Violet watched the bird fly away for a moment. Then she realized, birds only come out in day. "Oh no." She whispered. She looked at the horizon, which had the faintest trace of light in it. She had to hide, now. She looked frantically around for the girl. She didn't know her name, so she couldn't call for her. She ran and looked rapidly for her. But she was nowhere in sight. Violet looked at the sky again. The sky was getting more light. She ran into a shadow and crouched there. She watched in despair as the sun rose, but still she kept hiding in the shadow. The sun was the brightest thing she had ever seen. Much brighter than the lights in the warehouse. Where is the girl? Thought Violet. I hope she's OK. I hope she finds me soon. I need a better place to hide. Fear prickled at her spine as dawn was halfway over and the sunlight threatened to touch her skin. It licked hungrily at the cement in front of her.
Wren ducked around the soldiers and ran, sprinting through the narrow alleyways. After a while she doubled back the way that Violet had ran, searching for her. Finally she found her, huddled in a shadow with a panicked look on her face. "Violet! There you are!" Wren ran up to her and collapsed on the ground next to her, trying to catch her breath. "Okay. first, I figure you ought to know my name: I'm Wren. And no, I don't remember my last name. Second, I have a little theory," she said, sobering. "See, I'm a twin. My father only had time to get
my chip removed before they came. They took my sister, Sparrow, to this horrid factory. I managed to hide, but the next morning my parents didn't remember me. They--they called the authorities on 'a strange, crazy girl' claiming to be their daughter," she whispered, tears streaming down her face, "So I ran. And I didn't come back. I've been here on the streets ever since. Anyway," she cleared her throat, wiping at her eyes, "I played in the sun for NINE YEARS with my sister. She's not
allergic to the sun," she said, almost spitting the word. "And my theory is, that neither are you." On that last word she grabbed Violet's hand and pulled it toward her, where the beaming rays of the sun shone on it.