Boyband and I kept her between us as we ran from the center of the Red District. Now that we had to wait for her, he saw how painful it was to slow your pace in the grave of a once-great city.


    Kicking aside the glowbones that came close enough for contact was as easy as swatting a fly after a proper feast of teeth. We slowed ahead of Naoma as we reached the skyshuttles. I wanted to clear away the bodies, but there was no use in blinding her from the truth. If she remained with us for a few days, she would see the feeding repeated.


    “I''m surprised you kept up with us for so long.” Boyband winked at Naoma. “I mean, even if we were holding back.”


    Her queasy state diverted from the scattered bodies as she looked at him. “Check your ego, kid. I might not have whatever you do, but Reef kept me in peak shape. Running beside anyone else, I wouldn''t have a problem.”


    “Okay, wait, ‘kid’? I''m nineteen.”


    “Making me a decade older than you. Keep that winking to yourself.”


    “I–you–gah! Just because you''re famous for being beautiful, because your music is corporate hypnotic trash, doesn''t mean a bit of kindness means that I''m in love with you. Petya, now. He''s only a year younger than you now that''s what I call perfect–”


    “Where''s the third?” I said without a hint of our distracting playfulness.


    “Huh?”


    “The skyshuttles?” Naoma asked.


    I nodded. “There were three before, right?”


    “So you didn''t kill them all?”


    I couldn''t tell if she spoke with ridicule or relief. Only two shuttles remained, each without lights turned on. The bodies lied undisturbed.


    I ran my hand through my hair, scratching my scalp with an intensity to distract me with pain rather than worry. I looked at Boyband. “Did you check the skyshuttles?”


    He shook his head. “You?”


    “Well, I thought I did, but just the back. I must’ve missed the driver''s seat.”


    “What does that mean?” Childlike worry had returned to his voice.


    “A Techvax employee knows what we are.”


    “But Reef captured and used us, right? Maybe Techvax has no idea that you did the Firstlight job. Maybe it''s someone dumb enough to think that we are property of Reef or whoever owns them.”


    “Techvax does.”


    He looked at Naoma. “Does Techvax own Reef?”


    “They''re investors. No one really owns Reef. Anton lent our resources out to the highest player who wanted to run their propaganda. Wait… I guess the Finians technically own Reef.


    Boyband shook his head with a furrowed brow, his mouth opened so that his front teeth stuck out. “But the Finians are a race, not a political party.”


    Naoma chuckled, not with playful humor, but in a polite mocking.


    “You disagree?”


    “Even if they aren''t a Party, they all want the same thing.”


    Boyband looked even more idiotic with his front teeth hanging out in confusion.


    She sighed. “Light and human body parts. Not everyone is as wealthy as Jackson. Even if you are a wealthy Finian, it doesn''t mean you''ll have access to appendages.”


    Boyband grimaced.


    “And what you two do is better? They just want a body.”


    “Then why not just use the cybernetic appendages humans do?”


    “Nature seeks nature. Call the transplants unnatural, but even if they require tech implants to work, they like real flesh more than metal.”


    Boyband shook his head and waved off the lost argument. “Do you think they''ll connect us to Deleon somehow, Petya?”


    “Not sure. Regardless, he''ll find out.”


    “Is that your boss?”


    “Yes.”


    “Then why isn''t he monitoring you–right, the neuroblock.”


    “Yes, but his blindness is better for us now.”


    “So we are going rogue?” Boyband asked.


    “You did say you would help me escape,” Naoma said.


    I wiped my face to ensure they knew how tired I was. Zeg, I needed a socitab. I needed the false reassurance that someone was caring for me, holding me up rather than the opposite.


    “You will, right?”


    Her violet eyes grasped me again, forcing me to lie just to see her smile. She gave it to me. That was enough. I set the thoughts of using a socitab aside and returned her smile. “Yes.”


    “Then let''s do it. Where are we going?”


    I looked at Boyband. “Deleon will expect us to be dead or still working with the Entertainment Party. Regardless, there is a chance he will find us.”


    “Why?”


    “We have to go to your place, among the SocStans.”


    “So exactly where he wanted us to go?”


    “Yes. If he finds us, I want it to be set up under our conditions.”


    “You want to trap him?”


    “No, I just want to make sure we have the support we need.”


    “You think my people, my parents'' people, are going to be that willing to help us?”


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    “If we solve your parents’ murder.”


    Boyband scowled.


    “Who else would kill them? Isn’t it obvious that Deleon did it? He must have wanted you for some reason. We’ll enter the Indigo District, gain the SocStan support so when we let Deleon learn where we are, we’ll have the support we need to eliminate him.”


    “You really think he did it? If he did, why would he send us to them?”


    “Are you compliant?”


    “What?”


    “A trigger phrase for control. The neuroblocks have separated us from his control. If we tried to rebel while in the district, he could manipulate our neurospaces into seeing the SocStans as our enemies.”


    “Sounds convoluted.”


    “I know, I mean, I don’t know everything, but I am sure that we have to go there.”


    Naoma stared with confusion.


    “I’m sorry. Zeg, I’m a mess. I–we just want to get out of here.”


    We turned to look at the skyshuttles.


    “Someone will know what happened here,” I said. “We just need to move things along before the consequences of our feedings follow. We’ll figure the rest out later.”


    Naoma started towards the skyshuttles. We followed and moved in close behind her as she opened the door.


    “Do you know how to drive it?” I asked.


    She leaned in, tapped on the control interface. “Whoever drove it left the control key in here somewhere.”


