U.T.O.P.I.A. | BOOK 1 of Death of the Future Series

TWO

NEO

"Neo, it's time. Please go into Room 301. You'll be meeting with your Match soon."

Those words echoed in my brain and continued to play like a broken record for the past five minutes. Accompanying them was this nausea and urge to take off from this place the very minute I arrived here. Alone, in a room that was too small for me to breathe in, only the ticking sounds of the wall clock kept me rooted to reality. With each movement from the second arm, my skin became tighter on my body. And rattling in my head were voices of those that had seared their expectations into me.

Of who I was supposed to be.

'You'll meet your Match, Neo, and then you'll come to love her. Don't disappoint her, boy.'

My grandfather had looked at me straight in the eyes with his hard grip on my shoulder and sent me to this place of doom. U.T.O.P.I.A. Playground — everyone wanted to be here to meet the person they would be living the rest of their lives with. To experience the Spark, a biological confirmation that two people were meant to be.

It was supposed to be exciting. Exhilarating.

Yet, all I wanted to do was to run away.

I curled my fingers together on the metal table. This room gave me chills even though I was sure it was warm in here. A glance at the thermometer located next to the entryway displayed numbers glowing in neon green; twenty-four degrees Celsius. I blinked a few times, my shoulders hunched forward as another wave of chill ran down my spine.

This wasn't where I was supposed to be. Anywhere but here.

The necklace around my neck almost burned, reminding me why I was here anyway.

Nervousness that thrummed through my veins increased tenfold when there was a flash of an image in my mind. Of those eyes and smiles, the deep voice that would me feel safe in this world of uncertainty — and those final touches of the fingers on my body before they disappeared forever.

I could still feel everything to do with...

Bile threatened to crawl up my throat and my stomach churned. I forced myself to take in a few deep breaths, eyes warming at the memories I held close of our friendship. Of our love. And how it had felt to lose it all in a blink of an eye.

I was here because I had no choice. And I had wanted to start anew — because I couldn't do anything else.

Because I had been weak to defy the system unlike—

A soft hiss echoed into the air and the door slid open, silencing my thoughts immediately.

Anticipation and dread increased up to twenty extra notches in my mind. Sitting up straight as if someone had rammed a rod down my body, making me rigid and stiff, I waited for my Match to walk through the entrance.

A few seconds passed before a girl with strawberry-blonde coloured hair took a step inside; her face completely devoid of any emotion. Even when those emerald green eyes bored into me, I couldn't see what she was feeling. She stared at me and for a brief moment, I was nothing more than an insect under her inspection. My palms were clammy but I refused to rub them on my jeans.

It was enough that I probably looked like a spooked animal.

Was she as nervous as I was?

If so, she was doing a great job acting composed.

My heart sunk to the bottom of my chest.

Maybe she was uninterested in me.

Objectively, she was pretty. Her round face did give an impression she had yet to lose her baby fat, but she was well-groomed from head to toe with her hair in place and her dress neatly pressed. Her skin was fair with a touch of pink on her eyelids and cheeks, making her vivid green eyes pop out even more.

But what really stood out to me was how she carried herself.

She had an air of sophistication around her, as if she knew what she was doing and wouldn't tolerate someone who had no idea what to do with their lives. For a moment, I shot a look at the door, wondering how much trouble I would be in if I darted out of here.

Thick silence enveloped the both of us. No one said a word. I fidgeted at where I sat, refusing to meet her gaze lest she saw how pathetic I was.

She was my Match and I didn't know what to even say to her.

In a weak effort to break the silence between us, I tried to give her a smile even when the thrums of panic tried to claw their way out of my chest.

"Hi," I croaked once she had taken a seat in front of me. The sound of the metallic chair scraping on the floor was loud and echoed off the walls of this small room, causing me to wince. She blinked once before she nodded.

"I'm Olivia Jensen," she said, going straight to the point without waiting for me to introduce myself first. Even her voice was void of any feeling. I flinched, the urge to babble starting to bubble up within me even if I was pushing that feeling away, refusing to make a fool out of myself.

This did nothing to calm the panic and dread cascading through me.

I wanted to run away, as far as I could. Leave her here and let everyone else — anyone else — deal with her. It was clear right now that I wasn't the one for her. But our names would have been registered by now and our marriage had been sealed the very second I set foot in this place.

Just get this over with. The familiar mantra that had been my motto since I lost everything I cared about was the only thing that made me stay. Even if the memories I cherished would continue to haunt and mock me for being weak, I couldn't leave.

"I'm Neo, Neo Carmichael." The words left my mouth in a rush. My fingers twiddled rapidly and her eyes landed on them.

After a beat, she looked back at my face but didn't say anything else.

Well, this was awkward.

As if I needed this on top of everything else.

It was enough that I was forced to let go of this misery and sadness in my chest, to forget about the series of memories that helped me to continue on living. And now... now this.

"So, uh," I said. "We're married! Sort of."

"It's to be expected," Olivia said, her tone flat. "We're eighteen after all."

"Y-yes," I said, the panic not subsiding. Olivia looked cold, like she could freeze anything if she set her mind to it. How does one even react to a person like that? "Our names. Last names... how do you want it to be?"

"I prefer my last name," Olivia said, her tone holding no room for argument. "You can do whatever you want with yours."

"Oh," I said and then smiled, though it didn't make Olivia smile back. Perhaps she didn't know how to stretch her lips wide and be pleasant. Was this really my Match? She seemed to be the last person I would go for if I had the choice to choose. "If you don't mind, I'll keep my last name too."

"Okay," Olivia said before she stood up and patted her dress. I sighed in relief at the end of our introduction. At least I wouldn't have to continue making a fool out of myself in front of her. "We'll go to your house first to get your stuff and then mine. Then, we'll head over to Green Days for our apartment."

Right, Green Days. The place for newlyweds.

That certainly did nothing to erase my anxiety. I forced a smile on my face and kept it on even when my cheeks started to ache.

I didn't want to share a house with someone I barely knew. She wouldn't even react to me. How was I to live with someone like this?

Imagining a life trying to keep up a fake niceness facade sounded tiring.

But what other choice did I have?

I nodded and stood up as well. "Yes, okay, that's totally fine by me."

Olivia didn't respond and I didn't bring myself to talk to her either. I wasn't in the mood to talk anyway.

At least she didn't object to me keeping Carmichael as my last name. My heart squeezed, grateful that I, at least, got to keep it.