After class, Lauren changed into a sleeveless striped top and put on a light zip-up. She emptied her bag of school supplies in case she’d need it, if only to store her jacket. It was already heating up by the time class was over, the sky nearly cloudless. She threw a pair of dark sunglasses she found in her dresser into her pocket.

  Lauren knew everyone else getting ready was going to take a while, so she sat on her bed and tried Uptik again. There wasn’t much to be found with the “Pacific City Heroes” search. Vigilance seemed to be the only superhero in the city with an active account. Some other accounts mentioned seeing Seraph flying overhead. One other post from four hours ago caught her eye:

  PCPD are trying to suppress this, but I hear people saying someone shot up a mob hideout in Oceanside. Just left bodies blasted to bits. Drugs burnt. Victims set free. We’re getting back to the time of vigilantes. Before heroes were the establishment. People putting on masks and protecting their hoods by any means necessary. This is the real shit. We gotta look out for ourselves when others won’t. Fuck the cops, fuck the gangs, fuck the fake heroes. Pacific City 4 Life!

  The post had over two thousand likes. Apparently people agreed with the sentiment.

  Lauren pocketed her phone and went out with her bag to the living room. Lucy stood there, on her phone, still in her dress. She looked up.

  “Hey, you,” she said. “You ready? I was just looking up places we could check out.”

  “Yeah,” Lauren. “Do you know how we’re even supposed to get down to the city?”

  “Oh, it was in the pamphlet. It looks totally cool. Let’s go meet up with everyone and find it.”

  Lauren followed Lucy out of the dorm. They exited to find Grace, Cleo, and Benedict leaning on the rail, watching something down below. Lauren and Lucy both walked over to see what they were watching.

  The volleyball pitch was in use by a group of students. On one side was Troy, Ike, and Jay. The other side was Luis, Jonas, and Danielle. All the boys were in shorts and shirtless, except for Jay, who kept his tee on. Danielle was in a sports bra and camo leggings. Just from one glance, Lauren could tell the spectators were more interested in the bodies than the ball.

  Lauren shook her head in mock condemnation, feeling a slight smile.

  “You’re perverts, all of ya.”

  “What’s your point?” Benedict asked.

  “I’m not a hypocrite, at least,” Grace said, leaning back and looking over at her. “If those boys wanna watch me bake my buns by the pool, they’re welcome to. Lord knows that’s the only kind of baking I’m good at. I need to get a boyfriend somehow.”

  “I can teach you how to bake!” Lucy offered.

  Down below, Danielle leaped into the air and spiked the ball with one of her swole arms. The boys on the other side of the net dove out of the way as the ball hit the ground between them and threw up a cloud of sand, then ricocheted into the grass.

  “Hey! No super-strength on the court!” Troy complained.

  “Oh puh-lease,” Danielle said. “Ike is on turbo-steroids.”

  She flexed her arm, bicep bulging like a grapefruit.

  “Not my fault I’m naturally the strongest.”

  Cleo put a hand on her chin as she leaned on the railing.

  “I’m not into girls, but I could keep my eyes closed and feel her muscles all day.”

  “I’ll take one of the more svelte ones,” Benedict said with an appraising eye on the boys.

  Lauren walked past the group of gawkers. “Anyone coming with us, we’re leaving now. Stare later.”

  “Ooh! I’m coming!” Benedict said.

  The four of them followed Lauren downstairs. Waiting on the ground level were Thalia and Abigail, standing a respectful distance apart. Thalia was dressed in light, breezy clothes that suited a day out. Abigail was wearing a blue suit with a pressed white shirt and matching blue tie. Her short hair was styled in a tight wave across her head, and her face had a thick layer of makeup. She looked ready for a business meeting in 1985.

  “You look, uh… professional,” Lauren said to her as a greeting.

  Abigail proudly grabbed the lapels of her jacket.

  “Thank you. I’m accompanying Adam to the Atlas Foundation campus today. Not to sound conceited, but I’m something of a precocious polymath. I believe I have unique and insightful perspectives to share on a variety of subjects, which I think their researchers will appreciate.”

  “Not conceited at all,” Lauren muttered.

  “Is Mary not coming?” Lucy asked Thalia.

  “Nah, she said she wasn’t feeling well.”

