The GreenHouse

Chapter 3

Don't people have a right to know about this? What if the survivor is someone's relative? What if the survivor needs our help?

In retrospect, I can't say exactly how it happened. I can't pinpoint that one thing inside me that compelled me to do it; but I had no choice.

My finger hovers over the 'Publish' button of the Greenhouse Report...

"Breaking News; A message from the outside." Are the words I've written.

I close my eyes and take my final breath. This will be the last breath I ever take in this life. Because as soon as I press this button, I know that everything will change. Forever.

Publish.

I don't have to wait long. In fact, I don't have to wait at all until our message board comes alive. I squeeze my eyes together tightly, I can hear the sound of notifications beeping and buzzing from the room next door. And then, I hear the scream, the footsteps, my door being flung open and...

I feel the fiery sting of his hand across my cheek, the immediate salty burn of tears in my eyes and the loud ringing in my ears.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE, RUBY?" Flecks of his saliva hit my face in short, sharp bursts as he unleashes his rage on me.

"You're just like your mother!" My body rocks back and forth as he grabs me by the shoulders, and shakes. 

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE. NO IDEA."

19: 42

JACK

The blizzard rages and I haven't seen one this bad in a long time. The sky, the land and even the fence I now cling to have all been swallowed up by its unforgiving grey fury. The fence shakes violently, and it takes all my energy just to keep from falling. The screams of encouragement from below, have long since been drowned out by the roaring winds.

I'm not sure if I can make it to the top! I'm not sure if I can get over safely! I'm not sure if I can get back to my people!

But I'm sure of one thing; if I don't find cover, protection from this storm, this will be my last night here. It's as if the winds are making one last final statement, reminding us that although we've found what we've been looking for, there's still no escaping them.

And then, out of the corner of my eye, a flash so bright and frightening that I almost let go of the fence. I turn, and what I see is... unimaginable. The fence on the other side of the perimeter seems to wake-up suddenly, as if it's only been asleep this entire time. Lights flicker on and it crackles and pops to life.

And then, like a wave speeding toward the shore, the lights and sounds rush toward me. I'm in the path of the wave, and there's nothing I can do but hold on tightly and brace myself for the inevitable impact as it moves my way.

And then it hits...

All my muscles contract and my entire body clenches and shakes. My fingers involuntarily tighten their grip on the fence, and  I'm stuck to it.  As if we're now locked together in a bond that can never be broken.

The reek of burnt flesh and singed hair assaults my nostrils.  I taste something sharp, bitter and bloody in my mouth as my teeth clamp down tightly and my jaw locks. My skin burns and my insides rattle against the confines of my body. The pain is unbearable and it feels like it will never end. Like a million sharp blades cutting into my skin, and then, suddenly, I'm airborne.

Flying, floating, tumbling through the cold air. My body smashes through the walls of wind and sleet and snow. And then the sensation changes and, I'm falling. I cannot see the ground. I have no idea where I am and when I'm going to crash... I just know that I am.