Side by Side

Chapter 4-Naomy's POV

I felt the cold and hard floor underneath my body, my vision was completely dark and I felt a painful headache above my right temper. My body was numb, it took me a few minutes before I could open my eyes and get my head and bust off the floor. I was still disoriented, images slowly coming back to mind. Panic quickly gripped my guts, I started to breathe faster. I looked around, a girl next to me was still asleep I turned around. More bodies slowly waking up. I looked for a familiar face. Maybe Nate, Lucas or Kiara were there or even Thomas. We were in an empty room, with desks pushed to the side, very little light, and it was warm. I was still sitting on the ground unable to stand yet. I could not spot my friends. I recognised many people from high school but I ignored their names. There were a couple of children too peacefully asleep. We were about fifty people. Bright lights suddenly turned on, forcing me to close my eyes for a second before adjusting. I could feel my blood pulse in my head. People had suddenly awakened, still numb and disoriented. A loud noise behind me caught my attention. A door burst open, and 10 people wearing military clothes came in, their faces as cold as ice. They had guns under their arms, ready to be used. The last one to enter the room spoke first

 "Everyone get up, now!"

 We did as we were told. Some people were still on the ground unable to move. 

"I said now" repeated the man sharply. 

The kid next to me struggled to get on his feet. I bent down and helped him get on his feet. He was about 8 years old, completely terrified, and shaking. I held his hand to reassure him even if deep down I was as terrified as him. The door opened again. A lady in her mid-30s wearing a grey dress, green hills, a low ponytail, and her blond hair was slicked in a low ponytail, entered. She stood before us, and casted a quick glance to her audience before she spoke confidently with a sweet voice "Welcome to all, welcome to Phocé, your new home," she paused "My name is Grabiella James and I was elected president a few hours ago," we looked at each other, confused "humanity is going through very hard times, but thankfully we have rescued you before it was too late". We were all looking at her in complete incomprehension. She continued "I know you are all afraid and confused, and it is your right to feel this way, but you are safe now, safe from the chemical."

"Where is our family? " someone shouted from behind me. I was too afraid to speak.

"Where are we ?" someone to my right asked.

One of the militaries loaded his firearm before stating "you will talk when you are invited to do so, is that understood?" the person who has spoken swallowed and nodded, fear in his eyes.

"It's okay" the president said with her calm voice, "as I have said we are in Phocé, a city located in South Europe. The name might sound unfamiliar, because we, the Phocéan government, have been building this city to prepare for the event that occurred 24 hours ago. As you might have heard, the terrorist group that calls itself EartRevolution has used the chemical A2 in their recent attacks, and as we have feared, not only does it render coal and petrol unusable, but it is also deadly for humans, plants and animals alike. The harmful substance spread massively yesterday, at first making you pass out before it slowly kills you..." I stopped breathing. This could not possibly mean that we were the only ones left that my friends, my family were no longer... I could not even say the word in my head. "Unless you are administered the vaccines we had been working on since we discovered the existence of the A2 chemical 10 years ago. It had never been used before, sadly it ended in the hands of the wrong people. You and 20 other groups or missions are the only ones we could save." These few words confirmed my fears. Silent tears rolled down my eyes. Around me, people were sobbing, or staring at the void.

"How do we know all of this is true?" asked a calm male voice that sounded familiar. I turned to my left, where a couple of meters away, Alex was standing almost taller than everyone, his face as perfect as always, his blues eyes fixed on the President. No trace of fear or sadness in his voice. I instantly felt relief, to see him there, someone I vaguely knew in this hostile environment. The room seemed to ease a bit. Alex always had charisma, everyone knew him, at school as one of the most handsome  basketball players. People nodded at his remark.

"Ah. I thought someone might ask" answered Gabriella with a smooth voice. "I didn't want to show it to you, but since you asked," she said and pressed a button on the phone she just had taken out of her pocket. Against the wall images of despair were projected, people lying down in the streets, cars crashed against the walls, and no sign of life, the spectacle was the same in different cities around the world. The only things that were moving on the video were the trees with the wind, and the shadow of the drone filming the scenes. Everyone was staring at the images flabbergasted. My throat tightened at the idea that my friends and family had perished. I felt empty, unable to think or register any information. "Everyone but the people brought to Phocé have sadly passed away...The only thing I can say to ease your mind is that it was completely painless for them, we are the only thing you have left now, we saved you." She paused and looked at us with a reassuring smile. "We are facing a crucial moment in history and this is why rules were established and they must be followed, you are the third group which arrived today ..." 

I could not hear what she was saying anymore, lost in my own thoughts and sadness, my feelings and emotion were overwhelming me. Someone pushed past me in the crowd, and the physical touch brought me back to reality. The girl was now walking past me, her eyes were fixed on the images on the wall, she seemed to be burning with rage. All the gazes turned towards her as she ran in the direction of the President and shouted "Why didn't you save them, why did you let them die?!" She gripped Grabiella's arms aggressively. A second later a guard seized her and hit her with the back of his firearm and her body fell to the ground with a loud noise. A second later Alex pushed the guard against the wall "Don't fucking touch her". The guard seemed surprised by Alex's strength. Before he could retaliate the president glanced at him, giving him a silent order to remain where he was. Alex picked the girl from the floor.

"I understand your sorrow I have also lost friends and family members. We saved those we could, those located near where the vaccines were made, but we did not have enough of them, we decided to save people on a random basis to be the fairest as possible". A whisper spread through the room. "As I was saying before your friend interrupted, we have strict rules here because we have scarce resources, as the chemical A2 has damaged food and water supplies. Duties wait for me elsewhere but the guards will show you around before our meeting at 4 pm, with the rest of humanity and the Phocean people." She exited the room with two guards. The others ordered us to leave the room as well. A few meters away I saw Alex asking the girl he helped if she was hurt, he shot me a quick glance before following the guards. We all started walking out the door. Everyone else was silent, processing the information we had been given, unable to realise that it was the reality and not just a nightmare.

"Don't let go of my hand please?" asked me the little boy, looking up at me with his brown eyes, big eyelashes, and traces of tears on his chicks.

I quickly wiped the tears away from my eye. "I won't. What's your name?"

"Zack. "

"I promise I won't let go Zack."