of your pay for an apartment so they could have lower rent, but if you didn''t have a job in the factories, you most likely did not have a home.


    As they walked down the streets to his home he felt shame, for the twins this was a new sensation but this was his reality. All the problems in the slum were his problems, even if he could not change anything there was still a feeling of belonging here.


    The twin looked at him uncertainly and Elias ignored them the best he could, he did not want to explain the differences of the slums and the cultivation zones right now. He knew how the cultivation zones worked, his mother had told him about it as she came from them. His parents had tried to get a life there when they found each other, but Elias father did not know anything about the fields or growing anything on them. His mothers family had thrown them out and they went back to the slums and got jobs.


    Now his father was a foreman at a factory that made the displays for the discoms and his mother was a cleaner in the same factory. But as his mother was a genius in making money she had started a small side business as a sandwich vendor at the small rest area in the factory. So when the workers had a few pennies over they would spend them on his mother''s famous vegetable sandwich.


    As Elias came to a stop both of the twins looked at him with bright smiles and then looked at the building.


    ¡°Is this where you live?¡± Freja asked.


    As Elias gave her a nod he feared that they would look shocked that this old building was his home, even feel pity for the poor slum rat that he was. But they just looked, excited and curious.


    ¡°So are we gonna stand out here or go in?¡± Ella asked after a little while.


    ¡°I don''t have that much to pack, so you can wait outside if you like?¡± Elias asked a bit hesitantly.


    ¡°Elias, get over your self and we are following you in¡± Freja declared and put a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°We don''t care that you come from the slums or don''t have that much money!¡± Ella exclaimed and gave him a soothing smile.


    Elias blushed and showed them the way in, and what steps to avoid in the stairway. He didn''t want them to hurt themselves in the slums and figured they didn''t want to take this trip with leg casts on. As he opened the door to the apartment he could here a light cough and in an instant, he knew that his mother was home today.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    The apartment was dark and still except his mother''s coughs, they had to save money on electricity and the pollution made the windows have a dark tint to them. His motherer fell ill sometimes from the pollution, a trait someone has when they are not raised in the slums and gets immunity to the pollution.


    ¡°I''m home¡± He shouted and took the twins deeper into the apartment.


    The twins did not follow him and as he turned around to see why he saw that they were fiddling with their shoes.


    ¡°No point in taking them off, the floor is dirtier than your shoes.¡± He told them and they just looked at him with amusement and followed him.


    At the kitchen table with a cup of tea, his mother sat and she looked at them when they entered. She looked tired and her eyes were red from the reaction of the pollution sickness but she still greeted them with a smile.


    Her eyes flickered to his bracelet when she saw the two girls and he could see a flash of disappointment on her face, but she quickly hid it again. The twins pushed past Elias and went into the room to greet his mother, where did they get their excitement from?


    ¡°Elias, who are these lovely young ladies?¡± His mother asked and smiled at both girls who were brimming.


    ¡°The pink one is Ella and the blue one is Freja¡± Elias answered with a smile as his mother looked more at ease and had a smile on her lips.


    The twins and his mother started to speak about everything between the earth and the heaven so Elias backed out and went to his room to pack up his things. When he had said that he didn''t have that much to pack, it was no understatement. Within a couple of minutes, he had packed all his clothes into a backpack and were done. As he once again was out in the dark corridor he heard that the girls were explaining something to his mother and she chuckled.


    It felt good to hear his mother laugh again, it was something she almost never did anymore, not after his sister died. But he knew that the twins had some sort of energy that made you feel more, lively and happy.


    He hesitated a bit before entering the kitchen again. As his mother was having a moment now with the twins he didn''t want to ruin it with his presence. Elias hated that he felt like his whole existence hurt his mother right now, he loved her and did not want to see her sad anymore.


    As he entered the kitchen with his bag on his back they looked up at him and then continued with their conversation. Good, he had not ruined it for them!


    ¡°Are you staying for dinner?¡± His mother asked when they were done with catching up on the latest news from the cultivation zones.


    ¡°No, we are going to catch the last rail to the cultivation zone to get the twins stuff¡± Elias answered and everybody could hear the load growl that came from the depths of his stomach.


    ¡°Well, it sounds like you need something to eat. I¡¯ll make some sandwiches for you to eat on your way then¡± His mother decided and the twins got excited again, they seem to love food he noted.


