Please eat something,” Plath begs as he pushes a plate of food closer to me.

I rest my head in my hands and look down at the food. I take the fork in my hand and slowly pick at the green beans. I look at Plath, his eyes begging me to eat. I gently place my fork down and look out the window.

“I can’t eat.”

“You haven’t eaten a single thing for a week. You are going to be weak. If we find ourselves in a fight, you will need your strength.” His words are calm, yet serious.

I shake my head in disbelief that Sage is dead. I can’t seem to wrap my mind around the reality of it. A tear slides down my cheek as I replay the images of her lifeless body: mangled, bloody, and torn to shreds.

“Please, Orion.” He nudges the plate a bit more in my direction.

I slowly pick up the fork and stab a green bean. I slowly chew it and force it down with a sip of water.

Plath half-smiles and says, “Well, I guess that is better than nothing.”

I force a weak smile on my face and say, “I guess.”

When he realizes I’m not going to eat anymore, he asks, “Are you ready to leave?” I nod my head, and we get up from our booth.

Plath pays the tab, and I wait outside of the diner for him. I watch through the window as the cashier bats her eyelashes at him. I curse at the hint of jealousy that fills my entire body. I can’t have feelings for someone. Not now. Not ever.

Plath folds the receipt as he walks out of the door and places it in his back pocket. “Where do you want to stay tonight?”

I shrug my shoulders and place the hood of my jacket over my head. We haven’t found a place to stay, and I refuse to go back to the apartment. I can’t bring myself to see Sage’s things as they were before she was killed.

“Okay, I can see I’m going to have to be the one to make the decision, again.” He looks around before taking a step forward, a normal habit for us both, to check for trouble. As soon as he is convinced that we are safe, for now, we head towards the car.

“So, is this how it’s going to be from now on? No talking, eating, or sleeping?” He unlocks the car.

I get in and sit down. I look at him with an emotionless stare and say, “Why do you care? You are only being nice for your own benefit. You only came to me and Sage when you found yourself all alone and in danger.”

He starts the car but leaves it in park. “Is that really what you think of me?” I shrug my shoulders and look away from him without responding.

“Look at me!” He demands.

I slowly turn to look at him and say, “Can we just find somewhere to stay tonight? You are wasting gas by just sitting here.”

“I don’t give a damn about the gas! But I do give a damn about your feelings for me!” He looks shocked by the words that left his mouth, but not as shocked as me.

I laugh nervously. “My feelings… For you? Would you like the honest answer or the sugar-coated one?”

“Honest.”

“I think you are a jack-ass who doesn’t have control over his emotions. You do something evil, and then you try to cover it up with doing something nice. It’s annoying as hell.” I don’t take my eyes off of his.

He glares intensely back at me, and it is somewhat intimidating. “Would you like my honest opinion about you?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Go for it.”

“I think you are a bitch. You are unhappy with everything and everyone. You have a wall put up so strong that you could never have any friends. No one likes you, and for some reason, you don’t care. I don’t know how Sage put up with you for so long!” My mouth drops open, and I’m having a hard time getting it to close.

“You are a murderer of innocent Dwellers!” I accuse.

“You are a murderer of innocent Hunters who are only doing their job!” He accuses back.

“You are stupid as hell to believe Hunters are innocent!” I reply loudly.

“We don’t have a choice but to kill! We were once innocent! Do you think it was my choice to be a Sphere Hunter?” He yells, his hands in tight fists.

“If not yours, then whose choice was it?” I yell back.

He slams his fist on the steering wheel and yells, “My parents! Dammit! They owed the Constable a debt, and they paid with me!”

I try to find words to say but stumble over every word that tries to leave my mouth. “I…”

He is breathing heavily, but his voice remains calm. Through a clenched jaw, he says, “Don’t say anything. It is what it is, and I can’t change it. But I want you to know this was not my choice for my life.”

“Why would they owe the Constable a debt? I have never heard of that before.”

“There are many things you haven’t heard. Did you even know that Hunters like me existed in our Sphere?”

I haven’t thought about that before. “No, I had no idea until we were being hunted.”

“There are many things you don’t know. The Constable and the Sphere we lived in were not all sunshine and roses.”

I scoff at the thought of sunshine and roses. “Duh. I pretty much figured that out when I was in school. A government that promotes peace but hangs the first Dweller that does something wrong does not portray the sunshine and roses image to me.”

“You have no idea the secrets and lies I know. They are setting our entire Sphere up for a life no Dweller expects to live. The Sphere was meant to be a safe place, not what it’s becoming.”

My parents and Felix quickly come to mind. “What do you mean?”

“I wish I could tell you, but I can’t.”

“Are you being serious right now? You can’t tell me? My family is there!” He shakes his head and stares out the windshield.

“I wish I could, but I can’t. They did something to me. Performed some sort of hypnosis, making it impossible for me to talk about it in detail. I know it in my mind, but it’s impossible to form the words to explain it. All I can say is that it’s probably better to live here being hunted than it is to live in our Sphere.” His eyes lock on mine, and I don’t look away.

“But you said that the Constable is trying to kill the Dwellers who want to expose the Sphere to Earth. That they are afraid Earth will corrupt the Sphere. I’m confused.”

He rubs the back of his neck and sighs. “I lied. Now I’m telling the truth. The truth is that the ones who know the truth about the Constable escaped to Earth. The Constable is afraid that if everyone finds out about Earth, catching a single glimpse of it, that they will flee, and they will no longer have the control that they want.”

“I wish you could tell me what their plans are.”

“I wish I could tell you, too.”