"Why not?!" Craig dragged his feet, trying to pull free from her grip.
"Why?!" Ani whipped around, eyes blazing. "Because you have no idea what you're talking about! You think about this stuff, but you've never been on the front lines. You don't know what it's really like."
She tightened her grip. "This is political. For experts. Not kids. So count your blessings we live above average and under the government's protection!"
Craig smirked. "Protection from who?"
He knew the truth. Thanks to their father's position in the government assembly, they lived in the mid-belt region — Zone 1/Aries District. Safe. Comfortable. Insulated from the chaos tearing through the lower districts.
Ani's glare sharpened. "So you'd be fine if we were attacked? If soldiers showed up at our door?"
Craig looked away. "I didn't say that."
"Then stop thinking like this! Right now!" She turned and kept walking, dragging him behind her despite his resistance.
Craig's feet scraped against the pavement. So annoying.
She wouldn't let go. And worse—she'd snitch. If she found out how deep his thoughts ran, she'd tell their parents everything.
What really got under his skin was the hypocrisy. His grandfather sat in that assembly, one of the so-called leaders. But they were all traitors. They cared about themselves, their families, their comfort—while the lower districts burned. While the Guardians and Atrial tore each other apart and crushed civilians in between.
"Spineless cowards. All of them."
"Sheesh. Not a day goes by without you two fighting on the way home."
Craig glanced toward the voice. A middle-aged man walked past, carrying an entire tree trunk across his shoulders like it weighed nothing.
"Mister Dino?!" Ani's grip loosened on Craig's hand.
Both siblings had wondered more than once if the man was even human.
"Where are you going with that?" Ani asked, her tone shifting from shock to casual curiosity.
"He's an errand man," Craig said flatly. "We know that by now."
"I didn't ask you, mister smartmouth!" Ani shot him a glare.
"Well, you asked an obvious question. I couldn't help myself." Craig crossed his arms, still annoyed.
They both knew Mister Dino's story by now. He was an odd-jobs worker who'd fled from the south region—the war front where the Guardians and Atrial clashed daily. His accent gave him away, though he tried to blend in with the local dialect.
Dino smiled at the two of them. They'd become friends through these daily arguments, bickering all the way to and from school like clockwork.
Then Dino crouched down to Craig's eye level, the log still balanced perfectly on his shoulder. Both kids froze.
"I know my opinion doesn't matter much, Craig..." Dino's smile softened. "But follow your dream."
Craig's eyes widened. Someone actually supported him.
"I don't need you to—"
"Say what now, Mister Dino?"
Ani loomed over them both, cracking her knuckles. Her glare could've melted steel.
"Forget about carrying logs all day. I'll beat you into the ground right here, right now."
Dino straightened up immediately, hands raised in mock surrender. "Yes, ma'am."
"Better move fast then!" Ani warned.
Dino started walking, but paused after a few steps. He winked at Craig.
"We might not have freedom of movement..." He tapped his chest. "But we still have freedom of choice. And that's our greatest strength as humans. The first thing that can change everything."
Ani growled. "You're still here?"
She grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it at him.
Craig watched, his faint smile never wavering. Then he turned and started walking.
"Whatever. I don't need you to tell me that."
He glanced back at his sister. "Let's go, Ani."
"Ah! See that? Take that!" Ani stuck her tongue out at Dino, victorious.
Dino's smile didn't fade. "You're quite the older sister."
He adjusted the log on his shoulder and kept walking.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Ani crossed her arms, glaring after him.
"Nothing," Dino called back, his tone light.
Ani gritted her teeth. "You better mind your business!"
She craned her neck and stuck her tongue out again.
"Sure, missy!" His voice faded into the distance, still playful.
Ani huffed and jogged to catch up with Craig, muttering under her breath.
Craig turned back. "Can we go now?"
Ani was still fuming about Dino's encouragement. She shot Craig a look, then grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward.
"Don't let that get into your head!"
"Like I care about your advice," Craig muttered, eyes drifting toward the busy street.
"What did you say?!"
"Nothing."
They walked in tense silence.
Within minutes, they reached the checkpoint. A guard opened the small door beside the massive gate, checking their IDs before waving them through.
"Thank you." Ani smiled politely as the guard handed back their cards.
Craig barely noticed. His mind was still on Dino's words.
He looked around. The street they'd just left—where they'd met Dino—looked nothing like this one.
Here, everything gleamed. Wide streets. Manicured trees. Clean pavement. This was Zone 1 of Freed State, part of the mid-belt region where few politicians and the wealthy lived. Eight states made up the mid-belt region, Freed State was divided into two worlds.
Zone 1: pristine, protected, privileged.
Zone 0: where they'd just been. Where average people scraped by. Where the streets were cracked and the buildings sagged.
The vault walls separated them. Built with Astra's own tax money. Paid to Atrial.
Craig's jaw tightened.
They sell out the lower zones and can't even protect us as a nation. And we—the children—bear the burden too.
They reached home moments later.
Ani pressed the doorbell.
"Nothing's stopping me from joining the Guardians once I Graduated from this academy," Craig thought.
The door opened. Their mother stood in the doorway—blonde hair, blue eyes, her pregnant belly visible beneath her dress.
"Welcome back, honey." She smiled warmly. "How was school? Did Craig give you a hard time, Ani dear?"
"Very much, Mother." Ani stepped inside, frustration spilling out. "He's still bent on joining those terrorists. And that loser Dino encouraged him today!"
Their mother's expression shifted. Her smile vanished.
"Is that true?"
Craig walked past her toward the dinner table. Food was already laid out. He grabbed a fork, his gaze distant.
"Yes. I am, Mother."
He was done denying it. She'd believe Ani anyway.
His mother rushed over and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around.
"Didn't we talk about this?"
Her voice cracked. "Why are you trying to make me grieve a dead son?"
Craig didn't answer.
"Don't you care about me? About Ani? About your father?" Her grip tightened, shaking him slightly. "Or don't you want to see your incoming brother?"
Tears welled in her eyes. "What do you want me to do when the government finds out your grandfather has a grandson who wants to join terrorists? What happens to this family then?"
"I told him." Ani's voice echoed from the stairs. She stood halfway up, watching them. "But he won't listen."
She turned and climbed higher. "Maybe once we lose everything, his little brain will understand how the system actually works."
Her door slammed upstairs.
Craig sat frozen. The pressure bore down on him—his mother's grip, her tears, the weight of the family name.
He clutched his pants, knuckles white. Then looked up at her.
"How do we know Atrial won't eradicate us anyway?"