  “Isn’t Mary like… a robot?” Lauren asked.

  “Yeah. A very delicate robot, apparently. We’re just waiting on Adam,” Thalia said. “He can be… fussy.”

  “I am not fussy,” Adam said just then, opening the door to his dorm. He wore a button-down shirt, slacks, and dark shoes. His hair was neatly combed.

  “Do I look nice?” Adam asked, mostly to Thalia.

  “Yeah, sure. Only a little dorky,” Thalia cracked.

  Abigail clucked and stepped forward, presumptuously straightening Adam’s collar.

  “Don’t listen to her. You look like the scion to a family of knowledge, industry, and adventure,” Abigail said. She stepped away and admired him, hands on her hips. “Perfect.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Uh, thanks.”

  Behind Abigail, Thalia had an off-put look.

  “Alright, are we all ready then?” Lauren asked.

  Five minutes later, everyone who was going was finally wrangled and walking around the school to the north corner of campus. Just on the inside of the fence corner was an unassuming one-story building that looked like it housed the school’s facility maintenance.

  “This is how we get to the city?” Lauren checked. She couldn’t see any cars, cables, or landing pads anywhere around it. It looked to her like just a regular school building.

  “Oh, I read about this,” Adam said. “Let’s see if it’s up and running.”

  He scanned his school ID at a reader next to the building’s door, which disengaged a lock and allowed entry. The group went in single file.

  Inside was not in fact any sort of maintenance area, but a mostly-empty room with a square platform taking up much of the floorspace. A waist high double fence surrounded the platform, which had a textured steel surface.

  Off to the side, a middle-aged man in a jumpsuit was sitting at a booth reading a paperback novel. He sat up when the students came in.

  “Howdy,” he said. “First time using the Rosewell Express?”

  “That’s right,” Adam said.

  “It’s very simple,” the operator said. “All of y’all get on the platform and close the gate. I’ll press the button and lower you down to the bottom of the cliff. From there, an underground station will send you on a sealed railcar to our unassuming station downtown. It’s real fast, should only take a few minutes to arrive. Whenever you’re ready to come home, just come check in again at the city station. And obviously, keep it a secret amongst yourselves. No bringing any hangers-on back to the station. The station’s entrance should always be marked on the map in your school app. Is all that understood?”

  Everyone nodded. The operator cleared them to stand on the platform. Thalia closed the gate behind them.

  “Have fun, and remember to check in on your app,” the operator said.

  He pressed some things on his control panel, and the platform began to slowly descend. The lights of the building above them were soon replaced by glowing panels rising past.

  “Did they run out of money to install some seats?” Cleo complained.

  The descent took maybe a minute. They slowed and reached the bottom. When the platform stopped, only one side of the shaft gave way to an exit. They streamed out, and were greeted by another operator, this one a woman.

  “Hi folks! Heading into town?”

  The area was essentially an underground subway station, the kind Lauren had seen in big cities on TV. The walls and floor were tiled. Lights hung from a ceiling made of natural stone. They stood on a platform next to a quite sleek-looking railcar. It’s nose pointed toward the dark tunnel that the rail led into. Its doors were open and waiting.

  “Go ahead on in. There’s no buckles or anything, it’s all completely safe. We’ll have you in town lickety-split.”

  A couple of them thanked the operator, and they stepped into the car. The interior was clean and shiny. No one sat at its front. Apparently it was all automatic, though there was a red emergency brake labeled. Seating facing both forwards and sideways lined the car. Lauren took a seat by the front, and Lucy sat beside her.

  The doors sealed shut, and the car began smoothly accelerating forward. Within a few seconds, Lauren could feel the g-force lightly pressing her back.

  “Oh, I’m so excited to show off my home city!” Lucy squealed. “There’s so many food places we have to try. And museums, malls, oh- I have to show you the botanical garden. And the Japanese garden in the international district.”

  “Lucy, can you take us to the riverfront today?” Grace asked from behind them. “I hear the shopping there is to die for.”

  “Of course! Is that good with you?” she asked Lauren.

  Lauren shrugged. They clearly weren’t hitting the pavement today with this gaggle. “I guess that’s as good a place as any to start.”

  “Great.”

  “Doesn’t Pacific City have a light rail?” Thalia asked. “We need to figure out some way to get around.”

