Exiles: The Unity Program

Chapter 3

Seraphine rubbed at her arms as she dropped from the lifted ground of the hovercraft. A puff of dust rose up around her, leaving streaks of dirt along her flesh as it did so. The grime of what had been would be so difficult to wash off later, but it wasn't even that. Seraphine feared that if they were too far from their destination, she would be out in this grit for so long that it would become embedded into her skin for life.

She squinted through the murk, trying to see if there was any sign at all for where they were supposed to be headed. Her stomach gurgled, reminding her that the last time she'd ate was nearly twelve hours ago. Maybe it was fifteen. Maybe nine. There was no way to tell time besides the fact they'd ate when the sky grew darker and woke up to empty stomach's when it grew lighter.

There was nothing in front of them. Though, what hope did she have they'd get to see anything right away?

"Well, nothing's attacked us. That's a good thing, right?" The blonde haired girl spoke as she stopped next to Seraphine.

"For now it is," one of the guys agreed as he stopped at Seraphine's other side, pinning her right in the middle. "But that might not be the case for long. We should get moving. The base were supposed to reach shouldn't be too far. The hovercraft was headed forward," he pointed straight ahead. "So let's head that way."

No one moved. The group stared at the pretend leader and he kept his face forward. After a long moment that seemed to stretch for an eternity, Seraphine finally took the first step forward.

Dirt crunched beneath her feet, loud in the silence that stretched out on all sides. So much different compared to the megacities. It was always hustle and bustle and always deafening with noise. Sure the smell was a lot worse out here, but it was just so much quieter. It unnerved Seraphine and made her stomach twist all over again in homesickness. She almost turned back around to climb back into the hovercraft and just wait out whatever was in store for her from there.

Almsot, but instead of turning back, Seraphine kept moving forward. She didn't dare look back to see if the others were following suit or not and decided that it was on them whatever their fate ended up being. They weren't friends or family, she had no reason to care about them.

"Hey, you don't want to check the hovercraft?" The blonde girl asked, her voice slightly raised so Seraphine could hear her.

"I don't deal with mechanics," she shot over her shoulder.

"Well, I do and I think we can salvage something-"

"What exactly do you think we can salvage?" Seraphine questioned, drawing to a stop as she turned to face the group, finding the blonde with the bulky clothes.

"The machinery. I can get the radio to work. We crashed and who knows exactly how far from the base we are-"

"Do you really want to call them though? A bunch of criminals call to the city for help. Do you honestly think we're even remotely on their radar for priority?" Seraphine stepped toward her, her eyes shrouding in secrets untold. "They lost contact with us, they aren't going to care for a while if ever. They sent us out here as chance of redemption for what they said. But were criminals in their eyes. They lose us, good riddance to them and the rest of the mega cities. And you all damn well know it. We're expendable."

"She's right," the brunette toward the back moved to the front of the group. "There's no use trying to salvage things. We need to move on, find base, and hope with everything that there's some supplies there."

"No," the blonde argued back. "At least let me check. Fine, let's not radio back. But let me see what I can do for our protection. We don't know what's out there or how long it'll take to find base. At least let me see if there's a way for us to protect ourselves."

"The sun is just barely up," the male who had stood next to Seraphine spoke. "That gives us ample time before it falls again. A few hours, at the most and then we should get moving. With or without protection."

A murmured response fell through the group and Seraphine huffed, knowing she was on her own with wanting to reach base before it got too much later. And while she didn't care about these people, the desire to not have to walk the wasteland alone was greater then the annoyance that filtered through her.

Glancing up at the sky once more, she took in the light spots dotted across the gloomy clouds. The sun desperately wanting to peek through, but the smog was too thick to do so. Maybe one day far in the future it would be possible to have clear air again and for the sun to see and soak the earth once more. But for now, it was a lost cause and made Seraphine's heart ache.

Laughter drifted in her ears and she whipped her head around, eyes darting to and fro in search of the noise. It drifted through her ears again and her heart pounded hard against her chest. She knew that sound. It was one so ingrained into her memory that even two years after watching her mother be exiled she wasn't sure she could ever forget. Not that she ever wanted to that was.

Right on the edge of her vision, a faint glow emitted. It darted away, the laughter trilling behind it. Seraphine stumbled forward, desperate to call for her mother but a hand clasped her should, yanking her back before she could even try. It spun her around and he put his free hand over her mouth.

Silence enveloped them once more and as Seraphine stared up at the tight face that was lifted to stare over her head, her senses returned. She could feel the slight lightheadness. Lack of food or lack of oxygen, neither of which she could fully pinpoint and decided that it was probably a mixture of both.

"It isn't real," he said in a low voice, dropping his grey eyes to hers. "Don't listen. It's just a trick."

Seraphine looked down at his hand still holding to her shoulder. She shook him off and stepped back, putting distance between the two of them.

"Don't listen," he ordered again. "What's your name?" He glanced down at her clothes. "They gave you garb clothing. What sector are you?"

Seraphine looked down at her clothes. Bland, grey baggy clothes that sucked out the substance of who she was. That was on purpose to. In The Hold, some inmates were allowed to have garments from the sectors they belonged. But those, like her from Theta, had been stripped of theirs. What made them who they were. Colors and fabric to shine and be center of attention was everything to Theta. Without it, they were just lowlies.

It was proven even now as Seraphine sunk back, ashamed of the clothing she adorned. She hated how she hadn't been allowed to have any of her own things back when they were selected for this.

"Alright," he gave in and turned, retreating to the rest of the group. "Anything?"

"Yeah," the blonde stepped out from the back of the hovercraft, looking flushed beneath the dirt coating her face. "It's not good."

"What do you mean it's not good?" Grey eyes demanded.

The blonde licked her lips, glancing at Seraphine as she made her way to hear the news.

"The hovercraft isn't... broke," she started slowly and shook her head, reaching up push stray strands of hair behind her ears, looking between each member of the group. "It was deliberately stopped."

"Deliberately?" The brunette echoed. "They wanted to drop us here?"

"We're expendable," Seraphine repeated as realization dawned on her. "They want us to die out here."

"And what about the base? The program they claimed?"

"It's real," the ashen haired guy spoke from the far end of the group. "The program is real. And this is part of it. They want us to suffer, to show that we deserve to live. This is ground zero. Base is point A and that's where we need to get to."

"How do you even know that?" The blonde turned on him, incredulous.

"I'm from Delta. It's what we do." He said sharply, glowering at the blonde. "You're from Beta."

She snorted and wiped her hands on her jacket. "Obviously. Now what do we do? There aren't any parts to salvage, they're all intact. As soon as we leave, this thing is going home, and we're stranded out here."

"Can you dismantle it?" The bulky guy asked.

"Dismantle?" The blonde scoffed and shrugged. "Yeah, sure, but why?"

He looked up at the hovercraft. "To show them we mean business."