Knock-knock.

I stop eating my salad and I pause. I listen for any more noise. 

Nothing.

The only sounds that fill the air are the usual background noises: The solar power generator, the heater, and the ice maker in the fridge.

I shrug and I resume eating my salad.

Knock-knock.

I pause again. Okay, I know I’m not hallucinating.

“Raven?” a voice calls through the door. I slowly stand and grab my gun. I creep toward my front door and look through the peephole. A woman with blue hair and brown skin is at the door. Letting out a relieved breath I open the door. “You’re still alive?”

I look at Misty’s ankle. No brace. No cast. 

She must’ve taken PiL

A blonde man, with fair skin, and cold blue eyes sneers at me, “Why would we be dead?”

Did I say that out loud?

‘Oops.’

I shake my head slightly and I wave my hand to dismiss the question. “Two things. One, who’s Blondie? And two, how’d you find me?” I ask Misty.

“I’m Ryan,” Blondie says, an attitude dripping from his voice. “You don’t remember?”

“I didn’t see your face for one. And…” I pause smirking devilishly, “You weren’t worth remembering.”

“Oh, I’ll give you something to remember!” Ryan huffs clenching his fists. I scoff, “Yeah, okay. I doubt you can land a hit even if I stood still judging by the way you fumbled with that gun yesterday.”

“I-It was- I didn’t fumble,” Ryan sputters. I snicker. He’s turning so red he rivals a tomato.

“I can’t work with someone like this, Misty,” Blondie growls.

“Work with?” I raise an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Misty says shyly, “We-” 

Blondie clears his throat. Misty corrects herself, “-I want to recruit you to our constellation: Alpha.”

“Constellation?” I ask. I run my tongue over my teeth, “How’d you find me, again?”

“Tracker. Ameteur,” Blondie sneers.

“Oh?” As if right on cue, a robotic spider crawls on my shoulder, “You mean this little guy?”

“Yeah?” Misty looks like she has a million questions running through her head. I continue, “So it sent the three signals I programmed it to?”

Silence. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I smirk. “Anyway, why did you disturb me”

“To recruit you to our constellation.”

“Which is?”

“Basically groups who band together to terminate the Shades. Major ones, like Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, have majority Stars. Minor ones like Eta, Kappa, and Xi, are majority, or all, civilians. Alpha is the biggest of Constellation because it’s supported by the Royals.”

“Stars and Royals?” I inquire.

“Stars are people who took PiL. And yes, Royals,” Misty explains.

“The Queen and Princess are gone,” I state, twisting my lips, crossing my arms, and leaning on my door frame. 

“They went missing and X is acting king.”

I scoff, “Went missing?”

“They disappeared,” Blondie says, irritated. “Are you slow?”

“Okay. Here’s the deal, Blondie. I’m just tryna get you to stop dancing around everything and just say it like it is. There are no Royals whatsoever. X ain’t king, never will be. And the Queen and Princess ran away, leaving us all in the dust like they jokes they are.”

Blondie punches me square on the side of my jaw, “You little - Come on Misty. We are not bringing that benign sack of flesh into our constellation.”

“Lemme guess, touchy subject.” I rub my jaw and wince. He packed a mean punch. 

“I’ll be waiting outside,” Blondie says. “I can’t stand to be near such…filth.”

I feign an offended expression. Then, when he’s out of earshot, I say, “I’m coming with you. It sounds like it’ll be…fun.”

“The drive is around three hours, and it won’t be guaranteed that you’ll be part of the elite squad,” Misty warns.

“Eh, I’m still coming. Just to torture Ryan,” I smile deviously. I motion for her to come inside, “I’ll pack a bag. Something tells me I won’t be coming back here for a while.”

Misty nods and I walk to my room. I get a duffle bag and stuff it with clothes, toiletries (a lady still gotta stay fresh and clean), some tech, weaponry, and my first aid kit. 

A picture catches my eye as I pass by my dresser. I stop and eye it. It’s a picture of my mother and me when I was a baby. I hesitate to reach for it. Nibbling on my bottom lip I weigh whether or not to take it with me. 

“Come on Raven, we’re losing daylight.”

I grab the photo and stuff it in a secret pocket. 

“Ugh. So she decided to come,” Blondie says in disgust when he sees us coming out of the building.

“Oh calm down, Blondie,” I smile, securing my duffle bag onto the back of my motorcycle. He growls and gets in his white Lambo. Misty gets in with him and they drive off, me following close behind. Blondie glares at me through the rearview mirror. I put my motorcycle on autopilot and look around, soaking in the sights. Not that there is much to see. Most of it is concrete jungles. Only a few areas are protected spaces where nature thrives. 

I sigh and soon enough we get to Royal Square. Yes, the Royals have their own sector - Sector D-1 - to themselves. We pull up to a large gate that has the royal crest on it. The guards scan the car and then my motorcycle and after a quick pat-down of my person, they let me through. 

Woah.

Royal Square is lively, with thousands of people milling around, most of which - if not all - took PiL. They are all wearing the royal colors: black, white, gold, and navy blue. I think this might be the most people I’ve seen in one place…

A while.

I slide my helmet’s visor down trying to avoid the stares. I am so not about this right now. Luckily Blondie leads us straight to, what I’m assuming to be, the royal tower.

Called The Point, it is a tall skyscraper - the tallest of them all and it stands in the center of Royal Square. It reminds me of when I was young and I would see the candy makers pull and twist the candy, only slightly, so that it would spiral. 

The top is pointed like it’s trying to pierce the vast sky.

Its imposing shape and size give off a sense of superiority. 

“We’re here,” Misty says through comms, breaking my daze. I sigh, “Finally! Who taught that one how to drive?” I point towards Blondie with my thumb. He mumbles something about low standards. 

Misty gets out of the car and I hop off my motorcycle, grabbing my duffle bag from the back. We enter The Point and immediately a robot pulls up to us.

“Hand him your things,” Misty instructs. I reluctantly hand over my duffel bag and Misty leads me to a glass elevator. It looks out on Royal Square and I peer at all the buildings. Some are tall and made of glass, while others are small and wide.

^DING^

I turn around to the elevator doors and before they open Misty warns, “Get ready.”

“For what?”

As the door opens Misty clears her throat, “Just be ready.”

I step out and a shiver runs down my spine. The room, the whole floor, is pitch dark. A smooth, but commanding, voice cuts through the dark, “Are you ready Raven?”

“Who are you?” I ask. “What do you-”

My body slams to the floor. 

“Your test has begun.”

My test?

“Good luck. You’ll need it.”