Futurism logo

Mission 37

Mission 37 is a Science Fiction book based in a Dystopian world that follows a leading female protagonist. Within the story world, there will be elements of crime and tragedy. My protagonist goal is to stay alive long enough to save her sister, but as time passes, she begins to want to live for herself.

By Ellie HPublished 3 years ago 51 min read
1

Mission 37

Chapter 1

The young woman woke up to the suffocating smell of bleach, her nostrils flaring from the smell. The room was utterly still. Silence surrounded her, apart from the distinctive sound of beeping. She shot up from the bed, frantically searching around the room. The lights above her blinding her vision. She squinted, her eyes trying to gain focus on her surroundings. Her nostrils flaring again, as her mind returned to the smell of bleach, she covered her mouth, trying not to be sick. She ran her hands against the sheets, they felt like paper against her skin. Her vision was becoming clearer, looking around she realised it was a hospital-like room. The monitors next to her had cables running along the floor, up the side of the bed and… into her arms. Panic crossed her face.

She felt her chest tighten, and before she knew what she was doing, the alarms were sounding off. The wires were no longer in her arms. Within seconds, a group of people rushed in yelling. The young lady and older man grabbed hold of her arms, which had gone into a defensive position. She looked at them in confusion, anger and fright all at once. Tears began streaming down her face, struggling against the Doctors grip. But her fight quickly vanished when she felt a needle insert in her arm. Her eyes began to droop. She felt so sleepy. Her struggle to keep her eyes open was quickly lost. She felt her eyes slowly close. It was no use, she would just have to accept the deep sleep to come. And wait for the unknown. 

Waking up. Her ears pricked up as she heard voices, keeping her eyes closed she listened. A young woman was speaking, 

“Well, how was I to know she’d wake up early? She should have been knocked out for another 6 hours at the least.” Her voice was sounding irritated.

A man’s voice replied,

“The drug is experimental, so the effects are unpredictable. That’s why each of them was assigned a nurse to watch them. Your job is to be here and wait. Not to be outside gossiping!” 

There was a long pause then the lady asked, 

“Isn’t it dangerous giving experimental drugs?”  

He shouted, 

“For the last time, they’re not people!”

Her eyebrows slanted inward as she couldn’t hold back her annoyance and confusion at this information. She lay there, praying that no one noticed.

The young lady apologised. “Well most of them won’t be alive for long if this business of time travel is as dangerous as they say.” 

The Doctor continued, 

“Can I trust you to watch her until I return?”. 

The room went quiet as the Doctor walked out the room slamming the door. 

The nurse placed her notes down on a small table walking over to the patient she leaned over her, and whispered, 

“I know you're awake.” 

She grunted, her forehead creased, and she reluctantly opened her eyes. Her eyes were met with the hazel eyes of a young nurse. Something in the nurses' eyes seemed familiar. 

She smiled, “Thanks for getting me in trouble, squirt.” 

The nurse sighed. Her expression softened. 

“You’re probably wondering what you're doing here.” 

The nurse turned walking towards the window. The patient went to speak only to find the words stuck in her throat. She put her hand up to her throat, she was obviously dehydrated, which could be seen from the cracks in her lips. The nurse must have noticed this as she passed a cup of water to the patient, she didn’t hesitate to down it all in one go. Relieving her thirst. The nurse didn’t wait for the patient to answer her question. 

“The government has taken it upon themselves to resolve the overpopulation crisis on Earth. There’s not enough land for us all. So we’re setting up a new colony. Somewhere we might one day all live”.

The patient started hysterically laughing,

“Sending us to Mars or the moon are we?” 

She scoffed.

“I take it, someone, in government been watching far too much Stars Wars. Just like my stupid parents always watching them old-time movies and spending their money on stupid gadgets like that telescope they bought. We didn’t eat barely anything for the next two months you know.”  

She didn’t understand why she was so open with this nurse. She only knew that she felt safe within her presence. The nurse looked at her in what looked like empathy her eyebrows knitted together.

Pulling up a chair, the nurse started talking.

“Sounds like we had a similar upbringing. So which part of the sector are you from?”

The nurse was trying to make chit chat to pass the time. 

“Sector 213B, ” Her patient responded.

“That’s a rough area. I’m from 213A, slightly better but not much. Funny to think I was only 3 miles away from you.” She smiled.

“And here we are you a nurse and me, what a patient. Why am I handcuffed?” Her face hardened. 

“Hey, I’m not the bad guy here so don’t start getting pissy with me. I’m only here to do a job.” 

The patients face softened slightly. 

“Sorry, I’m just confused.” Her voice sounded shaky 

“What did I do?” Sadness clouding her features. 

The nurse looked worried,

“I was worried about this. What do you remember? We’ll start small, what’s your name?”

“I don’t know!” Crying out, she pulled her legs towards her chest, burying her head into her legs. She looked up after a few moments, tears running down her cheeks.

“My sister. Where’s my sister?” her face twisting in pain.

“I don’t know” the nurse replied,

“most likely back wherever you came from.” 

As she said this, the Doctor came into the room.

An older stern-looking man walked over to them both. He scowled at the nurse

“Were you not supposed to report to me once the patient came to?”

“I’m not supposed to leave her side. Or is that not what you told me.” 

She fired back, the Doctors cheeks turning bright red. He ignored her turning to the patient.

He looked at his notepad and began speaking, his words held no emotion similar to a robot.

“Con38, I am Doctor Philip.”

She cut him off “Wait, that’s not my name!”

He didn’t take any notice of this while the nurse reached over, squeezing her hand.

"I will be giving a briefing on what you’re doing and where you are. Thirty-five days ago you were to be given a lethal dosage as a result of you committing crime code 211cb. Prior to this, you and other inmates undertook what you perceived as manual labour, but through this, we tested all inmates for survival skills. You scored high for balance, strength and high survivalist skills. ” He looked slightly impressed.

