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AT EXACTLY THE SAME TIME every evening when the Guard patrolled the lockup for the delinquents, someone would play the harmonica in one of the cells. It was always just a series of random noises, as if the player had no concept of what music actually sounded like. The room would echo with its dissonant cries, spilling out into the hallway through splintered cracks for others to hear. To some, it was a grievance and others thought it a godsend from the monotony of their daily cells. Nobody knew what it was supposed to mean—unless they knew morse code.
Y.O.U. A.R.E. T.H.E. B.I.G.G.E.S.T. A.S.S. I.N. T.H.E. U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E.
It was an inside joke that ran rampant around the Sky Box—the solitary ghost that lived in the corner cell. None have ever had the pleasure of catching a glimpse of the illusive inmate, or even knowing exactly how long she had been in there with them. Rumours about her were ever evolving and adapting to new culminations of the imagination. Jinny Shumway was as mysterious as the dark side of the moon, an enigma that shrouded herself in incomprehensible shadows. Once, she held her head high as people looked up to her in reverence—the quintessence of humanity's limitless potential. Her mind worked in unfathomable ways, building intricate scaffolds that reached the highest heavens of knowledge. She had wasted it all away on a decadent dream.
The door to her room suddenly opened with a loud slam, causing her to start in surprise and abandon her past time of coding various expletives. The Commander's all too familiar presence strode inside with unyielding authority, his sharp eyes set on her with a perturbed frown. Jinny stared back at him defiantly, eyebrow raised; it wasn't everyday that she got to see her father in the very flesh. Visits had always been limited to a need to know basis.
"Get up," he ordered.
Jinny gave him a disgruntled look that clearly asked him to go float himself. The Commander sighed with impatience, before marching over to grab her arm roughly. He pulled her up onto her feet and swiped the harmonica from her hands.
"You need to listen very carefully." His voice and expression were carved with urgency.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked in a low tone, clearly unimpressed by his theatrics.
Someone started shouting hysterically outside and Jinny's curiosity was piqued from her recognition of the voice. She started towards the door but Commander Shumway pulled her back sharply. His eyes were hard as he glanced towards the corridor outside before tightening his grip on her arm. The next thing he said sent a wave of icy trepidation and excitement rushing through her veins.
"The Council has decided; they're sending all of you to the Ground."
"Wow," she scoffed out in disbelief. "Blasting people off into space isn't entertaining enough for them?"
He shot her a disapproving glare. "This isn't the time for your snark."
"Commander Shumway!" One of the Guards came through the open door. The burly blonde man took one look at her before backing out again. Jinny was pleased to know that she still had that effect on people.
Her father continued more coaxingly. "We can make a deal with the Chancellor if you just tell them—"
Jinny scowled distastefully. "No. Screw the Chancellor, screw this."
"We don't know whether the ground is actually survivable or not," he hissed.
"We would've if I had gotten my way," she replied bitterly. "They wanna send us to the ground? Let them."
Without waiting for a response, she tore her arm out of his grip and made a dash for the open door. Jinny took a cursory glance around the Sky Box as about a hundred teenagers flocked out of their cells towards the main entrance, shepherded by dozens of uniformed guards. Furious shouts and yells rang throughout the block in a bedlam of riotous confusion. Her periphery caught sight of two people down the corridor a few cells from hers and Jinny quickly made her way towards them before the Commander could catch up to her.
"Dr. Griffin," she addressed as she approached them.
"Jinny?" The older woman looked up at her as she cradled her unconscious daughter in her arms. "They're sending all the prisoners to the dropship."
Someone grabbed Jinny's arm and she felt multiple needles pierce her wrist as the junior guard secured a metal band around it. She shook him off and briefly examined the contraption before turning around to look at her father. He gave her a withering stare from across the hall, dissatisfaction clearly marked on his face. Without so much as a farewell, she made her way down the Sky Box to converge with the rest of the crowd as they jostled through the narrow walkway.
"Jinny! Oh, my God, is that really you?" A familiar voice called out and she looked around to find a younger boy pushing through the moving wall of bodies towards her. She recognised him from her days of scoping out potential recruits for the Guard. "I knew the rumours were true, you are alive! Do you know what's happening?"
She couldn't help the sly grin that spread across her face as Miller caught up to pace with her. He glanced at her expectantly, an agitated frown on his brows as he waited for an answer.
"We're taking Earth back."
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