Radioactive

Chapter 3

Ryan checked his GPS every ten minutes, Arianna kept track. She watched as his gaze flit to the monitor every now and then before returning to what was ahead of him almost immediately.
Kale sat silently beside her, his dark brown hair covered most of his face, he looked like he was sleeping but Arianna knew he wasn't. His breathing was uneven, it was obvious from her vantage point.

"So... where are we going?"

Ryan flinched at the voice of Kale, calm and completely emotionless. Ryan glanced back at the pair of siblings, the older one stared right at him while the younger stayed in his sleep-like position. Ryan let out a soft sigh, continuing to fly as he spoke back to them, his gaze staying on what was directly in front of him.

"To insure the survival of the human race, we are going to take you, along with many others, to a seemingly deserted island, we believe there may be peaceful life in this area so you will be completely safe, you will have to survive there and... you will have to rebuild civilisation when the rest of us are dead and gone..."

His last statement hung heavy and Arianna finally processed what exactly was happening, she gulped quietly, she closed her eyes lightly, sucking in calming breaths as she pressed her hands into a seat.

"Is there no other course of action we could take?"

Arianna spoke this time, she sounded like Kathryn, I suppose it makes sense. They look alike too, Arianna with her curly blond hair, exactly like Kathryn's. Ryan sighed softly, he sounded completely worn out.

"If there was another way, we would have never even considered this"

His reply was terse and Arianna began to understand the finality of this course of action. It was this or extinction. Arianna trembled lightly, this was terrifying. She felt a warm hand come to grasp her own, she soon realised it was her little brother, she turned to give her brother a wide-eyed stare. He was sitting up now, the hand that wasn't holding her own was clenched in his lap, his green eyes were moist and he looked completely broken. Arianna felt her heart break just looking at him.

Ryan almost choked when he saw the siblings in the mirror, they looked completely broken, distraught and confused. Ryan fought the urge to turn his vehicle around and take them back home. This was humanity's only choice, he reminded himself this repeatedly but he found, he still felt that this was terribly wrong.

Ryan frowned when he realised that they were over the island, he looks down at it through his window and sighed, he looked back at the siblings.

"There is a cabin there, I'll leave you there until I bring the others. Please, don't leave the cabin until they come."

Ryan flashed them a desperate look, they exchanged glances before giving him a nod. Ryan sighed, thankfully. He began to descend towards the ground, he purposefully made it as long as possible, so he could extend the time he had with the siblings, so he could extend their last few minutes with an adult, a friend, a guardian.

Ryan was almost surprised when they landed, it was soft and all he felt was a light bump as they collided with the sand. Ryan took a deep breath and exited the helicopter, he came around and opened the siblings' door for them. They climbed out themselves and looked about at the island that they would have to call home for a large portion of their lives.

Ryan lead them to the cabin quickly, they followed behind him obediently. The cabin was large and well-made, it was made of wood and brick and stood about three stories tall, the door was wide, it was a double door, made for two people to pass through at one time. There was a chimney, visible at the top, meaning there was a fireplace somewhere inside. The roof itself was made of tiles, a pale red colour. The walls were painted a creamy white and from what they could see through the windows, the floor was made of wood.

Ryan gave the siblings a tentative smile, they examined the house. They seemed curious, like any normal child. It's strange to think that they are humanity's last hope.
Ryan took a small step back, gesturing for them to enter the cabin. They look back at him, seemingly worried but Ryan just gives them a reassuring smile. The siblings, feeling a bit better, enter the cabin. They hear the door shut behind them and they glance back at the last glimpse of Ryan before he is gone.

Footsteps crunch in the sand as he leaves them and the sound of the helicopter starting up echoes in the air.

The siblings are alone now.