He kept talking, but Con38 wasn’t taking in any of it. She put her head in her hands, her head was banging. Her ears perked at the mention of a portal under the sea. They were under the sea. Her eyes widened, she couldn’t believe it.

The Doctor finally looked up from his notepad. 

“Nurse get the lady a bowl for God sake! We’ve already had two of them throw up everywhere.” 

He tutted angrily at the young nurse who passed her a paper bowl with a small encouraging smile. 

“Further briefing on the details of the mission will be in 40 minutes in the cafeteria. Prepare yourself. There are a shower and some clean clothes behind that door. Make yourself presentable. All of the criminals”. The nurse cut him off

“He meant all the candidates will be sitting down to a meal and to be debriefed.”

The Doctor glared at her stomping out of the room. He was cursing under his breath.

“Fucking women. Always think they’re so special and important.” 

Once the door was closed, they both started giggling with each other. The nurse helped Con38 get up and out of bed. The nurse removed the wires attached to her. 

“Let me show you something.” she smiled walking towards the widow with her arm around her. 

Helping her stand straight, she pointed towards a light in the distance. It was growing brighter as they appeared to be nearing. And then the sound of the engines switching off confirmed that they were in the ocean. 

Con38 laughed.

“I’ve always dreamed of going to the ocean. As a kid, my grandad would tell us that it smells of salt, so at night when my parents weren’t looking, I’d walk downstairs and smell the salt from the cupboard. I would Imagine I was there at the seaside. He told us so many stories that seemed magical and unreal.” She paused her features hardening “But this seems different, it looks dark and dangerous.” 

The nurse frowned “I take it you’ve never been?”

“No, his heart gave in too quickly. There was never enough time.” She kept staring out of the window — the nurse looking at her through misty eyes. 

“Come on we better get you clean and dress. Don’t want you to be late.” 

She tried changing the atmosphere. Leading her to the bathroom,

“You okay to get yourself ready. I have some small jobs to do.” 

She was nodding at the nurse her face still slightly pale. Before closing the door of the bathroom, she turned to the nurse.

“Two questions.” She paused “What your name?”

“Gamora.” She smiled.

“What’s mine?” her voice threatening to break.

“Mars.” She said, walking towards her. “You’ll be okay, I promise. Soon you’ll remember it all.” Walking away, leaving Mars speechless and close to tears. 

She looked at herself in the mirror wiping away the tears she needed to be strong. She reacted to herself,

“My name is Mars. I am strong. My name is Mars. I am strong.”

She had been asleep for 35 days, 35 days of deep sleep. So far into a sleep that dream and reality became blurred. Was this a dream she wondered to herself. No, she knew dreams were bright and hopeful, with open forests and full of the people she loved. But who did she love? Images of her sister flashed before her, she had someone she needed to get back to. She had left her defenceless little sister in a world falling apart. She needed to get back to her no matter the cost. 

You see, the world is running out of time. Most people can’t house or feed themselves. The rich have segregated themselves on an island known as Earth 2.0. It is the only place left on Earth not completely spoiled by humanity, but this won’t last long. Earth is going to die along with Earth 2.0. Scientists have been working around the clock to find a solution. 

The world started to break down plants stopped growing around ten years ago, and the waters began to dry out. The drought left oceans, such as the English channel, a dry wasteland of soil and rubbish. Even making walking from England to France possible. Not a pleasant journey with the smell but a doable one. She had ventured the journey before five years ago, she had ventured out into the wasteland. The ground was covered with rubbish and skeletons. She came across the skeleton of a massive creature bigger than a bus or even two buses. Unknown to her at the time it was a blue whale, which she later found from reading a nature book. She hadn’t been quite the same since that journey. She felt the spark of youth diminish within herself. She had headed to France as there were rumours that France had not been as severely affected by the changes. But it was just that, a rumour. All we did over the past 200 years was create the problems. We dealt with these problems by creating pipe dreams, never addressing the problems. Just hoping, praying for a better outcome.

She splashed her face with water, she was now ready. Just as a knock came at the door to let her know that it was time. Time to meet the other convicts and find out what suicidal mission the elites had concocted now.

Chapter 2 -

Mars POV

Walking into the canteen, the first thing I noticed was the distractive smell of food. I hadn't eaten a decent meal in god knows how long. My eyes scanned the line of food. There were potatoes and vegetables of various kinds. I didn't realise that there were still plantations growing most of these foods with people fighting over canned produce. Most things had died out. 

I walked to an empty table the room filled with around 50 convicts, all stuffing their faces. I sit down, ready to put something in my body for the first time in over 40 days. The prisoners were given a brown goopy liquid before their execution, and this brown liquid was full of the necessary protein, carbs and nutrition to keep us alive and working. We never asked what was in it. I don't think any of us wanted to know. 

As I started to take my first mouthful of food, a shadow passed over me. Someone had sat down next to me. I look up to see a 6ft tall man who looked like a bulldozer. He had a buzzcut, and tattoos covered his neck. He smiled at me, his smile lacked the full set of teeth. What came out of him was unexpected. A high pitch voice greeted me. 

'Hi, my darling. I'm Luke. I've come over to introduce myself as we're going to be working together'. 

I grunted. I wasn't in the mood for chit chat.

'Not much of a talker are you?'. 

Was he still there?

"It doesn't matter," he continued, "you see, look around here. Everyone's getting into groups. You see, there's strength in numbers. You seem like a survivor. Not a sociable person. But a survivor none the less."

He paused hesitating "I saw how you took out that guard in prison. So, I thought that this friendship could be beneficial to the two of us." 

"Wait, you've seen me before?" I asked.

He laughed "I'm hurt you don't remember me! Yes, we were in the same prison block. I saw you knock out that guard."

I looked him over. "I want you to know I'm not that kinda person. He was getting handsy. You gotta stand up for yourself."

Luke looked concerned "Yeah, he seemed like a real piece of work. That's why I told the other guard he had just fainted." 