  “I scheduled a limo from the foundation to pick us up,” Adam said. “We’ll drop you off where you want to go before we head there. I could probably have a driver take me to you guys and bring us back, unless you’re done before I’m ready.”

  “You have a limo service?” Cleo marveled. “I’ve got to stick with you. That’s the only way I should travel around the city.”

  “Agreed,” Grace said. “Adam, you’re coming shopping with us every time.”

  “Alright alright, don’t get used to it,” Adam said. “It’s just because I’m meeting my dad.”

  The ride took only a few minutes longer. Eventually it began to slow and eased into a station that looked similar to the one they departed from. The door slid open, and they exited.

  An operator was standing there to greet them as they came out. This one wore a jumpsuit and a baseball cap, curly hair poking out.

  “Welcome to Pacific City,” he said with a small wave. “Just go ahead and head up the stairs there. There’s a light rail station a block south. I’ll be here when you’re ready to head back.”

  He had gestured to a set of broad tiled stairs past him that led upwards.

  “You think those operators report in to the school?” Thalia asked, glancing back as they ascended the stairs.

  “And BASTION,” Adam said. “And I’m sure the school app tracks our every step. They probably have a person assigned to monitor each of us.”

  “Bleh. That’s creepy,” Benedict said. He walked a step behind Adam and Thalia, near Lauren. Cleo and Grace brought up the rear.

  Lauren agreed about it being creepy. She wondered what the limits of wandering around town were. Would they flag her if she went into some sketch neighborhood? Or one of the towns around the city? Surely there was a limit to the invisible leash they were on.

  The stairs narrowed and let out into the ground floor of a building. The room was bare, having no windows and white laminated floor. There was a door about twenty feet away from the flat entrance of the stairs. Guards in dark body armor holding assault rifles stood on each side of the door. Lauren recognized them as BASTION troopers. In between the students and the door, the room was set up to be some sort of medical area. Curtains partitioned the room, containing hospital beds and machinery. Where there weren’t beds and curtains, more medical equipment was piled up. At least three people dressed in scrubs roamed around the room, glancing up as the students entered.

  Lauren shuddered involuntarily. She knew in her mind this was different, but the combination of sterile equipment and guards made her think of the lab. It made her feel small.

  “Shit, is this all for us?” Cleo wondered.

  “It has to be,” Adam said as his eyes roamed around the room. “This is like an army camp. It’s like BASTION considers Pacific City… enemy territory.”

  “Well gee, that’s a comforting thought,” Grace said, pushing past them. “Can we get this day started already?”

  “Yeah, we should go,” Adam said. “I’ll ping the driver my location.”

  They filed through the crowded room to the door. One of the guards opened it for them and held it as they passed. On the other side of the door was another room, this one even bigger. It looked like they were at the back of a cubicle farm. At least this room had daylight, even if the windows weren’t anywhere close. It helped Lauren breathe a little better.

  They snaked through the maze of cubicles towards the front of the building. Lauren caught glimpses of people working in their little cubes, typing away at computers or sometimes taking calls.

  “Why is the exit to our school at the back of a call center?” Benedict asked.

  Thalia was the one to answer this time. “It’s a front. It’s supposed to look like a boring building no one would want to enter. All these people work for BASTION.”

  “They probably all have easy access to guns, too,” Adam added.

  They finally made it to another door, which led to a lobby waiting area. It was empty, except for a secretary that sat behind a desk off to the side. There wasn’t any seating or decor, just a plain granite floor. The secretary waved her fingers as they crossed the lobby and left through the front glass doors.

  Finally, they were in Pacific City. The building they had left from was one of multiple tall buildings nestled on the block, which curved upwards to crest a few blocks away. In the distance was the city’s cluster of skyscrapers that gleamed in the sunlight.

  Lauren paused for a moment to take it all in. She looked up to the blue sky. Though exhaust lingered in the air here, and mixed with the smells of food and oil and baking concrete and other smells of a city, it was somehow fresher than the air within the grounds of Rosewell. And beyond it all, underneath the dominant odors, was a waft of a salty ocean breeze. She could taste it.

  It was something she had been waiting to taste for years.

  “Lauren? You good?” Lucy asked, walking up to her friend.

  Lauren nodded, eyes still skyward.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”