The World Above Us

Chapter 10

Allison

Allison's heart pounded in her chest as she walked through the hallways of Novae Terrae headquarters. Her body was practically shaking with energy from the serum. It was like someone turned up the volume on her life and she couldn't hear herself think. The sound inside her head was so loud she couldn't hear her grief or her guilt. It was great. 

She let out a loud, joyous shout and spun around, throwing her hands up in the air. Every cell in her body was buzzing with excitement. She passed three security guards, even some that looked high level, but they paid her no mind. She ignored them, not feeling the fear she once did. She didn't feel any fear at all. Only pure, sweet happiness. She noticed some of the high-level guards eyeing her as she danced away, but she didn't care. 

She couldn't see their eyes following her through their tinted sunglasses. 

Allison practically bounded up the stairs to where she and the other test subjects had to wait for observation. The staircase was a tall, white spiral with gleaming metal railings. Surrounding it was a giant, curved space-grade window overlooking all of the Novae Terrae settlement. It went up at least three floors, but Allison felt like she could have climbed the staircase ten times. 

She stopped in the middle to stare out at the Novae Terrae settlement. She watched in awe as the red Martian dust blew over the impenetrable glass of the Dome. She watched the bustle of her fellow astronauts and scientists below. They walked across the fake grass to their various places of work, stopping to chat along the way. Allison noticed that everything seemed brighter. The colors, more defined. The Martian soil that blew over the looked more orange, and she could make out the vivid reds and browns that intertwined to make the rust color she was familiar with. The fake grass looked more green and shiny, exposing its plastic-ness. The artificial light produced by the dome looked brighter, almost like a real sun. It glinted in through the windows, reflecting off the metal railings to make beautiful shimmers of light on the staircase.

Allison felt in awe for a moment. For a brief moment, she felt like a kid again. Like the world was her kingdom. She remembered when she was younger and dreamed of going to Mars. Looking out over the settlement now, she felt her dream was finally realized. For a moment, being on Mars was exactly how she envisioned it. 

She bounded up the rest of the staircase, wondering for a brief moment how it would feel to slide down the thin metal railing all the way down to the bottom. 

When she arrived in the observation room, she found some of the others already there. Dr. Sandra Gilbert was helping herself to a bottle of Bourbon whiskey, which Allison didn't know how she could have possibly found. Allison thought she'd had her last taste of alcohol when she entered the Academy. Drinking was forbidden on Novae Terrae. Sandra of all people would know that. She had been an even bigger rule-follower than Allison. Allison shrugged it off and walked over to join her. She didn't care. All she wanted to do was let go. 

Anthony Hale was in the corner, dancing to the techno music that Novae Terrae had provided them with. He ran a hand through his silver hair and downed a sip of bourbon, looking happier than Allison had ever seen him. The worry lines on his face seemed to disappear for a moment.

Allison smiled, feeling happier than she had in months.