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that."

Luke laughed again "No worries. I have a daughter so I can't stand for any of that. So, I think we'd make a good team. What you think?"' 

I was nodding my head. I had to agree with him. He was right; I needed people in here to survive. Plus, he seemed like the best option out of everyone here, the least bad of a bad bunch. Here's where I realised I still hadn't given him my name.

.

"I'm Mars."

He laughed "Mum was a star dreamer?" he asked. 

Star dreamers were groups of people convinced we were going to move to one of the other planets. That was our solution. Kids got all sorts of names Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, but the worst was Uranus. I winced with pain the first time I heard someone introduce themselves. I felt so bad for them. I got picked on for my name, but I couldn't imagine the struggles of being named "Uranus." He must have known my train of thought. 

"At least it wasn't Uranus" he laughed, and I couldn't help join in. "ATTENTION ALL," 

yelled a short man from the end of the room. It was clear from his uniform that he was a soldier. The room went quiet. I quickly turned away from Luke, cursing myself for letting my guard down. There was no way I was going to get rid of him now. By the window stood a stage, where the short man stood. He continued, 

"Corporal Lance will give you a briefing on the upcoming days and what we are expecting from you. Corporal Lance will be leading you on this mission and should be shown the utmost respect. He has several medals for bravery,"

The short man got cut off when another man walked quickly on stage towards him. He was saying something to the other man, but I couldn't hear it all. Something along the lines of 'stop it with the arse kissing'. The man looked to be in his late 40s he had short grey hair, a long face with a scar along the right side of his face. He looked tall compared to the soldier next to him. He shook the hand of the soldier and thanked him. Both were looking embarrassed by the situation.

"Welcome all." He paused, scanning the room.

"My Name is Lance, don't bother using that Corporal shit. I'm not looking to be put on a pedestal." 

He paused again, seeming deep in thought. As he did this, I glanced around the room. He seemed to have captivated the entire room. Everyone was watching him with curiosity. I returned to looking at him only to find his eyes staring back. He squinted at me as if something seemed familiar to him. It seemed we were in a staring contest. Whose nerve would cave first? 

It was mine. I looked to the floor and then towards the large glass window, out into the abyss of the ocean. He started speaking again. I wouldn't look back at him for some time in fear of being singled out of the pack.

"These are scary time. Many of you don't understand where you are or how you got here. Some of you have been asleep for more than two months, others for just a week. We need to put you to sleep before our departure." 

The room started to become loud, people were obviously upset by this. Lance raised his voice.

"Hey, Hey. I understand that this sounds bad, but we didn't do anything that you didn't agree to do. Before you were put to sleep, each of you was on death row. We gave several people another opportunity to live, and you were the ones who were smart enough to accept."

Someone from the crowd yelled,

"How do we know you're telling the truth. I wouldn't have signed up for this."

People seemed to be agreeing with this. I looked around the room again; people were getting angry. Their faces are red with anger. I started biting my nails, anxiety rising. Lance turns to the side of the stage and says, "Play it". The screen behind him lights up, and a video plays with a girl on the screen. 

"My name is Tish. I'm 27 years old. I was arrested for armed robbery. My skills report shows I am a good leader, and I am strong and good at combat. I have adequate problem-solving skills and am a survivalist. I agree to take part in Mission 37."

A girl on a table full of people stood up. She was the girl from the video. She had short dark hair, fair skin. A tattoo can be seen poking out from under her collar on the right side of her neck. She wasn't more than 5ft 2 at the most. 

"What is mission 37?' She yelled.

Corporal Lance walked back on the stage, pausing the video. 

"Mission 37 is a mission to send a group of people through what looks to be a portal. At this time, the science points to the portal leading to another time in our history. We are unsure of when and what awaits on the other side. This mission will hopefully bring a new chance for humanity. It's been said hundreds of times over the past 300 years that the Earth is coming to an end." He paused,

"But this time it's true the sun will explode in precisely 30 days from now. Wiping out all of humanity." 

My heart started pounding; my hands were sweaty. The room went dead silent. No one was asking a question; no one was whispering between themselves. All eyes were on Corporal Lance. 

"I understand that this is difficult to hear. It's difficult for me to tell you. But we have the opportunity to make a difference. We can save the human race." 

The cheering started erupting all around. I clapped along, not buying into this whole save the world crap he was spewing out. I'd seen people like him before, they'd lie with such ease, and everyone always believed in them. Why because they had that charisma that oozed out of every word they said. Corporal Lance raised his hand in a manner to silence the crowd. I stopped clapping, and so did everyone else. Except, I went back to gazing out the window when everyone else stared towards the Corporal.

"Our mission is to go through the portal. We will each be separated into teams and sent through in highly efficient pods," 

I couldn't help feeling a pit open in my stomach as he emphasised the word 'efficient'.

"Once through, our mission will be to scout the location and set up camp. Once we determine the safety of the land, then we can begin to send word back through the portal."

People were nodding along—no one questioning. I looked around, my eyebrows knitted together. 

Why were these people not questioning this information? 

Were they brain dead? 

Pushing my seat back, it scraped against the floor, making a loud screech.

"How do we know that there is another side?" 

Before anyone could answer, I continued at a fast pace. My hands are sweaty, my heart beating out of my chest,

"And even if there is another side, we could end up taking one breath and find there's no oxygen. Or the dangers that might be on the other side. We're convicts as you said, we're not soldiers, we haven't been trained for this. Why isn't the military being sent?" 

Corporal Lance looked at me with shock. 

"You all agreed to be here. It's on the tapes."

I cut him off.

"That's not good enough; we need to agree now. So, explain why we should be doing this, not someone better trained?"