    The door flung opened and Elias father came in trailing mud from the outside. He saw Elias stand in the doorway to the kitchen and he froze when he heard the laughter from the kitchen. Elias smiled at him and showed his white bracelet and his father just gave him a tired look. But there was a flash of a smile when he heard that Elias mother was laughing in the kitchen and he snook up to the doorway and peered in.


    ¡°Girls, this is my dear old husband¡± Elias mother introduced his father.


    They curtsied to him and then continued to help his mother make sandwiches. And his father motioned Elias to follow him back into the corridor.


    ¡°So, where are you off too then?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Tonight we will stay at Ella and Freja''s house and tomorrow we are catching the first rail to Denmark¡±


    ¡°Ah, the yearly harvest festival?¡± He asked and smiled at Elias.


    Before he could answer Ella and Freja came out and gave Elias a wrapped sandwich, and his mother trailed after them and with a look at the clock reminded them that they needed to hurry if they wanted to catch the last rail.


    So they said their goodbyes and Elias felt a bit sad when he looked back at his parents as they closed the door. Would he ever be able to meet his parents again?

 Chapter 10 - Liam, 17th May - 08:12

    The thing with fancy curtains is that they are most likely made out of a thin and expensive fabric and, to be honest, those kinds of fabrics make poor curtains as they do not stop the morning sun from waking you up.


    Liam had just opened his eyes but felt that he wanted to sleep a couple of hours more, but the sun did not let him. Curse this awful place and zone, everything had gone awry as soon as he put his foot in France.


    Knock, knock, knock.


    Who would be at the door this time in the morning he grumbled and yawned while pulling on his pants. As he was newly awake he did not feel the need to rush to the door and took his time getting dressed so he would be presentable. But as he was done the knocking had turned in to some sort of fist fight between door and knocker.


    He had a sinking feeling that he had done something in his frustration the day before that prompted someone to be angry at his door. But he could not for his life think of anything, it should be him that vents his frustration on a wood door.


    But now the situation was what it was and now he had too clear up the misunderstanding.


    Now, Liam was usually a calm, level headed young boy but the world had made it clear to him that the world was not the same as him. So when the pounding at the door intensified he got angry.


    ¡°What do you think your doing, slum rat?¡± He almost screamed as he opened the door.


    It felt good to let his anger out on someone. Even if that someones were two bigger men that did not look all that friendly. Liam''s father had once said that if you started something you have to stay committed to that something, otherwise you would fail and people would judge you on that failure.


    So, even though the two men looked a bit intimidating he started them down and waited for them to answer him.


    The two men just stared back at him and the waiting game started, the first one to speak would lose and Liam was not about to give these goons any respect at all. One of the men nudged the other in the side with his elbow.


    ¡°Did you have a company by the name of Zo?y last night?¡±


    Asked the one with a bald head and a very crooked nose. Like someone just had grabbed it and made a scramble of it. But the thing that made Liam feel uncomfortable was the tiny pig eyes and his raspy voice.


    ¡°I did, but I fail to see how that is a concern to you?¡± He proclaimed and felt brave but that was most likely only the anger of being questioned like this. And he had learned that being abrupt and unfriendly was the way the French zone worked so why not talk back to them in the same way?


    ¡°You see, we are not bad men but you have to understand that we can be if you want us too.¡± Said the other man that looked rather good. This was most likely the ugly one''s boss and the one that made all the decisions.


    The two men looked rather comical when Liam thought about it. One big and ugly man with shabby clothes and the other rather handsome and nicely dressed. Even if they clearly came from the slums.


    ¡°So gentlemen, are you going to explain why you''re here at my door so early?¡± Liam asked and to make a point he only looked at the proper dressed one.


    Both men just looked at him with a questioning expression and then at each other. What happened next shocked Liam and for a second he felt like he was flying. But as gravity is a sure thing he felt the floor hit him hard in the back.


    It was a completely new sensation of having no air, being restrained and having something cold and sharp against his neck. Of course, he would be robbed here in Paris too, what had he expected when he woke up?This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The ugly one had his hands in a firm grip and as Liam tried to move them he realized that his hands would break before the grip. And the other man sat crouching over him and gave him a wicked smile.


