The rest of the afternoon wasn’t good for Lucas; he couldn’t stop thinking about how he should have hit those cops, regardless of whether they were his future colleagues. Maybe that was the hardest part of choosing this path. What would people think if they saw an academy graduate punch his possible superior or coworker? He knew he couldn’t give in to his worst impulses, especially not to clear provocations.

Keeping his composure after hearing all that was difficult, and it was easy to think about what he should have done or said instead of standing still and throwing a punch. He usually doesn’t dwell on these things and just accepts life as it is but his mind can’t let go of things that make him angry, nor pretend nothing’s happening when it obviously is. That’s something his friends knew perfectly well; everyone knew something was off with Lucas, even if he didn’t say a word.

Too many things were spinning in his head, and none that he could talk about: delayed application results, the mysterious man the director had been speaking to, disguised and unidentified agents, the cruel jokes and prejudice toward Aria coming from the same incompetent police officers, and last but not least: being locked in with no idea what was happening, and nothing to do.

He couldn’t even sleep in peace. He was afraid something would happen and everyone felt the same. When night fell, he received a personal blanket similar to those new camping blankets that work as both a blanket and a thin mattress. But all it did was let him toss and turn in bed. The irony was brutal. He’d woken up earlier than anyone, but he was always the last to fall asleep.

“Lucas,” he heard.

Lucas thought he was hallucinating at this point, after so long without sleep. So he just ignored the voice.

“Lucas, hey,” the same voice repeated.

His mind was just clear enough to recognize it:

“Lucas, I know you’re awake. Get up.”

He received a hard smack to the head. There was only one person who always hit him on the forehead. Lucas yawned a little and sat up abruptly, gathering himself inside the blanket.

“For all the gods’ sake!” he whispered angrily. “What happened now?”

“Shhh,” Artemisa hissed to silence him.

“You...” Lucas began, but was interrupted.

That brute of a woman put her hand over his mouth. He caught the familiar pineapple scent and knew he had to listen to what she was about to say.

“Lucas, this is serious. If you don’t shut up and listen to me, I’ll knock you out the second you blink,” she threatened.

Lucas licked Artemisa’s hand to get her off him, which made her recoil in silent disgust and mutter complaints while pulling away.

“You’re insane,” Lucas murmured with a relatively loud voice. “Knock me out? What the hell is your problem?”

“Lucas, for fuck’s sake, just shut up and listen,” she replied, frustrated.

They were both exhausted and stared at each other until Luna stirred in the middle of the blanket, and they froze for several seconds, not even breathing. Then they looked at each other and took a deep breath.

“Tell me why you’re watching me at 2 in the morning. If you don’t have a good reason, I’m going to...” Lucas started.

He was waving his hands around in desperation as he spoke, but couldn’t come up with anything to threaten her with.

“Okay, I won’t do anything. Just tell me.”

“Not here,” Artemisa replied.

“What do you mean ‘not here’? If not here, then where?” Lucas asked her.

“The rooftop. I’ve got an idea"

“Oh, the rooftop,” Lucas said, incredulous. “And how do you plan to get us up there? There are guards everywhere. Do you want them to suspect you or something?”

“Did you forget we’re soldiers now? Obviously we can dodge them and sneak away for a bit. I just want to check something out.”

“You’ve got like 50 people around and you bother me?” Lucas complained.

“Do you want to go out for some fresh air or not?” she asked bluntly.

“I mean, yeah, I do,” Lucas replied, then paused for a moment. “And how exactly do you plan to sneak out?”

“I spent some time listening to the guards behind the door. Apparently, they switch positions every 30 minutes between each floor. We’ll use that to our advantage and take the emergency stairs to the fifth floor—where the rooftop is.”

Lucas stared at her for a long moment, incredulous at the amount of planning she’d done just to have some fun.

“Are you always like this when you get bored?” Lucas asked.

“Are you coming or not?”

Lucas was going to be honest: between staying here and playing another offline game until sunrise, or doing what Artemisa suggested, the choice was obvious. He didn’t think anything worse could happen, like dying or something. Besides, he knew Artemisa could sneak out alone and get in trouble by herself, so he decided to go with her.

“I knew I could always count on you,” she smiled conspiratorially.

“Of course you can count on me. Just like that time we made a system to cheat on exams,” Lucas laughed.