"Thank you very much for those questions miss. I'm happy to answer them. You have all been trained, but due to the amnesia caused by the sleeping medication, you don't remember. However, these skills are second nature, so you haven't forgotten them completely. And as for why not soldiers it is because the soldiers are needed to keep the peace on Earth. When a message comes through, we need to move people efficiently and effectively, which we can't do without the support of the army. There are a few of us, such as me have volunteered along with a couple of nurses. I would like to point out that we did not have to, and we are putting ourselves in as much danger as yourself."

He took a deep breath and moved from speaking to the crowd to focus on me.

"However, if you want to go back to death row, be my guest, Mars."

My eyes widened; how does he know my name. Does he remember me? He turns away and continues to present his pitch. I sit back down quietly, feeling embarrassed and angry. My face feels on fire. Luke leans over to me,

"Someone had to ask difficult questions. Good on you for speaking your mind." 

I gave him a half-smile and try to ignore the hushed laughter and mocking happening behind me, as Corporal Lance finished his talk with a 'we're all in this together cliche speech.' We turned back to our tables; I watch as Corporal Lance walked out of the room, he had an uneven walk. He grabbed a phone out of what seemed to be a secretary's hand and stalked off out of the canteen. He seemed angry and utterly different from his on-stage persona. I turned back around to face Luke, 

"So, what's your take on all this?" I asked, tucking into my food. He shrugged,

"Seems a bit odd to me. But what you gonna do, it's this or certain death. Look on the bright side you got to meet me from this experience." He chuckled.

"Oh yes, that would be a massive shame. Do you think we'll be put in the same team?"

I asked, hopefully. I don't like the look of any of these other inmates; they look angry and untrustworthy. 

"I hope so; this place is full of." 

He lowered his voice, "criminals and weirdos to be frank."

I laughed. Great minds think alike. 

"Yeah, I'm not interested in drama."

He nodded,

"I knew I liked something about you. So, tell me a bit more about yourself, Mars?"

I might as well open up a bit more if he is going to be my only friend.

"Well, I'm not that interesting. I'm 24 years old. I'm a nurse from sector 37B. I work at Great London Hospital, mainly in A&E. I have a baby sister. She's 12 years old,"

I stutter, thinking of her makes me sad. How's she going to survive without me. Luke must have seen the pain in my eyes, trying to change the subject he asks.

"So, what about your parents."

I look down at my food, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Mum died giving birth, and dad left without saying goodbye. Went off on the rocket to Mars that exploded, killing everyone."

Luke squeezed my hand. When I looked up again, Luke looked at me with compassion. 

"Those lousy star dreamers. I'm sorry that happened to you. I couldn't imagine leaving my daughter! Don't understand how any dad could."

"Yeah he was a crappy dad, mum wasn't much better, spent most of my childhood watching those weird old-time movies star something."

He cut me off 

"Star Wars!"

I nodded,

"Yeah such a weird film, anyway they spent so much time worshipping the alien Gods that they thought lived on Mars, that I practically raised myself. It was like they were gone before they left. You know?"

Luke nodded in agreement,

"People like that don't deserve someone like you."

I smiled at him, feeling a lump in my throat. I took a large gulp of water; people aren't usually this nice to me.

"So, your long-term memory seems good?"

He asked,

"Yes, I remembered things from years ago, but I can't think what's happened in the last few months. It's weird! What about you, how's your memory?"

"Mines good actually, long term and short. I'm glad. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known you were someone to be friends with. So, I heard you walked across the dead sea? Is that true, because if it is, you're now the coolest person I know."

"How'd you hear bout that?"

I asked suspiciously. He put his hands up in a joking manner.

"Just heard people round the prison talking about it, that's all."

His eyes lit up like an innocent excitable small child. This made me laugh.

"It's a boring story, really." 

He looks disappointed. He looked down and started playing with his fork, moving around the remaining peas scattered on his plate. He resembled a child being told they couldn't have that toy or go to the park. I sighed.

"OkayOkay, then."

His eyes light up again, and a smile beamed on his face. I shook my head and continued. "It was pretty grim."

I cautioned. He nodded as if to tell me to go on.

"There were skeletons everywhere and the smell, let me tell you about the smell."

I told the Story the same way I told my baby sister bedtime stories.

"I started off only wearing a bandana, I got about halfway across the channel. I was so excited to get away from England and to arrive in France. I'd heard the stories of France and how they were thriving. I waited till my baby sister was ten years old, left her with enough food and water for a few weeks and set off over. It took me three days to walk the channel. At first, it wasn't bad, but there were miles where the Earth was full of rubbish, skeletons of fish and whales." 

Luke cut me off,

"Wait, you saw a skeleton of a whale. That's mad!" 

I laughed,

"Yeah I didn't realise it at the time, but when I got back, I searched through some olds books and found a picture. It was humongous."

I exclaimed using my arms to gesture. He grinned,

"So, did it stink?"

I shook my head,

"Nah, that wasn't the cause of the smell. They'd obviously been there a long time, and no flesh left just bones." I paused "The smell was coming from the dead decaying bodies. People who had set off on the trip with no water or food. Some I think were killed. It's a good place to hide a body. Barely anyone goes out there, so I guess if you don't find a body, then there's no crime."

I noticed Luke's eye had gone wide.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone. It's just obvious that it happens."

He nods, "How'd you know?"

"Some had bullet holes."

"Ahh shit. Not the adventure you were hoping for then?"

I shook my head, feeling a pit of disappointment open in my stomach.

"Nah nothing out there."

He chuckled adding in,

"Except for the rich folk. Enjoying their lives on Earth 2.0."

I clenched my fist, it always made me feel angry knowing that some people are living a life full of luxury when the rest of the world is struggling to survive. My thoughts were cut off by the sound of a soldier asking us to finish what we are doing and for us to head to the changing rooms.

"Women go to the right and follow the pink arrows and men to the left follow the blue arrows."

I rolled my eyes. 'Sexist' I thought to myself.

"See you later, Mars."

Luke says as he stands up. 

"Hope we're in the same team."

He adds, smiling at me. I smile back and say goodbye.

