At the front of the warehouse, Owen walked down the road as people loaded into the hover cars parked on either side of him. He had his hands tucked into his coat pockets, his eyes scanning the line of vehicles as he neared the front.

  He stopped in front of a hover car just before the lead one and leaned down, peering inside through the window.

  Jason was in the driver’s seat, leaning back casually with one arm resting on the door. In the passenger seat beside him sat Katherine, arms crossed and gaze forward. In the back seat were Will and his two friends, Lucas and Lissie, all chatting quietly among themselves.

  Jason looked over and noticed Owen. "You good to go?" Owen asked.

  Jason nodded once. "Yeah. Ready to roll anytime."

  Owen gave a short nod, tapped the hood of the car, and turned away. He continued toward the lead vehicle, stepping up to the door and pulling it open. He slid inside.

  In the passenger seat, Grace was tying up her pink hair into a bun, her fingers working quickly.

  She glanced at him. "You sure you want to drive? Your AI could take over."

  Owen smiled as he pulled his seatbelt across his chest. "I didn’t have much experience before I got captured," he said. "Figured I should get as much practice in as I can."

  He settled back into the seat, then reached forward and pressed the horn on the wheel a couple of times. The sound echoed through the road, and moments later, a series of answering beeps came from the other vehicles behind them.

  Owen nodded. "Alright. Let’s go."

  He pulled the wheel down gently. The hover car rumbled to life and lifted smoothly off the ground. Pressing down on the accelerator, the car surged forward into the air, leading the others down the road.

  The soft hum of the engine filled the cabin, vibrating gently through the seats as the warehouse shrank into the distance below. Behind them, one by one, the other hover cars lifted off, forming a convoy that stretched through the clouds.

  Owen adjusted the throttle slightly, bringing their speed up. Grace glanced at the map hovering above her OmniBand and then at the terrain ahead through the wide windshield.

  "We’ve got a lot of ground to cover." she said.

  "Yeah," Owen replied, eyes focused on the sky. Might as well enjoy the ride."

  As they climbed higher, the landscape opened beneath them—a vast sprawl of greens and browns broken up by rivers, cliffs, and stretches of dense forest. Trees swayed far below, their canopies forming a thick blanket that seemed to ripple in waves.

  They passed over patches of wilderness first, untouched stretches where nature reigned. Then, slowly, signs of civilisation began to appear again. They passed small towns that were nestled between the greenery, with buildings that were compact and quiet, smoke curling gently from chimneys.

  As the day went on, the terrain changed again. Fields stretched into endless plains. They flew over a freight line—massive trains crawling slowly along magnetic rails, hauling goods across the continent.

  Then came the cities, distant at first, then closer. Skyscrapers pierced the clouds, glowing with the muted shine of daytime lighting. Hovercraft buzzed through the air lanes like bees in a hive, zipping between towers and transport hubs. Traffic signals floated midair, directing aerial movement. Owen carefully kept them just above the regulated flight path, where personal convoys wouldn’t draw attention.

  "We should be passing over Eltar soon," Grace said turning down the music on the dashboard, and glancing again at her map. "Big trade city."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Owen nodded. "We’ll stick to the edge of it. Don’t want any scanners picking us up."

  As afternoon wore into evening, the atmosphere slowly began to shift. Though the sun remained fixed in the centre of the sky—immovable, like a watchful god—its brightness began to soften. The once-harsh light mellowed into a warm, golden hue that bathed the land below in a surreal glow.

  By nightfall, stars were visible above them, twinkling in the clear air. The world below had quieted, save for the occasional glow of a distant town or a caravan of moving vehicles on illuminated highways. Owen kept both hands on the wheel, the hum of the engine steady beneath his fingertips.

  Grace leaned her head against the window, watching the stars. "It’s kind of beautiful." she murmured.

  "Yeah," Owen said softly, his eyes glancing over at her. "It is."