    “But can you drive it?” Boyband asked.


    “I had my musical talent downloaded. Set aside all the controversy with skill downloading, but I can download the driving skill set. The connection here is pretty terrible, but it should work. It''s a simple enough skill that shouldn’t invite any other problems.”


    “Do it,” I said. And walked around to enter through the door on the other side. Boyband followed. Naoma sat in the driver’s seat. Her eyes flashed with the lights of the neurospace.


    “Any luck?” Boyband asked.


    She continued to stare without a response.


    “Naoma?” he asked.


    I leaned over to look at her. “Skill downloading must require the entire mind.”


    “You ever tried?” Boyband asked.


    “No. I was never wealthy enough to bypass the laws to do so and wasn’t willing to risk my neurospace system on it. It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? How we still care–at least I do–about laws and morality after all that we…you know…” I sat back in my seat and looked up, leaning my head on the inflexible headrest. “You holding up?”


    “Despite all the guk we''re going through, I''m feeling pretty decent. I haven''t felt well-fed since I gained the Bite, and I''m heading home.”


    I rolled my head over to look at him.


    “No, no,” he said. “I mean–I get that nothing will be the same. We''re going there, but I''m not really returning. Still, it doesn''t mean I have to be so down, right? You said we''re going to prove that Deleon killed my parents. That''s our way out! Sure, anyone associated with him will hate us, and the Finians if we can get her out of their grasp, but I am sure we can have the SocStans on our side.”


    The plan was a perfect work of fiction. That did not stop me from giving it my all, but it was still a fallacy that I couldn''t count on. I had not fed Boyband and Naoma lies to trick them into compliance. I had lied to them as much as I did to myself. My deception would come at the price of friendship and any remnants of self-respect that I retained. If all else failed as I assumed, perhaps the plan would succeed enough for them to escape. Naoma was sure to have supporters elsewhere to help her find freedom. If Boyband found support in his parents'' allies, I could give myself as a scapegoat for Deleon''s rage.


    I opened my files for a socitab. Boyband averted my addiction once again.


    “You''re quiet again. Zeg, you really do need Naoma. The music was enough, but now she''s going to make everything worse when she leaves us.”


    “What?” Before scowling at him, I made sure that Naoma was still occupied. She failed to react to Boyband''s comment and her eyes continued to flash.


    “I might have been out of sight, but I listened to the conversation you had with her on the roof. You were happy. Alive. Not the melodramatic ‘uh, my life sucks, give me my depressing synths,’ guy.”


    I chuckled and elbowed him.


    Boyband leaned forward to look at her, then rested back against his seat. “You two would go well together.”


    “Anyone would look good with Naoma. We don’t even know each other. We’ve had one actual conversation outside of her controlled mindset.”


    “Then change that.”


    “You’re holding up though?”


    “I said I was. Let’s keep it that way.”


    Naoma grabbed the steering wheel, then revved the engine. “Where to?”


    “How well do you know the Indigo District?” Boyband asked.


    “I’ve toured around it plenty but never drove there myself. Do you have an address?”


    “Saved into my neurospace, but I can’t send it over. Just look up Eclaine D&A. Our farm isn’t far from the distribution center.”


    “Found it.” The skyshuttle balanced as it rose into the air.


    “How far away is it?” I asked.


    “Four hours. Think you can handle that?”


    “Yeah.”


    “We should arrive just before sundown.”


    Boyband chuckled. “Zeg this smog really throws things off.”


    “It doesn’t help being drugged and awakened by captors,” I added.


    Boyband tapped the entertainment panel and groaned.


    “What now?” Naoma asked, her eyes now fixed on the holographic course cast before her.


    “Can we use your music library? Zegging neuroblock won’t allow me to connect to it.


    “Sure thing.” She tapped her temple. A second later, an array of music appeared on the panel. Chart-toppers rotated through the top of the screen, mood-based playlists rotated below, and Naoma’s personal playlists were listed on the right side of the screen.


    Boyband spoke with a nasal mocking. “Don’t miss the Neon Idol’s new single! Stream Let’s Eat by Naoma now!”


    “Try it and we’re sitting in silence,” she said.


    Boyband held his hands up to defend himself. Her attention remained on the course.


    “Let’s check out the playlists, then. Maybe your taste in music is better than Petya’s.”


    She cracked a smile.


    Boyband scrolled through her playlists. “Girl power, typical, sad, I bet Petya would like that one, cute, he’d like that one even more, classical, pop inspo, Anton’s recs, sabbath, I didn’t take you for the religious type.”


    “Wow, isn’t that weird? There is more to me than neon fashion and catchy lyrics.”


    Boyband continued to read. “Mood, Reef–”


    “Do that one. It’s got some good crowd pleasers.”


    “So not Petya’s type.”


    “Are you as pretentious as he says you are, Petya?”


    “If the band has more than five listeners, I’m out.” We both laughed. “No. I like a lot of Reef’s stuff, but I guess I might see their stuff differently now. Is that what is on that playlist?”


    “Yup. Anything Anton has produced. I added most of my colleagues’ discography, but you won’t find a single song of mine.”


    “Do you get along with them?” Boyband asked. “Did you?”


    “Anton’s Naoma did.”


    “What does Naoma’s Naoma like?” I asked.


    “We’ve got a long ride. Plenty of time to tell stories. Why don’t we start with you, Boyband. Tell me how you got that name?”


    “The first day I met Petya. I was instantly bothered by his skunk hair.”