Chapter 3

Ruby looked slightly confused as she saw the Deputy asking her for her assistance. She wasn't that good on the job, since she was just starting out. She felt of all people she was the most under qualified. The deputy looked at Ruby with a small smile, which was rare for her. "I've always seen you as a star pupil. Your loyalty to New Atlantis is unmatched by anyone else I know. And your very determined. I think you might be my successor." Ruby eyes widened feeling excited and ashamed at time. For the longest time she felt like becoming deputy was her dream. But now she wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. She felt guilty for what she had done in her past, and because of that she thought she didn't deserve such a rank. "I don't think I deserve that much praise..... I've done bad things in my life." The deputy smiled gently patting her back. "Ruby, I see a lot of myself in you. Your strong and determined, but your timid to take what you deserve. I remember when I was afraid, but I made sure to put my own goals above anything and everyone else. Don't be afraid to do whatever needs to be done to achieve your dream." She said before changing the subject, allowing the idea to marinate in Ruby's mind and leave an impression.

"Anyways, that isn't why I wanted to talk to you. I'm aware that your close with the founders son, but I need you to keep an eye on him. There's reason to believe that he'll try to escape. I want you to make sure he stays here. The task force will stay on watch and stop him from leaving but we need to do the best we can. He's the future head of this city." Ruby trembled a little. She didn't care about him being Future head off the city, or about his rank in society. Liam was her best friend, and her only friend at that. The thought of him becoming another person who was

Tried to escape scared her, more than criminals or the outside. "I'll do everything I can..." Ruby said to her. The deputy gave a smile as she walked to the door. "I'm happy we got to talk, have a good night sleep." She left as Ruby went to bed, though she had trouble going to sleep. She fell asleep, Suddenly she was at a road, one that led so high up you couldn't see where it ended. She held her now limp sister as she bled, filled with something she now knew was bullets. Her sisters face was frozen in a weak and painful state. For the first time she no longer saw the fearless hero her sister allowed her to see. Her sister was just as human, and in turn just as fragile as she was. She cried sobbing loudly as law enforcement walked over, inspecting the damage done. A woman walked over patting the Ruby's back. "Don't worry, you did the right thing calling us before she got away. Your sister would be a lot sadder if she was out there, wouldn't she?"

Liam woke up, with a slight headache. Last night he had came home to his dad scolding him about how he needs to stop putting himself in dangerous situations since he's the future head, and after that Liam stopped listening, because he loathed that title. He wished he had a choice in all of this, instead of being forced to lead. He wanted to get away from it all, and find out what the hell he was really meant to do. Because he didn't know at all. He just knew it wasn't to stay here and become king of underground town. He got out of his twin sized bed, cleaning up his room so that he wouldn't have to worry about it later on. The house looked clean, and everything seemed polished like it was brand new. He peaked into his fathers office. He knew his dad was out at a meeting with the the rest of Council members, but whenever he wanted to snoop around he would check a room before entering it. His dad was very open about his office being off limits. Liam noticed that he had reports on his desks, and as his suspicions and questions felt like bursting out he could no longer hold off curiosity and he looked at them. There where paperwork about recent criminals, new roles assigned, job transfers, but one thing stuck out. "Geothermal proposal from Branch of Scientific studies" the papers where all stamped with either pending, accepted, or denied. This one had a pending. The letter was informing that Geothermal activity was slowly decreasing, something that wouldn't be immediately dangerous, but something that should be studied further and questioned. Whatever this was was obviously important, because the letter said that if they don't find a solution, they can be sure that the city will eventually die. The fact that his father chose to ignore something so important made him furious.

He decided to take a walk to subside his anger. Or rather a train ride. There where trains that moved on the roads, when someone was going far. He would usually walk, but he wasn't in the mood for sight seeing. He got off as he walked over to the are where the guy had used him as a hostage. As scared as he was when he was in that situation, the man seemed to be know more about what was going on. He had to find a clue or something that let him believe things would be ok. He saw a note on the floor. "East 3214 -Dr.Osborn" it had some significance, it had to at least. He thought for a bit before thinking of what the code might be for. "It has to be somewhere they wouldn't want people to go." He remembered it suddenly. On the east side of the city there was a door guarded by soldiers. He had a feeling his search would be stopped by the guards once he got there but it was worth a shot. He got on the train dropping off at the east side. He walked over to the door, and to his surprise no one was guarding it. He put in the key code and then walked in.

Liam stopped, a strange awe fell over him. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. There was this strange vehicle with Wing like appendages, and strange propeller shaped things under those wings. He walked closer, noticing there was an inside compartment. He got in, feeling the controls. "What is this..." He was eager to try and use it, but other thoughts came to mind after the whole thing sank in. "Why would anyone hide this..." he said out loud. And if they lied about something like this, he wanted to know what else they had lied to him about. He got out of the vehicle and then clenched his fists. He knew if he told Ruby she would try to stop him, so he would have to go alone. He went back home and grabbed some stuff he might need in a hurry. He left without being seen, running to the one place he knew would be able to escape from. As he ran towards the Access Point he felt someone pull him back, not letting go. "Please Don't go..." Ruby said beggingly, tears falling down her face. "Liam you'll die if you go there...please don't do this." Liam turned to her, stuck between two choices. He could leave now, and finally find out the truth that was hidden from everyone in this city, but at what cost? He would leave behind his family, Ruby, and his whole life. If he got out there, he couldn't turn back. Or he could stay, live a happy life with the people he cared about, and never question if there was a different calling he had. He didn't know if he could sleep knowing he lost that chance.

"They are hiding the truth from us Ruby....I saw it with my own eyes...eventually this place is going to go to shit, we have to leave someday." Ruby pleaded with him, doing everything she could to not lose him. "Liam...I believe you.. This place isn't that great. When I was little they killed my sister before she could escape. I never knew until she was dead, but she wasn't happy here. We were underachievers, and not by choice. I want to leave with you but if you leave now they'll do the same thing to you. I don't want to lose you too.." Liam suddenly froze. He felt like he would be stuck here forever, and he couldn't bare that. But Ruby has a point, so he simply looked down defeated. She pat his back. "Don't worry, we can escape. We just need to find a safe route out, and maybe someone who knows a lot more about this stuff. For now let's just play some arcade games." She said smiling gently, as she took his hand leading him away from the access point.