    ¡°There, there, I get that someone wants to be rough and try new stuff and all that but you have to understand that there is a limit to how much damage you can do to merchandise. Can''t make money with selling broken plates, can you?¡±


    Had he broken any plates yesterday? No, he didn''t think so. Not even on that awful restaurant had he broken any plats what so over. But the men had asked if Zo?y had been there yesterday, so that girl had broken something then?


    But why in the systems name would he be held accountable for what that girl did after she left his room, she even lied and said that he got drunk and passed out?


    The sharp cold edge pushed harder against his throat and Liam tried to understand its purpose for being there.


    ¡°Do you get why we are here now, kid?¡±


    Liam collected his thoughts and tried to understand what this was all about, he felt that the refined man wanted an answer from him. But the only thing he could think about was the sour smell of the man''s breath and Liam did an adjustment of his assessment of the man, slum rat through and through.


    ¡°I do not remember anything getting broken, and if that distasteful girl did anything I can be held liable for that.¡±


    His patient was getting thin but he made a big effort to remain calm as he would not gain anything from making these rats anymore agitated.


    ¡°Kid, are you right in the head?¡±


    The ugly man asked and looked worried for some odd reason that Liam could not comprehend. But the refined man gave his partner the same worried look. This was a really odd experience for Liam and it felt like his playmates were not that sure about the whole thing either.


    ¡°Gentlemen, It''s not me that has forced myself into another mans room and it''s certainly not me that had wrestled that same man to the floor, so easy with the insults please.¡±


    Both the men looked shocked over Liam''s calm tone of voice, as did he. This was one of the moments that he showed them the class difference.


    He, a refined young man from one of the good families could remain calm when the plebeians resorted to violence.


    ¡°Boss, are you sure that this is the right guy?¡±


    The ugly one asked his partner who looked troubled with something. And it took him a while to gather his thoughts and Liam just patiently smiled at him and waited. Some people needed their time to be able to formulate a sentence and Liam would not judge anyone''s hardships.


    ¡°This is room 1911, right?¡±


    The refined man asked and Liam just answered with a shake of his head. It was all clear now that these two had gotten the wrong room, an honest mistake.


    Once the ugly man had gone to the door and read the room number again he came back with an astonished look on his face.


    ¡°We are on the wrong floor, boss¡±


    The refined man gave a sigh and got up from Liam and brushed off imaginary dust from his trousers. A habit he must have from being in dirty places all the time Liam thought and began to stand up.


    ¡°You have to excuse us, an honest mistake¡±


    Said the ugly one as he pulled Liam to a more vertical position and slammed his back within a breathtakingly friendly fashion. And before Liam could say anything both of the men had left the room and closed the door again, gone as fast as they came.


    One thing was sure, he would never stay a night more in this rotten city and he would take the first rail he could to the Danish zone. Surely not all the zones could be this full of madness and violence?


    He went to pack his bags a quickly as he could and ignored the discrete knocks on his door, Liam would not open that door again for anyone. But when the discom told him that is breakfast was at the door he felt his stomach growling, he had not eaten anything since that soup yesterday.


    Liam packed his bags and then opened the door hesitantly and there he saw a small boy with a wagon of slices of bread, cheeses, and fruits. A pure delight!


    As he sat down on the balcony to fully enjoy his meal he could hear a scream from a couple of floors down, the odd thing was that the scream traveled farther and farther away from him.


    The French and their odd morning routines!


    ¡°Damn it, Roger! I told you not to let go!¡±


    Someone suddenly exclaimed from somewhere down below. Liam recognized the owner of that voice and that would be the refined hoodlum he had met this morning.


    ¡°Sorry boss, but what''s done is done¡±


    The ugly man said as to answer the other man and Liam figured they were doing something odd on the balcony somewhere below. And that was not something he would spare a moment''s thought on, what''s over is certainly over!

 Chapter 11 - Elias, 17th May - 09:00

    Elias opened his eyes and stared up on the unfamiliar roof. It took him a while to understand why it looked so unfamiliar to him but then the events of last night came back to him. They had arrived late at night to the cultivation zone and were dead tired when they finally reached the twin''s parents home. To be fair, they had warned him about the hike and Elias had brushed it off.


    But his legs were numb like he had walked to the edge of the world and he pondered on if he would be able to even get up right now. He heard the girls having a cheerful conversation with their mom, whom Elias had met briefly before getting ushered to bed.


