I woke with cold air brushing my face.
When I opened my eyes, the sky above the balcony was a washed-out blue, mostly clear except for a few thin clouds smeared across it like spilled paint. I stretched, yawned, and stayed in my sleeping bag for another minute, propped halfway upright.
What time is it?
I got up, folded the sleeping bag, and shoved it into the far corner under the big plastic bowl so the weather wouldn't ruin it. It was one of the only things I owned that actually mattered, so I was always careful with it. More careful than I was with my school uniform. The uniform was important, sure, but it could be replaced. The sleeping bag couldn't. If it got soaked and started growing mold, that was it.
Still half asleep, I wandered over to the railing and leaned against it.
The view was nice. Cozy, even. No glittering windows, no harsh lights. Just apartment blocks glowing gold in the early sun. The moon still lingered overhead, almost as clear as it would have been at midnight despite the ever growing daylight, and for a moment it all looked unreal.
It's probably somewhere between five and seven in the morning.
Normally I'd be getting ready for school around now, but knowing I didn't have to go anywhere made the view even better. I kept staring at the view with my chin in my hands, just letting that feeling of freedom sink in.
After a while I sat down on the hard floor, right on top of the flattened pizza boxes.
What am I even supposed to do today? I hate school, but I almost never skip. Why do I even bother going there at all? My grades are shit, I don't have any friends, and Mom couldn't care less whether I go or not. At this point I might as well skip as much school as I want.
I'd only been awake for maybe an hour, and I already felt better than I had in forever. Turns out not having to be stressed about school and what kind of torment I was gonna face that day made a huge difference.
Now I just had to figure out what to do with all that free time.
If I was going to stay here a while, I should probably make the balcony a little more livable. A table would be good. Maybe a couple of chairs.
I was pretty sure I'd seen some abandoned ones near the business district. I could grab them, clean them up, use them. As for a table, there were plenty of makeshift options. A box, or—
A sharp knock on the balcony door cut through the thought.
Shit. Seriously?
Nobody had cared about this place in years, and the second I decided to move in, suddenly someone was interested?
The knocking came again.
Persistent. Great.
Still, if I kept quiet and didn't move, they'd probably give up and leave.
"Yurui, I know you're in there. We need to talk."
The voice came through the door.
Oh shit.
Was I in trouble? Did the building management find out? Did school send somebody? Or was it some random creep who'd somehow tracked me down?
The panic hit all at once.
No way was I opening the door for some stranger.
"Yurui, don't be afraid. I'm with your mom."
My mom? What was she doing here? Did somebody in the building need help or something?
"Yurui, sweetie, come out. We need to talk."
That voice was definitely hers.
Well. If it really was Mom, there wasn't much point pretending I wasn't there. She already knew anyways.
I walked over, unlocked the door, and opened it slowly.
There stood a tall woman in an expensive dark suit. Her hair was bleached blonde, with two long bangs hanging over her shoulders and chest. She looked... how do I put it? Official.
My mom was standing behind her, dressed up in some fancy outfit I'd never seen before.
"You guys need something?"
I looked between them, completely thrown off by the sight of them all dressed up outside my little hideout.
"Are you Yurui?" the woman asked.
Before I could answer, Mom nodded for me.
"Great. Pack your stuff. You're coming with us."
She said it calmly, like this was perfectly normal.
I just stared at her.
Did Mom report me to the school? But then why would they send someone like this? And this fast?
"Now," the woman said, sharper this time. "We don't have all day."
"Excuse me, but who are you?" I asked.
"Miracle Inc. Position classified. I assume you already know why I'm here and what happens next."
My heart dropped.
Miracle Inc. How the hell had they found me this fast? The apartments in our building didn't even have numbers. Everyone just used the building itself as the address.
Shit. I'd thought I had at least a couple of days before they caught up to me.
I need to run. Right now.
I took a breath and forced myself to stop spiraling.
No. Think.
Running wouldn't do anything. That Miracle Inc. woman was almost definitely a Blessed, and probably a strong one. Stronger than the scumbag trio at school, no questions about it. Trying to bolt would only make things worse. Maybe if I transformed... except I didn't know how, and I didn't even know whether that whole thing was really my power or just some side effect from the centipede getting into my body. And even if I could transform, what then? I wasn't beating some elite, combat trained Blessed with combat type blessings. Not happening.
So that left one option.
Talk.
I forced a smile that probably looked as desperate as it felt.
