It's been a little while since Chelsea's 'tic attack', as they put it. They're recovering okay, but Dennis on the other hand is not saying another word on the subject of Eve kicking him out. I have a big feeling that's due to her storming in like a raging bull not long after Chelsea fell to the floor.

Jesus, the screams and Greg's desperate attempts at calming her were insufferable to hear. Plus, she's still giving me funny looks, some of them with a grin. So, that's concerning.

Right now, I'm sitting on a tattered sofa with my head resting in my hands whilst listening to Chelsea tell me more about this place; the Paramension.

So far I've learned that this dimension has been 'round a hell of a lot longer than the Normension, which is the dimension I've been in all my life. The ParaPolice, better known by rogues as the ParaPigs, rule this place in more ways than one.

Apparently, pretty much every Surfer is chipped from birth, then given a new chip each special birthday. This isn't optional, the ParaPolice will literally turn up at your doorstep and pin you down to do it.

Basically, anything you're supposed to do as a Surfer according to their law, you're made to do it one way or another. Which is pretty scary. Not only that, but you're under surveillance 24/7. And I'm not just talking about cameras everywhere.

At age five, you get a chip in your temples and left hand. This allows access to the ParaNetwork, but at this point, is restricted to the bare minimum and age appropriate. At ten, you get an update for more features, then at thirteen, then sixteen, and eighteen. Finally, you're fully upgraded at age twenty-one.

It's proper Futurama shit. These chips allow you to basically see a smartphone that's always connected to the Internet.

"So no one pays for Internet access here?" I ask curiously.

Chelsea nods. "Yup. You pay with your privacy, I swear. They can see anything and everything you search, play, text. Anything." They stress.

"Wow… It's not too different from phones in the human world. But this is literally built into you for life?" I say in disbelief.

Their right eye twitches and their hand shoots up in the air and waves as they answer me. "Funny you say that, actually. Ol' smartphones are ParaGen's horrible child to our chips. Well, I say ‘our’, but we’re lucky enough to not be poisoned with the things.” They roll their eyes as I finally realise something.

So, the reason I'm a rogue magnet is because I've never been chipped with anything like that? That makes so much sense now…

“I’m guessing ParaGen is what the technology is called?”

Greg slides into the seat beside me, holding a cold compress to his head. Our attention turns to him.

“Headache?” Chelsea guesses.

He snorts. “I wish. More like a migraine. I would’ve preferred her to knock my lights out, maybe then I’d actually get some peace and quiet.” He grumbles then winces. He transfers the compress to the other side of his head.

And sure enough, speak of the devil… In she walks, shooting me yet another suspicious grin.

“Hmm?” She hums not so innocently. No one dares to say anything, so she sighs in a dramatic manner and flicks her hair over her shoulder. "Arthur, a word." She commands and stares me down.

Is that the first time she's actually called me by my name? This can't be good.

I try to sit up straight and stare back, but god knows how weak and pathetic I must look. "What about?" I squeak then grimace.

Way to go, Arthur. She must be so intimidated! Argh!

She chuckles then shakes her head. "Not here. C'mon, actually use your legs for once." She remarks then turns on her heel.

I huff and glare at her back as my shaky legs stand.

She's such a nasty bitch, honestly. I would have never been in a wheelchair if I didn't honestly need it.

Chelsea, Greg, Marissa and Dennis send me wide-eyed looks as I actually follow her.

I know, I feel insane, too.

"Eve, why are-" Dennis tries to intervene, rushing up to us.

She shuts him down with one word and one deadly look. "Really?" She growls.

His lips press into a thin line and he mumbles an apology, making his way back to his seat.

With a gulp, I follow Eve into what appears to be some kind of office. It's the only room I've seen so far here that is spotless and not a thing out of place.

She kicks the door shut behind us then grins at me manically. "Guess what?" She prompts excitedly.

I shuffle my feet. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I'm not gonna like it." I say nervously, rubbing my arm up and down.

She laughs and hits my arm, not playfully, might I add. "Well, that depends. To be honest, I don't know anyone who'd turn this down." She clears her throat then continues. "How would you like to live a life of luxury, barely lifting a finger, and get to come and go here as you please?"

I scoff, causing her to raise a brow. "Sounds far too good to be true." I remark then frown as I realise what she's talking about. "You're not selling me to Reed."