    He hadn''t noticed the little boy that sat peering at him on a sofa across the room from where the bed was and Elias felt a pang of panic. But the boy just smiled at him and rushed out of the room.


    ¡°Mom, mom! The boy is awake now!¡±


    The boy yelled as he ran into the kitchen and was sternly hushed for interrupting one of the twins.


    Elias got up and started to get dressed when he felt that someone was looking at him and he thought it was the curious boy but there was now a shy little girl at the door peeking. Just looking at him like she was trying to judge his future.


    But when their eyes met the girl shied back and from the footsteps running to the kitchen, Elias understood that he had scared her. As he finished dressing and peek out of the room both small kids had started playing some kind of game on the kitchen floor.


    The twins and their mother sat at a rustic wood table and the whole kitchen smelled like herbs and freshly baked bread. A weird sensation for someone that came from a place where the only thing that smelled was the pollution from the factories. As it was quite dark the night before when they had arrived Elias hadn''t seen that much of the twin''s mother, she looked to be a short, stout woman with a friendly but windswept face. But when it cracked up in a huge motherly smile Elias felt all warm inside.


    The kitchen was the main room in the house, well the only room in the house. It was as if they had built new small rooms connected to the kitchen whenever they needed more space.


    It felt cozy and homey, two things nothing in the slum even came close too.


    ¡°You must be Elias, the girls have been talking non stop about you since they got home.¡±


    Their mother said with that warm smile and started to get up from her chair but Ella got up first and offered to get Elias some breakfast.


    ¡°My name is Mia if you didn''t know but I guess that the girls have told you that already¡±


    She made a gesture for Elias to sit down at the table and he complied with her request. He doubted that anyone would decline such an offer made with that warm smile. And Ella put out bread, butter, and tea and joined them.


    ¡°A rather shy boy but from what the girls tell me you are a good shy boy¡±


    She said after a short while and the twins started to blush. Something that made Elias smile, it felt like some sort of revenge from the all the times they had teased him so far.


    ¡°Mom, he doesn¡¯t have to know everything we say to about him¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Freja complained and stuck out her tongue and Ella joined her, a sweet and familiar rebellion. And their mother just chuckled and took a sip from her mug. Elias felt swept away by all the love and friendship they all shared until his discom started beeping, an alarm to let him know that they had to get ready for the speed rail trip to Denmark. The twins bolted to their rooms to get their last stuff and Elias continued eating as his stuff was still packed.


    ¡°They are good girls and I hope you can be with them a while¡±


    Mia said and as Elias meet her gaze he could see the sorrow and yearning for her girls to come home safe and sound. As Elias struggles to answer her she continued with.


    ¡°I trust that you will look out for them and Elias, try to get them home safe¡±


    Elias just started at her. But he felt the need to say something so he croaked out something that resembled a - yes, of course, he would.


    The twin''s mother gave him an approving nod and then all the sorrow was gone and the warm motherly smile was back. As the girls came back from their hunt for stuff to pack Elias felt calmer. He had a hard time dealing with human emotion and he hated the fact that he hadn''t answered Mia properly when she clearly was concerned.


    ¡°Elias, we have to leave now if we want to catch the first rail to Denmark¡±


    Ella said as she made a sandwich for the road and he let out a loud sigh. Walking all that way back again felt like something he didn''t want to do ever again but he had to keep going. Not for his sake but for the sake of all the people that counted on him. Mia followed them a bit on the road but her legs protested after a while and she hugged them all and told them about the lunch she had packed.


    ¡°I will take care of them¡±


    Elias said as she turned away and he could see that she hid her tears from the twins. Ella and Freja, on the other hand, started to hum, or Freja tried to with half and sandwich in her mouth. He guessed that they knew but felt the urge to be strong and cheerful to not have a depressing potential last meeting with their beloved mother.


    As they continued there walk under the warm pre-summer sun they talked about everything they wanted to see and do in Denmark, there was some sort of music festival they were scheduled to visit. Something that Elias thought sounded fun, and he started to feel that excitement again.


    Ella and Freja were some steps ahead of him when Ella turned to ask about if Elias could ride a bike and if that was the best choice of transport to get from the Central city to the festival field. He assured them that he could ride a bike and he was baffled on how much the twins had studied the travel plan.


