Burn The Stars ψ Michael Langdon

ψ quattor ψ

The feeling of breathing on her neck had announced the intruder's arrival in the dining room. Lillith quickly turned around to meet the eyes of the intruder. It was a man, with long dirty blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. Lillith found her jaw dropping as she stared at this uninvited guest. He was...beautiful. She felt an unusual attraction to him, a tug at her soul to him.
"Excuse me," he spoke, his voice smooth and powerful. She closed her mouth, realizing how foolish she must look and how she stepped out of line for a grey, and she moved to the side, quickly. She noticed his eyes following her as she moved, until he looked back to everyone else. "My name is Langdon, and I represent the Cooperative. I won't sugarcoat the situation; humanity is on the brink of failure. My arrival here was crucial to the survival of civilized life on Earth. The three other compounds In Syracuse, New York, Beckley, West Virginia, and San Angelo, Texas have been overrun and destroyed. We've had no contact from the six international outposts, but we are assuming that they, too, have been eliminated."
"What happened to the people?" Ethan asked.
"Massacred," Langdon, as he called himself, simply put. "The same fate will befall almost all of you."
"Almost all?" Callia asked, glancing at Ethan with fearful eyes.
"In the knowledge that this very moment might occur, we built a failsafe," Langdon paused. "The Sanctuary."
"The Sanctuary?" Lillith spoke up, shivering as his eyes met hers.
"The Sanctuary is unique." He looked away from her and back to the others. "It has certain security measures that will prevent overrun."
"Excuse me, sir." Mead spoke. "What measures? Why weren't we given them?"
"That's classified. All that matters is that The Sanctuary will survive, so the people populating it will survive, so humanity will survive." Langdon announced.
"Who are the people who are populating it?" Alexandria Tylers asked. She was another grey, like Lillith. She was pretty nice but Lillith never talked to her.
"Also classified." Lillith furrowed her eyebrows at how vague this man was. "However, I have been sent to determine if any of you are worthy and fit to join us."
The room burst into a bunch of whispers and murmurs. It was silenced by Langdon.
"The Cooperative has developed a particular and rigorous questioning technique we like to call 'Cooperating.'" Lillith held back a laugh, but a noise still came out of her. She just thought it was funny they called it cooperating because Cooperative. The noise caught Langdon's attention, and he looked at her for a moment. She was sure he was going to scold her or something, but he just stared. She noticed some sort of smirk that was playing on his face, barely visible, and then it was gone when he looked away. "I will then use the information gained to determine if you belong."
"What is this, The Hunger Games? This is bullshit." Coco stood up. "I paid my way in here, and that is the only cooperating I plan on doing."
"You don't have to sit for questioning." Langdon clasped his hands together, staring at the group.
"What happens if we choose not to?" Gallant asked.
"Then you stay here and die."
"I volunteer to go first." Gallant volunteered.
"And so you shall. The process should only take me a couple of days, so you won't be kept in suspense forever. For those of you who don't make the cut, all is not lost. If the worst should happen and feral cannibals come knocking, down one of these. One minute later, you fall asleep and never wake up." Langdon pulled out vials and placed them on the table before looking at everyone. His eyes stopped at Lillith as he spoke. "I look forward to meeting each and every one of you."

Lillith was left with chills and a indescribable feeling towards Langdon. As she cleared the dining room and cleaned everything she was assigned to clean, she just couldn't get him out of her head. Langdon was familiar to her, like she knew him in another life. It was like getting a hint of a scent and not being able to figure out why it reminds you of something from your childhood and what it reminds you of. He was the scent and she couldn't decipher where his presence took place in her life.
After she finished cleaning, Lillith was released to her living quarters. On her way, she overheard a conversation between Ethan and Callia.
"I don't know, I just have this strange feeling about him." Ethan whispered. Callia rolled her eyes, grabbing his hands.
"Is it because I said he's kind of cute? Ethan, you know I love you. I can still think people are cu-" he cut her off with a shake of his head.
"No, it's just..." he paused. "Why is he the one who chooses who lives and dies here?"
"I don't know," Callia sighed. They then noticed Lillith walking by and quieted down, moving away from each other. "Lillith, hello."
"Hi," Lillith spoke softly. "I was on my way to my room and I just was coming by...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to listen in."
"No, it's fine." Callia smiled and looked at Ethan before looking back at Lillith. "What are your thoughts on this Langdon guy?"
"I honestly...I don't know." Lillith looked down at her hands, fiddling with them. "He gives off a strange vibe."
"I agree." Ethan nodded. "Very strange."
"Hm," Callia scratched her head. "True, wonder what these interviews will consist of."
"We'll see." Lillith spoke before excusing herself. She walked to her room, closing her door behind her. She closed her eyes, leaning against her door.