Project Castaway (Sequel to Project 14)

Chapter 1

                                                          2 Years Later

I could see the smoke from the cloudy horizon. Clutching my gun tightly to my chest, I took a deep breath. Junior has disappeared. I haven’t heard from Josh in two years. Our Colonies are at war. Life hasn’t been the same. No one’s been shipped off since the Experiments I was a part of. The Colonies have been capturing us. There are usually six to seven hundred people per Colony. Now there’s barely three hundred.

          We have no idea of what has happened. One day, everything was fine. The next day, there were explosions and people running rabid in the streets. And shortly after that, Junior disappeared.

          I let out a sigh and rested my shotgun down next to me. There’s been no news from Josh either. My dad has been helping me. I haven’t heard from him either for quite some time. I’m basically on my own. The Colonies have tried to capture me. It’s been no use. They gave up on me. I’ve never felt so relieved. But they’ll be back. I know that. There’s always someone watching your back.

          Leaving my safe spot, I went to go find some sort of food. The shops have been raided. You would basically have to eat raw meat. It doesn’t matter what it is. I’ve eaten squirrels. Gross, I know. But you become used to it. I heard sticks cracking behind me. I lifted up my gun and stuck my index finger on the trigger.

          “Whoa, whoa, wait!” Someone called.

          The person came out from the trees with their hands up. “Who are you?”

          “My name is Ellery. I am not a part of the Colonies captures.” She revealed a Convoy America seal burned in her shoulder.

          I lowered my gun and revealed mine on my wrist. We got these when the Convoy America came and found us that haven’t been captured. Once you get captured, that mark is gone. The girl, Ellery, came up to me.

          She sighed. “We got food. If you need any, at least,” I backed up.

          “Who is ‘we’?” I asked, getting my gun ready again.

          “Another group of survivors,” she stayed in her place. “We have a place. It’s hidden underground. The Colonies haven’t found it yet.”

          A million questions ran through my head. Should I trust this girl? What if she is actually a part of the Colonies? Screw it.

          “Alright,” I held up my gun. “Lead the way, princess.”

          She nodded and turned her back and started walking.

          I followed close behind her. A slow rain began to fall. Ellery was silent the rest of the way. She kept looking back at me. I was becoming suspicious. Is she really a real Convoy American seal?

This girl was right. She led me to a sewer drain and opened it. I threw my shotgun on my back and began climbing down the ladder. Strands of lights filled the top part of the pipe. I let Ellery get in front of me and she continued walking where there was a big group of survivors.

          “Here, I’ll show you to your room and then you can go eat.”

          “How did you get rooms down here?” I asked as we started walking.

          “Everyone knew this day was coming. We started working on it when the last group of Experiments left.”

          My eyes opened wide. She didn’t even know I was a part of that group. I was shown my room and set my backpack down on the ground.

          “There are more clothes in the drawers. You may get some food now.”

          I followed her out of the room and went to get some real food.

Really, though. This girl has me so suspicious that I have a feeling I shouldn’t be trusting her. I’ve been through hell. I can deal with it again. Everyone looked at me weird. Why was this happening? What made me different from the others?

          I sat down with my food and Ellery came and sat down next to me. She had a big cheeky smile on her face.

          “You’re really going to talk to someone who had a gun to your back?” I muttered.

          “Oh, I’ve had worse. I once had a grenade blow up in my face. Thank God it didn’t leave anything permanent.”

          “Alright then,” I said uncomfortably.

          I got up and began walking to my room. I was closing the door behind me when someone pushed it open.

          Jumping back, Ellery came into my room. She closed the door behind her.

          “Why can’t you leave me –?” I began screaming at her when she came at me.

          “We know everything about you, Cassandra. Don’t think we don’t.” She wrapped her hand around my throat and squeezed it tight. “If you dare make one screwed up move, you’re out of here.” I clamped onto her arm, trying to get her off my throat. “You’ve got to learn, babe.” Ellery began dragging me up the wall. “So don’t think you can make your own moves. This is my game. And you’re my puppet.”

          Ellery let go of me and I fell straight to the floor on my side. She walked out and I could finally breathe. I sat up and took in big breaths of air. What did she mean by all that? Maybe I could manage to sneak out. What if she knew about Josh and me? Oh God. I all of a sudden could feel a panic attack coming on. No. This isn’t happening. Not now.

          I could feel myself growing into fear. Tears began streaming down my face and I couldn’t breathe. These panic attacks have started happening after Junior disappeared. I grabbed my backpack and grabbed some water.

          Bring my legs up and hugging them into my body, I was feeling just a tiny bit calmer. I pulled out a picture of Josh and me that Junior took before the wars started happening. Where was Josh when I need him? That’s all I could think about. I was thinking of ways that he’d help me calm down. Tears kept falling down my face. “Josh, oh please. I need your help now. What happened to you? Please, I need your warmth.” I whispered to myself and wiped away the tears from falling down my face.

          Whoever this Ellery is better just stay away from me or else I will go full on crazy. I got up and locked my door. I picked up my picture and held it close to me. Where was he now? Was Josh captured? I need him now.