Half- Ruined (Book 2 in the Morph Trilogy)

Chapter 1 (K)

   I open my eyes, and a wave of nasuea hits me like a slap to the face. I double over in my seat, the only thing keeping me from falling are the thick, black straps against my chest.

The smell of vomit lingers in the air, and as I look around at all the kids, I could tell some weren't taking the ride well.

The sleek black interior reminded me of the floors of the lab, only shades darker. There were several seats in front and behind me with confused or sleeping kids in each one.

Zac was sitting next to me, sleeping peacefully, like most of the others. His short blonde spikes, slightly flattened as his head rested against the chair.

I pulled against the straps, the idea of being strapped down, causing anxiety and fear to flow through me.

"Don't bother, they won't budge." A familiar voice says. I stop struggling and turn to my left, warm hazel eyes meeting mine.

"I didn't think they would." I reply honestly. Jax looks over at me thoughtfully, then looks down at Skye's sleeping form.

I look down at her too, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"They drugged her." He tells me out of nowhere. "She was putting up a fight, so they sedated her." He seems distant, like maybe he was drugged too.

"So, what happens next?" I question.

"I'm not sure." He says, sounding defeated. We sit quietly for a while, inspecting Skye and the smooth black interior of the place we were in.

"So where were you all this time?" I ask after a few minutes of silence.

"We were-" His voice trails, and his face scrunching up in thought.
After a second a confused look crosses his face. "I don't remember."

I watch him, his eyes seem unfocused and and a quick scan of his mind reveals his thoughts are scattered and wild. I was right about Jax being drugged too.

Something wasn't sitting right with me. I had no idea what was happening, where we were going, or who had taken us.

I was clueless, and it bothered me.

Zac stirs beside me, his eyes scanning the room situation. He tugs weakly on the restraints, slowly getting stronger as he gains awareness.

"Don't bother." I tell him passing on Jax's advice. He calms slightly leaving the restraints to rest against his chest.

"Where are we?" He questions scanning the place.

"Some sort of moving room." I respond.

After a minute of looking around, he speaks again. "No, it's a helicopter." He says pointing to a transparent spot in the wall. "See we're in the air."

I stare out the transparent material, seeing only grey.

"The air?"

"The outside air, you know the atmosphere." He says making it sound simple, when it reality it sounded complicated.

"Like the labs atmosphere?" I question.

"No, outside the labs." He responds. I stare at him confused. "Remember when you escaped from the labs everything you saw was outside."

"The tall buildings?"

"Yes, that's the outside." He responds.
"Those buildings make up cities that hold dozens of people." He replies. 

"There are others?"

He lets out a chuckle "Kiera, we're not the only humans on earth. There are billions."

"Billions?" I begin but all of a sudden the helicopter tilts and jerks to the side. I hold out my hands, but the restraints keep me from falling.

A small, dark building sits in the middle of a forest.

"How is that even possible?"

I stare at the trees below in amazement too, questioning there existence quietly.  When I was younger Martin would read me books about a place called earth, where life thrived and flourished.

That place was gone though, so how could this be possible.