    ¡°You have to know where you''re going, otherwise you miss the scenery and only see the road¡±


    Freja said when she slowed down and matched Elias pace. She was not even winded and Elias felt like his lungs were coming out of him.


    ¡°Another of your grandmother''s wise proverbs¡±


    He asked between breaths and Freja chuckled and gave him a friendly pat on the back. Ella had gained some good distance on them and stood and waved at them to hurry up. Freja and Elias looked at each other and he just knew that they needed to pick up the pace if they wanted to reach the platform before the rail left it. As they reached her Elias had a hard time to take more steps as his legs felt like pure mush.


    But the twins danced ahead of him and he understood that they have lived completely different lives, even though they came from the same part of the world.


    When they both slowed down and a staggering Elias caught up with them they just looked him over with mischievous smiles. And he knew that they had done something to get revenge for the events of that morning.


    ¡°Just say it¡±


    He said after catching his breath for a little while and they smiled at him. He felt envious of these two girls soulmates out there because they were so radiant and beautiful when they had that smile on their lips.


    ¡°Its 20 minutes until the rail comes and we are here!¡±


    So they had rushed him on even though they had plenty of time but that didn''t matter as he was here now and the walk had been over with faster this way. He was one of those people that wanted to get things over with, especially bad things.


    He pinched them both on the arms at the same time and gave them a smile as they climbed the stairs to the platform. A calm bicycle ride in the cultivation zone of Denmark sounded like a nice experience as long as he didn''t have to walk for miles to get to the festival.

 Chapter 12 - Liam, 17th May - 09:30

    Liam stood at the front desk of the hotel and impatiently tapped his fingers against the polished desktop. There had been some commotion at the hotel that left Liam standing there alone while the receptionist was hiding somewhere. Well, the whole lobby area was deserted and he had started to wonder if the world had ended while he got dressed and missed that joyous event.


    But when no one came to check him out he decided to leave. As he didn''t want anything to stand in the way of him leaving this district, and its people.


    As he left the lobby of the hotel he saw that there was a large gathering of people outside and of course, the front clerk stood there talking to a guard. So he had left his post in the hotel to laze around outside but then again, he was not that surprised about it. Not at all.


    But he realized that he had to walk into the gathering to get to the other side of the street and with a sigh, he did just that. He tried to listen to why all the people were here but he could not make sense of the fragments of conversations. But he saw a cart that had been destroyed and someone had poured red paint on it, such weird people they were.


    As he got to the other side of the street he heard an old lady sobbing and acting, well, hysteric. He felt a headache lurking in the back of his head and he was doing everything he could to ignore the crazy women that just stared at everyone. Was she a mental case?


    He had heard about people that broke from the pressure of society, but he had never seen one. So it was out of pure curiosity he took a step forward to the women and got hit by something. As he looked up from his place on the ground he saw a sweaty man dressed in only cotton pants and a pulling harness, so a coach had run into him. Normally he would get that man arrested and fired from his job but now it felt more like a fated encounter.


    ¡°You will take me to the station and I will pay extra if you make it quick¡±


    He proclaimed to the coach as he got up from the ground. The driver just gave him a nod and Liam could see that he let out a sigh of relief at his demand. As the man had caused the accident to happen, he was liable for the property he destroyed and in this case it would have been Liam''s rather expensive clothes.


    The journey from the hotel and the station were very pleasant, no hurdles and the coach driver were aiming for a new world record to get that extra pay.


    And the driver had earned his extra money, they arrived at the station well before the time Liam had planned for. So he paid the man that bowed and scraped while ha tanked Liam so much for his patronage. Good men deserved to get a reward he thought to himself as he entered the almost empty station.


    Even the platform was empty but that did not bother Liam at all. The knowledge that he would soon leave this place and get on to an air-conditioned speed rail made him feel, happy?


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    But he could not relax fully until he sat in his seat in cart 1, the place where he belonged and no slum rats could ever enter.


    The platform was slowly filling up with people but at the end of the platform where Liam stood, there was plenty of space to breath. Most of the people were going to get on the other carts so there was no point in standing were cart 1 pulled up. He only hoped that no annoying acquaintance would show up and disturb his peace. Like they had on the ride to Paris.


    And as he sat down in his seat it seemed like that four-hour trips to Denmark would be rather calm and he let out a sigh of relief. He was finally out of this place and would travel to a more unknown part of the world. When the rail started moving he decided to check his social media, for the first time since he came to Paris.


