The path leading to the city hall was a short walk, passing by bushes and shrubs that were covered in flowers. The glass doors slide open, revealing a large waiting area. Many seats were filled with civilians, patiently waiting to be helped. They all walked up to a computer to check in, sat patiently to be called on. Time passed on quickly for them. Ethan barely participated in the conversation beside him as he sat idly by, going over what to do in the city.

Hearing their names being called, they stood up and walked to the front desk that welcomed newcomers, they were greeted by a friendly front desk worker. 

She smiled and began her introduction, “Welcome to Aelwynne City Hall. You three must be newcomers to the city, right? May I please see your identification?” Ethan’s parents opened their wallets to retrieve their ID’s and handing them over. The desk worker looked at the screen and the cards, confirming their identities, before stating, “For all newcomers to our city, we require to see the email sent out to fully confirm that we have accepted you. According to your information form, the email address belongs to Yasmine Willburn.”

Yasmine pulled her phone out, logging into her email. While waiting, Ethan’s father made small talk between the driver and the desk worker while Ethan looked around the waiting area.

Several hallways led to other parts of the building, yet they had security stations at every entrance. He notices several employees making their way to one hallway. A guard stops them, making a motion to show their badge for them to gain access. The employees held up their wrists, that were the same color, to the guard, in which he nodded and stepped aside for them to pass through.

Ethan raised his eyebrow at the scene, and thought to himself, ‘If the city already gave permission for those allowed to live here, why do they need a special band to walk around?’ Shaking his head, he silenced those negative thoughts, knowing that he has still yet to learn how this city lives by, thus he shouldn’t question anything until the time is right.

“Ethan, honey, the clerk needs your ID now. Are you daydreaming again?” The sound of his mom’s voice caught his attention. Turning around to face the clerk, he pulled out his wallet from his pocket for his ID. As he gave her his ID, he stammered out an apology, “S-sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” The clerk just smiled and thanked him for giving her the ID. After confirming their information, the clerk handed them their ID’s, along with silver wristbands.

She began to explain the purpose of these items, “These are the keys that you will be used constantly throughout the city. When you enter your apartments, you will need to lift your wristband to a scanner attached to the wall. What I need you all to do right now is to scan your fingerprint onto the band,” while she explained, she turned one wristband over, revealing a black square, “so it can confirm its owner.”

Understanding the requirement, Ethan and his parents were given their wristbands, putting their thumbs and index fingers on the black square to be scanned. Seeing a green light flash under their fingers, the wristbands were now set. The clerk spoke again, “There we go, you’re all set to leave for your apartments. Your other belongings have already been delivered. When all of you are settled in, I’ll schedule an appointment to meet with the mayor for tomorrow. I do hope you enjoy your stay here in Aelwynne.” The clerk waved her hand as Ethan and his parents walked towards the door.

The setting sun was slowly disappearing behind the horizon, an orange glow filled the sky. Entering the district, lights began to shine from the walls of every building, all of them were set to a specified color for the block they were on.

The limousine parked alongside a building that was completely white with green lights on the ground. A large sign attached to the building read, ‘A2-9’ The driver exited the car and went around to the other side of the car for Ethan’s parents to come out. “This will be your building, Mr. and Mrs. Willburn, remember it’s building number and color. I will escort your son to his building, don’t worry, it’s not very far from here.” The driver stated, then walked back to his car to wait as Ethan said bye to his parents.

Ethan hugged them both, saying a quick goodnight, before joining the driver and leaving. Seeing his parents enter their apartments, Ethan turned to face forward and slumped down in his seat as he stared up at the ceiling. He sighed, “I have to do when I get there is make dinner and sleep. I’ll start unpacking tomorrow.” He lifted his hand up to ruffle his hair, then sat straight up. The driver looked back to see Ethan and his tired expression and chuckled out, “I understand how you feel Ethan, today has tuckered me out as well. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll adjust to the city eventually.” Ethan gave a small smile and nodded to the driver.