Artemisa let out a short laugh before checking the time again. It was 1:24 a.m. Most of the graduates were asleep in different areas, and those who weren’t were just staring at the ceiling, waiting to fall asleep. Nobody had the energy to do anything else given the circumstances. So both of them took advantage of the situation to break curfew.

They used a small excuse to leave, saying they were going to the bathroom, and then slowly opened the cafeteria door. Just as timed, the guards had their backs turned and were walking away. Artemisa pressed herself against the wall and the two of them used their skills to slip into a dark hallway with agility. Lucas followed closely behind.

There were a couple of cameras scanning side to side, and he noticed how Artemisa had already studied their movement patterns. She would freeze in place at specific distances and then quickly move, taking advantage of the blind spots, with Lucas close on her heels. However, Lucas abruptly pulled her back and covered her mouth. If Artemisa had crossed at that moment, she would’ve been spotted by the new group of guards entering the corridor.

The two young agents exchanged a knowing glance. It was true that Artemisa was a thousand times more agile than Lucas, but he was way stronger than her.

They watched the four guards walk below them, and it was almost funny how easily they were getting away with it thanks to how distracted the guards were. Lucas couldn’t help but let out a tiny laugh, then quickly sealed his lips. That laugh, unfortunately, made all the guards stop and look at each other. One of them then turned and confronted another guard who suddenly came running toward them.

“Why are you laughing at me?” asked one of the guards, who looked older than the rest.

The supposed newbie, thinner and smaller than the others, looked shocked and couldn’t hide his confusion, his face just didn’t allow for much subtlety.

“I didn’t laugh,” the accused protested.

Artemisa and Lucas saw the perfect opportunity. Artemisa pointed her wrist forward like a gun, and from it materialized a sleek red crystal slide. Lucas stared at her in disbelief and surprise, but when she signaled for him to let go of the ceiling and slide down with her, he didn’t hesitate. As soon as he landed, no sound was made because the slide would disappear the moment it was used, turning into a path of red crystal that cushioned Lucas, who was still carrying Artemisa. Though it wasn’t exactly a princess carry it was more like a sack of potatoes slung over his shoulder.

“If it wasn’t you, then who was it?” the older guard asked, still unaware that two graduates had just escaped.

“I don’t know,” the accused guard kept insisting.

But obviously, in any group of five people, there’s at least one person with some intelligence and awareness.

“Hey!” one of the guards exclaimed, spotting the young fugitives.

All the guards turned to look down the corridor completely empty. No one was there. The graduates were simply too fast.

“Who are you yelling at?” one of the guards asked.

“I think some students escaped,” warned one of them.

“Are you joking? It’s impossible we didn’t see them. Plus, it’s almost 2 a.m. most of them must be asleep. We’re the least important shift here; the third-floor guards have way more to worry about. Stop covering for the newbie, Nico.”

As soon as Lucas and Artemisa heard “third floor,” their interest was piqued. They’d heard rumors that high-ranking officials might be stationed there. So once they reached the emergency stairs, they did their best to move silently.

“What’s so special about the third floor that it’s so heavily guarded? Weren’t there just computers and files?” Lucas asked, then opened the door for Artemisa.

“Computers, files, records... a bit of everything, I guess,” Artemisa replied as she crossed the door. “I think that’s why the higher-ups are stationed there.”

“With guards like these, I don’t know how well those files are actually protected,” Lucas commented as he followed her through the door, closing it slowly to avoid making noise.

They both climbed the stairs, staying on high alert in case they ran into anyone and needed to hide. But surprisingly, the stairwell was completely empty and not a single person appeared, not on the second, third, or even the fourth floor. There were no guards watching over the place, which struck them as very odd.

Nervously, once they reached the fifth floor, they pressed their ears against the rooftop door. After confirming there was no one on the other side, they finally opened it and were met with an artificial starry night and a city lit by neon signs, glowing billboards from various brands, and music video ads projected onto building windows acting as massive screens.

After everything that had happened that day, nothing felt more relaxing than the fresh night breeze on their faces. Artemisa closed the door and leaned against it, then showed Lucas the screen of her phone. He looked at it and noticed they had enough signal to access the internet, even though they were in a restricted research zone. Even with just one bar, they could still connect to the outside world. They both smiled at the flood of notifications from the apps they usually used.