    When he had left the British islands many of the girls in his school had told him how they would die without him and other dramatic things. But they all seemed to be in good health and went on with their lives like he just were just a side character in their lives. He had, of course, knowing that it would end up like this.


    Even if they had pulled on him to follow them to a secluded area to proclaim their love for Liam Eidler. He felt free for the first time of his life, out in the world he did not have to be that person.


    He saw there still were a bulletin out to warn the upstanding citizens about the discom robbers. What the hell did the bug hunters do? Would they just leave these slums to continue to rob and harass good people?


    As he pondered about why the system even felt the need to warn people about slum rats. Someone sat down next to him and Liam looked at the newcomer with obvious scorn.


    ¡°Well, Is that the way to greet an old friend?¡±


    A blond and rather handsome boy said to him and gave him a smile. And to be fair the boy was an old school friend of Liam so he did not lie about his rather rude greeting.


    ¡°Micheal! I am sorry for the poor greeting but I am so tired¡±


    He exclaimed and returned the smile.


    ¡°I heard that you were going around and seeing the world, rather stressful right?¡±


    ¡°If you only knew how messed up Paris are right now¡±


    As Liam told his story Micheal burst out in laughter several times, but it felt more like a friendly banter then heckling.


    ¡°So now you''re going to that festival in Denmark right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, have you been there?¡±


    ¡°Two years ago, I meet my soulmate there and it was super fun¡±


    Micheal continued to tell him the story about how he had met Lisa while taking shelter from a sudden summer storm under the canopy of a small stall. The weird thing was that he sounded so lovey-dovey and had a weird expression on his face while he told the story. Liam wondered if he was constipated or something.


    ¡°And where is Micheal going then?¡±


    ¡°The factories in Sweden, there seem to have been some accidents and they wanted management to come and fix the cause¡±


    Liam had hoped that Micheal was going to Denmark but of course the daft people of the slums made a good man like Micheal come and fix their stupid problems. Cant, they solve anything on their own?


    They continued to talk about school and friends as Micheal had left school last year he wanted to catch up on things. But the school had not changed all that much, same boring teachers and the same boring drama.


    But it felt good to have someone to talk too for a while, even if Liam wanted to explore the world alone. Micheal told him about Lisa even more and Liam felt that his interest was running out.


    ¡°You can sleep, I will wake you when we reach Denmark¡±


    Micheal told him and Liam took him up on that offer. He had not gotten that much sleep the last night even if the hotel bed were comfortable but something had felt wrong. So sleep took over fast as Liam felt safe and he knew he could trust Micheal.


    They had been on friendly terms for an early age, even if he were two years older than Liam.


    His last thought was that he missed his own room at the mansion, he even missed the scuffing from the maids sneaking around outside his room.

 Chapter 13 - Elias, 17th May - 10:55

    The speed rail to Denmark would only take about one hour and to pass the time Elias and the twins played a game. The rules were simple, the one that told the best background story for the other passengers on the rail won.


    But as Elias was about to tell his backstory for an older lady they were interrupted by a news broadcast that took over every screen display on the speed rail. This was something that rarely happened and they thought that something bad must have happened.


    ¡°At about 09:00 today a young man lost his life in the district of France, he was staying at the Molinar¨¦ hotel. It is said that he fell from his balcony and the guards have yet not ruled out murder.¡±


    The trio just stared at the displays in chock. The murder was not something that was unheard of but it was rare. And now when they were about to leave their home district they all felt uneasy about it.


    Ella and Freja started to whisper about something and Elias wondered if they have been spared from the harsh world. In the slums, people died all the time from sickness, prototype testing or just harsh conditions. And to be honest prototype testing should be viewed as murder by vanity.


    Sure, people signed up for them willingly but that was just because they needed money for their family.


    ¡°Is France part of our travel plan?¡±


    Freja asked when the screen displays returned to show the scenery. But Elias didn''t have time to answer before Ella said.


    ¡°It is, but I think it''s like the fourth stop or something like that.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it will be safe then?¡±


    Elias thought about the last question for a while, surely they would have caught the murderer by then. Guards are effective and get help from the system to catch murderers and they still haven''t ruled out suicide yet. But Ella reached the same conclusion as Elias and answered Freja that it should be safe by then and that it probably was just a suicide.


