The Joy State Mandate

In The Arms Of A Stranger

The streets of Sector 7 were dark and quiet that cold night. Most of the buildings had their lights turned off. The only things watching the streets were the surveillance cameras attached to the old brick walls.

The cameras were everywhere. People walked under them every day without fear. They had become part of normal life. Most citizens no longer questioned why the government needed to watch the city so closely.

Between two old buildings, a man stood silently in the shadows.

His name was Cale Montaigne.

He was once a low-ranking soldier. Now he was a rebel hiding from the same system he had once served. He belonged to a secret underground resistance formed by former soldiers who had broken away from the army.

Cale pressed his back against the freezing concrete wall and stayed completely still.

Years of military training had taught him how to follow orders. Survival was in his nature. It did not matter how dangerous the situation was. He always tried to complete his mission. His father had taught him well.

Now he watched everything.

Every movement.

Every shadow.

Every possible threat.

Tonight, Cale was watching Chloe Vance’s apartment window from across the alley.

Earlier that day, while Chloe was at work, Cale had secretly entered her apartment. He searched the small room carefully. He wanted to learn why the government had become interested in her.

The state had flagged Chloe after a routine lab exam two weeks ago. The doctors had found no clear trace of Sola in her tests. They believed her body might be incompatible with the pill.

Cale did not know the truth.

Chloe was not immune to Sola. She had secretly stopped taking the pills months ago.

Cale understood the horror of the laboratories all too well. One of his teammates, Wyatt Johnson, had been captured months ago. The doctors had used him to test new versions of Sola.

Cale had watched his friend’s mind break under the cruel tests. In the end, almost nothing remained of Wyatt’s real personality.

Cale refused to let the same thing happen to Chloe.

After searching her apartment for a long time, he found several hidden items.

Her private notebook.

Her old childhood photo album.

Some written notes about her daily observations.

Cale knew those things could put Chloe in danger. If the Guards found them, they would suspect her of hiding information. In Sector 7, even a small mistake could destroy someone’s life.

For a moment, Cale considered destroying everything.

But he could not.

Those items might explain why the state was interested in Chloe. They might contain clues he did not yet understand.

Instead, he carefully placed everything back where he had found it. He could not risk Chloe noticing that something was gone. She might panic and do something reckless.

The cold wind moved through the empty alley.

Cale pulled his heavy black coat tighter around his body. He looked back at Chloe’s apartment.

A small light was still on.

The radio phone in his pocket beeped softly. It carried an encrypted message from his team leader, Zane.

The message was clear.

*Stay close to Chloe Vance for another week. Watch her every move until the government calls her back for a second exam.*

Through the thin white curtains, Cale saw Chloe moving inside her room. She had returned from her long work shift.

As she began changing her clothes, her shadow moved across the curtain.

For a moment, Cale forgot about the mission.

His face became warm. He quickly looked away.

Chloe was beautiful.

But that was not the only thing that caught his attention. She seemed different from everyone else. She still showed real emotions in a city filled with shallow smiles.

Cale shook his head.

“Stay focused,” he whispered.

He hated that he had allowed himself to become distracted.

He knew the state was watching Chloe after her strange laboratory examination. Something about her test results had made the doctors suspicious.

Protecting her was dangerous.

Still, Cale could not walk away.

He had to protect her.

The secrets connected to the state could cost Chloe her life.

---

## Chloe’s Past and Present Danger

This moment in Chloe’s life pushed her to the edge of fear and sadness. To understand her loneliness, one must first know what happened to her family.

The Family Relocation and Labor Act.

The government created this law many years ago. Under the law, families were separated after their children reached sixteen years old.

The state said the law was needed to organize society. It also made sure that every citizen worked to rebuild civilization.

For people like Chloe, it meant losing the ones who gave them love and support.

Eleven years ago, Chloe was separated from her parents.

Her father was sent to Sector 3. He worked inside the large agricultural greenhouse domes. Her mother was sent to the same sector. She worked inside the chemical refining plants.

After the relocation, all communication between them stopped.

No letters.

No visits.

Chloe was left alone in Sector 7. She lived inside a small worker apartment.

She had no parents or siblings beside her.

The only person who remained was Laurie Roberts.

