11 Chapter 6

The very next day, I woke up at the same time and did my usual routine. Brush my teeth, wipe myself down, and went downstairs to cook up some breakfast. At the same time as yesterday, everyone stumbled down the stairs. We all ate breakfast: a hot vegetable stew with some leftover bread. As soon as everyone was finished, I took the bowls away and washed them with stale water. Shawn marched out of the door first; he said that he didn't want to be late for his second day of work. Marco simply laid down on the floor, digesting all the food he had for breakfast. When Eric got up to go, I stopped him. I said, "Eric, wait up for a moment will you?"

He stopped in his tracks, and responded, "Well, I can't wait for long."

I shook Marco awake and gesture at him to put on his clothes. I replied, "I won't take long. We're also coming to this bakery of yours." Eric raised his left elbow; my comment had piqued his interest. Marco shoved his clothes on and followed behind me. "Let's go."

Eric led us through a series of alleyways and streets. The outer sector was absolute trash. Literally and figuratively. But, on the route to our destination, the streets became more cleansed, and the building became more whole. There was less trash, debris, and broken windows. To be fair, there was still a fair share of poverty lining the road, but all of it seemed a little more sophisticated. It was easier to tell because after a while the shops in the sector became more pricy and looked better maintained. There was one point on the trip where there were shops, stalls, and street peddlers on both sides of us. The smells, sights, and sounds all naturally fit into the place. It was a sight to behold because I've never seen such places even though I've lived here for so long. That being said, I've never ventured far.

Among the three of us, Marco seemed to be fascinated the most. He would ask a myriad of questions about everything. The shops, the price tags, the people selling stuff with their carts, everything. I took this opportunity to tell him to take his education seriously. He nodded vigorously; I think he understood that his education would be the key to unlocking the answers to all of these questions.

We walked a bit further until we saw a bright green park in the center of a bustling square. This was most-likely the business district of the outer sector. It wasn't anything fancy with its ancient steel skyscrapers and paved roads. This was all considered subpar to the other sectors, but to kids like us, it was a district full of opportunity and possibilities. Eric pointed at one of the buildings. "Better look there Marco. That's where you'll be taking your exam to enter the higher social circle."

Marco cast his gaze at a large building standing on the side of the square. It was tall- almost sixty floors. Its windows revealed thousands of students working, studying, and taking exams. We could even see the clocks slowly ticking down and the sweat dripping down the students' necks. One of them wrote so furiously that he broke the lead on his pencil. Tsk. Such an outer sector problem. Out of all the sectors we were the only ones that still used graphite pencils. I mean those things are ancient, hundreds of years old technology cast down upon us. The other sectors used a laser-tipped pencil. High-powered beams of light were concentrated a the tip and shoot out at will when the student wanted to write something. The laser would burn the writing into the paper or whatever substance they used. It produced clean, crisp writing for all styles.

The student who broke his tip was unfortunate. The clock ticked down to the final seconds. He stared at the clock with wide eyes. Six...five...four...three...two... The student cracked. He pulled on his hair until blood came running out. He bit on his pencil like a feral dog. It snapped in a messy half and pierced the inner part of his tongue. He opened his mouth wide. I could tell he was screaming even though I couldn't really hear him. Two hefty men wearing white uniforms dragged him out of the room by force. The student was coughing up blood as he was pushed around like a rag doll.

BUT, before I saw all of this happen, I pointed at a candy store to distract Marco's attention. I wouldn't want him to see that for the world. "Hey, Vince, what happened to the student who sat over there?" Marco pointed to the exact location where the feral student was sitting before.

Eric looked at me with a hint of hesitation. Luckily for him, I covered. I explained, "The student over there finished a minute earlier than the other students, so he was sent out to prevent him from distracting the others." Eric sighed in relief. I did too. Marco seemed satisfied with the answer and tugged on Eric's shirt.

"Eric, shouldn't we get going? You might be late!" he said with great urgency.

Eric stuttered a little after seeing such a gruesome sight, "Y-Yeah! Let's go!" I knew exactly what he was thinking when he looked at Marco and then looked back at the building. He was worried like I was. What if Marco- our sweet, and innocent brother- ends up like that? I shook my head. There was no way that I'm going to let him end up like that. I promised myself.

