I felt different going to bed that night. As if I was a book turning to a new chapter. Or maybe even a new story entirely.

The next day Jake had already left early, and I smiled at the toast on he had left on the counter, only slightly burnt this time. Gathering my things and heading out of the door, I was at the elevator within 30 minutes.

The elevator doors opened, Scott standing in there. It wasn't surprising to see him, however, it was surprising to see how he looked.

He had a bruise around his eye and on his nose. A contrast against his pale skin. A cut on his lip, and one over his eyebrow. Somehow he looked even more tired than yesterday. He stared at me through his glasses with observing eyes, as I stepped onto the elevator.

"What happened?" I asked, hoping it had nothing to do with the situation I had run away from yesterday, but knowing too well that it did.

"I was punched," he said, the ends of his word jarring. I paused, turning to him. I was continuing to hope it was neither Jake or Charlie but it was hard to imagine who else it could be.

"By who?" I stammered, unsure whether I should be angry at Scott for what he had said, or whoever had thrown the punch. He paused, staring forward as the elevator continued its descent.

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly. At this point, I knew it had happened yesterday. But I still needed to know who did it.

I had gone through my morning somehow forgetting what had transpired yesterday, however, I knew now that it was having a higher effect than I first thought. It was hard to blame whoever threw the punch after all that Scott had said, it would be near impossible not to lose it at him. But, he wasn't telling me their name. Maybe he did feel some guilt for what he had said?

"Tell me. Who did that to you?" I asked again, more sternly this time. The elevator reached the bottom, the doors sliding open as Scott stepped out, ignoring me.

"Scott?" I asked, stepping out after him. He continued to stare lifelessly forward.

"I told you it doesn't matter," he snapped, standing still and turning to me. I looked down briefly and noted bruises across his hands. However, he tucked his hands into his sleeves and back up at me, "Are you deaf?"

"For fuck's sake just tell me!" the words were louder than I had expected. Harsher in tone than I had intended. In addition, with such anger, I regretted what I said almost instantly. However, he didn't flinch, continuing to stare at me with his painfully bored and emotionless eyes.

"I refuse to argue with a moron who can't seem to understand a basic sentence of 'It does not matter'," he turned, before walking out the sliding doors.

I stood there for a moment. Glancing at the receptionist, I saw her peering over her computer at what had just unfolded, looking away when I noticed her. As what had happened ran through my head I knew there was something going on than what I had first assumed.

Jogging out the doors, I quickly caught up to Scott. He had his hands in his jacket pockets now, a cool breeze coming through as condensation swirled in the early morning air. I wanted to apologize but knew any sort of interaction would not be positive.

We walked to the station in silence, one I was resisting the urge to break. And once the train arrived, silence followed us, taking its own seat. Silence made the train ride all the worse.

Although we never spoke on these rides, it wasn't due to any argument like this. And instead of calm silence, it was a chaotic one. A loud silence. A silence which rang in your ears and made every breath feel so loud you would think an entire city could hear it from miles away.

Silence followed us at our stop. As if silence was a tall figure with long fingers which wrapped around my neck. However, knocking on the door I found silence had scurried off, leaving us alone. At least for now.

Evan opened the door with a grin, quickly letting us in. I was relieved to find a heater had been placed in at the back near the printer, which made the entire place warm. Noah appeared to be even more distant from reality, his eyes bouncing across the room as he typed away. Marlin was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm back! You miss me?" Evan said as we began to walk to our seats. We had finished sorting profiles, and I was eager to start some kind of project. Whether it was a way to let my mind wander, or whether I was actually beginning to favor this job, "What happened to you kid? You look like you've been to war and back! Is this what happens when I leave you with the boys for two days?"

"No," Scott said blankly, and Evan's smile fell a bit at his missed attempt of humor. Noah didn't react, so Evan found himself looking at me for any sort of validation.

"What do we need to do now?" I asked instead, and Evans smile brightened. I half expected him to wring his hands like a villain as he quickly reached behind him next to where Noah was sitting, picking up a folder.

"I was hoping one of you would ask!" he said, placing down the folder in front of Scott, who looked anything but happy. Evan nodded his head toward the folder and said, "Scott, this is your assignment. Knowing you it shouldn't take more than a few hours... as soon as you're done you can leave early. Rebecca, you're with me,"

"Where are we going?" I asked, standing up. Evan fished out some keys from his jean pocket, a glint in his eye.

"Hardware engineering, in main town, gotta pick up a few things," although the place didn't seem abnormal, as it was partly related to computers, Scott blank eyes brightened.

"Let me come," he said quickly, and Evan shook his head. Scott stood up, "Rebecca can do the project. She is at the same job as me. Let me go,"

"Why?" I asked, turning to him. There was a desperation in his eyes, however, his face remained cold, "If this is you trying to get back at me for earlier I'm sorry,"

"I don't care," Scott said, and although the sentence was said briefly and without emotion, it hit my heart deeper than I expected it to. I slumped back to my head, picking up the folder as what I knew was inevitable, "Please Evan,"

"No," he said harshly, and I looked up. Scott held a stern stare, as Evan sighed. He shook his head before he continued, "C' mon you know why you can't go. Besides, this assignment is designed for you. You and Rebecca are both smart, but different kinds of smart. Don't try and convince me, I've seen those tests of yours. You're a fucking genius. Don't fight this,"

Scott hesitated, before sitting back down. He snatched the folder from my hand, not even acknowledging my existence. I looked up at Evan, who pointed his head towards the exit.

