As the engines touched done and we braced ourselves i remeber looking around and thinking really this is all thats left ,a man to my left had a rolex watch still on i thought no use for that now ,but everyone remained hopeful that when we reached Washington U.S everything would work out .I flipped through the pictures in my head that they showed me in the pods of the dome compound where all surviving 25,000 humans would be living ,the earths atomosphere was still toxic but the dome would filter the carbon making it breathable again.I wanted tobelieve them, i did,but i still remebered how they let all those innocent poeople die 1000 years ago my freinds, my family, left to the flames and floods then the anticipated wipeout.
A sudden jolt and the doors mechanism next to my head giroscoped into action creating a gush of excitement in the pod .100 men all pop bellied bankers filled with joy to get back to earth not one thought for the people that perished ,i looked on sickened.A cadet came in an ordered us to our feet every moment controlled ,unperplexed about the significance of the view behind the awaiting door, nonchalent he opened the inner door within our pod to my shock 20 women and children filed out looking bewildered. He scolded them to the door all the time there eyes remainig on the floor as they walked to what seemed a gallow, why such a difference of mood it didnt add up .I looked left a little girl pulled her mothers leg and as she looked up caught my eye a solemn look that touched my very soul i smiled but she didnt eem capable to return the gesture .with that i was shoved abruptly to the pod door by another cadet , i remeber thinking this is it.
As the bridge came down and we walked through a incased walk way the outside elements where obscured you could hear no noise, not even the wind or the raging south seas .,The emptiness filled me leaving me hardly any from to even gasp for air, I fought my anxiety and trudged on behind the 130 long line .After a short time we where meet by a senior officer ” this is the category bay welcome men of America ,you will be filtered into three categories based on the memberships you purchased at wipeout bronze ,silver and gold” .My head spun through my memories like a note book turning the pages i stopped clear at the contract i had sighned ,a basic member is what it said , the cadet continued” bronze you will be doing manuel labour ,silver wil be doing skilled labour,and gold the academics and scientists”.
I was given a badge that said bronze with a suit that was made to keep out the toxity of the atmosphere. I could travel in the tunnels between the dome and the work area, then a card saying thankyou for your purchase you own B56, B56 i thought to myself is this a pin number did i buy something before they did the population freeze , i gestured to a man infront who was pleasently eyeing his purchase card he obviously knew its intention.”Hey you know what this is” i said holding the card up he pointed towards the corrider marked collections “hope you picked good” he said as he slided of almost snakily into the corrider his card held firmly in his grasp.
As i followed the line of men a officer took my card and said this way as he eyed my tag bronze he muttered to himself , he told me to take a seat and then introduced me to B56 her first words hello sir, what they had given me a women ,thats what i had agreed to at the wipeout i couldnt believe it “i dont want to own her i never signed up for this”.Her gaunt face the reminance of a once drug addicted girl took shape her depleted face showed the years off struggle and unlike the men you could tell she had never had much money ,how did she pay to get here to survive i thought.”Its fine the little sparrowy voice said from behind her dark ruffened hair “I signed up for this”.
The cadet laughed with a hint of jest “shes a bison” he said “a bison whats that, a category below bronze a free membership with agreement to repopulate , she agred to get paired with a paying male to save her life .He shoved her towards me and thats when it dawned on me that she was the women with the child earlier. “She will be your guide” the cadet added “go find your quarters and work placement” with that me and b56 akwardly hurried to the work doc avoiding the issue of living arrangements, for as long as we could.
As the silence grew in volume I relented and broke the solemness in the air “I wont hurt you, I dont own you, your free” with that a glance of hope in her eyes like a weight being lifted of her shoulders her tempermental face changed with one slight thin lined smile .She remained seated in the waiting area , selfishly as i walked alone to the officer i felt comforted thateven though assigned to me I had a companion, a freind it beated the loneliness I thought that awaited me when I awoke from the wipeout.
