Amber Skies: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (Book 2 of the 2136 Trilogy)

CHAPTER 5 - PART 1

My head was still in the clouds—literally—as I walked up to the group.

The soldiers were kneeling, while one of the scouts went up ahead and fiddled around with a control box. Proc 1's underbelly blocked out the storm clouds, the rain rushed along its side like crystal snowflakes. I stood there dripping while the soldiers figured out what the next step was. The flashes of lightning danced along the contours of the Proc ship and reflected off the glass shingles like the Aurora Borealis lights in the North Pole, except these were cobalt blue meshed with steaks of divine violet. My head hung back on my shoulder blades taking in the splendor of such a sight. Rain fell like sheets of melted icicles all along the rim of the ship, and splashed into the rough sea below. The waves continued to smash into the floodbanks with each passing second adding to their volume and strength.

With the storm directly overhead, it was only a matter of time before the ocean gobbled us up like tiny ants and pulled us to the bottom. The remaining soldiers looked unperturbed by the chaos around us, and remained kneeling while the soldier at the forefront finished his calculations and alterations with the control box. He was holding a similar gadget to the one the captain had pulled out of his black sack. Green and yellow wires jutted out of the metal box and were inserted into the sides of the handheld.

"What are we waiting for?" I asked Riley.

His presence beside me was comforting.

"The codes," he said, but didn't offer anymore than that.

I took my attention off of them and scanned the dark runway for Doctor A. I saw her huddled on the edge of the group, gripping her sides with both arms in a crisscrossing pattern. Her hair was matted behind her ears and face, and her eyes were set on the pavement.

I walked over to her and took up position next to her.

"If I had known it was going to rain this bad, I would have worn more appropriate attire," I said.

I gripped the bottom of the large shirt I was wearing and raised it a little for emphasis. The edges were already fraying from crawling along the top of the pod, and running in the rain. Other than the shirt, I was completely naked. My toes scratched the rough tarmac as I waited for her to respond.

She managed a curt smile.

"We'll get you some better clothes once we get inside," she said.

She was in a whole another world, and I wondered what she must be thinking right now.

"Sorry," she added not long after.

"Sorry for what?" I asked.

Her eyes leveled with mine.

"We had to get you out of there right away," she said. "What they were doing to you was inhumane."

I would have used a different word choice, like intolerable or barbaric even, but apples and oranges are all fruit from a tree. Why hassle with the specifics of each?

"I should have gotten you out of there, sooner," she said. "No one should have to endure such pain and suffering. There's no amount of rationale to justify it."

"It's okay," I said, unsure of how to respond.

I completely agreed with her. She should have gotten me out of there long ago. I mean, I was locked up in that cell for over a year, being treated like a caged animal in a lab experiment. That's what I was after all, right? Their next victim for testing. The skin ached just thinking about what they had done to me.

"It's not okay," she corrected. "We should have treated you like a human, not some animal to satisfy our every desire and lust for knowledge."

"Why did you?" I asked.

She looked at me, her lips quivered, but she was unable to answer.

"Why did you let them hold me for so long? How come you partook?"

I let my words hang in the air for a bit before I continued.

"A necessary evil," I said. "It was necessary for the greater good. Isn't that what you told me when we first met? We do what we must to ensure the survival of our species. If the sacrifice of a few will guarantee the continued existence of the majority, then so be it. That's why you had Skylar locked up in a cryogenic chamber, segregated from the rest of the habitat you had stored up below. That's why all those animals were in hibernation, as you called it. That's why you allowed the other doctors to perform all those experiments and tests on me. It was all in the name of mankind. So how could I hold that against you? Wouldn't anyone else have done the same if placed in your situation?"

She couldn't look at me.

"I would hope you would do better than me," she said in a whisper.

She placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. The motherly look she gave me removed the remaining particles of resentment and hate I held towards her. When you've see the things I've seen, done the things that I'v e done, who was I to judge anyone? If my brief stint of suffering was what brought peace and restoration to the rest of the world, then so be it. I'll drink from that cup and then some.

"Learn from my mistakes," she said, "and do better. The future of the world rests in your hands now."

"You mean our hands," I corrected, and placed my hand over hers.

The tension in her face fell away like a snake shedding its old skin. The strain behind those eyes weakened just enough for me to see the true person that lived inside.

"We'll do this together," I added. "Thank you for bringing me with you."

She released my shoulder and let her hand fall to her side.

"You're welcome," she said.

A horn suddenly blared just above us. Red lights flashed all along the tops of the floodbanks.

I left Doctor A and ran over to Riley.

"What's happening?" I asked. "Why are we still here?"

"The door's jammed," he said.

"Jammed?" I repeated. "I thought you said everything was good. Why would the door be jammed?"

The look he gave me was a stab to the chest.

"We're not supposed to be here, are we?" I stated more to myself than to him.

"You could say that," he said. "But don't worry. We'll have the doors open before they even know we were here."

"And how much longer until that happens?"

"Should be two more minutes. LT is working on overriding the system's security protocol as we speak. He's just about cracked the code."

"Should?" I said, but he ran off to assist the others before I had a chance to elaborate on my doubts.

A loud screeching sound echoed from beneath the pavement like metal rubbing against metal. I was knocked to my hands and knees when the ground shook violently, large waves poured over the floodbanks and swarmed towards us. The pavement shook again, and this time the waves flowed over without stopping.