The city of Essos never truly slept.
Holographic banners bathed the streets in shifting colors, making the night feel like an endless day. Towering buildings crowded the skyline while police cruisers patrolled every district. Yet despite their constant presence, only the nightclubs were truly alive.
Inside those clubs, there was only one rule:
Don't mess with the wrong person.
Ironically, every nightclub in the city was illegal.
The silence of the night shattered beneath the roar of engines.
A black sports car tore through the streets with two police cruisers close behind. Three unidentified figures sat inside the fleeing vehicle.
The sirens echoed through Essos.
One officer leaned toward the loudspeaker.
"STOP THAT CAR NOW, OR WE'RE GONNA SHO—"
Both patrol cars slammed to a dead stop.
CRASH!
Glass exploded.
The officer who hadn't fastened his seatbelt was thrown through the windshield, rolling across the asphalt before coming to a motionless stop.
For a heartbeat...
Nobody moved.
"Officer down!" someone shouted.
The remaining officers rushed toward him.
One knelt to check for a pulse while another turned to his superior.
"Officer Nyongo... what do we do?"
Nyongo didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the sports car as its taillights disappeared into the darkness.
His jaw tightened.
Our cars didn't fail...
Someone stopped them.
He forced himself to look away.
"Jongah."
His voice was calm, but only just.
"Call an ambulance."
"I already did."
Nyongo pulled out his phone and activated the voice recorder.
"June 2nd, 2049."
"During pursuit, our patrol vehicles were remotely disabled."
He paused, staring at the empty road.
"The suspects possess capabilities we have never encountered before."
He ended the recording.
Moments later, an ambulance pulled up beside them. Two medical robots stepped out, carefully placed the unconscious officer onto a floating stretcher, and carried him inside.
The ambulance drove away.
No one spoke.
The city carried on as if nothing had happened.
Jongah finally broke the silence.
"What should we do now?"
Nyongo kept his eyes on the road where the sports car had vanished.
"If they escaped us..."
"...someone else is already chasing them."
He turned toward his cruiser.
"Let's head back to the station."
An hour later...
The streets of Yambassa had grown quiet.
Inside the Nguonfor household, however, laughter echoed from a bedroom on the second floor.
A police cruiser slowly rolled past the house.
The room instantly went dark.
Nobody made a sound.
Only after the flashing blue lights disappeared around the corner did someone cautiously peek through the curtain.
"They're gone."
He gave a thumbs-up.
Two people crawled out from behind an old carpet.
"If your house wasn't the closest," Jonas complained, stretching his arms, "we would've never hidden here."
He switched on the light.
The room looked like a disaster.
Dirty clothes covered the floor.
Books leaned against one another in uneven stacks.
Computer parts, empty snack wrappers and cables were scattered everywhere.
Jonas pinched his nose.
"Bro... I can't even see the floor."
"It smells like someone washed a dog with bean water."
He pointed toward Jase's desk.
"And what the hell is that reddish-brown blob?"
The only girl in the room folded her arms.
"Pretty accurate."
She glanced at Jase.
"He may be top of the class, but he lives like a roach."
"Ayo!"
Jase threw his hands into the air.
"I'm literally standing right here."
"First of all, Jonas, shut the hell up. You ain't my mom."
"And second..."
A grin spread across his face.
"I've got something that'll make you forget the smell."
Jonas raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Jase walked over to an old wooden trunk.
"It's an old Italian crime movie."
Nelly and Jonas looked at each other.
"The hell?"
"You waited until now to tell us?"
"Dickhead."
Jase laughed.
"Worth it."
He searched through the trunk before pulling out three bulky pairs of old 3D glasses.
Nelly blinked.
"What are you looking for, brochacho?"
"These."
Jase held them up proudly.
"3D glasses, gang."
Jonas burst into laughter.
"The hell is that, bro?"
Nelly shook her head with a smile.
"I'm not surprised."
"He bought those things second-hand with almost all his savings."
"I swear he loves old junk more than people."
Jase smirked.
"Just watch."
"You'll see."
He placed a tiny projector on the table.
The lights went out.
A soft white glow spread across the wall.
Just before the movie started, Nelly smiled.
"Hope your siblings don't touch me tonight."
Jase frowned.
"You know I don't have siblings, vro."
Jonas laughed so hard he nearly fell over.
"She's talking about the roaches, dumbass."
The room erupted into laughter.
The movie began.
As the opening scene played across the wall, Jase stretched.
"I should probably sleep."
"I've got the GCE today."
Nelly smiled.
"Then stop talking and watch."
Jonas chuckled.
"Don't worry. Mr. Top Student will survive."
Jase rolled his eyes.
"Easy for you two to say."
"You both got kicked out."
"And?" Jonas shrugged.
Nelly leaned back against the wall.
"School just wasn't for me."
Jase laughed.
"Same difference."
Jonas smirked.
"We all know you're the good kid here."
The movie continued.
After a while, Jase noticed Nelly had grown unusually quiet.
Without thinking, he gently took her hand.
She looked at him for a moment before lowering her eyes.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks.
"I guess..."
"...I still got touched by a roach."
Neither of them pulled away.
The projector hummed softly as the movie continued.
Outside, the streets of Essos remained awake.
Inside Jase's cluttered room, for a little while, the rest of the world no longer mattered.