Pulling in front of another building that had the exact same layout at the previous stop but had light blue lights and the building number read, ‘D2-6’. The driver opened the door for Ethan, as he continued to stare at the building, memorizing the number so he doesn’t get lost. “Here we are, sir. As I said to your parents, remember your building number. Though you won’t have a problem with that, you do live near the ruins in that forest.” 

Ethan and the driver turned their heads to the fenced-off area nearby. Towering trees were bunched together, making very hard to see pass through. “Why is it fenced off? Is there something dangerous in the forest?”

The driver shook his head, then replied, “Legends say that an ancient race once inhabited Aelwynne. They cared for the Earth and made their home here.” He walked up to the fence, Ethan following close behind. They both stop a couple of feet away. 

The driver bent his head forward and gave a saddened sigh, then spoke, “But, within that forest, there are only the ruined remains of buildings long ago. It seems they were attacked, and whatever attacked them, left no trace.” Ethan glanced to the side, feeling the atmosphere between them grow cold. There was a short silence between them until the driver continued to speak, “The human founders of this city found the ruins, and felt that they needed to preserve them, hence the heavy security and rules that the city has for outsiders.”

The driver turned to Ethan, expecting him to give a response to the story. Ethan remained silent, his mind was having a difficult time to believe if the legend. ‘The story itself sounds like a fairytale, ancient race, sudden attack, no trace left behind. It's laughable really, but…why do I feel like it is the truth?’ 

He shook his head and returned his gaze to the driver. Ethan replied, “Well, I can only say that I’m very thankful that the humans before us kept those ruins safe.” The driver was shocked by how easily Ethan accepted the legend. 

His eyes were wide in surprise and his mouth was open in disbelief, but it changed to a smile as a hearty laugh came from him. “Wow, it’s rare to find someone like you, sir. I know you’ll fit right into the city. Come, the sun is setting over, you might get a chill from the cold air at night.” The driver said as he passed Ethan, waving him to walk back to the building.

Saying this goodbye and thanks for the tour, Ethan was left on the curb of the building, taking in the new place he would be living. Steeling his nerves, he entered, heading to the front desk that was located in the middle of the lobby. Several couches and seats were placed around the area to add a feeling of welcome and relaxation if he were to need to be out of his flat for a certain amount of time. 

Standing now at the dest, he gave a quick greeting to the desk clerk, who asked for his name and his wristband to be scanned. After everything was confirmed, he was told that his boxes have been delivered to his room and his car is now parked in the underground parking structure. Giving an understanding nod, he gave his thanks and walked towards the elevators. 

'F-4' was what the clerk said his room number would be, and he kept repeating it over and over in his head, memorizing it if in the unseeable future he stumbles into the wrong floor or door. The elevator then comes to a stop, signaling Ethan that he arrived at his floor. Already feeling his energy wane, he hastily makes his out of the elevator and to his flat.

The hall was light grey with lights illuminating the path until it reached the end. Each door he passed has was either white or blue and had an engravement slate next to each door, making it clear which room number is to which door. Several times, he passed a room where it sounded like the other tenants were enjoying themselves with whatever they liked. But, Ethan was in no hurry to greet himself to his fellow neighbors, all he wanted to do was sleep.

Finally, he stood before his door, which was painted a shiny cobalt blue. Lifting his hand to the scanner, a quick ‘beep’ sound came from the door, then a green light appeared above the door handle. The door automatically opened for Ethan, revealing an enormous apartment flat. The color scheme was a simple white to gray. The living area had two modern couches and a glass center table. Large windows separated the balcony from the living room and had large curtains to block the blinding light that would come every morning since Ethan’s flat was on the sixth floor. A half-wall divided the kitchen from the living room, allowing anyone to have a conversation between the two areas.

Ethan walked into the kitchen, opening one of the cupboards and grabbed a glass to fill with water. Taking out another pill bottle, that was labeled ‘Sleep Medication’, and dumped two pills into his hand, he put them in his mouth and swiftly drank the water from the glass. A sigh escaped from him, as he was exhausted from the tour. He turned the glass upside down and into the drying rack and turned to walk to the living room.