He was her childhood friend. He became like family to her.

Inside a cold and controlled city, Laurie was the only person who made Chloe feel like she belonged somewhere.

Even her days offered no escape from the emptiness.

Earlier, her shift at the administrative office had passed in its usual dull way. She entered digital information and filed daily citizen reports. The soft humming of computer screens filled the room.

No one talked unless they needed to share a short work message. Everyone followed the same routine. They worked with quiet smiles and did not complain.

Nothing in the Joy State felt like home anymore.

---

Inside her small apartment, Chloe sat quietly at her wooden desk.

The room was simple. It had a small bed, a table, a few shelves, and one window overlooking the gray buildings of Sector 7.

Everything in the city was designed to be useful.

Nothing felt personal.

Chloe looked at the empty chair across from her and thought about Laurie.

She could not stop thinking about what had happened at the public diner earlier that day. She kept remembering his face when the alarm started.

Before the alarm, Laurie had looked like the same person she had known for years. He was warm, kind, and careful with her feelings.

But after the alarm sounded, something changed.

His expression became different.

His eyes became cold.

His voice became calm and controlled.

For a few seconds, he did not look like her best friend.

He looked like a Guard.

That moment frightened Chloe more than the alarm itself.

She could not understand how someone she had trusted for so long could suddenly become someone she did not recognize.

She wondered if the real Laurie was still there.

Maybe his military training had taken control of him.

Maybe the system and the pills had slowly changed him without her noticing.

A heavy feeling of loneliness settled over Chloe. She feared that the one person she loved as family might already be lost to the system.

---

Chloe slowly reached under her mattress and pulled out her hidden notebook.

It was the one thing she kept secret from everyone.

Writing helped her remember who she really was.

In the notebook, she could write thoughts she could never say aloud.

She could ask questions.

She could record what she saw.

She could be herself.

Three months ago, Chloe had stopped taking her daily Sola pill. At first, nothing happened. She expected to feel different right away, but the changes were slow.

After some time, her thoughts became clearer. She noticed details that she had ignored before.

She watched how people moved and reacted. She studied the small changes in their faces.

A slight movement of the eyes.

A change in someone’s smile.

A moment of fear before someone answered a question.

Small details could reveal the truth.

But being free from Sola did not only bring clear thoughts.

When fear hit Chloe, it hit hard.

Her heart would pound. Her hands would shake. Painful memories of her parents returned. The pills had kept those feelings quiet for years.

Sometimes she stayed awake all night. Her chest felt tight with fear.

Without Sola, every feeling became stronger.

The bad feelings returned with the good ones.

But Chloe would not trade real fear for a false smile.

She opened her notebook to a new page and began writing.

### Entry #84

*I have been watching how the blue Sola pills affect people.*

*The change does not happen right after they take the pill. At first, they seem normal. They talk, smile, and continue their daily work.*

*After the medicine starts working, something changes.*

*Their eyes become dull. Their smiles begin to look empty. They stop caring when bad things happen around them.*

*The pill keeps them calm. It stops them from asking questions.*

*Sola does not change people in one moment.*

*It slowly takes away the small things that make them who they are.*

Chloe stared at the words. Her hand tightened around the pencil.

She knew she was not supposed to think this way. She knew questioning Sola was dangerous.

But she could not ignore what she was seeing.

She placed the pencil down.

Her hands started shaking.

A sudden wave of fear entered her mind.

The clock on the wall continued moving.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Time was running out.

Ever since her laboratory examination two weeks ago, Chloe knew the state had become interested in her. The doctor had looked confused. He had checked her results several times. He had said her body was strange.

The doctors might believe her body was incompatible with Sola.

But Chloe knew the truth.

She was not immune. Her tests looked strange because she had stopped taking the pills months ago.

If the state discovered that she had been tricking them, she would be called a danger to society.

She might disappear.

Just like the people marked for permanent removal.

Almost nobody who was taken away ever returned.

Fear tightened around Chloe’s chest. She needed to find safety somewhere.

But where could she go?

Sector 7 was surrounded by massive electric fences. Outside the city were empty lands, dangerous weather, and unknown threats.

There was nowhere safe to escape.

Then she thought about Laurie.

He was the only person she trusted.

