Haeron tried to take it all in. Breathing in the musky, dank air of the residence district. It seemed as if everything was grey from the outside, like a noir film or some kind of Nazi Germany ghetto from World War II. "I don't get it, I live literally in the lap of the technological revolution and these people look like their houses are held together with Popsicle sticks." He thought to himself as he walked along the cobblestone sidewalk. The people were weary of him. He could tell as they kept a broad scrape from him, one person moved themselves clear to the other side of the avenue. "These people are terrified." He was tense and he could feel the thickness of their uneasiness with him in their community. He couldn't stand it.

He meandered through the corridors of houses into a square of sorts. "Brimley!" Haeron stopped cold in his tracks as he heard Crosby's growl from behind his mask.
"Cros? What are you doing here?" Haeron was beyond confused as his friend was in full uniform deep in the residence district.
"Reassigned, you know how it is."
"I'm not going to lie, this seems like a promotion."
"I'll acknowledge that, I don't know, they must like my... enthusiasm." Crosby was smug in his words. The way Crosby said it was practically disgusting to Haeron. He understood so much in that moment, what the Guardians did, why they were guarding the city. And the practically blood-thirsty recruits they had brought in. It was like a fog had just lifted and he was naked in the world. He felt exposed as an outsider without any lifeline. But he had to keep his face separate from the immediate desperation he felt.
"That's good, man. Don't do anything stupid out there." Brimley held out his hand in an offer of congratulations.
Crosby gripped his hand tight and pulled his friend in close, "I could say the same for you. Have a good night in the tunnels, H."

"Prick... what a prick..." Haeron thought to himself moving quickly as he needed to get back to the tower. He felt powerless to protect anything from Crosby anymore. "What happened to him? He was always intense but he was never dangerous." He got back to the tower and grabbed some food, before retiring to the confines of his quarters. Corville Haynes was waiting for him in the common room. Lieutenant Haynes was a 3rd year Complex Guard and was known as a hero. Serving in 5 tours of duty in North Korea he knew the ins and outs of diplomacy and war. He was unshakable and was always someone of whom Haeron could admire.
"Sit down, Brimley." Haeron was almost geeking out that Haynes knew his name. "Let's talk about yesterday."
"Yes sir." Haeron responded by sitting in the chair across from Haynes. He expected this all day and it was amazing to him that THE Corville Haynes was talking to him.
"There are rules here and you respect that. You like the book, and we like that about you. What you did by putting aside your comradeship and doing what was right, was not unnoticed. It takes bravery to take a stand, and even more to take a stand against someone you trust." Haeron was listening intently, and was finding it hard to believe what he was hearing. "But that, son, is exactly what you did. You put the job in front of yourself. That's why we brought you in. To keep order among the ranks. And if you were willing to keep your best friend in line without hesitation, you can keep anyone in line. We've been watching you for some time, son. From your time in the scouts, ROTC, school, you have what it takes to be a great leader. Don't squander this opportunity. Corporal Brimley, we want you in the trenches. We want you in this war for the nation. The war against magyk. It has no place, and those who use it must be controlled. You are the future of this war. We will win this with or without you. So make your decision and be content. Help us, make this world a better place... a safer place for all of us. Take the night off, seriously. Those "people" are against us."
"With all due respect, sir. They are terrified of us." Haeron was unapologetic in his approach to this.
"And they damn well should be..." Haynes was suddenly darker and serious. "Their lives are in our hands. Think about where you fit in this war. Come see me in the morning, we will talk about the future."
"But sir..."
"Take a night and think it over before you speak. Have a drink, clear your head." He stood up and began walking to the elevator. "You have a future here, Haeron. Don't waste that, for all of our sakes. Good night, Corporal."
"Good night, Lieutenant."

The elevator doors opened up and Corville stepped inside and was gone. Haeron sat in the silent room alone with his thoughts. He sat looking out over the city, he was taken off his post, disgraced for what? For protecting the inhabitants of this godforsaken place? He thought about those kids, the mouthy girl, and how if Crosby would ever come across her again. He would never be able to stop Crosby. "You have a future here, Haeron..."