The loudspeaker hailed over the whole dome “please will all members return to their quaters for enrolement guidelines and policies to be delivered.It all seemed so invasive ,was I in a concentration camp joined by people from my own civilisation who have just disregarded their morals ,in the chance for a new beggining in this desolate future.
B56 whispered to me ive got this keycard the pins B565 if something happens can you remeber, “whats that for” I asked, she needed my loyalty to know she could trust me and i swore my unrelenting allegiance.”My daughters number ,someone owns her and i need to find her i need to get out “.With that the tv in our room, a panel one walls length that entered the room unannounced came on, “your work placement will arrive at 9.00 am ,do you wish to take your bisson to ease your load required aswer yes or no ,” I looked at b56 and asked her if she cared to come ,with her compliance i agreed. I was then told iI would be travelling outside the dome via a tunnel that reached the surface in a suit that would withstand the toxicity.
The earths glow had changed for the first time in 1000 years, i saw my sun ,red and giant it had become but still from the roots of the sun i once looked up at.B56 looked with amazement at the skies as if she thought it was a site she would never see again.The stars where gone and it remained a red sky constantly. The lack of birds was a clarifying reminder that even the oldest species had died out and maybe we where the lucky few left alive .The railings had protruding spikes to stop people trying to break out through confinement syndrome ,as i gathered my tools for replacing pod capsules b56 lent down to pick up my instructions and caught her suit on the spike ,in that moment from the clips we had been shown in the pods we both knew she wouldnt survive a toxxicity leak.I grabbed her arm to cover the leak with my gloves i screamed for help to which no one responded, the doors had automatically shut behind us till i finished my allocated hours so i knew there was no way out .She gasped for breathe and her breathing became very rapid I held her hand and told her someone would come. Wrapping her arm and placing my hands over it ,”That wont keep it out” as if ready to take her last breath, but then she took another and another .The mood went from horrific helplessness to naive enlightment .Im still breathing,how,im breathing,the smile accross her face as brilliant as the sun i knew .We sat filled with adoration the thought of losing my newly made friend in such a bleak time would have been unbearable.
We talked that night of the suit and her remarkable ammunity to the toxins but it became clear that this was a mirage the dome had created the air was breatheable we could live on the surface independent from the domes tenacious dictarship but why wouldnt they tell us “they want us under there control to rebuild the population for them build the houses setup there establishment a new world order and we signed up” b56 was right we where the worker bees above us the drones with the dome the only queen all of us subserviant i didnt want to accept a future without freedom and my own free will .
B56 was gone when i awoke her matress on the floor neatly folded and a small note on the mirror “gone to see kcard ,wipe off “. I immediately wiped the message of the mirror and at that point i knew she had gone to find her child ,I knew that she would almost certainly end up back here without her child and a punishment at best. Although are short aquaintance she was all I had in the world and I had to find her before the dome knew she knew she could breathe outside ,that information would ruin there corporation and they wouldnt allow that to happen at any cost.
As I speedily paced the corrider the alarm sounded with a resonating sound of defiance, the cadets where rushing with guns at their sides and ready for action ,i knew instinctively it was b56. I ran to the work doc hoping to see her but it was too late there was b56 with a girl holding on to her leg hiding her face just as b56 had done the firsttime we met . The cadets where shouting and b56 glanced at me , i mouthed its okay , Inside she knew they would surely kill her if she couldnt get out now ,with that i jumped forward and projected “i know we can breathe out there” a silence fell.A rush of guards ran towards me and i told her to run as she reached the airlock with a harderned push they where through.The guards not courageous enough to follow due to their beliefs in the corporations tales of the toxicity .I saw her leave with her child running towards the giant sun, my loneliness overcame me once again , the guards had restrained me and i was held done with their knees in my back almost tuned out not feeling the pain, just feeling the moment in slow motion a air of desperation that i too could have fled with my new freind.