    Apparently, the suicide rates had raised since the whole soulmate thing. They had talked about that in Elias school. Something about that before people found their soulmates they were a little happy with life but now they find pure happiness and when one of the pair dies the other doesn''t see the point of living. They even said that suicide was bad for the world and a person that committed the act was a shame for every factory worker that had to cover the workload of one missing worker.


    The speed rail comes to a slow stop and they called out that they had arrived in the district of Denmark. So the trio left the rail behind them and stepped out on the small plaza outside of the station. Elias had thought that Denmark would look totally different from Sweden but it looked almost the same, even the people looked the same. Small streets and old buildings surrounded the plaza and the smell of newly baked bread lingered in the air.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°So should we eat or find a place to rent bicycles first?¡±


    Ella asked while peering at the old buildings as they walked down one of the small cobblestone streets.


    ¡°Can''t we just stop and get something to drink first, this heat is killing me¡±


    Freja answered her sister and Elias saw that they both looked hot so he pointed to a small open-air-caf¨¦. The twins happily went into the small house to buy some drinks and Elias sat down at an empty table. This felt so strange to him, leisurely sitting at a caf¨¦ waiting for a cold drink.


    The twins came out with a tray with glasses full of a dark liquid and ice, it looked so good in the heat.


    While they sat there in the shade and enjoying their cold drinks Ella took up her displaycom and Freja just told Elias what they would do at the festival. Music, dance and tons of food stands.


    ¡°I think we should rent bicycles here¡±


    Said Ella after a while and pointed on a map on her discom and Elias tried to understand why that was the best place and why Ella had chosen that place.


    ¡°You see, they rent point-to-point. That way we don''t need to get the bicycles back to the same store when we leave again¡±


    Freja nodded in agreement to what Ella had said like it was she that had said it all along. And Elias agreed that it sounded like a good plan, happy not having to deal with the hassle of keeping the bikes safe while enjoying a festival with a couple of hundred people.


    So they decided to drink up and head over to the bike store and start the journey but they had to walk for a bit and Elias still had cramps in his legs so it took them a while to get there.


    In true Ella fashion, she was ahead of to other two. Where did she get her energy from?


    ¡°Shouldn''t we be more cautious, they did warn us about robbers stealing codes right?¡±


    Elias asked Freja that kept the same tempo as him and he hoped that is was out of friendship and not pity.


    ¡°I think we can be at ease¡±


    She answered and gave him a questioning look and then continued.


    ¡°Robbers would not target a group of people in the middle of the open street in broad daylight, isn''t that a recipe to get caught?¡±


    ¡°But still...¡±


    ¡°Elias, you are such a mother hen¡±


    Freja quickened her pace to catch up with her sister but turned around to stick her tongue out at him and then gave him a big smile. When the girl was together they burst out in laughter and Elias felt that the whole mission of keeping them safe and all that would be a hard endeavor.


    They were almost at the store and just had to cross a small grove to get there. To Elias, the small grove felt like a wide and scary forest as he could not see anything but trees as they entered. It took them about ten minutes before they saw any sign of civilization again and the whole thing had made Elias feel uneasy like someone was watching him from behind every tree there was. A perfect spot to rob someone he thought to himself as they came out from the forest and out on a small paved street.


    But he could clearly see a line of people standing outside a small red house with a bicycle sign that said: ¡°Best wheel¡± and the twins hurried to line up.


    Apparently, there were many people going out to the festival and Elias hoped that there would still be some bikes left when it was their turn. He did not want to walk all the way there, or rather his legs would not make it there.


    ¡°I''m sorry girls, we only have two tandem bikes left¡±


    The clerk informed them when they finally got to the end of the line. This would not have been a problem if there had been more people in line but no one had entered the long line after the trio.


    ¡°But if you wait for a short while I am sure that someone will come wanting to rent a bike and then you can share?¡±


    The twins agreed to wait and they went outside to wait for someone to appear. This way they would save some money at least even if Elias wanted to get there and rest before the festival started.


    ¡°So how long do you think it will take before someone gets here?¡±


    He asked and before any of the girls could answer him there where a rustle in the bushes at the edge of the grove. A boy appeared in dirty clothes and a grim expression and he looked determined to destroy anything in his path.