"I've got rights..."
"So do we," the woman said, flat and immediate. "As your legal guardians."
The words hit like a punch.
My brain refused to process them, but somewhere underneath that shock, I already understood. I turned and looked at Mom.
By then I was scared. Really scared.
"Mom?"
"Nothing in my life ever worked out," she said. "You know I used to have dreams. Big ones. Then you and that scumbag showed up and ruined everything. Derailed my whole life. Worked me into the ground."
"M-Mom, what are you talking about?" I said, my voice cracking.
"Yurui, I'm done living my life for other people. I'm my own person. I have my own life, my own dreams. From now on, I'm living for me."
Tears welled up in my eyes.
I was never close to my mom. We barely even talked. But she'd always been there. When nobody else was. When Dad left. When the power got cut. When I came home from school, she was there. She was the only source of stability in my life. We didn't have much, but we were managing.
This hurt.
I knew people could be disgusting. I knew better than to trust anyone except myself. But somehow, not once, not ever, had it crossed my mind that my own mother would sell me out.
"Oh, come on, Yurui," she said. "Don't look at me like that. You're a big girl. You'll manage."
"Manage?!" I shouted, tears spilling over.
She just stared back at me, cold.
"Besides," she said, "didn't you want to be independent? Quit school?"
"Only for a couple of days!" I yelled, while the last scraps of control I had over my life slipped through my fingers.
"Oh, Yurui, don't be so dramatic. You know if this Miracle Inc stint works out, you could end up with a really good job. Better than anything the school would've gotten you. Think of this as a great opportunity for both of us."
Her words keep echoing in my head.
Both of us.
No. Fuck that.
I throw myself at my mom. She sees my face, twisted with fury and desperation, and panics. She stumbles back on her heels and goes down. I almost get to her, but the blonde woman catches me first. She slams me into the floor so hard the impact echoes through the room, and I yelp in pain.
"That's enough."
She wrenches one of my arms behind my back and pins me there. I can't move. It feels like there's a mountain on top of me.
"I will not tolerate this circus any further. It's a long journey even by car, so we need to leave immediately if we want to arrive before dark."
Then she leans down closer.
"You know what happens to people who travel through the desert after sundown?"
I nod.
The desert looks empty. Just sand and a few abandoned skyscrapers, or whatever's left of them. You'd think a place like that would be safe, at least when it comes to crime, but it's the exact opposite. All the major gangs and criminal organizations got pushed out of Miracle City. Even the slums weren't safe for them anymore. So where did they go?
The only place left.
The desert.
In the end, the criminals were the ones who benefited most. Security forces had no way to pursue them deep into the desert, so every organization ended up with a safe base of operations. They could build up their empires out there without worrying about arrests and all that.
That's why crime rates shot up and never stopped climbing. During the day, the criminals stay hidden so police and security can't come after them, which makes travel relatively safe. But at night? Going out there is basically a death sentence. Even Miracle Inc's best security squads won't go near the place after sunset.
The woman pushes my head harder into the floor, hard enough to make me think my skull might crack.
"If you're this scared of going to Miracle Inc, imagine what would happen if the bandits got their hands on your sweet little cupcake ass."
"I get it. I'll go pack."
The words come out through clenched teeth while she keeps me pinned.
A second later she hauls me up by the arm.
"Never mind that. You've already wasted too much time. We're leaving now."
Mom just nods.
"What do you mean, we're leaving now? You said I could pack my stuff!"
It comes out louder than I mean it to.
"Yurui, shut up and walk," my mom says quietly.
I lower my head and keep walking while the woman drags me by the arm.
"What about school?" I ask, staring at the ground.
The woman smiles.
"Forget about it."
"And my stuff?"
"You'll have everything you need at the facility."
"The facility?" I ask, my voice going shaky.
She drives her fist into my stomach, and I fold. My mom just stands there, not giving two shits about me. That only makes me angrier, but before I can do anything, the woman grabs me by the face.
"Listen, kid. Keep annoying me and you won't have to worry about going anywhere anymore."
I swallow and nod, keeping my head down. Same as always. I take it and do what I'm told.
We get into the car. The woman and my mom sit in the front. I sit in the back.
We drive in total silence. Nobody says a word. I rest my chin on my hand and stare out the window while buildings slide past. The sun hangs over the city, throwing everything into a hazy mix of light and shadow. Little by little, I start to calm down. I keep staring out the window until my eyes get heavy and I start drifting off.