The world, as Will knew it, was divided into two parts: the rich and the poor, the healthy and the sick, the living and the dying. This was the result of years of pollution and the destruction of the ozone layer. Yes, they had survived, because they knew how to create oxygen. They were smart. They made the machines and they set them on the wall borders of the rich cities. Paying for air, which seemed to be a human right, became normal. And that's what Will's family did. His dad worked, was a great doctor, and paid for their food, their home, and their air. He paid for them to live in the city. One of the few with air. So, naturally, that's the only thing Will grew up to know. He wasn't allowed by the borders or outside them and he settled with that.

But then he grew up. He turned into a teenager. His brain kicked in and he remembered that there wasn't only rich people in the world. There wasn't only them. So he snuck in books and read them until he was sure he knew everything about the outside world.

The poor, the "outsiders", lived in this radioactive world. They kept their skin covered and wore gas masks. Will couldn't understand how that all worked, how they reproduced and bathed and all that, but he got a general idea. The books, as he read, said that they couldn't breathe in the air or they would immediately die and their skin couldn't be exposed to it or it would ruin them. At thirteen, Will abandoned the research when it explained most children in the outside didn't live past ten. He was young, innocent. He couldn't take facts like that.

So he let himself become an arrogant citizen.

That was, however, until he turned sixteen years old.

At sixteen, Will was young and bold and arrogant, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was rich and he knew it, and he wore clothes to show it. He was never dirty and always clean and couldn't help but look down at anyone that was. In this way, he was just like his parents.

"Will! Will!" his best friend ran up to him. Her name was Annabeth Chase (yes the daughter of the mayor. She hates when people ask), and she has blonde hair and blue eyes like him. Her hair was curly and long, with a small grey streak in it. She was sixteen like him, smart and prideful. They connected easily.

"Yeah?" he looked over at her, having been walking home from school. It was finally Friday, and he was ready to go and rest. She, however, never seemed to need rest.

"I have a project for science." she explained, walking with him. "About the wall and the machines. Come look at it with me?"

He froze slightly. "We aren't allowed by the wall. It's dangerous."

She rolled her eyes. "They just say that. Come on. Please?"

He sighed, looking at her for a minute before nodding. "Fine. Under one condition."

"And that is…?"

He smiled. "You do my homework for a week."

She flicked his forehead. "Fine. Let's get going. It's a long walk."

He sighed, nodding. "Why do you need to actually go to it again?"

"I don't." she admitted. "I just want to."

He nodded slightly, shaking some hair out of his face.

After a minute of walking she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Have you seen the news?"

"Which one?" he asked, glancing at the screen of her phone.

"About the rebellions." she glanced around, talking quieter. "The outsiders. They're rebelling pretty bad."

He scowled. "As in...how bad?"

"War bad." she bit her lip. "We're sending troops out."

"Who declared war first?" he asked.

"Them, obviously." she spoked biased. "Their leader. That horrible guy that was on the news not too long ago. The one that tried breaking in."

"I'm not shocked." Will glanced around as if scared he would jump out at them. "He's pretty bad then, isn't here? They know not to try and break in."

"Exactly." she smiled. "I found it. Look."

She stuck her phone under his nose, showing a picture of what looked to be a boy. He was covered in heavy clothes, with a gas mask and hoodie on. Nothing else was visible except for his small frame and dirtiness.

"Did they find out his name?" Will asked.

She nodded. "Nico di Angelo. He's been officially named their leader."

"So, our generation's Hitler." he thought out loud.

She nodded. "Exactly like our generation's Hitler."

"So we sent troops out?"

"Yep," she put her phone away. "After we sent him back they just kept trying. Then declared war. So we've got our troops out there and they have theirs."

"Hopefully they won't draft." Will quickly made the sign of the cross. There had been one war before with the outside world, and he saw how the soldiers came back. He was five years old at the time, but he remembered. He remembered the blisters and bleeding and the organs outside the skin and the exploding lungs….

"We'll be okay." she smiled, rubbing his back a little. "You worry too much."

"You worry too little."

"Yeah, I guess."

Will was silent as they drew nearer. Fear settled in his stomach as the air started to get slightly thick. Eventually, they hit a post with soldiers securing the area.

Annabeth went up to them without hesitation. "We need to pass."

A guard looked up before realizing who she was, nodding. "Of course, Miss Chase. Grab masks before you go past."

She smiled, winking at Will. "Let's go, Sunshine."

"Sunshine isn't real." he muttered.

She rolled her eyes, handing him a surgical mask. "Put that on."

"You aren't my mom."

"I might as well be." she put her own on, watching him put his on before leading him past the guards. He was sure the only reason they had been allowed was because of who her father was, but he ignored it. He liked the perks of it.

He froze in his tracks, however, when he saw the wall and the reason why they shouldn't be there.

The wall itself was at least sixty feet tall, but he couldn't see much through the machinery so it could be a lot taller. Machines of all sizes lined the sides, continuing to get more dangerous the higher they got. The highest ones he saw held blades bigger than his body and wheels twice as large. Tubes ran from the machines and into the city, spreading the good air to its residents.

Will thanked God for those machines, no matter how ugly they looked.

Annabeth grabbed his arm, excitement radiating off her. "Isn't that awesome?!"

"More like dangerous, but sure." Will replied, looking up at it. "So...what are we doing here? You said for a project…?"

She smiled sheepishly. "About that…"

He frowned slightly. "What?"

"You see...I don't have a project. I more have an...interest." she explained vaguely.

"An interest in what? The wall?" he looked over at her.

She shrugged. "You can say that...but more like...Nico di Angelo...and the outsiders."

He froze before frowning deeply. "What are you saying?"

"Well, I wanted to go explore but dad said no."

"A reasonable decision."

"So I asked him if I could join the war." she scratched the back of her neck. "He said...yes."

He frowned deeply. "So you came here to...what, get a better look?"

She shook her head. "For you to get a better look."

He felt his face scrunch up in confusion. "Why?"

"So you can join with me." she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "We can go take down Nico di Angelo."

His eyes widened. "A-Annabeth…. You know how dangerous that is?"

"We won't die, I promise."

"There's no air out there." he argued. "And Nico di Angelo...the leader...he's supposed to be evil…."

"Do I look like I care?" she let him go, crossing her arms. "Please, Will? Please?"

"Are we seriously losing that bad that you want to join?" he asked softly.

She looked down for a minute before nodding, talking quieter. "So...please...help me protect our city?"

"Fine, fine, Annabeth." he sighed, looking up at the wall. "I've got to convince my parents to let me, though."

"Don't worry, I'll deal with that." she tapped her head. "I'm the smart one, remember?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Let's go back, now."

She nodded, leading him back towards the city. Deep down, he was excited for this. This Nico di Angelo….

Will strived to understand him.