She puffs out her cheeks then exhales in a dramatic manner. "He's offered quite a crazy amount, why would I say no?" She taunts.

My eyes widen, not in shock, but more in realisation.

Will she actually get away with that? No, no, I can't let her. It's so wrong on so many levels.

"Don't you want a new member instead of selling them off like an object?" I plead.

She pouts, crossing her arms under her breasts. “Who said like an object? Besides, I don’t need a clueless streak of piss like you. By the sounds of things, he doesn’t want you for your brains.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me then laughs hysterically at my horrified expression.

WHAT!?

“I’m not gonna be his sex worker!” I refuse with much more confidence than I yield.

She simply frowns, putting me on edge.

Why is she looking at me like that…?

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Suddenly, loud bashing sounds at the door. "What the fuck are you saying to him!?" Dennis rages.

Her glare burns my eyeballs for an agonising moment. "Tell him and I won't hesitate to contact Reed." She seethes low enough for only me to hear.

With a gulp, I nod furiously. The door then flies open and Dennis practically throws himself at me, checking me over. My eyes widen at this. "Are you okay? Why did you scream? What did she say?" He demands in a worried tone.

Her eyes once again scald me as they both anticipate my answer. I place a shaky hand on Dennis' shoulder and fake a smile. "It's okay, I'm okay. Just letting out my frustration and anger, it seems to do wonders for Eve.” I nervously joke.

He squints his eyes, giving me a suspicious look, whereas Eve nods with a grunt. “Choosing to do that to me is a death wish.” She says coldly then shakes her head in disbelief.

“Anyway, tell everyone to dress nice and be ready for eleven pm sharp. Tonight, we'll be heading to Para-Dice to scope info on why the pigs have mucked up the Surfing balance. Plus, as stupid as my sister is." She rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. "She's got us a lead on the new Pit Mine. Word is there's gonna be crap tons for the taking, and it's gonna be mine."

She smirks then gestures towards the door. "Go on, Denny, he's fine. Can we continue our chat now?" She requests in a patronising tone.

He purses his lips, his hands balling into fists at his sides, and very begrudgingly leaves me alone with the monster.

As soon as that door shut, Eve was towering over me, smoke practically exuding from her ears. My body trembles in fear. "You're so lucky he wants you in one piece." She seethed.

I tried to step back to distance us a little, when I trip over my own feet and fall to the floor. I wince as the impact is mostly felt in my left elbow against the laminate ground.

Ow…

"Still getting used to your legs?" She quips, just staring down at me clutching my elbow. Of course she made no move to help.

I sigh, bowing my head. "Why does he want me?" I beg, my tone growing weak. "I'm no one, and I'm definitely not good looking. Surely he doesn't want someone that's not chipped that badly?"

She laughs, I raise my head when she actually offers me her hand. Warily, I take it in mine, and she helps me up, much to my surprise. I even widen my stance to ensure if she pushes me back on the ground, she'll be less successful. "You'd be surprised how sought after chipless Surfers are. You're much better off the radar, saves so many complications."

That does make a lot of sense, considering what Chelsea told me.

"Anyway." She moves on with a wave of her hand. Approaching the large desk, she reaches into one of the draws and fishes out a gun of sorts. My eyes widen as she holds it up and grins like the Joker. "Ready for your first tattoo?"

I shake my head furiously, backing away. "No, no way. I never signed up for this!" I exclaim, my body trembling from head to toe.

She rolls her eyes, tapping her forefinger on her lips, signalling for me to shut up. "It's not permanent, I promise. Plus, it'll protect you, so you'd be a moron not to have it."

I intake a shaky breath, trying to lower my quivering voice. "How can a tattoo protect me…?"

She takes a few steps closer and gestures at the sofa in the corner of the office. "Just lay down on there. Stop being such a pussy."

She pushes me towards it, and I don't lay down, I fall down onto the sofa. She climbs on top of me, no word of a lie, and pins my arms and legs with her knees and feet over them. I flail around as she lines the gun up to just above my collarbone on my neck.

"Please, no!" I cry in hysterics. I squeeze my eyes shut, awaiting impact, seeming as I won't be able to wiggle my way out.

I'm going to be scarred with this thing for life!

Seconds later, I don't feel anything but her crushing me. I still brace myself.

"Done." She says with a chuckle, finally getting off of me.

My eyes shot open and my brows furrow. My hand instinctively reaches for my neck, which she hastily slaps away. "Don't, it needs time to seep in. Unless you want the mark on your hand, too?" She remarks.

