Home? (Part 8)

For a second I maintain my eyes locked on the screen, wondering. We were told that humanity was to embark on a ship to save itself from catastrophe, from the so-called "End." Our mission was to head to a new planet, inhabit it, and make it ours to create a new community where human life could be reborn again so we could maintain our species. We were also told that those living on Earth, which was the majority of the population, would inevitably die in no more than a few weeks. I know now that at least one of those statements was a lie.

"Are you sure that's Earth?"

"Absolutely," says my friend.

We stand there, facing the screen for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. The images of revolution and death are so tangible that I can smell the fear and rotting corpses on display.

"Who monitors this?" my question is left unanswered, although I know why. Something is off. There have been no guards patrolling the halls, despite there being a group of teenagers with disobeying tendencies and the fact that reaching this room has been relatively easy.

"We should leave," finally says Max, interrupting the uncomfortable silence which does nothing but add tension to the atmosphere.

I nod in agreement, not without taking one last look at the screen to verify that I have not imagined anything and that Earth is still filled with lost, scared souls wondering its dusty, ruined streets. However, as soon as we attempt to leave the room, several alarms go off, and so do those inside my head. It all looks like it had been a trap. Were the images on the screen also a montage? I doubt it but it could be a possibility, given how realistic those images were. However, ever since I set foot on this aircraft, I doubt what is real and what isn't. Max and I hide behind a chair, rather than running away. We know that, whatever we do, there is no way we can escape the government headquarters since they are so well guarded. As we sit in complete silence we hear footsteps rapidly approaching our location, as if the police were hunters and us their preys, only with a few seconds in between to breathe before they catch us. My friend suddenly jumps up and I loudly command him to come back but the alarm silences my words with its loud hushing sound. He steps towards the door, turning back to indicate me to remain in my hiding spot. The guards come in and grab him violently, yelling inaudible words at him to which he nods his head. Soon, the alarm stops, the door is locked and I'm left alone in the most overwhelming darkness.

I wake up somewhat drowsy, still unaware of where I am or what the time is. Would it matter? As the memories of the events prior to me blacking out begin to fill in the voids in my mind, I realise what has happened. Max is gone and I was unconscious for who knows how long. My partner saved my life by letting himself be hunted, so that they would not suspect he was with someone else. Not that they care. They probably still think I'm in my room, peacefully sleeping and oblivious to what is happening in this spaceship and outside of it. I look back and see the screen room is still unlocked, meaning that no guard bothered to look farther into the area. I know I have to find my friend but first I want to make sure that the memories of images of Earth are not a dream. Indeed they aren't. As I walk into the cabin, I corroborate that I have not gone crazy and there seems to be an entire population still living in our planet. There are so many buildings which once stood yet now are on the floor. Anarchist flags surround the street that is being filmed and there is barely a soul outside. Perhaps they've all hidden outside. I see corpses somewhere far, however, they are still distinguishable despite the destruction surrounding them. How long has this chaos been left to unravel while the rest of us are being sapped of individuality in this spaceship? How long has humanity been in such evil hands without us noticing? As I look away disgusted I hear a loud thud. At the beginning I think it's simply some unimportant sound, but soon I hear a cough and I realise someone is coming into the room. I quickly hide under the screen panel. It's dark enough for me to not be seen. I see one of the guards has finally entered, removing his mask and revealing a scarred face. His eyes are pale blue and icy; there is no compassion, just a cold and inexpressive gaze which makes me shiver. He quickly sits down and commands some other invigilator named K-10 to join him immediately. I thought we were the only ones without a name, but even those who help the government seem to be depersonalised in the exact same way.

I hear the shuffling of paper above me and I remain completely still. The soldier comes in after a few minutes and sits next to his commander. He leaves his mask on the ground near me and heads over to close the door. As he turns over I see the face of a young and fresh individual, yet he's equally expressionless. It scares me to think that the innocence of the youngest trainees can be taken away so easily.

"So, what's up today?" as he sits down, his superior begins to speak. However, the feet of the youngest accidentally hit my stomach causing me to let out a small gasp.

"What the?..." as he bends down, my heart almost stops and I stop breathing completely.