He was the only person who had known her before everything changed.

But telling him the truth was dangerous.

If she told him that she had stopped taking Sola, maybe he would help her.

Maybe their friendship would be stronger than his loyalty to the state.

But another possibility frightened her.

What if his training took over?

What if he reported her?

What if the person she trusted most became the person who destroyed her?

Chloe pulled her knees toward her chest. She sat quietly in the darkness.

The apartment felt colder than before.

Outside, the city continued as normal.

The government continued its work.

Inside her small apartment, Chloe sat alone with a dangerous secret.

She was scared.

She was confused.

And she was running out of time.

Chloe looked at the clock again.

She could not wait for the state to call her back to the laboratory. If the doctors tested her again, they might discover that she had been skipping her pills.

She had to leave before that happened.

She did not know where she would go. She did not have a safe plan.

But staying in the apartment felt even more dangerous.

Chloe pulled two large bags from under her bed.

She began packing.

---

## Cale’s Thoughts

The clock in the distance struck midnight.

Down in the dark alley, my body went tense. I looked at Chloe’s apartment window through my spyglass.

The small light inside was still on.

*Dammit, Chloe,* I thought. *Turn it off.*

Sector 7 had a strict curfew. Leaving a light on after midnight was a violation.

I adjusted my spyglass and looked through the lens.

My jaw dropped.

Chloe was moving quickly around the room. She was putting clothes and other things into two large bags.

She was packing.

She was planning to run.

Was she insane?

Trying to escape after her strange laboratory test was suicide.

I heard heavy boots farther down the main street.

I moved deeper into the shadows. I looked around the corner of the brick building.

Two Patrol Guards were inspecting the block. They stopped at the corner and looked at the nearby buildings.

They had not noticed Chloe’s window yet.

But they were walking toward it.

In a few minutes, they would see her light. They might enter her apartment.

If they found her packing, it would be over. They would arrest her before she could explain anything.

I had to act.

I ran to the back of Chloe’s building. I grabbed the rusty fire escape ladder and pulled myself up.

Years of military training made me fast and quiet.

I climbed three floors in seconds. I stopped outside her window.

I pushed the window frame.

It was unlocked.

I opened it quietly and slipped into the room.

Chloe gasped and spun around.

Her hair was messy. Her eyes were wide with fear.

My chest tightened.

She looked real. She was not blank like the others.

*Focus,* I told myself. *Focus.*

My gaze dropped to the floor.

Two large bags sat beside her bed. They were packed with clothes, books, her notebook, and many small things she probably did not need.

Two bags?

Was she serious?

I almost rolled my eyes. She was trying to carry half her apartment with her.

What a strange little pack rat.

It was reckless.

It was also somehow cute.

I pushed the thought away.

This was not the time. The patrol was getting closer.

Chloe opened her mouth to scream, but I moved quickly. I covered her mouth with my hand.

“Do not scream,” I whispered. “The patrol is at the end of the block. They will be here in minutes if we do not leave now.”

Chloe froze. Her frightened eyes stayed locked on mine.

I slowly removed my hand.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

“I will explain later.”

I heard the building door open below us.

The Guards had entered the building.

“We have to go now,” I said.

I grabbed the smaller of Chloe’s two bags and placed its strap over my shoulder.

She reached for the larger one.

I stopped her.

“We cannot carry both.”

“But I need it,” she whispered.

“You packed half your apartment. You do not need all of it.”

Her eyes narrowed at me.

Even while she was afraid, she looked offended.

It was strange.

And cute.

But there was no time to argue.

Heavy boots entered the lobby downstairs.

I reached out and turned off her desk lamp. The room fell into darkness.

I pulled Chloe toward the window.

“Come with me if you want to stay alive.”

I climbed through the window and stepped onto the fire escape. I reached back and helped Chloe climb through.

The Guards’ boots were already moving up the stairs.

Chloe looked back at the second bag.

“Leave it,” I whispered.

She hesitated.

Then she followed me.

We moved down the metal stairs together. I carried the smaller bag while Chloe stayed close behind me.

We reached the alley and disappeared into the shadows before the Guards reached her apartment.

Chloe was with me now.

I had just saved her life.

Now I had a lot to explain to Zane.