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Micheal Grey POV:

"It's been twenty years since that day. The day when I ran off with fifty-six trillion dollars. Fifty-six trillion...Fifty-six trillion...Fifty-f*cking-six trillion!!! It still gives me goosebumps every time I think about it. My plan was flawless. It was perfect. No, It was beyond perfection. Just what you would expect of a genius. I still remember when that dude- what's his name? Howard? No. Ed? No, no, no. Yeah! Edward! yes when that Edward bastard said, 'I didn't know geniuses got nervous.' Hahahaha! Nervous my ass! I should have killed him myself! I loved it! The moment the entire crowd realized they were f*cking screwed!" I let out a sinister laugh. I was in the middle of explaining the entire scene to Flin. Of course, he was there. But telling him makes it a million times more vivid to me. I could smell the blood and hear the screams.

Flin just stood in the corner nodding his head. That's why I liked him. Seventy million credits per year for a mannequin with a gun. But, he's a mannequin that knew my secret.

I strutted over to my soft, cushiony recliner chair. I pushed my feet off the ground and performed a mini jump into the chair. I spun around and around in the chair, and I saw my entire office. MY office. It had six bookshelves filled with books written by important, dead people. Basically, shit that I've never touched before. I might as well burn them! JK, they made me look smart for people who don't know who I am. But, nowadays everyone knows. So, maybe I might burn them? The walls were painted a bright green color. It soothes me. Well, at least that's what my psychiatrist says. I think he's wrong though. I'll just ask him next time he comes over. There was a chandelier on the ceiling. It reminds me of all the chandeliers that I walked past in that dump in the middle of nowhere.

They had marble floors. F*ck that! I've got marbled floors with gold plating on top! They've got a giant auditorium? I've got one ten times bigger right below my office. They've got forty-foot tall doors? I...didn't install those. Even for me, that was way, WAY too stupid.

My office just looked like a generic rich person's study. With the one exception of the gigantic window installed where the western wall was supposed to go. I launched off the ground and rolled all the way towards the ginormous window. The sun was setting, so I got a beautiful view. A beautiful view that cost me a heaping six million dollars. But, who the hell cares?

I called on Flin who was still behind me, "Flin, get your ass over here! Stand right next to me." Flin paced over the three-hundred square foot space. He looked a little worked when he finally caught up to me. I said, "Remind me to give you a vacation soon. When was your last one? like three years ago?"

Flin said, "Five years and sixty-one days, sir."

"Well, shit," I realized, "I'll give you one real soon."

I looked out the window and then asked him, "Flin, now that we've worked together- or you've worked under me- for twenty years, let me ask you a question." I kept staring outside the window at the sunset. The sky had turned into a crimson red, and the dome helped amplify the colors making a spectacular sight. "I guess that six million didn't go down the drain,' I thought. "What do you see outside the window?"

Flin took awhile to answer. "Flin, if you don't answer anytime soon, you might force my hand to create those reverse-aging pills." It was true however that we were both getting old. Although he was still fit as a fiddle because of all the drugs that I pumped him with, he was still in his mid-seventies. I, on the other hand, looked refreshed as a thirty-year-old, but my biological clock was ticking near the early seventies. I might really need to start the prototypes now.

Flin finally opened his mouth, "Sir, I see the entirety of Clearwater city's inner sector. All the lavish buildings and intricate green spaces. I see the two rivers winding throughout the maj---"

"Yeah, yeah, cut the bullshit," I interrupted him, "You know, sometimes you're as sharp as a knife, but other times you're dumber than rocks."

"My apologies, sir."

I looked up at him, and I reached up and placed my hand on his shoulder. Then, I dragged him down to the ground. His face lit up in confusion. I got off my chair and swung my leg back. I kicked the chair out of the way and sat down next to him. We both sat crisscrossed staring at the now almost hidden sun.

I spread my arms to their peak wingspan, showcasing the entire city below me. "This is going to be my empire," I proudly told him, "and I am going to be the emperor!"