Chapter 3

The Chapter in which we meet Magdalen.

“It might be… fine.” Evelyn said, hesitantly, her arms crossed over her chest to protect her from a non-existent chill. “Maybe they just left the door open.”

Best case scenario, they’d been robbed. But neither had hope that it was some petty thief, even in the most dangerous sector of Cerul. Aviva approached the door, and immediately she could see that the house had been ripped apart. Chairs were completely torn asunder, books were scattered with their pages torn from their spines, delicate ceramic plates had been tossed to the floor and ground into the wooden panels beneath who knew how many careless, apathetic boots. They hadn’t just searched, they destroyed. A house, delicately crafted by her mother’s meticulous eyes, full of memories and beautifully kept, even if so much more humble than her privileged upbringing. Reduced to this. 

Her parents weren’t here. She didn’t have to take a step inside to know it. 

“Aviva… You can’t stay here. They’re going to be looking for you.” 

Evelyn was behind her and gently she tugged her away from the threshold, her eyes on the windows of the houses nearby. They were dark, but who knew who was watching? 

“Where can we go?” Aviva murmured, her mind racing. Where had they taken her parents? People vanished, occasionally. You heard about it, in whispers and rumors. People who broke the law, not in a small way, the way Aviva had when she’d socked that brute at the party. Or it would have been, had he’d been in the same miserable caste that she’d been. Rather, by speaking out against the High Divine, or disobeying the cornerstone tenets of Cerul. And there were few laws as sacred as the mandate that all children be given the blessing of the High Divine before being born. It maintained the delicate balance of Cerul, that allowed it to be prosperous and free of violence. 

Or so it went.

“Maggie. Is Maggie safe?” Aviva’s head snapped up, as she realized that maybe this went past her and her parents. They might punish anyone who’d helped them. Evelyn would probably be afforded some protection because of the house she belonged to. Magdalen was unlikely to be as lucky. She’d been born into a lower-class family, scarcely better than Aviva’s, and only lived a few blocks away. She was staying with her parents while she attended school, while working a part-time job besides, to afford her place in one of the most prestigious universities of Cerul. 

Before Evelyn could answer Aviva was off like a shot, the blocks passing beneath her feet like air beneath a bird’s wing. She couldn’t recall the blur of familiar landmarks, parks, homes, her entire life flying by her. That is, until she stood in front of Magdalen’s house. 

Unlike the hollowed out husk of her own, Magdalen’s house was basked in warm lights filtering out through the curtains. She knew with certainty that Magdalen’s parents sitting in the living room, cups of tea beside them as they quietly read their books, occasionally chatting about their days, their theories about the popular drama series they’d been following, or their childrens’ latest escapades and accomplishments. They were a lovely, mild-manner couple who’d worked hard to give their children everything they wanted in life. And they were so unbelievably proud of how much Magdalen had done. They never seemed to judge Aviva either, despite how much trouble she’d seemed to cause over the years. But so much of that trouble had been because of Aviva’s fierce dedication to stomping the near constant bullies that had dogged Magdalen since she’d been just a little girl. 

“Oh, they’re okay.” Aviva breathed, not noticing the fire in her chest, the anaerobic burn of pushing her body to its limits. It was the one thing she’d always been good at it -- stretching herself to the breaking point and ignoring the damage. She turned to look at Evelyn, but she was a street back, doing her best to jog after her, heels in one hand, the skirts of her dress held by the other. Cinderella, gone wildly astray. Eventually she made it to Aviva, her face touched with sweat which caused the few flyaway strands that had escaped her braids to stick to her face.  

Aviva murmured an apology for leaving her behind and Evelyn waved it off as they circled Magdalen’s house to her backyard. There, Magdalen’s window was a panel of bright gold, warm and comforting. She was silhouetted against it but it was a familiar image �" her head bent studiously over her desk, her hands flying across across a projected screen. Maybe drawing notes, solving equations, or putting together a diagram. Her studies had always been eclectic. 

Without warning Aviva began to climb sturdy trellis that rose all the way to the roof, stopping at Magdalen’s window to rap against the glass with a fist. Magdalen’s head popped up and she looked towards the window with surprise, but there was already a bright smile on her face. She knew that knock well -- expected it all the time. Aviva had been climbing up to see her since they were just kids, long after Magdalen’s family had told her it was fine to use the door. An invitation Aviva had never once accepted. There’d been something charming and romantic about their secret meetings that had managed to survive past childhood and the cyninsim of adolescence. It’d become habit, and now, for her family, plausible deniability.

Immediately Magdalen pulled open the window and Aviva tumbled in, a somersault that was zero percent grace but one hundred percent efficiency. Evelyn tumbled in after, a pile of gold and pink silk, covered in sweat and panting. The skirt of her dress was in shambles, torn to shreds on the trellis. She lay on Magdalen’s floor, trying to catch her breath.

“Vivs! Eevee! What are you doing here? How was the party?” 

Magdalen sat perched on her seat, her dark hair a short curtain of curly waves that brushed the top of her shoulders. She was thrilled to see her best friends on her bedroom floor, practically glowed with it, especially on the night of the party. She’d kindly turned down Evelyn’s invitation to the gala, saying she had to study, as she always did. But Aviva and Evelyn were more than a welcome reprieve to that perpetual struggle. At least, until she saw the anxiety in Aviva’s eyes, the grim frown on Evelyn’s lips. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, concern and confusion dulling her light. 

Aviva explained what had happened, and her fears that Magdalen would be next. In silence Magdalen joined them on the floor and drew Aviva into a hug, burying her face into her shoulder. Aviva steeled herself against it, knowing that if she let herself feel comforted it would mean that she had to admit that she was heartbroken, enraged at herself, worried out of her mind for her parents and Magdalen and everyone around her.

