The room grew quiet, the only sound coming from my father's labored breaths. Even Anthony and Hayden, who are stood nearly shoulder-to-shoulder by the door, have grown quiet — Their usual banter absent. Zee has gone down to get refreshments, whatever they may be, I'd rather be thankful for his hospitality despite his living conditions and current situation with our father. Gazing upon my father's seemingly much thinner hands, I gently grabbed it, making sure to only touch the parts that were covered up with bandages. His eyebrows tightened in his sleep, almost making me drop his hand that is until he settled once more.

Zee came back much later with three glasses of, surprisingly, clear water. I thanked him, drinking a bit of the liquid and setting it aside, the room falling back into its original silence, save for the hustle and bustle of the outside world. People arguing down the alley, cars driving, and the occasional alarm of a truck passing along.

"We stayed long enough..." Hayden spoke up, earning the attention of both Anthony and me, "Be ready to leave in 5." As he said this, he exits the room, making a point to avoid looking at the bed much more than he needed to.

"See you later dad," Placing a soft kiss on his bandaged forehead, I stood up to get ready to leave, "Please get well."

Anthony left the room without much of a goodbye, but by the sight of his clenched fists, I have a suspicion he wasn't up for looking at our father much longer. Bidding Zee farewell, we all left their residence, promising to return or visit as soon as we can. Unfortunately, how soon we're talking about is unknown to both me and Anthony.

"Come back anytime if you guys want to visit," Zee said waving after us, standing by the door, A euphoric expression on his face that melts into one of sorrow.

Anthony and Hayden walked as far away from each other, which is not that far seeing as the alley barely provided them any space to be apart. A red hue overtook my brother's neck which, from experience, means he's just about to lose his sh*t.

"IT'S YOUR GODDAMNED FATHER! IT'S ALL HIS-"

"IT IS FOR THE GREATER GOOD! Burning is part of the attunement, keeping citizens separated in different districts ensures sufficient goods distribution-"

"WHAT THE F*CK HAYDEN?! WHAT THE F*CK!?" Anthony full-on stopped in his tracks causing both Hayden and me to stop as well, as all three of us now stood awkwardly at an alleyway. "OUR DAD," He motions to me, " IS BARELY ALIVE BECAUSE OF THIS FUCKED UP SYSTEM. I kept my cool so that we won't disturb Dad but I just can't handle it anymore. How many, huh? How many have our society burned and kept down here just because some stupid machine deemed them unworthy!?"

"Oh! You're one to talk to! Mr. Born in the first district! Mr. I enjoy the privileges the system has provided for me!" With every painful jab of Hayden's words was an equal push he does at Anthony's chest. "The machine has kept humanity alive for thousands of years after what was supposed to be our great extinction. IT IS WHAT KEEPS US ALIVE. Homosexuals can't procreate so they're at the bottom of the priority list, it's just how it is."

"YOU-" Anthony, as usual, was grasping at straws when in an argument. "Who says they can't huh?! We've developed flying cars, yet we can't develop a way for, I don't know, science babies??"

"It is not the will of the machine. The machine-"

"IS TREATING US LIKE ANIMALS." Anthony huffed, "Separating us into pens, Good cattle go here and the abnormals go here and-"

With a dreadful sigh, I made it a point to surpass both of them and to retrace where we came from. "Let's just leave,"

"But Ash-"

"Ant, We're nobodies," I turned to face him, "We're just two spoiled first-district kids, who are now complaining of the system that we profited from for years. Only because it finally bit us back in the ass, there's nothing we can do Anthony." I expected him to retort to reason even more as he usually does, but he simply hangs his head. Taking that as my cue to continue walking, I turned around to retrace the steps we took.

We made our way back to the building, back to the first district in complete silence. Hayden looked agitated and my brother looked like he was about to burst a vein, though he seemed to actually be thinking of something. As if he's forming a plan to get his way so he can take on an entire system that took over the whole world.

The ride back up to the second district was worse than it was the ride down. Anthony avoided looking at Hayden at all costs, the latter making it a point to keep his gaze straight. Upon reaching the borders of the first district, Hayden left without uttering anything more toward either of us. The electromagnetic field behind us comes back up, the gate that separates us from the rest of the cluster, the gate that symbolizes the exclusivity of the second district. Of course, the androids by the barrier still threatened to blow us up to pieces with their arm guns. Thankfully, Hayden still tolerated both of us enough to vouch for us.

"Have a good day!" The android waved the same old dead expression on its face like every other android there is.

Hayden was far away when I looked back toward him, his retreating figure getting smaller and smaller.

"I never understood why we hate him, Anthony?" I turned to my brother, who was walking beside me and has decided that the path home looked much more interesting than I did.

"Cause he's a pr*ck, I think that's reason enough."

"Look, I am sure that you and I will be relocated districts very soon. Might as well make amends while we're here don't you think?" Anthony looked up at me, the frown on his face told me of his reluctance.

We walked farther into the first district in relative silence. Deciding that the subject matter — that is Hayden — was too much of a sore wound for him.

"What if we just leave?" Anthony speaks up, stopping in front of me.

"I mean...that is the plan, we're gonna get relocated districts by the-"

"No," Anthony, in some weird twist of events, looks frustrated towards me, "I meant this, leave this whole cluster behind, go to the dreamlands, join some rebel group."

