Heath had been so excited to take the test to be an apprentice Space traveler. He knew as much on the subject as some of the professor's. He had this test in the bag. At least until they came to draw his blood.
"Why do you need to draw my blood?" He asked the instructor.
"There are a few tests we have to run to make sure your body is completely healthy with no underlying illnesses," she explained. "If your body is sick in any of the tested area's then we cannot train you in our program."
"Oh," Heath replied. He wasn't sick. But he knew his blood was not on file. He still hadn't let them draw his blood yet. "Do they have to put my blood in the system?"
The instructor looked at him strangely. "I'm sure your blood is already in the system. They put it in the system when you are born."
Heath's blood was not in the system. If it had been put in the system, he would have been found when he was born. He knew that the blood in Araminty's system was not registered with the government, but only within her internal mechanism to put him as her "owner." So he stopped the medical personnel from taking his blood again and asked, "I was sick when I was younger, would that be an issue now?"
"Well it depends on your sickness," the instructor replied. "We really do need to hurry up with this test Mr…" she looked at his chart for his name, "Moyer"
"Sorry," Heath apologized, getting up from the seat. "I can't take this test." There was no way he was allowing his blood to be put in the system. He couldn't. The king would find him immediately. Once Heath had been found, then it would only be a matter of time til that led to Amistad and Violetta being found.
Heath had to choose between his dream and the safety of all of them.
He walked out of the test, giving up everything he had ever dreamed of.
Knowing his actions were suspicious Heath went to his old neighborhood. The house that he had lived in when he was young, before moving into the Noblis home, was now occupied by a different family.
He might have been followed from the Astrological society building where the test was located. He couldn't go home, or to the school. He sent a message to Angelica. He had her scrub his name from the school records. He didn't know what else to do. He had to make sure nothing could lead back to Violetta.
He had to go into hiding. He and Amistad had gone over this scenario again and again when he was younger. If he thought he was being followed, he had to go to his old neighborhood. There on the end of the street, was an old Orphanage. It was still running. So he could easily sneak into it by walking straight in. There were so many children and teens running around the palace, no one would notice him. Even prospective parents frequented the place, so if he went there as an adult it still wouldn't look strange. Once he was in however it was a different story. He had to get to the janitor's closet, and find the entrance to the old boiler room.
Boiler's were no longer used for heating buildings now. That was really old tech. This was why the Orphanage was the best choice. It used to be a school long ago, before it became an orphanage. From the boiler room, he could get into the sewers. It was a hidden entrance, and was not one that was easily thought of, or discovered.
He managed to find the entrance, but soon began to panic. The old door was stuck. He knew that if they were following him it was only a matter of time til they caught up to him. If this door didn't open he was really in trouble. Heath began to panic. It took him a moment to realise the door was locked. He put his face in his hands shamefully. Amistad had taught him how to pick locks long ago. He would present him and Violetta with various locks over the years to keep them in practice. Heath found some items in the closet he could use and picket the lock.
The door creaked open as if it was complaining after such a long period of unuse and it now just wanted to fall off its hinges without the wall to support it. Heath made sure there was no dust or evidence that he had opened the door that had gone through the door.
He closed the door, locking it behind him. Heath used a flashlight he had taken from the closet to find his way to the sewer entrance.
It was easier to open than he thought it would be. It didn't even squeak. Was it because Amistad had explored and opened it. To make sure this was a viable escape?
He once again made sure there was no evidence of him having gone through the door. Once he was through there was a note attached to a string. He read the note, found a chest in the corner, put on the gas mask provided, and pulled the string. Dust suddenly spread over the boiler room erasing any remaining traces he might have left that could have led pursuers to the Sewer grate.
He was really grateful for the mask, without it he would definitely have suffered the effects of the dust particles that erupted through the grate. He walked through the foggy dust with his flashlight reflecting back on each particle still hanging in the air. Once the dust had mostly settled, he looked for the pipe he needed to follow.
He followed the pipe through the maze like tunnels. He knew it was the right one, but he was still scared he might be going the wrong way. How had Amistad found his way down here?
The pipe he had been following suddenly went through a wall. Heath stopped dead in his tracks. Had he just followed the wrong pipe?
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Violetta was still reeling from the excitement of her great escape. She knew that with the twins interference the punks who chased her before would never try to mess with her again if they wanted to live.
She had fixed the problem the technicians had been dealing with for a while. So she got extra commission from that. She was really excited that she could get away with this mischief. Violetta's contacts were strong enough that it didn't matter how much trouble she caused most of the time anyway. She knew these people would support her.
Violetta was so excited that she wanted to contact Heath to tell him about it right away. She looked at the time. He should be done with his assessment to become a space traveler now right? Should she wait a few minutes to call him? She decided to wait til lunch time to call him. She didn't want to interrupt him if he was busy getting details of his apprenticeship. There was no question in her mind about him passing. Heath was so smart and strong. He definitely passed.
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Amistad anxiously awaited Heath's call. Heath was supposed to call him after his apprenticeship assessment. He knew the boy...erm...young man would pass but he didn't want to interrupt. What if he was busy meeting his new spacy comrades. Wouldn't a call from his uncle just embarrass him. But what if Heath was with them and he was the only one who didn't get a call. That would be sad. Amistad was about to hit the call button. But then he remembered Heath had promised to call him before calling Violetta so he could have bragging rights over Violetta.
What neither Violetta nor Amistad knew was that Heath had also promised to call Laura. She had a feeling there were a lot of important contacts she could introduce Heath to to help keep him safe. From whom she didn't know. But she had contacts pretty high up in the government. She was sure Heath would be safe after being introduced to them.
Heath, who had thrown his communicator in an acidic composition in the janitor's closet, had no way to reach the worried family as he got lost in the underground.