“I was right. The DeadZones don’t reach the rooftop,” Artemisa declared.

“I always thought those DeadZone signal jammers weren’t affected by altitude,” Lucas replied.

Already exhausted, they sat down on the ground without guilt. It was cold, so Artemisa rested her head on Lucas’s shoulder while scrolling through her private Flare feed, checking out the latest trending news, while he downloaded a tycoon-style farming game to kill time.

Lucas glanced at her screen, reading a headline about Aria:

“Didn’t we come up here precisely to forget about what happened with Aria?” he asked, casting a sideways look at Artemisa.

“Yes, but…” she paused, “it stresses me out not knowing anything.”

Lucas understood that feeling. He locked his phone and let out a deep sigh.

“They’ve put every possible obstacle in our way to keep us from investigating or leaving. But escaping and getting up here was so easy. These guards are supposed to be part of the national guard, and they couldn’t even stop two untrained graduates,” Lucas said, growing suspicious.

Artemisa looked up at the sky.

“It’s really weird. We have some physical training, sure, but no one noticed we were gone. I didn’t feel like there were as many guards as they claimed. Did they leave? Where are they?” she wondered aloud, also suspicious.

“They’re probably all on the third floor. Maybe they just want to restrict our movement and nothing more,” Lucas suggested.

She didn’t seem satisfied with everything going on around her, so Lucas tried to distract her:

“Better watch me download more tycoon games. You should get one too, stop overthinking everything. Do something else instead of drowning in what we can’t change.”

Artemisa sighed and looked down, feeling helpless. Until Lucas pulled her into a hug.

“Do you think she really deserted?” Artemisa asked, concerned.

“I don’t even know if the police are considering that option. When they questioned me, they framed it as something passionate, not as an intelligence or sabotage issue,” Lucas clarified.

Artemisa looked surprised and gave him a puzzled look:

“They didn’t give me a passionate angle at all. They suggested she deserted,” she replied.

Lucas stared at her, stunned and thoughtful: Why had they implied a romantic motive to him and a desertion motive to Artemisa? As if suddenly realizing they were not supposed to be sharing the information they’d been given, they instinctively decided to change the subject.

“I think I’m going to miss you once we’re separated,” she said.

“Don’t talk like we’re in the 17th century and can only communicate through letters! Of course we’ll still see and talk to each other, you know. We’ve got Glimpse, Flare, Vivasphere…” he replied.

“You don’t get what I mean. It’s not the same as having you here like this,” she said softly.

Lucas felt his heart pounding. He was nervous because, ever since they met, he had liked Artemisa. Though, of course, he had moved on from those feelings once he found out she wasn’t into men. So he buried those feelings for his own good and for the sake of their friendship.

The truth was, he did know exactly what Artemisa meant. But he also didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by confessing everything.

That would be out of line, almost a betrayal.

She had always been someone energetic, even a bit aggressive. Their friendship was one of the few things he truly valued, apart from his other friends.

“It’s not that. It’s just…” she hesitated, “I want to ask you something, but don’t take it the wrong way.”

Lucas’s mind was already a mess: Did she notice? But he had tried to be subtle. Was he making her uncomfortable now?

“So?” he asked her.

Artemisa looked unsure about asking, but suddenly began scanning the area.

“I hear someone,” she said, suspicious.

She was about to stand up, but Lucas grabbed her arm to stop her, smiling in an attempt to calm her and keep her from changing the subject again:

“It’s probably someone else sneaking out. Ignore it. What do you want to ask me?” Lucas insisted.

“It’s something personal. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Artemisa said in a gentle tone.

“Yeah, of course. Just ask,” Lucas replied.

“You’re gay, right?”

Lucas froze. Of all the questions he had run through in his mind, this one hadn’t been part of the plan. The truth was, even he didn’t really know anymore. He had been so focused on graduating and making his family proud that he’d never given himself space to consider dating anyone, even though both Artemisa and Pascal were openly in multiple relationships.

“I… don’t know?” he answered. “I mean, when I was a kid I thought girls were pretty and all…” he paused briefly, “I guess I never really asked myself that? At least not until…”

“‘Until’?” she asked with a mischievous smile. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”

“Why do you think I’m gay?” Lucas asked.

“Watching sweaty, shirtless men doesn’t feel at least a little gay to you?” Artemisa teased.