 

 Being alone, I could finally process. So, we have two choices, certain death or a maybe death but most likely death. I feel like a gas bottle about to explode. I get up and follow the arrows leading us to the rooms, I'm a bit behind everyone else. Not as eager to head to my death. They're sheep all of them, just following their Shepard blindly off the cliff. Are they brain dead?

Well, apart from Luke. I smile ever so slightly. Maybe he's rubbing off on me. Not that we're going to be able to be friends for long if we are to die in a few hours. Rounding a corner, I smash into something. Landing with a thud on the floor. I grunt,

"Watch where you're going, you dingbat!" 

I guess this is my chance to explode. I look up to see a hand extended out to me. Once on my feet, I see Corporal Lance in front of me. He looks stern,

"We need to talk, Mars."

 

 

 

Chapter 3 – 

Luke POV

"See you later, Mars."

I say as I stand up. Quickly adding,

"Hope we're in the same team."

I gave her my best smile, hoping for a return. 

Walking away, I patted myself on the back. I've got the ally I wanted. Now to make sure we're on the same team. It would be stupid not having her on my team, seeing how she knocked out a guard twice her size. I set off in the direction of the changing rooms, taking note of everyone I passed, trying to discretely size them up. I needed at least one, if not two more people on our team, not much of a team if it's just the two of us. People were starting to get into groups, I didn't like this. Half of these people are killers. The last thing I needed was a group of killers out on the other side, running around. 

Well, I suppose that is if there is another side. I suppose if there's not, then dead is dead. I've gotta prepare for the best-case scenario. My attention was taken away by the flashing lights on the white walls. The blue arrows had definitely not been there before or had I not noticed. I shook my head; no, they must have just programmed them to turn on when needed. I hadn't seen technology like this in years. I stop in my footsteps as the other boys and men form a line. Must be for the changing rooms I think to myself. I hear some raised voices coming from behind, arching my head around I see two boys having what looks like a disagreement. I could now hear what was being said. The younger one spoke in a hushed voice,

"I don't know Ajay, something bout her seems off."

The other one nudges him, he had an arrogance about him. But it looks playful enough. I nearly laughed to myself, I'm old enough to be most people's dad here. I'm not even that old—such bullshit.

"Don't be a little bitch. She's meant to be a hell of a fighter."

Were they talking about Mars? I pivoted around. 

"Who you on about?"

I asked. They stopped a few feet from me. The younger one looked nervous. Ajay steps forward in front of the younger ones in a protective manner. 

"And what's it to you? It ain't polite listening in on people's conversations, you know!" 

This. Little. Shit.

I straightened myself up, so I towered over him. This seems to be doing the trick. You gotta get respect on the street, which is hard when you have a voice like mine.

"Thought you were talking bout my friend that's all." 

The little shit broke a smile, 

"Nah I don't think such a dude. She was sat with us the whole time. It's that Tish girl."

He paused tilting his head,

"Wait who you on about?"

"Mars," I say hesitantly. 

"That tiny thing, what use is she gonna be." He laughed, 

"Might as well just lay down and die now if that's your backup man. But don't worry, I'm sure Tish would consider someone like you to join our team." 

I clenched my fist. I breathed, counting to ten. I jumped as a loud crash, distracted me from the conversation. A young man came running out of the room we were queuing to go into. A nurse ran out after him,

"Hey! You have to have the injection. Otherwise, you can't be on the mission."

"Fuck off," He spat back. 

Stepping forward, I stopped him.

"Hey mate calm down," 

I stuck out my arm to stop him in his place. 

He knocked into me, I grunted. The little shit. What was with all these youngsters.

"Hey, I mean it, you've been given an opportunity here, don't fuck it up." 

"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong mate," he pushed passed me. 

I let him go, fuck it he isn't my responsibility. I turned back, and the Nurse pointed to me.

Fuck, was I gonna get in trouble?

"Hey, sorry just trying to help!" 

She nodes for me to go through the door. I grunt, for fuck sake why don't I ever mind my own business. 

"Miss, I know it was none of my business."

She cut me off,

"Don't worry bout it. Just thought you'd be the most compliant candidate after dealing with that shit."

She caught herself recomposing herself. I laughed; she was cute.

"Don't worry bout it doc." 

I said with a wink. She laughed,

"I'm a nurse."

I shrugged, 

"Ye but nurse don't sound as good as doc."

She rolled her eyes, but she definitely has a slight smirk going on. She looks more serious picking up a chart and asks me,

"So, what's your number?"

I smirked, 

"Well I ain't got no phone, but I'd be happy to take you out sometime."

She rolls her eyes again, but I can tell she likes the attention. 

"I mean your ID number, smartass."

I laugh, giving her my allocated number. She scanned her notes.

"Luke?"

She asked I nodded my head realising she wasn't looking at me.

"Yes, Luke Williams the name. What's yours?"

She didn't lookup.

"You don't have to answer. I understand that I'm not the kinda person you want to know that information."

She looked up at me,

"Sandra."

She said, before looking back at her notes. 

"Looks like your health is exceptional. Luke and your strength and combat skills are well above the average score. Good at teamwork as well. But your balance and coordination need some work. Altogether, this all looks good. You'll fit into group 5 well I think." 

I quickly cut across her, 

"Who's in group 5?"

"Umm,"

She paused looking through the notes,

"Steven, James, Maria, Eliza so far. Any reason for the curiosity?"

I scratched the back of my head, nervous, contemplating asking. There's no harm, I guess.

"It's just I made friends with this girl Mars. She seems like she needs someone to look out for her."

She looks up at me. She looks confused. But she quickly recomposes herself and looks like she's going to say something but stops, looks down at her notes again and starts writing something. I've pissed her off I'm sure of it, maybe I shouldn't have spoken out. Nah she can't be annoyed by me asking, can she? 

"You know she's just a kid really. So, I was hoping if it's not too much of a problem, I can be put in a group with her."

