The GreenHouse

Chapter 3

I close my eyes; I see my mother's smiling face and soft red hair. I see my father, my brother, my little world around the bay and I realize how far away I am from all of that now. And how, I may never see it all again.

I hit the ground.

The agony reverberates throughout my entire body. It locks me in its torturous vice-grip, and I cannot breathe.  I gasp, trying to pull air into my lungs, but they're not working. My eyes flutter closed. My lungs scream out for the oxygen that I'm unable to give them and then, I sink. The snow engulfs me, my body falls deeper and deeper and then everything is black...

I'm gone.

19:44

RUBY

I sprint from the house.  Hot tears stream down my cheeks and cloud my vision. This is the first time my father has ever hit me, and the shock of it is almost worse than the pain.

I run along the shore of the lagoon, where the clear, warm water meets the sand and enjoy the feeling of the water splashing up my legs. My feet sink into the wet sand, but I move as fast as I can.  I want to be as far away from my father as I possibly. As far away from the terrifying madness that was etched into his face a few moments ago. 

I reach the other side of the lagoon and stop when I see the scene in front of me. Even though the shops are closed, Lagoon Boulevard is bustling with people. Pushing, jostling, rushing... but to where?

I step onto the street, and immediately get swept up in the crowd. It pulls me along with it, as if it's an entity unto its own.

"Where are we going?" I ask a man who pushes past me, almost knocking me off my feet.

He turns and looks at me, "To the perimeter. The photo you posted of the drawing. We're all going to see it."

My stomach plummets...

What the hell have I done?

19:47

JACK

The blackness finally gives way to faint glimmers of light. I open my eyes and look up; fast-moving beams of light appear and disappear through the thick haze of the storm. At first, I'm not sure what they are, but then I hear the familiar sounds. The whipping of the blades through the air. The machines... they're coming for us!

I stagger to my feet; my head spins, the earth sways, and I fall into the snow again. I try and stand, slower this time, but the combination of muscle weakness and strong winds knock me down.

I need to get back to my people!

But I'm so disoriented that I no longer know where the fence is. To my left, a faint light radiates out of the icy blizzard, to my right, more light.

I try and calm my mind, but it feels shattered. Partial- phrases and shards of broken images burst into my consciousness and then disappear without a trace. My brain is buzzing, and I feel like I can't process anything.

Which way?

I look up, away from the lights on either side of me. The storm is getting worse. A heavy black cloud is rolling in; lower and lower and lower. Soon it will meet the land and swallow it whole in its gaping black mouth, and then, there'll be no light to follow at all.

"Which way?" I try and scream into the night, but my voice is hoarse and raspy.

Left. I choose left.

I start crawling across the snow, making my body as flat as possible so that the winds cannot scoop me up and toss me. Each shuffle through the snow feels like the last one I'll ever be able to make. The only things keeping me going are the thought of seeing my people again, and wondering what the machines are doing to them?