DYSTOPIA | BOOK 2 of Death of the Future Series

SIX

MICHAEL

Cyrille looked young, way too young to be a leader of a rebellion. Michael was sceptical but he didn't want to judge him, not when this was the first contact outside of their own team they had after years of trying to do so. To get a reply from Area E1 was a big deal but Michael couldn't shake the feeling that he couldn't completely trust this — boy one hundred percent.

"Area E1," Min Jae said, clearly in disbelief. "You're from Area E1."

"Yes," Cyrille said, his voice crackling through the static. "We've heard you but couldn't find a way to reciprocate until now."

There was a brief moment of silence before Ricky looked at him.

"Then, it's good to meet you," he said, his voice soft.

Cyrille nodded, glancing around before a frown etched on his face.

Michael held his breath knowing exactly what question was coming.

"Where's your leader?" Cyrille asked. "Are you the leader?"

He pointed at Min Jae, confusion clear in his voice. Michael looked at the boy before he looked at Ricky, meeting his eyes. He raised his eyebrows, thinning his lips when Ricky looked away, taking in a deep breath.

"No, I," Ricky said, pausing for a brief moment. "It's me."

Cyrille looked at him before he nodded, a slow one. "So, you're Dae Hee?"

Before Ricky could speak, Min Jae cut him to it, his voice firm. "He died."

Min Seo grabbed his arm, tossing a glare at him. Michael flinched at how cold the words felt, as if the precious man hadn't died a few hours ago. He curled his fingers on his tablet tighter, forcing himself to keep his cool.

He had always been easy to snap at Min Jae because of his reckless and outspoken nature but he knew that the boy was probably hurting in his own way.

Everyone was.

"Yes," Ricky said, words muttered almost too quietly. "Dae Hee died. Today. I'm taking over from now on."

Cyrille stared at us before his gaze dropped, nodding once. "My condolences."

Michael cleared his throat, not letting the emotions he locked up to come rushing into his mind. He could break down later if he wanted to. Right now, they had more pressing matters and he was worried at how long the connection could be stabilised before it got detected. He looked down to his tablet, calculating briefly just how soon they might need to build a new base.

A wash of fear rooted itself in his chest as he thought about how soon there wouldn't be anywhere else for them to hide. They would be forced to cross the oceans to get to new land, new territory to fight against a new leader, new forces to push against.

He glanced at the people around him, noting that with each attack, the number of people in the rebellion was going down.

"Now that we've gotten in contact with you guys," one of the person involved in the technical division spoke up. "We need to figure out if we can do it again."

"What's different about now?" Michael asked, pushing the dark thoughts to the back of his mind. "What made the connection stable between us and them?"

"Ah," Cyrille spoke, catching their attention. "I think it's most likely what we did here."

Michael blinked. "Clarify."

Cyrille snapped his gaze at the brunet, frowning for a brief moment. "We made a stabiliser."