I add, she looks up again and nods. 

"No problem, you're now in group 2 with Mars. That's really sweet of you to look out for her." 

I grinned, 

"Thanks, Sandra!"

She smiles back. I liked the way her eyes wrinkled when she smiled. Her eyes were such a unique colour, a mix of dark and light brown that was as bright as the sun. I found myself staring into them. I think she's warming to me as she keeps my gaze for a few seconds before turning around. She picked up a syringe. 

"OkayOkay Luke, this is a shot that should protect you from many diseases from this time. Nothing dangerous as the last guy thought. The second is a vitamin shot and then finally we have a tracker so that we can keep track of you and make sure you're still alive." 

I gulped, nodding my head. Rolling up my sleeve, I flex my arm. She looks at my arm and back at me. 

"Nice tattoos but please stop flexing. I can't get the needle in if you're clenching your muscles."

I laugh, feeling my face turn slightly red in embarrassment. The needle didn't really hurt.

"OkayOkay, the tracker now goes into the back of your neck. This will hurt slightly."

She said cautiously to me. She was obviously well trained for this. Probably had to deal with quite a few people kicking off. As she got the tracker ready, I asked curiously. 

"So, why's it going in the back of the neck? It seems a bit odd."

"Hmm, there's no nice way to say this. It's to prevent people from taking them out, we've had previous candidates cause some real damage to their arms by trying to remove them. It's meant to be a deterrent."

She paused. As a shooting, the pain went through the back of my head. I jumped up,

"Fuck. Shit. That hurt."

"As I said it's meant to be a deterrent because if it hurt that much going in professionally, you can imagine the pain removing it."

She frowned at this.

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving it in then."

I laughed, trying to hide my disgust. It was obviously not her fault, so no need to make her feel worse. I sit back down.

"OkayOkay, only one thing left."

She paused, pulling out a container from a draw that had multiple containers in. Turning to me, she handed it over.

"Your belongings from before prison. Well, the stuff you had on you when you were arrested."

Opening it, I find a bible, a necklace and a picture. I picked them all out. Carefully picking up the bible, making sure what I had inside didn't fall out. 

"You're religious?"

She asks I didn't want to directly lie. I'd done enough of that. 

"I guess we all need something."

Not a complete lie, I guess, but no, I'm religious not one bit. 

"Who's that in the picture?"

I look down. Looking back at her I half-smile,

"It's my daughter Lily."

She smiled, 

"She's very pretty."

"Thanks. She took after her mum."

"Sorry."

She responded, picking up on speaking about her in the past tense.

"Thanks, she's in a better place now. Cancer."

There had been a rise in cancer patients as pollution became worse. Kids and the old seemed to be getting it the worse. She was looking at me sympathetically. She reached out and squeezed my hand. I wasn't expecting it. 

"I had a niece who passed a few years back. It's a terrible thing." 

She passed me a tissue. I wiped away the few tears. Getting up, I thanked her, before I walked out, she stops me.

"Luke,"

She comes close enough that I can feel her heat radiating. She speaks in a hushed tone. 

"Be careful. Corporal Lance is in group 2. I can't change Mars to another group as he would get suspicious, but I can put you in the group. Be careful of him and keep a close eye on Mars. If she remembers, things could kick-off."

I looked at her, confused.

"Wait. What. How?"

She cut me off,

"I can't say anymore. We're out of time. Just go forward, cautiously."

She turned around, walking back to her desk. I took one last look at her before walking out of the room, holding onto my bible tightly. A guard directs me to a changing room where I was given some privacy to change. A wet suit was hanging up on the wall, and a bag was leaning on the chair, both were obviously mine. Checking that the door was locked, I moved the bag onto the floor, sat on the chair and slowly opened the bible directly down the middle. I was praying that it was still in there. Ain't that funny, the man with no faith praying whilst holding the bible. I took a deep breath, 'oh thank god!" I thought to myself. Maybe I should have a little faith. Sat in the middle of the bible in a compartment were a push dagger and a caracal pistol and 12 bullets. I quickly closed the bible, opening the bag I hid the bible underneath the clothes and supplies. 

I took a deep breath, steadying my breathing. I got dressed quickly wanting to get out of here and find Mars. And tell her what I know, 'but it might be too soon'. I don't know if she trusts me enough. I definitely need to find out if she's okay okay, maybe I'd keep the gun a secret for now, but at least I can protect her.

If Sandra is telling the truth, I may actually be needing the gun.  Sooner than I was expecting.

Chapter 4 – 

Tish POV

Pushing through the line of girls, I made my way to where the nurses were stood. I smacked into this girl with full force, 

"Hey watch where you're going." 

That's when I noticed Corporal Lance, and I nodded at him,

"My fault sir, sorry miss."

I said through clenched teeth. 

"No worries." She said with a blank expression.

 I hurried along my way. Stopping in front of the Nurse I scowled, 

"So, go on then, do what you gotta do!"

She broke eye contact reaching for a syringe,

"Roll up your sleeve,"

I snapped back,

"Why, what is that shit?"

She sighed. I stopped myself from smacking her in the face. I knew I was being watched by the soldiers. 

"The first is filled with essential vitamins to boost your health, and the second is to protect you from any viruses that will be around. We also need to put a tracker into your neck to keep you in check."

"The fuck you are, I'm not a dog you can keep tabs on."

"Well, that's your decision, but no one without these injections and the tracker get to go."

I was about to go nuts on this lady but catching a nearby guard moves his hand towards his gun made me stop in my tracks. Biting my cheek, I nodded,

"Go on then make it quick," 

The Nurse rolled her eyes again at me, the cheeky cow. I'd flatten her if we were out in the real world. She continues with the process, I stopped looking at her and was watching from a distance the girl that was talking to Lance, being escorted past the line of girls queuing and straight into her own room. Then it clicked. She was the one who caused a scene in the cafeteria!

What's her name again?

Who cares anyway! She's a joke.

