Silence.
Utter ambiguous silence.
My throat tightened as my eyes transfixed on Sergeant Hill. He meditated with such unnerving calmness I wondered if he was even human. How could he be so calm? He'd just captured me. His new, greatest enemy for some unknown reason I couldn't put my finger on, and he wasn't the slightest bit excited? He wasn't jumping out of his seat proclaiming his victory, he was fucking meditating! My life was cupped in his hands and he had the audacity to sit here all uptight and pretty like the world was perfect. How dare he!
The veins in my neck began thumping as my cheeks turned a flushed red. The more I stared at him, the more tempted I was to lash out and strike him. But this wasn't the time nor the place to do the deed. I clenched my fists, my knuckles turning white. He was going to die whether he liked it or not! Somehow, I had to find a way to kill him before he killed me.
My purpose was clear now - it wasn't to tag bodies; it was to kill the person who wanted me to tag bodies. The very Devil himself, all high on his horse. He was the person who didn't care about the needless deaths or innocent lives placed upon his unburdened hands. He was a self-centred prick.
And power was his weakness.
I gritted my teeth. How could I kill a man so powerful? He was the face of the government, surrounded by Officers and Drones, and somehow destiny wanted him dead? This didn't make any sense. No, it definitely didn't make any sense.
I glanced up at Hill, a smile crossing his lips, his eyes still sealed shut in serenity. "We're here, Ellie. Look out the window."
My eyebrows furrowed as I found myself staring out a window in the hovercraft. The sight of an ever-increasing large bordered city came into view. To one side of the wall, the murky brown colour of the sea lay writhing in a slight breeze, mud waves crashing against the wall and breaking in a yellow foam. I leaned forward, frowning. To another side lay a vast, dry desert, washed out by the war to reveal a harsh redness. The sand swirled up, creating little whirlwinds that joined to become furious tornadoes.
I glanced at the dome, encompassed in glass. The high walls protected a thriving city, one filled with greenery. The thick grey concrete was covered in moss and vines trickled their way up the walls, drinking in the nutrients from the dome as they tried to reach the sun. I sat up the best I could, and watched through the window, now to my right.
The tall shell casings of a bustling city worked its way out below. It was an untouched utopia. A perfect place for those loyal to the New Government to thrive. Greenery layered every building, and there were people. Hundreds and thousands of people going about their day as though nothing had ever happened.
"Welcome to New Atlanta," Hill said over my shoulder.
I jumped, unaware that he had crept up on me. He gestured towards the city below and I returned my gaze to it, my heart still thumping loudly in my chest.
"New Atlanta," I whispered under my breath. I liked it. Michigan was so mundane and was a wasteland the last time I had seen it, but this vastly contrasted everything I once knew. It was beautiful. A true masterpiece.
"She is the product of the clean-up mission. As you can see, by the harbour we are just about to finish rebuilding the last of the skyscrapers. We hope we can expand the city further, but right now we are quite happy with our progress. This is the type of utopia we are going to build across the entire country when we finish. It's a safe haven, but as you can see, it takes some work to build up an empire again."
The smile in his voice was evident as he gazed lovingly at his city, his empire.
"And the people?" I asked.
"What about them?"
"Who were they?" I asked mesmerised by the picture in front of me. "Were they workers?"
"Oh no! Of course not. The workers have become civil servants. They take care of the needs of our militants and high-class residents," he said, "give or take a few of them who look after the needs of the city itself."
"So, they were never really free then?" I muttered to myself. The life of a servant was something I didn't aspire to be. I preferred to remain free. In a way, like Bryce.
"My dear, would you like to be a part of our city?" he beamed, gloating at the splendid workings of New Atlanta.
I did. It was so incredibly beautiful; it was like looking into a dream. I didn't mind the buzzing of Drones that still hovered over the traffic, or the sparse covering of cars that occupied the roads from Sergeant Hill's military. I surveyed the scene below as we flew high above the city and landed on the top of a brightly lit building.
I was unbuckled as the hovercraft lowered itself down gently onto the concrete and the hatch door opened to reveal the tops of the high-rise buildings. Sergeant Hill squeezed past me and out onto the strip.
"This way, my dear," he said, prompting me to follow him despite being shoved down the ramp by a cluster of Officers.
He trotted down away from the flying machine before he stopped and opened his arms. A breeze ruffled his straw-like hair and he closed his eyes, soaking it in. Taking in a deep breath, he let out a spell of carbon dioxide.
"Smell that Ellie? That is the fresh scent of a new breed of crawling daisies. We developed them in our labs a month ago, to make the city more colourful, you see. And look at the result! Aren't they pretty?"
I watched as he bent down, carefully picking up a 'crawling daisy' vine and plucking a rather large pink daisy from its vine. He stood up and took in an exorbitant whiff of the scent as a rather large bee came cruising in towards us.
I screamed in horror and backed away towards the hovercraft, covering my face protectively. I was allergic to bees and this one was the size of a yellow fuzzy tennis ball. He was thick and happy as he fluttered down onto Hill's forearm and walked along his hand to the daisy.
"Don't be afraid Ellie," he said, watching it move along his wrist without flinching. "We modified the species so they physically cannot harm humans. And there is the added bonus of creating a new bioweapon in the process. These little bees are a real miracle. I was lucky one of my scouts found an untouched nest of them," he smiled and lifted up the little flower to the bee. It appeared to thank him as it clutched the flower between its feet and buzzed off the way it had come.
I watched it disappear over the side of the building, cradling the flower in its legs.
"Amazing, isn't it!?" Sergeant Hill smiled, clearly bemused by my reaction. "I find them... simply fascinating!"
I gaped at him. "It's a bee! An insect!"
He chuckled. "And very beneficial to the ecosystem in New Atlanta."
I scowled, not liking how light his demeanour was. "Where are they?" I demanded.
"Do you wish to see them?" he said over his shoulder as he turned around and gazed out across the red desert. A tornado, red as blood, whirled and crashed against the dome's exterior, bits of red sand screaming away as the dome prevented it from getting any closer to the city.
I nodded in response, as Hill turned to an Officer. "Take her to her room. My guest clearly needs some sleep."
"What!?" I screamed as I was grabbed fiercely by two Officers. I lashed out against them, trying to break free. "How could you!? I want to see them! NOW!" I demanded.
He turned to face me, smiling, and took a few bounding steps towards me. His body bent over so he was eye level with me, his blue eyes now colder than ice itself as the blackness of his pupils bore into my soul. He scowled, making me flinch away from him as he placed a hand on my cheek. "Hush my dear, you will see them in due course. But first you must get some rest."
A gulp of vomit rose in my throat. Both boys lay unconscious in some other world, and in all honesty, I felt lost without them. I hadn't known them for very long, but I wasn't going to break the sacred rules I so readily followed.
"Look after those who look after you."
I saw his face, his eyes, so soft and loving in my mind's eye. He knew hardship, but never let it come out onto me, not if he could help it. Perhaps that's why he pulled out of the war? Maybe it wasn't his blindness that got him in the end, but something more sinister? Oh, Papa! What I would do just to speak with you just this once!
But I couldn't do that. He was dead, I'd watched the last breath go out of him a long time ago. Bryce and Matthew were the only two people left on the planet I gave a shit about, and I would sacrifice myself for them if it came to that!
"You can't do this!" I screamed out after Sergeant Hill as he waved his hand dismissively and returned his gaze on the tornado still trying to tear apart the dome's exterior.