“Oh, Vivs. Your family. I’m so sorry.” 

Aviva hadn’t expected that. She should have, knowing Magdalen, who had a kindness that had drawn Aviva to her like a moth to a golden flame. It was that kindness that had also drawn an endless stream of bullies to her. They saw her compassion and empathy as a sort of weakness, her soft, gentle voice as vulnerability. Aviva had taken it as a personal mission to protect her at all costs. 

And she’d failed miserably.

“Maggie, how can you say that? What about you, what about your family?” Magdalen drew away from her, a sad smile on her lips, her eyes darkened with thought.

“I don’t know, what can we do?” She shrugged and peered at the door that led to the hall, to her siblings’ bedrooms. “There really isn’t stopping a hunter, is there? Once they have your scent, they’ll chase you to the end of the world.”

“To the end of Cerul, maybe.” Evelyn interjected, an idea sparking in her mind. 

“What if… we got you out of the city?” 

“That’s impossible.” Aviva retorted, incredulous. The city was surrounded by massive walls that were guarded at all times by an electronic security system. No one had seen what was outside of Cerul, but even if you could see it, it wouldn’t be worth it. Every history book plainly stated that a massive war had decimated the entire world, leaving it barren. Nothing but irradiated ruins that would eat you away from the inside out. Cerul was one, if not the only, livable green space left, and that was only maintained through strict adherence to the law.

“No… it’s not.” Evelyn said slowly, as she pushed herself up to a sitting position, leaning heavily on one arm. It was clear that this was a well kept family secret, something she’d kept even from Aviva. “My aunt left. She still sends us Equinox presents. I’ve no idea how she gets the presents in, but I do know how she got out.” 

She conjured a holographic draw pad from her electronic bracelet encircling her wrist and laid it out on the floor. Quickly she drew the borders of Cerul -- a sort of oval that extended to the edge of the cliff that the city was perched on. She drew x’s along the cliff side. “These are sheer drops, and intensely guarded.” Evelyn explained, and Magdalen nodded. It was common knowledge. The High Divine’s palace was the only building even close to the edge, the only building that was allowed a view of the ocean below. 

“But here and here,” she circled two spots on the opposite side of the oval. “There are blind spots. My aunt and her friends disabled them, when she left. The system is pretty old, apparently. Pre-automaton.” 

Magdalen quietly pored over the map, her lips pursed together in thought. “No guards?” Evelyn shook her head, “No, it’s all been automated. Of course, if the system was working, the security system immediately guns you down.” 

“Lovely.” Aviva muttered, but her gaze was fixed on the map. It seemed like madness, but her parents were already gone. Those walls, and whatever lay beyond, were surely safer than trying to evade the hunters here. “I suppose it’s the best we have, though. What about Maggie’s family?” 

Immediately Magdalen shook her head. “No, no way. Mom’s still really weak from her surgery. And dad would never leave her.” Aviva nodded. She knew she was going to say that. Magdalen’s mother had been undergoing a series of treatments, the consequence of working the factory line in McCarthy Industries for the better part of her life. It was a job that should have long since passed to an automaton but the law dictated that every citizen of Cerul needed to be industrious. 

At fifty-six, with her lungs slowly collapsing, Magdalen’s mother didn’t qualify for retirement nor advanced medical aid with her current class status. It was one of the many reasons why Magdalen and her siblings all worked, even though they were all enrolled in school. They were hoping to pool together their resources and buy a recuperation pass in time. If they didn’t, she’d likely be picked up and put into quarantine. What happened to her after that, no one could be certain.

“Yes, of course. Well... maybe they can take a respite at my estate? Once they come to question them. We’ll put together a legal defense. After all, they can’t prove that your whole family knew that Aviva was unregistered.” Evelyn suggested, strumming her lap with perfectly manicured nails. 

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Magdalen protested, but Evelyn immediately waved it away. 

“Don’t be silly, Mags. You know there’s nothing on earth I wouldn’t do for you.” But Aviva could tell that there was guilt underlying the offer. She could recognize it because she felt it, too. If she hadn’t punched that boy, and if Evelyn hadn’t invited her to that party, Magdalen could have lived a peaceful life. There was no telling what would happen now. 

After a little more discussion, the three of them left Magdalen’s room to descend to the living room. Together they gently broke the news. It went about as well as Aviva could hope -- with Magdalen’s mother softly sobbing and her father quietly trying to argue with Evelyn, so as not to disturb the children upstairs. Eventually, Magdalen cut them off, telling them firmly that she was going, and that Evelyn was going to take care of them. When it became clear that nothing they said could change her mind, Magdalen’s mother began to prepare them backpacks, stuffing them full of food, water, medicine and light blankets. Where tears couldn’t fix a problem, practicality could. 

“You do everything that you can to come back in one piece. Your father and I, we’ll handle it here. Just be brave, keep yourself safe, and come back.” Her mother, a wisp of a creature with Magdalen’s large, gentle eyes, tried to keep her face stony and firm as she handed the packs to them. Her face was still wet with tears.

“I promise, mom.” Magdalen whispered, and buried her in a hug. Immediately the woman began to weep again, burying her face into Magdalen’s hair. Her father wrapped his arms around both of them, crying now too. They looked so frail, so old. Aviva’s heart twisted. 

“Look out for each other.” Her father murmured, and then turned to look at Aviva. “You’ll take care of her?” 

“I’d die for her.” Aviva reassured, meaning every syllable to its core. 

They exchanged farewells and no more than an hour after they’d arrived they were slipping out Magdalen’s window again and into the dark.