She was obviously used to having the world given to her on a silver platter. I see how she's walking around with her nose in the air, up herself. I heard she's from one of the B sectors, that would explain it. All those lot think they're better than everyone else. 

It goes Sector A is the Island known as Earth 2.0, where the elites live. Then there's sector B, they've got better health care and even have some trade and most people have their own houses. Then there's sector C, nothing but crime and hardship there. In my eyes sector, B is no better than Sector A. They're still less likely to get caught for committing crimes than we are. 

I yelled in pain and jumped up, ready to strike someone.

"What the hell was that! What did you do your stupid bitch!"

I was getting up and close with this Nurse now. 

"Explain or Imma knock you out the sunshine!"

She stumbled on her words,

"Sorry, um it's…. it's the tracking device. The one I told you about."

I turned around quickly, composing myself, grabbing my jacket.

"Well warn me next time you dumb…"

Stopping myself from swearing at her again. See, I can be a nice person. I go to walk out of the room.

"Miss, your belongings." 

I stopped, looking over my shoulder.

"Nothing in there means anything to me anymore."

I continued out the door, leaving the Nurse before she could reply. The guards directed me to the changing room. I walked quickly. Cutting in front of the other girls waiting for their clothes. A lady eyed me up, 

"Small, changing room 3." 

I clenched my teeth together. I wasn't small. I shut the door behind me, taking in the surroundings. It looked like one of those old-style changing rooms you'd find in a mall. Hanging up was a suit, and a bag was sat on the floor below. I quickly changed out of my clothes and into a wetsuit. I guess we're gonna be coming out underwater. Picking up the bag I walk out of the changing room,

"That was quick,"

The lady from before said to me. 

"Just wanna get it over with,"

I replied. She directed me to the waiting room, where the rest of the inmates were waiting. Fingers crossed they don't separate the girls and boys. I can't stand girls, always whinging about something.

Walking into the room, I noticed it was pretty full. The boy's process must have been quicker than ours. I scanned the room looking for AJ, Vulcan and Pete. Where were they?

I started to panic; these idiots better have not done anything to single themselves out! 

I'd have to start the whole process of finding again.

That's when I heard it,

"Hey, Tish." 

I spun round to find AJ and Vulcan stood in the corner. I walk over to them, 

"Hey,"

Punching AJ in the arm.

"I thought you weren't gonna show up,"

AJ said nervously, Vulcan added.

"Ye we were worried bout you."

I smiled aww cute they care, that will be useful. 

"Have you seen Pete?"

Asked AJ, he just had to go ruin my mood.

"Obviously not! I wasn't in your group, was I?"

I frowned. AJ quickly added.

"Ye sorry, just thought I'd ask."

I cut him off,

"Well, don't ask stupid questions."

It's important to establish dominance early on. Vulcan chimed in,

"Ye we're just worried as we saw him kick off earlier. He refused to get the injections."

I rolled my eyes. I knew he was the stupid one of the group.

"Oh well guess, he's dead now!" 

I shrugged. They both gave each other a look.

"Hey, I know it's sad, but it's not on us that he went and did something stupid. Okay, okay. We're a stronger team without him."

They both nodded. 

More people started flooding into the room. Then an officer told us to take a seat. We were all sat down, waiting patiently for instructions. We looked ridiculous in these suits. I laughed to myself. AJ gave me a look.

"Just thinking how we look like those Stars Trek characters."

I say, he lets out a laugh.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, well done for making it this far. Now we will be putting you into groups, each group will be given their own pod and sent through the portal. This is to avoid any chance of malfunction and will give us a higher chance of success."

Makes sense, if one pod goes down then at least we're not all dead. But no one wants to be on that pod. It's a game of roulette who will live and who will die, but I guess we could all live in this game. But then we could also….

All die. I look around the room. 

We could all die today. 

They started calling out names. I wasn't in group 1. But one thing I noticed was that it wasn't just inmates on the pods, there were also nurses and guards. They probably volunteered themselves. Stupid people, at least wait for a message to come back before going through. I'd never volunteer for this if I had a choice to live.

"Group 2 consists of Luke, Mars, Vulcan, AJ, Sandra, Corporal Lance."

He paused, fuck I wasn't gonna be with AJ and Vulcan. What was I meant to do, they were both looking at me. Maybe we'll meet up on the other side, but what if they've already made friends with the others. 

"And Tish."

I breathed out slowly.

"Fuck, that's a relief."

I snapped at Vulcan, 

"I wasn't worried."

He looks straight forward not making eye contact with me,

"Sorry." 

He says quietly. He's such a big girl's blouse.

"No worries."

I tell him. He was like a dog, loyal, excitable and needs to be praised not scolded. The guy continued reading out the names. Then it struck me,

"For fuck sake, we have that whingy Mars on our team."

I whisper loudly. Spotting Mars, on the other side of the room. I thought I saw her look my way. Maybe she heard, I couldn't care less. AJ nods adding,

"And that Corporal Lance is with us, so we have to be on our best behaviour. I was hoping once out of sight we could act up."

I shrugged,

"There's three of us and only one of him. And even though I don't like Mars, I don't think she's fond of the Corporal either."

Vulcan pulls his gaze away from the front,

"Maybe we should have nicknames for them, so they don't know we're talking bout them."

He whispers much quieter than I did. I nod,

"Ye Corporal Lance is Turd."

Vulcan laughs a bit too loudly, drawing the attention of the room. I roll my eyes,

"Excuse me, are we interrupting your conversation."

The man reading the names asked Vulcan, he shook his head.

"Sorry, sir,"

The man continues. I felt somewhat bad for getting Vulcan in trouble but god he's a prat at times!

"And what about Mars?"

AJ asks, 

"Loudmouth."

I said as I looked over at her, we all saw her speech in the cafeteria.

"And Luke?"

AJ added,

"Don't know him, but he seems like a Creep."