"C' mon let's go," Evan said, walking towards the door. I was perplexed by what had happened but stood up once more. I gave a glance back to Scott, who was already typing away at his computer.

After we left through the door I had come through moments prior, Evan guided me to the car. It was sleek, grey, and blacked out windows. A similar car was beside it, however older. He pressed a button on his keys which made the car beep as the lights briefly flashed.

"You can get in the front," he said, walking over to the left side door. I nodded, walking over to the right. At the back of the building, it smelled so much worse, so I was relieved when I sat in the car.

Inside was as sleek as the outside. The driving screen was a lot bigger than the one from the bus. Cars were obsolete, however, a few people still used them. When Evan entered the car, I was excited to see it in action.

"Her name's Jane," Evan said, nodding towards the screen. Everything was a dark grey inside, except for a red accent, which lined the seats. He said, turning his attention to the vehicle "Hello Jane,"

At his words command, the car lit up. I found myself excited as an engine underneath me slightly rumbled into life, the blank screen flickering on, a map of the city inside of it. Even though machines were commonly voice activated, it was still super exciting to be inside of one.

"Jane drive route HE35," he said, and the car beeped again, a red line now showed on the map, a brief time of how long it would take, and a small weather forecast at the bottom. Evan grinned as the car silently began to drive backward, exiting the driveway.

"Why couldn't Scott come?" I asked as the car began to slowly drive out. Evan turned to me, sighing. Already I was confused. Did it have anything to do with Scott's recent behaviour?

"Listen, you're a smart kid," he said, grimacing, "Just don't pry. I have no idea why he's all messed up. But when it comes to this specific task, don't mention any of it to Scott. And don't mention Scott to anyone there,"

My heart dropped, worries running through my head as what he could have done. Did it have something to do with him leaving earlier the other day? Had something else happened yesterday? Evan sensed my unease.

"You'll work it out," he said, turning to look out the front window. The car, Jane, was self-driving. In history, we read about people who had to physically drive cars themselves, and some even had to use horses as their motor. And everyone had one. Which seemed as much as a waste as it sounds.

For the first few minutes, it was silent, as we both stared ahead. Despite the wonder of the vehicle, there was a fear paired with it. As this machine had once been the most dangerous part of the human race. For so many years it was the leading cause of death.

And now, it was our own government.

It was a short car ride there. Condensation from the cold day had fogged up the window, which even without tinted windows, gave a foggy view. But as Jane had stated, 15 minutes later we had arrived.

Evan grinned at me, stepping out and I followed. It was a simple building. One of those that look like every other on the street, and if you weren't looking for it you would miss it. Evan locked the car, walking up to the door and walking in.

I followed him in, no windows out the front and no sign to indicate any specific type of building. Inside it was dim, a few computers at the front, a small front desk and bits and pieces of computers everywhere. The stench was of ashes, mold and something burning. Despite the weather outside, it was relatively warm inside.

A man came around the corner, he had black hair, scruffy, and mossy green eyes. A small amount of stubble, and dirt covering half his face. Almost as if Scott was grown up and more buff. However, the similarities ended as the man let out a smile.

"Who let a Lower get into my store?" he said jokingly, opening a hand out to Evan. I flinched at the remark, but Evan grinned. Grabbing the hands of each other and hugging, with a pat on the back. The man continued to smile, his eyes sparkling, "What brings you here Evan? Who's this?"

"This is Rebecca, Rebecca this is Jack, head of Hardware Engineering," Evan said, putting an arm around me and grinning. I gave a nervous smile, before Evan continued, "I got a kid to mentor! Gonna try and make her a mini version of me,"

I chuckled briefly, as Jack shook his head with a smile. Evan beamed with delight, looking down at me as if I was some sort of project he was working on.

"Trust me, one of you is enough," Jack said, and Evan let his arm drop from around me and into his jean pockets. They both laughed for a moment, as old friends might.

"So you just got the one newbie?" Jack asked, and Evan paused. The silence from earlier returned, as something crossed Evans' eyes. I felt as though I was in the dark about what was going on like there was a conversation without words happening in front of me.

"Yeah, just the one, isn't that right Rebecca?" Evan asked after a long pause, looking at me. Why was he not mentioning Scott? Why was I here? What was going on? I wanted to tell the truth because something was certainly wrong. However, there was about Evans eyes that made me afraid to cross him.

"Yeah," I practically choked, the lie caught in my throat. I turned to Jack, smiling at him. But my stomach turned as his eyes narrowed for a moment, trying to scan or read my mind as Scott might do. Another silence followed, and the nerves kept building up with every second that passed. So when Evan clapped his hands suddenly, it was no surprise I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Right!" Evan exclaimed, a grin across his face, "Let's get to why I'm really here,"