The Sanctum's terrestrial rapid-transit system (RTS) featured Mach-speed magnetic trains for enforcers and sub-Mach tube trains for the general public. Ordinary subways had both underground and surface stations. The latter sported a ramp that carried tube-trains from one level to another.

Piper Lee briskly approached the sub-surface station entrance on Synergy High 3rd Avenue.

"Wait up!" Noah called out, panting.

"Man, you barely have any stamina. You're almost like an old man."

"Duh! I'm not a cyborg like you are. I don't have mechanical body parts."

"That's no excuse. You gotta get some exercise, yo."

"There's no need to get all preachy here. What we are doing is a one-time thing-"

"Shh!" Piper silenced him and motioned towards a girl walking ahead in the crowd. She slung a spider-silk crossbody bag over a leather jacket and jeans. A RazorCars cap was pulled down low over her head.

RazorCars was one of the most popular sports in the Rusus-Afel star system. It was a no-holds-barred race carried on throughout the year. Skilled drivers raced highly customized cars with millions of credits at stake. Troth city had three dedicated astrodomes for RazorCars. In Concord, it was watched by all and sundry. However, there were no arenas in the city to accommodate the sport.

The girl entered the station's AI security cubicle and removed her cap for the scan.

"Wait, that's Eve Trinity!" Noah exclaimed.

"Shh! Yes, she is. Did you think I was following a random girl?"

"Okay… But why?!"

"What part of 'let's figure out Eve's identity' don't you get, Noah? We need to tail her to find out where she goes and who she meets."

"Let me rephrase my question. Are we going to STALK her?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

"This is crazy! I'm going back."

"Do you want those credits or not, LoverLord15?"

Noah scrunched his face, beginning to hate Piper Lee.

Did the young cyborg have a crush on Eve and thus sought a partner in crime?

"Ugh, okay! But if she catches us in the act, I'm pinning this entire thing on you."

"I will gladly take the fall. It is my plan after all, man."

The subway connected the Sanctum to the colonies. Noah could reach school in a few minutes instead of walking for thirty minutes. However, his parents never gave him any pocket money, and tube-travel was expensive.

Noah did earn some credits from time to time repairing primitive-tech devices and machines. He spent most of it on in-game purchases of Knights of Regia.

Subway entry cost 3 credits, and the boy had zilch in his account.

"Err... Piper, I don't-"

"Don't worry. I got you. Show me your barcode."

Noah held out his wrist to the cyborg's face. Piper's bionic eye flashed a spectrum of light and recognized the user.

"There you go," he said a few moments later. "I transferred you 15 credits. 5 for the subway, and 10 for our deal."

"Thanks." Noah felt his lips bend into a smile. He would get the expansion pack once he reached home! Friendship with Piper Lee was not as bad as he had imagined.

Eve had crossed the AI security cubicle and was headed to the platform.

Noah and Piper quickly got themselves scanned and paid the entry credits.

< WELCOME TO CONCORD SUBWAY >

The duo maintained a reasonable distance from Eve so as not to arouse any suspicion.

The 7 P.M. local arrived at blazing speed and stopped with a whoosh.

Tube trains were metal cylinders with circular windows. They were solar-powered and could travel up to 300 miles per hour. For short distances, however, they did not breach 100 miles per hour.

Eve sped up and entered a tube. The guys stood at the entrance because Noah wouldn't go in.

"She's just going to her lodging. We don't need to follow her home!" he mouthed to Piper.

"What if she's going to meet her mission handler?"

"Piper, you must put an end to this madness right now."

"Noah, let's get on the tube. It stays open for one minute."

"Why are you guys following me?" A feminine voice asked from behind them.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

The two boys turned around, dreading the worst.

Eve Trinity stood behind them, her hands on her hips. She was taller than Noah and the same height as Piper Lee. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail beneath a blue RazorCars cap.

The cyborg lost his bearings. He peered into the tube and then back at her in confusion.

The duo realized Eve had quickly entered the compartment and had come out through the other exit.

She had clearly noticed them before they had set eyes on her.

"Wh-what? Wh-why would we follow you?" Piper stammered, his bionic eye spinning.

Eve looked daggers at them, and yet Noah felt he had never seen such a pretty girl in his life.

"What is your name, boy?" she asked Piper Lee.

"I'm Pee-pee... I mean Pi-per."

"Okay, Peepee, tell me the truth right now, or I will report this to the headmaster."

Piper gulped nervously and looked at Noah from the corner of his eyes.

