| Chapter 02

The guard told us the fair was closed for today, but when we got back to David's house, the news reported a different story.

"Is Sapphire worth the risk? After the events which occurred today at the Chicago World Fair, many beg to differ. The long-standing debate of evicting our Pylon 'roommates' has become a hot topic this morning after a young woman was harmed during a demonstration."

With a cup of tea to my lips, I stared up at the television hanging on the wall in my uncle's kitchen. The news anchor described what happened at the fair but chose to omit the horrible details.

No one would want to know about the blood spilling out from the woman as they tried to eat their breakfast.

"This is sad..." My aunt Nancy sat beside me at the table. Like me, she had a cup of tea.

When David and I got back, we explained to her and my uncle how someone almost died in front of us. Hearing it from us had to be a lot harder than listening to the details on the news. We were there, in the heat of it. The shock and fear were all over my aunt's face. Yet rather than let the panic bleed onto her family, she made tea.

Tea makes everything better.

Reaching over, my aunt placed her hand on mine. "Did you see if they pulled the woman to safety? Was there an ambulance?"

I glanced at my aunt as the news anchor continued, as if she knew to answer my aunt's question. "Twenty-four-year-old Janie Silverman was taken to Cook County General where she is currently in stable, but critical condition. The Pylon officials stationed at the fair today are not available for comment."

"I didn't see an ambulance, tía." I gave my aunt a weak smile before placing my mug on the table. "A lot of Pylons were running, though. They called for someone."

"Called for someone?" My uncle Hector leaned against the counter; eyes glued to the screen. He clicked his teeth disapprovingly and shook his head. "Try to cover up this murder, that's what they did."

"A murder?" David slid his hand through his hair, frustrated with his father. "Why would they want to kill her?"

"I don't know." Crossing his arms, my uncle kept his gaze on the tv. "Tell me the good they do."

I lifted my tea, knowing I had to finish it. If I let it get cold, my aunt wouldn't let me hear the end of it. She would remind me how she put her whole heart into making it.

The glance she shot my way confirmed my thoughts. I smiled weakly and sipped my tea, all while I continued to listen to the tv. "In other news, a recent group of Sapphire dealers have been arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute. Tests have been ordered to check the quality of the vials in their possession."

"That!" David pointed at the tv as the screen changed, shifting the images over to people huddled together near a city viaduct. Underneath it read 'Sapphire addiction rises,' but I wasn't sure David caught the tagline. He continued, "They've been giving us this magical shit for a long time."

My uncle faced his only son. "Oh yeah? They're putting drugs out on the streets for them, too?"

My gaze drifted towards David. Standing next to his father, they were practically twins, age difference aside. And tattoos.

Although, my uncle Hector had roman numerals written on his fingers. Growing up, I always wanted to ask what they were for, but knowing David's constant run-ins with police, I could only assume my uncle had been the same.

Like now. The back and forth between the two. The stubborn attitude.

Just drink your tea, Gus.

"Drugs? Look, pa, we were just there. The alien seemed cool. Asked for people to come on stage. If he'd planned on murdering someone, give them drugs, why would he do it at the fair like that?" David shrugged, placing his mug near the kitchen sink. "Pylons are smarter than that..."

Sipping slowly, my eyes panned from David to my uncle as he said, "Well, maybe this was smart, hm? This ain't new, dying under Sapphire. I mean, it didn't happen when I was your age, but then again, the drug wasn't out like that back then, either. It had to be a life-or-death situation for you to get it. Now they are selling it like its cocaine!"

"Cocaine? Really?" David huffed, going over to the tv hanging on the wall. He pressed a button under the screen and shut it off. "It's just juice."

"Yeah, for them." My uncle shook his head. "It's medicine for us."

"So, then dying is new, right?" David crossed his arms.

I didn't think my cousin was such an advocate for Pylons. The aliens had supporters, yeah, but I'd never seen the reaction up close. All the love and care.

And the news about them wasn't new; there were countless documentaries. Pylons had been by our sides for so long and if it hadn't been for them, a lot of diseases could have killed us off. They single handedly helped humans advance as a species. So, I understood his hype.

My mother and father felt the same, too.

But that didn't change the fact that there were rumors the Pylons filled the streets with the elixir after limiting it for so long. Supposedly, according to stories, the distribution was meant to counter the laws placed for administering the drug. To prove Pylons meant to give us all the love in the world.

Just... sometimes people die from it. Like a bad reaction to a drug.

I took one more sip from my tea, but my cup was empty. Glancing inside my mug, I frowned.

"Listen..." My uncle reached over for the TV and tapped the power button. But the second it turned on, he switched the channel to a football game instead of news. "Whatever happened today wasn't good. All that matters is your safety." He looked at me next. "The both of you."

"We're good." Placing my empty mug on the table, I smiled at him and my aunt. "We left the second they told us to go home."

David shot me a side glance.

"Gus." As my aunt's warm hand reached over to cup my face, I found myself looking into the brown eyes that reminded me of my mother. "It's good you're safe. Sorry to make you come out this way and not do anything."

"It's okay, tía."

"Maybe..." She looked over at her son as she continued to speak to me. "Maybe David can take you around the city, hm? Spend quality time with your cousin?"

The side glance he gave me turned into a glare. To his mother, he muttered, "He's not a kid, ma."

For once, he was right. I wasn't, I'd just turned nineteen. I may have still lived at home and helped my mom, but David was a year older and hadn't left the nest either.

"Really, it's okay, tía," I said to her as I reached for her empty cup. Taking hers and mine over to the sink, I placed them beside David's before I turned on the faucet and let the water run. The sound was calming. "I'm fine just hangin' out here for a bit before going back home. Maybe we can watch movies or something?"

My aunt smiled. "Movies are nice."

"No, no, no." My uncle shook his head. With his eyes still focused on the screen, he said, "I told my sister I'd make sure you have fun. Now, David—" He bumped David's arm with his shoulder. "—you'll take your cousin out and make sure he has a good time."

"What?" David's arms finally dropped at his side. "I tried. The fair's closed. Besides, tonight I was going to—"

"Have fun with your cousin." When my uncle turned to look at his son, I saw the fire in his eyes. I knew the look wasn't meant for me, but even I felt the burn. "You're still under my roof, I pay your bills, the least you can do is help your father with this one request."

"But, dad, I...." David inched closer to my uncle. "Dad, I was going to—"

"YEAH!" My uncle, completely ignoring him, cheered as the team on the screen scored a touchdown. "Let's go!"

When David turned to look at me, I saw a similar fire, but it burned differently. It reminded me of when we were kids, back to when he was forced to play with me even though he couldn't stand me. The feeling, at the time, and maybe even now, was mutual.

And if I had to be honest, I would have rather stayed inside on my own. Aliens were cool and all, but since that opportunity was gone, movies were better.

"So..." I shut off the faucet and watched as my aunt passed by us to leave the kitchen. My uncle, still hooked on the game, didn't pay us any attention. "I know your dad says to—"

"Make sure you have a good time?" David's nose flared as he spoke. "Sure, I'll show you."

I gulped.

David dropped his voice to a whisper. "You want to see the fair, right? Well, you will. Tonight." He bumped my shoulder as he walked past me. "Be ready."

"Wait, what?" With my hand still on the faucet's handle, I turned and watched him head towards the back door. "But they closed it," I hissed, hoping my uncle couldn't hear. "They shut it down, they said—"

"I said be ready." David stepped out onto the back porch. With the way Chicago's wind blew, I don't think he could've heard me if I tried to reply.