~2~

Chapter 2

"Before you really want to decide we should go, I want to show you something." Cecilia stated as she walked through the meadow that bordered the back of her house.

Skylar frowned, "Show me what?" She asked as she swept a blonde strand of hair from her eyes.

"You'll see." She insisted, "Just a little bit further." Cecilia responded over her shoulder, hazel eyes glinting slightly.

They weaved through the tall, dry grasses that still radiated a brilliant gold in the rays of sun sifting through the transparent clouds above. Clouds welled up in the sky, forecasting inevitable rain in the next hour or so.

Skylar followed, she hadn't seen her father since yesterday when she had run off to find Cecilia. A cold chill hit her spine and she couldn't tell if it had been caused by a cloud ceasing the sun's warmth or the thought of leaving everyone behind and the little safety the wall did seem to provide.

Skylar had noticed Cecilia had brought her ever farther into the outcast, a piece of land that was nothing but a forest and it cut off at the wall. No one really cared much for it, everything other than some dead plants and trees and there was no major water source.

It was odd, being in such a quiet place. A forest would normally be alive with the scampering of small creatures or the call of a bird in a neighboring tree, perhaps the running water of a stream. Skylar wouldn't know much anyway, she had never actually been into a forest but this isn't what she imagined one would be like.

"It's quiet." Cecilia whispered as though speaking too loud would violate the silence.

Skylar nodded in agreement, feeling her steps were sending their own earthquakes beneath the various leaves that littered the ground.

Cecilia stopped suddenly, causing Skylar to stop abruptly, teetering on her toes to keep from running into Cecilia before managing to regain her balance. She was about to ask what had gotten into her friend but Cecilia slapped a hand over her mouth.

Cecilia's other hand raised slowly, as if the very gesture was risky, pointing over a low trim of undergrowth that shielded a clearing.

Skylar followed the direction of her finger and peered over. There out in the open seemed to be something moving.

A pair of large, concave ears flicked one way to the other, listening for any signs of predators. A pair of round, brown eyes taking a break as they swept the clearing to make sure nothing around seemed disturbed.

Skylar couldn't believe what she was looking at, it had to be her imagination- but it wasn't. It was a doe- an actual doe standing right there, so close. It took Skylar another moment to notice the small, white-speckled body swaying on its long legs at the doe's side. Its big ears and large dark eyes seemed odd on its particularly small head atop of its long neck and broad shoulders. 

Skylar smiled, it was beautiful. It only made her more eager to get out, to search for what once was. Maybe if there are two, there would be more, out here in this secluded strip of land.

Skylar gazed at the pair in amazement, a smile unfolding from her lips. Such beauty in a place filled with so much death and despair... For a moment the doe seemed to look right into Skylar's eyes, the doe's irises like brown pools, luring her into their depths of wonder yet caution.

Cecilia nudged Skylar's shoulder, urging her to get back.

Skylar did as Cecilia said, looking over to her friend once they had retreated away far enough not to disturb the deer. "How did you know about them? I wonder how they have survived. I mean, how did they get in here?  If they got in, wouldn't that mean we could get out?" She thought aloud in slight hope.

Cecilia shrugged, "I came here every now and then on my own. I see them every once and a while and every time I do I can't help but feel like- me again. Anyways, I just wanted to show you things can get better here... Maybe things will start growing, evolving- adapting. Maybe leaving isn't the only solution." her words had faded off into a whisper.

Skylar shook her head, “By the time the day comes, we’ll all be dead. No one is in good condition; no one in the Sectors anyway.” Skylar wasn’t going to say it aloud, even out here she was afraid to trash the government, but they never seemed to be all that mistreated…

“We either stay here and die or we try and go out and die trying. I don’t want to rot away in here another day.”

Cecilia didn’t move for a moment, she eventually nodded, “Okay, Skylar. So, what’s the big plan?”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

It was bright, the lights, the ones that illuminated the silent room. Skylar squinted, making out a small room. She tried to sit up but restraints held her down in her place. The metal of the table sent chills up her back and panic struck her as she realized Cecilia was not with her. Her green gaze wandered around the room. She was hooked up to some machine that seemed to register her pulse and a needle was placed in her arm, something she recalled to be an IV.

Skylar suddenly noticed the bandage that wrapped itself around her upper arm. Before Skylar had time to question where she was, she heard a door open from behind.

“So, you have awoken.”

The words echoed against the tiled floors and empty walls, making Skylar flinch. She craned her neck around, her eyes stopping on the tall figure.

A man, older, in his 40’s, walked around to the side of the table. He leaned in until his face was a mere foot from Skylar’s.

Skylar saw her reflection in the clear lenses of his glasses. She focused on the pair of grey eyes that peered back into hers. “Who are you?” She breathed.

The man smiled, causing the scar down the left side of his face to go jagged. “I’m Dr. Shardiss, and you Skylar, caused a bit of trouble. What makes you desire to get out of here enough to provoke the guards?”

Confused, Skylar shook her head, “I- I don’t remember what happened.”

“I gave you a heavy sedative. You’ve been out for three days, your memory should return in a few hours. Until then, you’re stuck with me.” The man replied, standing back, putting a brown strand of hair back in its place on his head with the simple stroke of his hand. 

After a moment, Skylar’s eyes widened in sudden alarm, “Where is she?! Where is my friend?”

“In the room across the corridor; she took a nasty beating. You on the other-hand caught the bullet. It found its way into your arm but an hour and a pair of surgeons was all it took to fix it. It should be able to function without much difficulty within the next day or so.” The man started walking around the table, “So you want to leave? That is a very bold desire, are you sure you are willing enough to walk into such a fate?”

Skylar’s eyes squinted at the hint of challenge in his tone. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” She retorted.