"THE DREADLAN-!!"

"Shhhh... Keep your voice down." He pulled me aside towards a park that was fairly empty for this time of day.

"You've heard of what there is outside of the cluster, the mutations threat befell to the past earth. I-I-I can't...I don't know how to fight Anthony."

"Yeah, But I can, I can fight for both of us, keep us safe." Anthony was looking at me with a resolute gaze that I'm pretty sure I'd never seen on him before.

"We can't we won't be able to make it with me being a dead weight."

A couple passed by us with their dog on a leash and a child in between them — both parents holding the youngster's hand, who swung in between them with the biggest smile one can adorn. An android follows behind them, carrying a duffel bag on each shoulder. The couple were cooing at the kid, laughing, and talking among themselves as if there was nothing wrong with the world.

"You can go, though."

"Huh?" Anthony turns to look at me, forehead creasing.

"You can go, join the rebels. I have confidence you'll be able to make it to them."

"And leave you to your fate here?" Anthony pulls me by my shoulder till I was flushed against his side. "Whichever district we get relocated to, we'll suffer all the pain of moving, together...Even if we have to get burned." He whispered the last one, looking around if anybody else had heard him.

Sitting there in comfortable silence, It almost felt like there was nothing wrong with the world. Cars fly by overhead, The river flows, The androids respond with their barely emotional tones, and us brothers — just two against the world.

"Alright," Anthony stands up, stretching his limbs, and reaching a hand out to help me up. "I've got some anger to work out so, gotta head to the gym for a bit, you good getting back home right?"

"Of course I can, what do you take me for?" I said as we both walked to the exit of the park.

"Alright, alright, see you at home."

Deciding to also distract myself from my racing thoughts, I headed towards my favorite cafe in the first district. They sell the best-overpriced coffee there is with scrumptiously sweet baked goods to match. The cafe building was as white, sleek, and minimalist as the rest of the shops in this cluster. Voiding it of any personality or uniqueness, again, just like any other shop. An ad occasionally pops up to play on one of the windows, people making animated conversations with each other or simply using their phones. An android greets me behind the counter with, the same old empty smile that just tickles the back of your neck in a wrong way.

"Good morning! Welcome to Great Beans! What can I get you for today?" The android blinks in time with their fake breathing, I noticed.

"Well, uh, here's my card, the usual please." I handed over my great beans card that contains money for payment and all the orders I make, categorized and named as I wish. My "Usual" is a medium white chocolate mocha paired with a slice of blueberry cheesecake.

"$xxx deducted from your balance, we will deliver your order to you shortly." The android hands me back my card turning to look at his colleague to send a digital copy of my order. The latter then turns and starts to make it. Stepping away from the line, I found a comfortable seat by the window overlooking the road and the—one of many— gated villages on the other side of it.

Gazing out into the road, I spot a tall man, just standing there staring at me or the cafe. Either way, it creeped me out so I tried my best to keep my attention away from him as much as possible; but I found that task increasingly difficult as his figure just stayed there, standing ominously. Glancing at the other patrons, I check if they can also see this man just standing there; but with the way their conversation amongst each other just continue on, I assume it was only me who has noticed the strange man by the road. Minutes pass and when I look back, the man was gone. I don't want to be presumptuous in thinking that the man was targeting me specifically, but the way he stood there for a long period, just watching, put me on edge. Especially since I just came from the third district, where absolutely everything and everyone has put me on edge.

"Order for Ashton,"

All the breath in my lungs got stuck in my throat. There, standing right in front of me, was the same man that —mere seconds ago— was standing as still as a wall across the street. This close, I was able to see his features— though half of his face was covered in a black mask. From what I can see, he has Hollow Deep-Set eyes framed by wrinkles and a nasty burn scar that starts from his nose to the top portion of the mask covering his mouth. He wore an all-black attire, from the bandana covering his hair to the trench coat, pants, and shoes. Master of blending in, I see. He placed the tray on my table, taking the liberty to sit across from me. The chattering of the other customers turned from audible gossip I could listen to, to just blurred noises that make absolutely no sense.

"Look, I'll cut to the chase since I don't have much time, something's going to happen to you and your brother, get out of this Cluster, go to the Dreadlands, and look for this person." The man shoved a card towards me, "Encrypted onto that card is a location to where a base is located, reach it and you'll be safe. Keep the card on you, hand it to any android or anyone apart from your brother, and it will disintegrate." He made a move to stand up however, I have far too many questions to let him just walk away.

"Wait! What do you mean something's gonna happen to me and my brother?"

"We don't know for certain, all we know is that the both of you are in danger just like countless of others before you." He got up, taking a —longer than necessary — pause. "We can't interfere, we don't want our cover blown. But the son of the Council Head will help you."

"Son of the council head? You mean Hayden? Why in the world would he, out of everyone, help us? Why should I even believe in anything you're saying right now?"

"Enough questions, just keep your guard up, we have never been wrong with our assumptions thus far. We doubt we'll be wrong this time around." The man left. I watched him seamlessly disappear among the crowd. The clothes that I thought made him pop out like a sore thumb, vanishes in an instant.

The card, on one side, is blank and as flat as paper. The other, however, contained an engraved square pattern with a name under it in plain font.

Ken Corleone