  They carried on into the night, their hover cars gliding across the darkened sky. Then, suddenly, the horizon bloomed with light.

  Far ahead, Havec City emerged like a living beacon.

  Even from this distance, its sprawling reach could be seen. Neon blues, vivid reds, and pulsing purples danced in the sky, flickering and shifting like auroras as the city's towering structures blinked and flared with artificial life.

  Massive billboards lit up the skyline, flashing between adverts and surveillance broadcasts. Hover traffic buzzed in and out of the top levels of the city, like tiny insects glowing in the night. The city was alive—loud, bright, and chaotic—long before they even reached its edge.

  Owen narrowed his eyes at the glow. "There it is." he murmured.

  He angled the hover car down towards a clearing just off the main roadways leading into the city. Owen gently guided the hover car down, and the vehicle settled with a soft hiss as its landing skids touched the earth. Moments later, the rest of the cars landed one after another, forming a loose semicircle around his.

  As the engines powered down, silence fell over the clearing, broken only by the distant thrum of Havec’s lights.

  The people all began stepping out of their hover cars, the soft clicks of doors opening and closing echoing through the quiet clearing. They didn’t speak. One by one, they gathered at the front of their vehicles, their eyes fixed on the horizon.

  Owen stood at the front of his car, hands tucked into his coat pockets. He leaned back against the hood, his gaze steady on the city.

  No one said a word. They didn’t need to. The weight in the air was mutual, unspoken. Every person standing there knew exactly what the others were thinking.

  Somewhere in that maze of buildings, towers, lights, and noise—were their families.

  Owen exhaled softly, then straightened up from the hood. His voice finally cut through the silence, calm but certain.

  "We’ll head into the city tomorrow. Scout it out. Get a feel for the place."

  There were a few nods as they just kept looking towards Havec City, the place that would soon become a battlefield in the coming days.

  ***

  The next morning, the air was cool and crisp as a soft hue was cast over the clearing. People were gathered around the side of Owen’s car, some sitting, others standing, their breath visible in the air.

  Owen and Grace sat on either side of the open car doors, their backs leaned against the frame. Between them, a few boxes of food had been opened and were being passed around.

  Owen finished chewing a bite, then looked up at the crowd. His voice rose above the murmur. "We already know where the prison is. That’s not the problem."

  The talking quieted down as more heads turned toward him, attention locking in.

  "But," he continued, "we don’t know the layout of the city. Not really. So today—we just walk around. Explore. Learn what we can. Streets, security patrols, potential blind spots."

  He glanced over at the group. "We’re not doing anything risky today. We stay in groups, stay sharp, and gather as much info as we can."

  A few nods went around. One of the guys, John, pulled back his messy blonde hair and stepped forward from the group. He had a serious look in his eyes as he glanced between Owen and the others.

  "So," he said, brushing his fringe behind his ear, "when do we actually try to break into the prison?"

  A brief hush followed the question. Owen leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on his knees before pushing himself up to a stand.

  "Not until Isaac confirms he’s got the voyager ships," Owen replied. "But hopefully maybe in just a few days."

  Katherine, who had been standing a little apart from the group, arms folded tight across her chest and eyes locked on the distant skyline of Havec City, gave a short exhale through her nose.

  "Well," she said, "We should get a move on."

  Owen looked at her, then out towards the city. "Right, I want to see what the city has to offer."

  And just like that, the tone shifted. People began standing, and packed up their gear quickly. Next they got into their vehicles.

  Inside their vehicle, Owen reached into the compartment between the seats and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. He handed one to Grace before slipping his own on. The tinted lenses darkened the world, hiding the hint that he wasn’t a novice essence user and also shielding his face from the recognition systems that would be implemented in droids.

  Owen then started the car. The engine hummed low and the dashboard lit up with blue interface lines. He turned the wheel and guided the hover car away from the clearing. Behind him, the others followed in a slow line.

  They eased onto the main road and made their way towards Havec city.