"Err... it's Noah's fault. His plan. He thought you were a Harmony city spy!" the cyborg blurted out.

"What rubbish!"

"Yeah, it is. Rubbish," Noah agreed, knitting his brows at his traitor comrade.

Piper Lee had regained his composure by then.

"Sorry, Eve, we play a lot of video games, and our heads become muddled sometimes." He grinned through a set of teeth, some of which were metallic.

The girl pursed her lips in irritation.

"I forgive you, but no more games. Both of you owe me a favor each, and I will cash them in one day."

"Agreed," the boys said, relieved that they got off easy.

"So, are you gonna get on the tube or not?" she asked, boarding the train.

Piper could get off at the next station while Noah could go all the way to the colonies. It made no sense to go back then.

Four tubes made up every local train. They were hollow cylinders running along magnetic lines. Each tube was about a hundred feet long.

At the moment, Noah figured there were around three dozen passengers.

Eve gave them the stinky eye and walked away.

The tube door was about to close when five other people came aboard. They were tall and sinewy, in spider silk clothes.

Spider silk was a next-generation fabric used in the textile and accessory industries because of its versatile applications. It was highly durable and had optimum flexibility, along with resistance to wear and tear.

"Hybrids," Piper whispered, gesturing at the five new passengers. It was very common for a hybrid to be well-built. Genetic engineers always chose animal splices, which made the subject stronger.

An AI hologram appeared in their midst.

< NEXT STATION: SYNERGY HIGH 1ST AVENUE >

< ETA 3 MINUTES >

The train lurched into motion and almost instantly picked up speed. The internal hydraulics of the tube offset the drag, and the passengers did not feel the tug even though they moved at 100 miles per hour.

****

Helppp!!

A woman's shriek pierced the mundane bustle of the train.

The crowd looked in her direction. She was stuck to the frame of the tube train, a metal lance plowed through her gut. The attacker pulled out the weapon roughly, and the lady's bowels spilled out with blood and viscera.

The spectacle caused an instant panic among the passengers. They crawled over each other, trying to get away from the scene of butchery.

Piper pulled Noah away, and the two scampered towards the tube door.

"Who the heck are they?" Noah cried out.

"No idea! Just run, man!"

The five hybrids who had entered last had turned, their bodies transformed with beast-like attributes. They carried lances and gored any passenger they could reach.

With their backs to a wall of people, Piper and Noah were vulnerable.

"Do something! You are a cyborg!"

"I might open a tin can for you, man, but these full-fledged turned hybrids can kill me with a punch!"

Noah could have gone home and enjoyed Knights of Regia. Instead, he chose to join Piper Lee on the ridiculous adventure, likely to end with a painful death. Was he dreaming?

Splat!

A lance flew in their direction and impaled a man next to Noah.

While the victim collapsed, the boy's eyes widened, and he let out a shriek.

Was he going to be next?

The constant projectiles bust some windows, and the wind howled relentlessly from the crevices. It was as if a storm had hit within the tube-train all of a sudden.

The AI hologram announced that the ETA at the next station was two minutes.

Enforcers were posted at all subway stations. All they had to do was wait until arrival.

The rogue hybrids rampaged for a minute at the other end of the tube. They snuffed out every single soul they could lay their hands on.

The killers eyed the survivors fifty feet away and raced towards them. Their footsteps quaked the tube.

One of them strode forward and launched his lance straight at Noah.

The boy did not have time to respond and just closed his eyes, waiting for the pain.

'Good riddance from this miserable life,' he thought bitterly. 'I hope it is quick.'

A loud clang echoed throughout as metal clashed against metal.

Piper shook Noah by his arm. "Look, man!"

In front of them stood Eve Trinity.

She held the pitched lance in her right hand, the tip barely inches from Noah's face. Eve had caught the lance in mid-air, one-handed. The frayed skin on her hand indicated that her hand was metallic.

Was she a cyborg?

Surrounded by the massacre, Noah looked moonstruck at Eve.

She was something out of the world. She was perfectly sculpted, cyborg or not—attention to detail on every part of her body.

The wind from the shattered windows blew through her unchained leather jacket. It hovered like a cape as she tensed her muscles, extended her left foot forward, and drew back her shoulder, winding for a pitch.

Eve hurled the lance back the way it came.

Plock!

The hybrid at the receiving end was thrown back with the impact, impaled by his own six-foot-long weapon. He died momentarily.

The other villains rounded up. The fight had just begun.

Eve turned towards the boys and dropped her RazorCars cap and leather jacket with a flourish.

"If you want to live, stay behind me!"