"Dear Wil,

Yeah they don't want a lot of outside contact around here, so it would seem. The guard is in place to act as a surrogate family in lieu of one's own. I don't buy into it. You are my family, no one can replace you, remember that. I'm in complex 49, that's literally all I can tell you.

This place is.... it's just..... so different than I thought it would be. I was reprimanded for the first time since I was like 9, today. I saved a girl and now I have a meeting with THE Corville Haynes in the morning. I have no idea what I can do. I need to protect the weaker and the oppressed, but all the guard care about are taking up arms against magyk.

It's incredible what they can do, Wilare. You would be so enamored by it all. They can do amazing things, and I've only seen a tiny morsel of the powers they possess, but there has to be a reason they are being herded into this place. They are people of all ages. I saw a girl your age the other day, even younger still! They can't all be dangerous. But Corville wants me to fear them, to not be stingy with the violence and put these "things" in their place. I thought putting them in this place would be enough and cultivating their lives in a controlled environment. But the more I see around here, the less I doubt I'm doing the best for the greater good.

They fear us Wil, they fear me. I am the monster in their eyes, and from everything I've seen, there is no easy way out of here for any of us. I think I've fallen out of favor with Crosby. It's a long story for a different time. I have a lot to think about tonight. Maybe I'll go for a walk.

Oh yeah, new girl! Super hot, name is Mina, I'll keep you posted. Take care of yourself. Send mom and dad my love.

H"

It was all too much to compress into a single night. Haeron, knew that he was not going to sleep that night. He looked out from his room. "This might be the last time I have this view," he thought as he scanned the city. The sky was getting darker as the city seemed to die. He dressed in as casual of clothes as he had and threw a vintage, St. Louis Cardinals hat on and took the elevator down to the lobby and out to the street.

He walked for what seemed like ages. The further from the headquarters the darker and darker it got as the sun was now below the walls of the complex. He passed guard after guard watching the citizens of the complex like raptors staring down prey, but the people here were not stupid. He made it to a central market where a man was selling kebabs. "Oooh and for you, sir? May you be partaking in the deliciousness of my sticks of meat?! Hahaha!" The jovial man seemed out of place, a single beacon of joy in the vast darkness surrounding him.
"I'll take two. It's going to be a long night." H replied.
"They are all long nights around here, son. Take care of yourself, don't go into the lower residence districts, it's bonfire night you know." The merchant was sullen in his warning, but it was almost like he was sharing and inside joke that they would laugh about later.
"Bonfire night?"
"Ahhhhh a new pup to rear into a fighter.... Bonfire night is a dreadful sight indeed. I wouldn't be caught alive there.... mostly because everyone there is dead." The man forced a smile and handed Haeron his kebabs and sent him on his way.
"Mina is down there," He thought to himself as he took a bite of his food, it was tremendously good. He ate it quickly and headed towards the lower residence district where he had left her. He could smell it more and more as he got closer. The smell of burning flesh. The smoke filled the densely housed streets. Haeron kept to the walls ducking between buildings to not be confused for a citizen, he thought that best at this juncture. He could see the orange and yellow dancing across the brick facades of the houses and then between two houses he could see it clearly.

The guards were on disposal duty as the lit a pyre in the middle of the LRD square and were in the process of throwing the bodies of the deceased onto it. It was terrifying to do this in the middle of the square where everyone could see it. There were so many, so many dead people and the fire was so large and the stench so putrid that H had to look away. He looked back from the fall of western society into the darkness as he saw little lights, just barely faint enough to see. "This is magyk..."

H followed the lights as if they were little fairies and he was with his sister again in the fields every summer chasing fireflies. He chased them through the winding tight corridors between the buildings as he came to a door behind a house at the bottom of a short staircase, so secluded. It was silent for a moment as he waited in the darkness to see what would happen next. The door creaked open and he could see more and more of the faint little lights floating in the air, H walked inside and took a staircase down into the basement of the home. "Hello? Is somebody there?" The darkness was warm and clean, not how a basement should be. He stood in the silence as a light came from his left. It came up a dim red and he saw them.

6 to 9 people standing in the room with him. "Who are you?" He called out to them as one stepped out from the darkness. She was familiar to him. It took him a second to make her out in the dark but he knew it was her. "Smart ass?""