Exiles: The Unity Program

Chapter 5

The crusted ground crunched beneath their steps, the only sound for miles around them. Or maybe for good. Life didn't exist out here, not by a long shot anyway. And whatever was possible to be breathing other then the group didn't seem to want to be out when the sun was up.

Seraphine felt the absence of the megacities more then when she'd been in that cell. In there, at least she'd had walls to keep her from running. Metal and cold to the touch, but at least confined her to a place. Here, if she ran, she could for miles in any direction. Eventually, she'd grow tired and hungry and collapse. Her mask would run out of power and she'd breathe in the toxic air.

Seraphine couldn't help but entertain the thought of which would take her last breath first; hunger, thirst, exhaustion, or poisoned air. Maybe a mutated animal would get to her first over all of that. She'd heard about them. They'd even dissected a few in their Ecological Hazard Analysis class a couple of times. The grotesque mutations had made her skin crawl for days and made Serpahine hide within the colorful rooms her mother had painted for times like that.

The images still crept into her mind now and again, keeping the reality fresh and raw if she ever dared to hope that life could just simply be a form of art. It was a harsh reminder that it could never be that easy.
Especially now that Seraphine knew the truth.

She pushed the thoughts away and locked them away again, a fight she had to have every day within the recesses of her mind. If it got out exactly what she knew, this program would be the last kiss of life she would ever know. If that happened, she might as well not return to the megacities. Solitarie was bad enough. Exile was worse. But the punishment for knowing the truth was far worse than any of that and she knew that too well now.

It was why she had agreed so easily when presented this opportunity. Not to have a chance at redemption as the media coated it as. Oh no. Because if she had stayed in that single, dark cell even one more month, she'd spill it all and end up in the trenches and she knew it.

Seraphine's gaze flickered between each member of her so-called group. They'd never work together. She didn't need to know what any of them had been locked up for to know that. They were all criminals with their own tags and obvious mistrust of the system. There was no way they were going to dance into each other's arms happily and embrace the idea of being a solid unit just because the one place they all rebelled against told them to.

A small beeping rang in her ear and Seraphine reached up instinctively, brushing her fingers over the mask that pilfered fresh air into her lungs, keeping her alive for the time being. She glanced at the nearest member of her team, the blonde girl who stared forward and spotted the blue light on the side of her mask. Except it wasn't all blue anymore. The edge was red, a warning signal that the battery was slowly depleting. All of their masks were slowly running out.

If they didn't find this destination base soon, they'd run out of fresh air and the toxins that swirled around them would surely kill them quickly.

So that was it then. She'd die of toxic air. It seemed such a mundane way to go. It would be more exciting to get mauled by some creature twisted and shaped into some foreign thing then it was going to be choking on her own spit. But that's not how things worked and she knew it. Because things worked the way you wanted it, Seraphine's mom wouldn't have been exiled and Seraphine, herself, wouldn't be here. Walking this desolate landscape with nothing to look at except puffs of dust, low hanging clouds, and a spurt here and there of sun shining through the grey.

Instead, she'd at home, drawing or sewing or listening to music. Sweet, wonderful music. Oh how she missed the thrums of music vibrating through her veins, lighting her insides with fire that made her toes curl in delight.

When was the last time she'd heard music exactly? Before she got locked up, that was for sure. Seraphine could handle the grey garble they made her wear. But it was the music she missed the most. Her head was too full of noisy thoughts or not enough of them to replace the sweet serenade of operas or old hits. She'd forgotten what most of the music sounded like. After a while, it had all just melded in her mind, sounding like her own voice.

Her fingers twitched in desperation to listen to anything right now.

Maybe she'd get it back if she returned alive and with everything they wanted. Not that Seraphine wanted to comply, but if it meant she could have her clothes and sweet music back, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
It won't bring mom back, the voice whispered in her mind and she had to swat it back to keep the turmoil of feelings from taking over.

"Our masks are getting low," the brunette announced from the front of the group. "When are we getting there?"

In front of them, something gleamed before sharpening in view.

"We didn't go in a circle did we?" Priya questioned, her voice making her sound crushed.

Seraphine flinched at the sight of the hovercraft solidifying in front of them. They all began to drag their feet, slowing their steps so they wouldn't approach any quicker then necessary. It was the same white hovercraft, with doors closed and sitting on the ground. She tried to recall turning in any direction but swore that the group had been going straight.

Was this air so messed up it made them hallucinate enough to convince them of the path they'd taken? Had they really been turned around?

Her heart pounded in her ears and Seraphine could feel the blood rushing through her veins. She struggled to keep it together instead of falling into a full blown panic attack. The little oxygen her mask had left would be used in the spurts of labored breathing if she melted down.

"That's not ours," Priya gasped as she stepped forward, edging toward the hovercraft. "That's another one."
"That's impossible," one of the guys blurted in astonishment. "It's only us, isn't it?"

His questioned echoed in their ears as they stoped feet from the hovercraft. This close up, Seraphine took in the grimy layer of dust that had settled upon the almost shiny surface of the hovercraft. It wasn't so shiny now and though the air was thick with the stuff, she suspected that just even one day of being away from it wouldn't cause that thick coating. That had to take days, maybe a week or three. But not just a few stretched out hours.

"I think she's right," Seraphine finally spoke to break the clogged silence. "This one looks like it's been sitting for a while. Longer than we've been out here."

"Maybe they have masks then," the brunette piped up, hope in her voice as she sidled to the front of the group and stepped toawrd the hovercraft. "Or food."

The mention of food made Seraphine's stomach growl and she tried to count how many hours it had been since they'd last ate, but couldn't quite figure that one out. Her mind felt too muddled up and maybe it was the hunger clouding it, but the hours themselves seemed to just mold together out here.

"Food seems unlikely," Priya stated matter of factly as she brushed past the brunette and approached the hovercraft, rounding it. "It's been here a while. If there was food, it might not even be good anymore."

"If there was food, whoever this belonged to no doubt took it with them. So it being bad probably isn't even a problem," the leader pointed out and stepped around to the other side of the hovercraft.

He rubbed at the window, trying to see through the grime by pressing his face up to the somewhat made clearing. "It's too dark in there," he grumbled, but loud enough for them to hear.

"We should just keep moving," Seraphine piped up, her stomach rumbling once more. "There should be food at the base, right? There has to be. It's where they were going to drop us off originally anyway. Why wouldn't it have food?"

"For all we know, that's gone too," one of the other guys stated bitterly, frustration curling in his words.

"This hovercraft is pointing the same way as ours," Priya announced from the front of it, clasping her hands in excitement. "We're going the right way."

Seraphine glanced up, squinting her eyes through the mucky air that surrounded them. She still couldn't see too far in front of them, but Priya wasn't wrong. The group hadn't in fact gotten turned around and she was more confident now that they'd kept to their straight path. If whoever this hovercraft belonged to had arrived before them, then it meant they were on the right path.

Which meant supplies and food was only so far away.