The days after her departure where hard to remeber I hardly ate hardly saw light and in tiny confinement cell my life felt meaningless. Till again i saw that red light of my giant sun, the officer that I looked up at was stern and senior he had a air of dominance and if i hadnt of been so drawn and weak i would have been scared at that point ,i was past caring.”What do you know about the air then”,”i saw her running andbreathing ” “no you didnt son ” with a kick to my jaw i remained silenced for the rest of his conversation with me .I was put back in my quaters and allowed to get clean and sleep ready for the next dayswork.
The cadet in charge of me today was young maybe the youngest man onboard ,he hadnt yet been harshened by the regime they had in place .He spoke with a forced authority that made him feel more uncomfortable than me . I asked him “did your mother and father survive ” a awful glance my way like a knife in my chest , he replied “your not even allowed to talk to other members,dont talk to me” i could see he had compassion, sadness for his loved ones,this was my only chance of having a life worth livings ,so i acted .With one fail swoop I hit the cadet with my work spade ,I felt sad that i didnt have time to persuade the cadet to come with me such a young life wasted in captivitity.
As I reached the off limit work bay, I entered in the cadets keycard number to be immediately welcomed by a on screen database of all the members and where they where located, a human gps ststem. In the search member field I entered b56, in flashing lights the word void came up the tags in our ankles felt our heartbeat so if she wasnt located she wasnt alive. That thought in my head i was reminded off her wishes when we first met ,i found myself typing in b565 then up ,wham her daughter the words on the screen read active but outside tracking area ,if i could do anything i would save her ,what had happened to b56 ?she would never leave b565 alone ,was there something else out there i would risk it for them.
As i reached the air lock the alarm rung out the cadet must have recovered conciousness and alerted the senoirs ,I had to get away the door was strong but my percerverance stronger, as it opened I breathed in a deep breath of humanity ,my lungs filled and the tension in my head evaporated. I felt for once i was at home for that brief moment of solice i was yet again truly free.The officer screamed to me you’ll die just like B56 “what” i turned to face him i had to know the truth “they got her, the people that inhabit the earth ,out there they’re dead but living, over the south seas destroying everything they see. Not a thing lives in their path and they have crossed the south seas,thats why the tunnels are dark and were always reinforcing them, we cant let them know were here”.Was this true could I believe him was it another conspiracy to help keep there new world order expanding, but if it was true i had to bring the girl back to some sort of safety, but would they let me look after her, or kill us both incase we told?.My only option was to choose to run and if i died I would die free.I ran with the guard shouting behind me not even attempting to run after me as I looked back the airlock had been closed behind me and the detrimental smell of decay and death lingered in the air, the skies where empty and the land in turmoil, i had never felt so overwhelmed .I went north like in the gps in hope that I would find B565 and water, I had lost hope in finding B56 when I approached a single piece of a jacket that she was wearing maticulously left piece by piece like a road to guide others who found there freedom maybe she was alive? .
As the temperature soared and my miniscule amount of water left in my work canteen had nearly all but dried up , the pieces of jacket had come to an end .I saw a solitary figure in the distance a small girl in this plain of anihilation, there once agon was hope .I paced closer the figure remained rigid not a single movement my approach felt eerie as there was something not quite right .She laid there i picked her up and held her close hoping that my lungs would become hers ,with that her ankle tag started to beep she was losing her battle and the only thing I could do was spare my few drops of water which had little effect. She murmured “mummy said a man that liked the red sun would come ” with that her eyes closed and she passed silently away holding that body in my arms was the most torturous experience of my life ,as i sat closing her eyelids as if symbolic of the future I accepted that I too would die of starvation and thirst .
Hours passed,and the skies still didnt change ,my mind rambled in its hunger and desperation for water ,when the skies darkened i looked up as if maybe god had decided to reach his hand down and pick me up into his safety, but the shadows where hoards ,outlines at first that looked like bush fire .It drew near and i saw the features of vengeful eyes and bloodied arms ,the pain in my body was too great to move and there was no where to go, i held her little hand and said goodbye to her mother, they became ravenous faces and i was helpless.