“Perhaps not…” The man replied, stepping back. “I must warn you, no one has ever successfully gotten out of here- alive anyway.”

“No one inside of this place is alive- We are all slowly dying off and you know it and don’t try to tell me otherwise because that would make you a nothing but an ignorant fool.” Skylar snapped.  She eventually sighed, “Just do whatever you have to and let me go.”

He raised a brow but nodded, retrieving a syringe from a cabinet.

Skylar didn’t look as he inserted the needle and withdrew blood. “Was it necessary for you to bind me to the table? I’m not all that crazy you know.” She stated blatantly.

He glanced up at her, “Oh, I’m sure you’re not and it is nothing personal I assure you. In fact, if anyone should be strapped to that table it should be me.” He replied, retreating out of the room without another word.

Skylar’s brow furrowed, shaking her head to herself. Was he really calling himself crazy; not that she didn’t agree. The door opened again but this time another person came.

Skylar eyed the female that walked into the room.

The woman proceeded to take off the braces around Skylar’s arms, releasing her from the examining table.

Skylar rubbed her arms and sat upright, looking over to the clothers the woman had placed on the edge of the table.

“Get dressed and meet me outside.” The lady said before exiting the same door she had entered.

Skylar thought about making an escape; get out and find Cecilia. But Skylar noticed the light above the door knob had turned red, indicating it was locked and would not open until she obeyed. She stripped off her worn jeans, pulling her shirt off over her head, throwing the tattered green cloth to the floor. She then slipped on a skin-tight grey suit. She noticed it had plates implanted in all of her most vulnerable areas. Feeling like a part of the government’s little army, she slipped on a pair of boots, they were a bit big but bearable, and she stepped out into the hall.

Outside, the hallway was dim, not bright like the previous room. The ceiling hung low and the walls were close, giving Skylar an uncomfortable sense of claustrophobia.

A door to Skylar’s left opened from across the hall, “Cecilia…” She whispered, in shock at the sight of her friend.

Her hair that once flowed over her shoulders in a bouquet of flames was cut short in what could only be considered a ‘buzz’. Her face was painted in bruises of blues, purples and various yellow/greens. One of her hazel eyes was partially swollen shut.

Cecilia managed to send Skylar a half-hearted smile but uttered nothing.

“Come along then you two.” The woman said as she started to walk, clip-board in hand. “I am Dr. Cardinal, head of the Division and Head-Quarter B. You will have a quick stay here until tomorrow when you are to be up, ready, and fed by daybreak. You will only speak when I acknowledge you or anyone else at a higher ranking than yourselves. Do not be late. I recommend you stay on my good side since I will be determining everything you go through from here on out, am I clear?” She stated more as a demand than an actual question.

Skylar nodded slightly. The woman was tall, almost as tall as Skylar. She had straight, brunette hair pulled back into a sharp pony-tail and also wore the same attire as the two girls.

They came up to a set of metal doors and Dr. Cardinal entered a code into the digital keypad that rested lazily on the wall. The doors slid open obediently and they walked on through.

“This is where you will stay for the night, it is late. I will explain everything you need to know when the time comes tomorrow. For now, I recommend you get some rest.” She walked them down another walk-way and stopped at the first door on the right. She entered another code, “Your code is 14700 if you need it. You will not be able to leave this section however in the case of an emergency all emergency exits unlock automatically.”

Skylar nodded but paused at the entrance. She examined the room that could easily have been mistaken for an apartment.The walls were painted brown and furniture was arranged and waiting. Skylar couldn’t believe it- no holes in the wall, no fallen rubble or debris, no mold or dust clinging to decaying wood. A leather couch and sofa sat adjacent to each other on the two walls across from them, conveniently placed in front of a flat-screen TV that hung delicately on the wall.

Across from that was the kitchen, tile floors and marble counter-tops, electricity. In the rooms, Skylar was pleased to find no cots but real mattresses that sunk in at her touch.

Skylar and Cecilia settled in quickly. They shared no words as they didn’t seem necessary; it was all too overwhelming and brought back so many memories.

It was getting late, Skylar walked into their bedroom, proceeding into the bathroom. She paused at the sight of the shower. She immediately turned on the water, stripping out of her clothes. She stepped into the hot water that cascaded out of the shower head in a continuous fountain of hot steam. It had been about 6 months since they bothered heating water to bathe in back in the sectors.
Skylar stood there for minutes that eventually turned into hours. She let the whole situation sink in just, letting the water seep through her hair to her scalp before she let the water trail down her back. Only when the steam started to suffocate her did she step out. She located the towels and dried off before getting dressed into her silk night attire.

“There has to be something out there…” She whispered to herself as she went over to the mirror; using the under-side of her arm to smear away the fog. Skylar stopped momentarily, eyes glued to the stranger that stared back at her through the glass she, for a moment, thought to be a window. Skylar did not recognize the ghostly skeleton in the reflection. She traced a finger over her hollow cheeks and her once pink colored lips. Even her eyes, green as the sea, seemed sunken into her face and did not glow with the same purity as they once had before. Skylar suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of fear pummel her, knocking her forwards. She leaned up against the sink, tears and water droplets ran down her face as she struggled for balance as the floor swayed beneath her feet.

She didn’t know why she was crying because she wasn’t scared- there was nothing for her to fear, not for herself. She bit her lip, what about her father? Would he snap out of the darkness that seemed to lock him in a distant trance now she was not there to provide for them? Would he simply- She couldn’t finish the thought. She thought about Cecilia, Jake, if he was still alive, everyone still back at the Sectors…

 

Author's Note

Again, long chapter, I may go back and change/edit a few things. Suggestions would be great. Not done with this chapter yet though.