So, it wasn't a tattoo? She literally said tattoo, right?

I carefully sit up, wincing as I feel a slight burning sensation in my neck. "Is it normal to burn?"

She nods with a sadistic grin then walks back over to the desk to put the gun away. "Yup, come over here." She points at the chair across from her desk for me to sit in. I very warily do as I'm told.

Grabbing her smartphone from the desk, she walks a bit closer and angles it like she's going to take a photo of me.

I react quickly, pushing my open hand in the way of the lense. She huffs, rolling her eyes for the hundredth time today. "Please don't. Why do you want a picture of me anyway?" I question.

She simply bats my hand away and snaps one before I can refuse again. I frown, narrowing my eyes towards her.

She needs to learn to take no as an answer!

Her phone chimes and a wicked smirk reappears on her lips. I sit here anxiously, twiddling my thumbs as she texted back and forth with whoever that was.

"Stay in here, I need to grab something." She suddenly announces, breaking the silence of the room.

Before I can say anything back, she disappears into thin air.

I wonder if all Surfers can teleport like that. Surely we can, but the only way I know of, is that pulse thing I had to do with Dennis to get here. Pulseless, he might have called it.

Lost in my own thoughts, the weight of the events of today, paired with the silence of the empty room, is making me feel extremely overwhelmed.

Squeezing my eyes firmly shut, I hold my head in my hands and take some deep, shaky breaths.

I'm still hoping this is all a dream, a punishment for playing sci fi games 24/7. Yet the more this day goes on, the much less likely I can see that being the case.

Poor Mum, she'll be heartbroken. The fact that she's not even my biological mother is still unthinkable. She wouldn't lie to me, she would've told me I was adopted, surely. I'm nineteen, definitely old enough to hear it, especially from such a loving, caring mum…

A tear escapes and rolls its way down my cheek. I furiously flick it away. "No, no more crying." I grumble to myself then stand with my trembling legs.

I can't just sit here and wait for the queen of bitches to come back and bark more orders at me. She's marked with poison, it feels like, that will also protect me somehow! Load of bullshit, I need to get it off.

I look around the room and spot a different door I'm hoping could be a bathroom. I rush over to it and open the door. I feel relieved to see that I was right.

With no time to lose, I run up to the sink, gasping as I see my reflection in the mirror above it.

It's too late! I can see it! It's what appears to be a trident resting in the eye socket of a human skull. Such a gross image, engraved on my neck for all to see.

Then, it hits me. I notice the colour drain from my face as the realisation sinks in.

It's a gang symbol…

With that new information, I turn the knob of the hot tap and lean over the sink, cupping my hands to collect the water.

"That'll sting like a bitch if you do that." A deep voice warns me out of nowhere.

I squeal from the shock, spinning on the spot to find Phillip towering over me with a disapproving look.

"Where did you come from?" I gasp, trying to steady my breathing once again.

He moves closer to me, turning off the tap behind me, and staying far too close for comfort. "Eve invited me." He states matter of factly. A frown tugs at my lips.

Of course she did…

He raises his right hand and gently brushes it across my shoulder, nearing the mark, and cups the back of my neck.

I gulp hard, trying to ignore the tingling sensation I felt.

Um… This is weird.

A crooked smirk appears on his face, and his eyes meet the mark then mine. My blush is impossible to hide at this point. "You look so handsome with my mark." He comments, making my eyes widen.

His mark!? No! Eve made the deal with him!

His smirk widens into a grin at my expression. "All I need to do now is touch the mark with a drop of my blood, and part of the initiation is complete."

I shake my head furiously and try to move around him. It's clear he thought ahead, because he has blocked either side of me from moving too far.

His grip tightens slightly on my neck, enough to render me still. He then bites down hard on his lower lip until it bleeds a little.

Wait, why the hell would he use blood from his- Oh!

I motion to pull away, but his lips capture the mark before I could. A blood curdling scream escapes my lips as the burning intensifies by a thousand units. If it wasn't for Phillip holding me up, I would've dropped as a deadweight on the floor.

Fuck! This pain certainly clarifies that I'm not in a dream, and now I'm not sure what fact hurts more.

Black spots now invade my vision, and I lose my bearings. My head is spinning so bad I wanna throw up.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE!?" Is the last thing I hear Dennis scream before the darkness envelops me.