Turning his head to the left, he spotted a hallway leading to three doors and proceeded to head his way over. He stopped and opened all three of them. The door on his left was an empty closet with an overhead shelf. The middle room revealed the bathroom, and lastly, the door on the right was his bedroom. Satisfied that he found his room, Ethan closed the door leading to the closet and went to his room.

His bedroom was simple, a queen-sized bed near the wall, a nightstand that was accompanied by a matching reading chair, a large dresser, and an empty bookshelf. Above him was a ceiling light embedded into the ceiling that automatically turned on as he entered the room.

He let his bag fall from his shoulder and land near the end of his bed. He noticed several boxes stacked on the wall opposite from the tall window of his room, all labeled with his name. He sighs, knowing that he should at least change into comfortable clothes before heading to bed, but the hassle of going through all the boxes was not on his mind. He turned and flopped onto his bad and chose to sleep where he was rather than undoing the bed. He began to feel drowsy, meaning his pills were working.

Drifting off, Ethan turned his head to face the window on his left. The night sky settled over the city, the moon shined brightly along with the stars nearby. Yet, something caught his gaze, a faint glow coming from the fenced-off forest. The light shined faintly through the thicket of trees. Ethan raised his brow, only to turn away from the window, and drowsily mumbling, “…m’st be the pills,” before falling asleep.

Meanwhile, a white-cloaked figure stood before a large opening in the ground, peering down into a blinding white light. The light grew dim as a platform levitated up the hole. The platform reached the surface, halting slowly so its passengers wouldn’t be thrown off. Three other figures walked off the platform and made their way towards the awaiting friend. One of them ran forward and tackled the awaiting person, throwing their hood back.

“Octavia! I missed you so much! I’ve got so many questions about the hu…” The person who tackled Octavia began to ramble off several questions, not letting her a chance to talk. 

“Wai- Alice! Let me ta- Alice! Calm down!” Octavia interjected between Alice’s rambling. She pushed Alice back and stood up. Dusting off her cloak, she looked at Alice, who is standing by the other two figures. They both removed their hoods, revealing their faces. The tallest of the group had platinum blonde long hair, pale skin, and two bright blue eyes. The figure had short black hair that contrasted with his bright red eyes.

“So, how was the meeting with the others, Chase? Are the preparations for the new recruits down? Have any of the spotters reported anything?” Octavia questioned her brother, who crossed his arms and turned away from her. The taller figured patted Chase’s back, telling him to respond back to Octavia. Chased let out a frustrated sigh, which Alice giggles at, then finally speaks.

“The city is doing fine, squad leaders are prepared for the human recruits, and no, no one has reported into the communication hub yet.” His answer was short and to the point. He turned away, not wanting to talk further, yet the man standing next to him nudged him again, expecting him to continue. Yet, Chase did not, he only scoffed and started to walk to the forest. Seeing him disappear in the thick forest, Octavia turned to her the other man and Alice.

“I take it something serious happened at the meeting?” She asked, knowing that there was a cause of Chase’s irritable mood. 

The man sighed, and responded, “Sorry sweetie, here’s what happened. The meeting went well until the topic of ‘them’ came up, in which Chase did not want to participate in. He walked out of the meeting, ignoring the commands from Yestel until she said some…inappropriate topics, and then he snapped. The entire conference hall will be in repairs for a while.” He finished explaining, rubbing the back of his head.

Alice nodded enthusiastically before babbling out, “Yeah! The face that Yestel made was priceless, I’ve never seen Chase so mad before, you should have seen- Ow!? What was that for, Rylan?!” Alice whined out as she rubbed the back of her head. Octavia hid a snicker behind her hand.

She turned to Rylan for his answer, only to see his disapproving glare. “Alice! You know that Chase isn’t taking the argument with Yestel very well, so you shouldn’t be excited about it.”

Rylan turned to Octavia, his expression now apologetic. He was about to speak until Octavia held up her hand, then spoke, “It’s ok Father. I’ll talk to him later when he’s calm. You two must be starving, right? The girls and I made dinner, so let’s go and then we can continue with the meeting.” She waved for them to follow as she made her way to the forest.