Theo's Pov
The screen that wrapped around the apex of the Apex Tower flickered to life, its light cutting through the perpetual twilight of Enox. Controller Vance's face materialized, his smile a polished, practiced thing that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Citizens of Enox," his voice boomed, "tomorrow, we celebrate our future. We honor the Equilibrium Ceremony."
On a crowded skybridge connecting two residential spires, a group of teenagers barely glanced up. They'd heard this speech a hundred times. It was the background hum of their existence, as constant as the hum of the city's filtration systems.
"For every fifty who succeed, fifty will ensure our collective survival. Their sacrifice will be remembered. Their names will be etched into the very foundations of Enox."
"Blah, blah, glorious sacrifice, blah," Mira droned along with the Controller, earning a snort of laughter from the others. She flipped her braids over her shoulder and grinned. "They should really update the script. It's been the same speech since my grandmother was a kid."
"Your grandmother is a kid," Jax shot back, dodging the swipe she aimed at his head. He was tall and lanky, all elbows and knees, with a perpetual slouch that made him look like he was trying to take up less space in the world.
Theo walked in the middle of the pack, Ennis tucked close to his side. Her hand was warm in his, and for a moment, just a moment, he could almost forget about tomorrow. Almost.
They'd been wandering for hours, weaving through the city's endless corridors and skybridges, trying to outrun the dread that hung over all of them. They'd watched the sunset simulcast on the big screens, a recording from Before, when sunsets had actually meant something. They'd shared a ration bar, passing it around like it was a feast. Normal things. Things that reminded them they were still alive, still together, still here.
"Did you hear about Sena?" Lian asked quietly. He was the thoughtful one, always carrying the weight of things the others tried to shrug off. "Her name came up in the preliminary pool. Her mom's been camped outside the administration dome all week. Won't eat. Won't sleep."
The mood dimmed instantly. Sena was in their welding class. Quiet. Good at fixing things. The kind of person who noticed when you were having a bad day and left a spare ration cookie on your desk.
"That doesn't mean anything," Mira said quickly, though her voice had lost its playful edge. "The preliminary pool is random. Half the class is in it. It's just... administrative. Doesn't mean she'll—" She stopped, unable to finish the sentence.
Doesn't mean she'll die.
A commotion erupted ahead, saving them from the silence that threatened to swallow their fragile good mood. A boy burst from the doorway of a ration distribution booth, his arms clutched around a small, silver package. He ran, his footsteps a frantic drumming on the metal grates.
"Stop! Citizen, halt!"
Two Enforcers in stark white uniforms emerged from the booth, boots pounding in pursuit. The boy was fast, but desperation made people sloppy. He slipped on a damp section of the bridge, slamming hard onto his knee. Before he could scramble up, the Enforcers were on him.
One pinned him down while the other produced a sleek, black scanner. A red light pulsed. The Enforcer's voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "Unauthorized ration withdrawal. Fifty-point penalty."
The boy's face crumpled. Fifty points. For a graduating senior, that was an automatic fail. It was a death sentence.
Theo's stomach dropped. He knew that face. They'd shared a welding class. The boy had helped him rewire a faulty circuit last month, laughing about how the instructors never noticed when they swapped out old parts for better ones.
"That's Kael," Jax whispered, recognition dawning in his eyes. "Kael Mason. He's in our year."
They watched in frozen horror as the Enforcers hauled him away, his desperate sobs swallowed by the ever-present hum of the city. No one on the bridge moved to help. No one ever did.
"Just for stealing food," Ennis whispered. Her voice was barely audible, but Theo felt it vibrate through her hand, still clutched in his.
He looked at her. Her dark eyes were fixed on the spot where Kael had disappeared, her face pale beneath the glow of the screens. Her brother's name had been Kael too. The coincidence wasn't lost on either of them.
Mira broke the silence first. She forced a laugh, though it came out hollow. "Well. That was cheerful. Anyone want to go throw ourselves off the lower deck now, or should we find something to eat first?"
"Mi," Lian warned softly.
"What? We're all thinking it." She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly looking much younger than her seventeen years. "One day you're here, the next you're not. And for what? A ration pack? Because you were hungry?"
Theo felt the weight of his friends pressing in on him—their fear, their helplessness, their desperate need for something, anything, to hold onto. He looked at Ennis, at the tears she was fighting to hold back, at the way her jaw clenched with the effort of staying strong.
An idea sparked in his mind. It was crazy, dangerous but it was perfect.
He pulled Ennis to a stop, and the others halted with them, confused.
"Hey," he said, keeping his voice low. "You know what we need?"
"Besides a miracle?" Jax muttered.
"We need answers." Theo looked at each of them in turn. "I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of wondering. I'm tired of watching the news and pretending we're not all secretly counting down the hours until they tell us who lives and who dies."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Okay, philosopher boy. What exactly are you suggesting? Because if it's another round of 'let's stare at the ocean and contemplate existence,' I'm going to need more ration bars first."
"I'm suggesting we stop waiting for them to tell us our fate." Theo's voice dropped even lower. "I'm suggesting we go find it ourselves."
Lian's eyes widened. "Theo. No."
"The school's mainframe," Theo continued, ignoring him. "The results are uploaded tonight. They sit in the system for hours before tomorrow's ceremony. And I know how to get in."
"You know how to break into a government-sealed system that probably has enough security to fry us into next week?" Jax asked, but there was a glimmer of interest in his eyes.
Theo pulled a small, multi-tool device from his pocket;a creation of his own making, wires and circuits cobbled together from salvaged parts. "I've been mapping the diagnostic ports for months. The school's tech is ancient. They patch the obvious holes but forget about the back doors. This little beauty can slide right through."
Ennis stared at him, her expression shifting from shock to something else,something that looked terrifyingly like hope. "Theo, if we get caught—"
"We won't."
"You don't know that."
"I know that I can't spend one more night watching you not sleep." His voice softened, meant only for her. "I know that waiting is killing you. Killing all of us. So let's stop waiting."
The group fell silent. Around them, the city hummed on, oblivious to the small rebellion brewing on a skybridge. The screens still played Controller Vance's speech on a loop, his hollow words washing over them like waves against the pylons below.
Mira was the first to move. She stepped closer, a wild grin spreading across her face. "You know what? Screw it. If I'm going to die tomorrow anyway, I'd rather die tonight doing something worth remembering."
"That's a terrible reason to do something," Lian pointed out, but he was already moving too, falling into step beside her.
Jax shrugged, his lanky frame somehow finding a new kind of energy. "I've always wanted to see what the principal's office looks like. Bet it's fancy."
They all looked at Ennis.
She stood frozen, her hand still in Theo's, her eyes moving from face to face—her friends, her people, the ones who made this cold, hard world bearable. A single tear escaped, trailing down her cheek, but she was smiling. Just a little. Just enough.
"You're all insane," she whispered.
"Absolutely," Theo agreed.
"Completely bonkers," Mira confirmed.
"Raving lunatics," Jax added cheerfully.
Ennis laughed, a real laugh this time, bright and unexpected, cutting through the gloom like a beacon. She squeezed Theo's hand tight.
"Okay," she said. "Let's go find out if we're going to live."