Lilac took a deep breath and stood up. She kept her gaze locked onto the floating figure of Chickadee.

“I have to go now.”

Bubbles burbled in response.

Lilac closed her eyes and turned around. “It’ll be our first time being truly separated since we first met all those years ago, but I’ll be waiting for you this time. I know you’ll get better. I know you’ll come back to me. We’re basically sisters, and family always find each other; real family, at least.”

The words faded away, muffled into obscurity.

Lilac clenched her fist. After this, there will be no going back, but there was no room for hesitation. She must follow wherever this road would lead. The girl sighed and walked towards the shining metallic door. She took one last look back.

“I’ll see you soon.”

As soon as she was in front of the door, it slid open. The hovering cylinder flashed at her approach.

“Educational sequence commencing.”

…

Lilac blinked. She looked from side to side, seeing unfamiliar surroundings. It appeared that she was in an empty glass room. The endless rolling hills and vibrant blue sky pulled at her attention. Her eyes widened.

Where was the sun?

“Lilac?”

Lilac turned around. An outline of a featureless figure flickered in and out of existence.

“Where am I? Who are you? Where did you come from?”

The figure flickered once more. “Lilac, is that really you?”

The girl paused.

The figure paused. “It’s really you. Goodness, it’s been so long. We thought you died. How are you even here?”

Lilac took a step back. Everything seemed wrong. One moment, she was walking out of the emergency room; the next, she was in a glass room on the top of a grassy hill. The place itself was weird enough, but the thing or person in front of her was even stranger. Though full of static, something about the voice seemed familiar. Something about it tugged at the corners of her memory. She reached out.

“I know you, don’t I?”

The figure didn’t respond and promptly disappeared.

…

The Nurse Bot beeped, and Lilac blinked. She was in the middle of the corridor. The emergency room in which she just left was right beside her. The flying cylinder flew from side to side erratically, as if gesturing to her to hurry.

Lilac brought her hands up to her face and splayed her fingers wide. Everything felt so real. She thought back to the weird scenery and the flickering outline.

So, what just happened?

The Nurse Bot beeped once more. Lilac dropped her hands and shook her head. First, she had to understand the details of her task. Nodding to the bot, the girl walked forward. Door after door passed by.

Then suddenly, the bot stopped. It turned to the right. Lilac followed its movements, watching as it pushed open the white wooden door.

It swung open with a creak.

A cheerful voice called out. “Come in!”

Lilac walked in. Her eyes widened as she entered a neat room. The design itself was minimalistic, with only a desk as furniture. A window behind allowed sunlight to stream into the room. A short, bespeckled woman in a long white coat greeted her with a smile.

“Hello there! I’m Maria! I’m sure you must be terribly confused, but I assure you that everything will be fine!”

Lilac nodded. “I’m Lilac.”

Maria’s striking green eyes sparkled in amusement. “I know. The Manager told me about you! You’re better looking than I thought. I was under the impression that all Trash resemble apes, but you look more like us.”

“Us?”

Maria flashed a broad smile once more. “Like people, I mean.”

There was a moment of silence. Lilac grasped for words but failed.

Maria tapped a finger on her chin. “Or maybe it’s because you aren’t born as Trash. That explains everything. Oh, poor thing! You were surrounded by apes! How disgusting.”

Lilac frowned as a flash of anger burned in her chest. “One of the people I hold dear was born as Trash.”

Maria nodded. “I know that too. You must think of it as more of a pet, right? I mean, surely.”

Lilac pursed her lips and shook her head. “No, she is like my sister.”

Maria wrinkled her brow. She brushed wisps of red hair behind her ears and stepped back. “Oh.”

Lilac took a deep breath and exhaled. “Please tell me the specifics of what I must do and how I will achieve it.”

Maria smiled. “You will be part of an expedition team belonging to a rival Family. Isn’t that-”

“Dangerous?”

Maria paused before pacing from side to side, her white heels clicking on white tiles. “I was going to say exciting! This week, I’m going to run you through the basics and then you will be working. You will be given your contact times to keep me and the Manager briefed on what you find. I will teach you how to classify Old World technology, give you a basic history and etiquette lesson, and refer you by your designated name. You’re basically going to become a whole new person!”

Lilac froze.

Maria smirked. “No one will take the risk of you being referred to as Lilac. If this gets traced back to us, then we’re doomed.”

Lilac frowned. “What happens then?”

Maria stopped and walked to the desk. She tapped her finger before nodding. “You’ll be on your own. Same deal if you get in trouble. As far as we’re concerned, your life is only valuable because of the Modification you have, and we always have a backup plan. So, do your job well, okay?”

Lilac grimaced and nodded. It didn’t surprise her. No matter what, the elites always had more cards up the sleeve. She thought back to Chickadee. If only she could get some cards of her own.

A sharp clap jolted the girl out of her thoughts. She blinked as Maria handed her a bundle of papers.

“Here, you are now known as Laika oE Maverick! I want you to read through this before I take you to the Transformation Room.”

Lilac reached out. “I have three questions. What does oE mean? Why do I need to go to a transformation room, and when can I see Chickadee?”

Maria tilted her head and smiled. “Oh, sorry, I forgot you came from a den of beasts. oE means you’re distantly related to the Maverick Family. This makes you automatically eligible for a place on the team. It is also why you need to change your appearance. They will get a bit suspicious if you… don’t have the signature Maverick hair colour. Any other questions?”

Lilac frowned. “When can I see Chickadee?”

Maria turned around. “Chickadee? Oh! You mean that Trash! You can see her after you go through the Transformation Room. Is that all?”

Lilac looked up and saw the rolling hills through the window. Her mind immediately returned to the strange glass room and sunless blue sky. Surely, that was just a sign of an imagination going wild, right? If it wasn’t...

“Can I look through the window?”

Maria shrugged. “You do you, but please hurry up. I want to get this over and done with.”

Lilac walked towards the window and gazed at the vibrant sky. Wisps of clouds flew by slowly, contrasting against the vibrant blue background. She looked from side to side.

There was no sun.