I ran down a street away from two of the checkpoint guards. No one is allowed here without special authority, but I’ve managed to sneak in multiple times. I ducked into a side street and pressed my back against a wall. The foul smell of old debris made me nauseous. I held my breath as the guards passed me, luckily not bothering to check the alley. I released my breath and I strolled down the road. There was junk everywhere. There is no way anyone had been down here in a very long time. A rat scuttled across my path, and I stepped over it, barely batting an eye. I reached the end of the street and I peek around the corner. As usual, there is no one there. 

    The entrance to the city was always heavily guarded, but once you were in, there was no one stopping you. I stepped out of the alleyway out into the open. A cool breeze of fresh air blew through the area and my skin prickled, but I continued to move down the empty street. As I neared a large skyscraper, I heard the drone of a generator coming from one of the buildings, probably a few blocks down. I was still miles away from the "secret" research facility. It could only mean one thing. Someone was here. I broke into a run towards the sound. My curiosity drives me past old restaurants and stores piled with garbage to the ceiling. I skidded to a stop when I almost miss the mysterious sound. I turned towards the entrance. While I stood there thinking of going inside, I heard someone call out.

     “Hey! There she is!" One of the guards yelled.

     Decision made. I pushed through the doors and burst into the lobby of what used to be an old hotel. I jogged across the worn down carpet, and towards the sound of the generator. If I was going to get caught, this person was too. I hit my shoulder against a door as I turned the knob and burst in, a surprised boy on the other side stood staring at me. Before I knew it my back was against the door and a knife pressing into my neck; his large figure towering over my smaller one.

    "Who are you" a deep, gruff voice asked. I gasp for breath.

    "I-I'm Wren… Wren Abbott." I stuttered. 

    He removed the knife from my neck, but still held me against the door. He looked at my left sleeve, which bore the badge of the division I am from.

    "You aren't supposed to be here." He told me. He released me from his grip and backs away.

    "Well, neither are you." I spat back. He just glares at me and walks over to a computer. I followed him over to his desk. He is programming something. The boy looked about eighteen, one year older then me.

    "Might want to turn off your generator. I could hear it running a few blocks away." I said to him. He turned around to look at me. He got up and switches it off, the room was silent.

    "Why are you here?” He asked me. I hesitated to answer, unsure of what to say.

    "I might ask you the same thing." I said back to him, crossing my arms. He sighed and leaned on the table. Behind me, the door bursts open.

    "I've got her!" The intruder yelled, it must've been one of the guards who were chasing me. I whirled around and back away from them. Another one runs through the door behind him. Two gunshots were fired and the guards fell to the floor. I turned to face the boy, and he was tucking a gun back into the waistband of his pants.

    "That's it, I'm taking you back to your division." He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room, and back into the lobby. He pushes open the front door, and we steps onto the street once again. There were no guards anywhere to be seen. The original hum of the generator is replaced by the wind whistling through the towering structures. He tugs me along until we get in view of the checkpoint.

    "Are you going to let me go now stranger?" I asked him, the annoyance showing through in my tone.

    "You've got quite a fiery personality to be from halcyon." He retorted. I take that as a no. The remaining checkpoint guard goes inside of the station, and my "escort" gave me a push. "Run!" He orders. I run towards the gates and I could hear him behind me. We both passed the gate and made it to behind the wall of the train station. He pulled some tickets out of his pocket and handed one to me. While he peeked around the corner to see if the train was coming, I looked at the badge on his sleeve. I scowled at the sight of it. Intrepid. No wonder he was able to shoot those guards. He was from the only division allowed to carry firearms. His division practiced the exact opposite of mine. Most of them were trained soldiers. If they weren't killers, they were children.

    I knew we would draw attention to ourselves as soon as we stepped into the train. Halcyon and Intrepid never made contact. Ever

    "People are going to stare at us" I told him. He didn't respond. It didn't matter to him as much as it did to me. 

    "Let's go." He stepped out of the protection of the wall and onto the platform. Reluctantly, I followed.

    I took a large step onto the platform. I walked over to him. The station was surprisingly busy. Everywhere there were people sitting, standing, and walking. All of them were wearing the same clothing; The only difference were badges on their shoulders. People were already beginning to stare at us, mostly at me. Multiple pairs of eyes burned holes into me, hateful glares for defying my division’s decision to never make contact with the Intrepid. A girl with the same badge as me on her shoulder smiled at me. She was the only one practicing our division’s teachings, Kindness, acceptance, and peace. She kept walking afterwards. 

    The train pulled up after a few minutes of waiting, and I followed my companion onto the train. I sat down on a seat by the window and he sat down beside me. Even more people stared at us. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. 

    "I'm going to get  off at the stop directly after yours." He told me. I didn't know why, he wasn't sharing much else about anything. We sat in silence for the rest of the ride. 

    The train came to a halt and a computerized voice announced the stop.

    "Halcyon Division Centre stop" it said. I stood up and made my way to the door.

    "Hey Wren, don't be going places you aren't supposed to." My acquaintance called out to me. I turned around to face him. 

    "Same goes for you too." I smiled. "What do I call you?" I asked, half expecting him to just shake his head and look out the window. 

    “Finn, Finn Caverly." He told me. I turned back to the door. Before I stepped out onto the platform, I turned back.

    “Good bye, Finn." I said to him. And with that, I stepped onto the stations platform and the train pulled away.