AJ laughed quietly, 

"Very true. Follows Mars around like a lost puppy."

"He's not that bad."

Vulcan whispers. AJ and I just looked at him.

"Shut-up."

We both said. Vulcan went quiet. Our attention returned to the front of the room.

"So that's all seven groups. Please go to your designated area, ready to head to the pods." 

That's when I noticed the signs placed around the room. There were eight though, which confused me, why would they need eight if they only have seven groups. I moved towards the group 2 sign, stopping in the middle with my arms crossed. Then I hear her whiny voice,

"Hey, I'm Mars,"

She held out her hand towards me. Fucking zone B people. I didn't take it. Pulling back her hand,

"I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot."

This girls gonna get us killed, she's too weak. I gave my best fake smile, 

"Ye don't worry about it. We're a team now, so we have to have each other's back."

She smiled at me. 

"Each team follow your designated leader,"

Each team had a member wearing red, the rest of us were in grey. Corporal Lance was ours. I noticed each team seemed to have a soldier and Nurse. Maybe to keep us healthy and to keep us under control. I wouldn't put it past them to be carrying a weapon.

"Follow me,"

Said Corporal Lance, before walking in the direction of the hallway. He walked at a quick speed which felt like a jog to me, damn my short legs. I kept my focus in front of me. We walked towards the end of the ship; it took no more than 5 minutes. Coming to a door, he typed in a code. The doors opened, behind it were rows of metallic-looking round machines. They must be our pods. We stopped in front of one, they were a good 20 feet tall and 40 feet in length. But the weird thing about it, it had spikes on the outside. 

"Listen up. We're gonna be stuck in this thing for the next few hours. I want no arguments, no moaning and hold your farts."

Vulcan and AJ started giggling amongst themselves like two teenagers. I rolled my eyes,

"Yes, mum."

I said sarcastically. Corporal Lance just gave me a death stare, whilst the two boys were still giggling amongst themselves.

"Right, load up. Keep your bags in front of you at all times in case we need to make a quick exit. You'll be needing your supplies on the other side."

We went in one at a time, I waited, wanting to savour my time here as much as possible. Letting the boys go first, then Mars and the nurse lady. But then Luke waves his hand,

"Ladies first,"

What fucking patriarchal bullshit is this. Obviously still living in the old world of thinking. He must have caught my expression,

"No disrespect."

He said quickly,

"Well, don't say stupid things then."

I said before going into the pod. Looking around to see eight seats but only seven passengers, I guess the 8th was for.... oh fuck what's his name. That guy that was meant to be here Ummm. Nope, don't remember. It isn't important. Maybe they had a few people pull out last minute. I wonder what they did with them. We could see out of the windows. The door closed behind Corporal Lance.

"Buckle in."

He says, everyone does as they're told. When closing the buckle, it made a click sound as if locking. Then the ship starts moving upwards.

"What's that?"

I blurted out. Corporal Lance laughed at bit at my concern.

"Oh, nothing to worry about they're just getting us in place."

 That's when the front of the ship went from black to being transparent. Everyone gasped as we saw what was in front of us, even Corporal Lance seemed shocked. In front of us were ten inmates lined up on the edge of the platform. Each had a weight strapped to their foot. Their arms were tied behind their back. The man from earlier came on the speaker,

"The people lined up before you chose to disobey the rules. They did not follow our rules. This is their punishment. Don't bother trying to get up from your seats, and we have them locked until you leave. These inmates disobeyed the system, they were given a second chance, and they threw it in our faces, this is their punishment."

As he said, these ten soldiers stepped forward, pushing them off the edge into the water. All of them disappeared out of sight. Anger was building up inside me, everyone was yelling. 

"Hush, hush now if any of you at any point disobey our orders of scout, set up a safety area and send back a message. Then we will know, and we will activate the lethal toxin that is in your tracking devices."

My mouth hung open; they couldn't do something like this, could they? I looked over to our Nurse. She looked as shocked as the rest of us. The dumbasses, how stupid could they be they gave us all nurses so we can just have them taken out.

"And any of you thinking of removing the device, don't bother. If you try to remove them or if you tamper with the device, it will also release the toxin inside."

FUCK!

The man was cut off from talking when a head popped up out of the water, one of the inmates must have gotten loose from their chains. He tried to pull himself up, as he did this, the ten guards who had pushed the men in, began firing at him. He was hit a number of times. The water before us turned red with his blood. His body floated there lifeless, before being pulled out of the water. 

"As I was saying, disobedience will result in your execution. We, all here at Enlightened LIfe Technological Enterprise, wish you a safe journey."

The man nods to the people standing by the computers. The next thing we're being lowered into the water. I take this time to look at everyone's reactions, they all seemed as shocked as I was. We were soon swallowed up by the water, with the guards no longer in sight, but I felt we were still being watched. The ship vibrated as the hooks were released, we began our descent. The pod was deadly silent before us was darkness. Then the headlights turned on, and we saw the first sinking body. We'd caught up with them. I looked away as I noticed the face. It had been the young boy that I'd carelessly forgotten the name of. I found this upsetting; he was stupid, yes, but he didn't deserve to die. Not like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5- 

3rd Person POV

The group had become extremely uncomfortable and silent after seeing the death of 10 inmates. They didn't speak, they didn't know how to feel. They were processing. Seeing someone, that most of the group knew, float in front of them made them uneasy and to further this feeling they now had information of a life-threatening, event placed in the back of their necks. Vulcan rubbed the back of his neck, his eyebrows knitted together. 

"Hey, don't do that!"

Tish broke the silence.

"You might accidentally break it."

He began to panic, 

"What if I hit my head or roll on my back in my sleep. What if it's faulty and just breaks?"

He was spinning out of control,

"I can't do this, I can't do this. I wanna go home."

He cried. Everyone else was ignoring his outburst. His breathing became shallow and rapid. 

"I can't breathe. I can't breathe."

fantasy
1

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.