Earth is only survivable for thirteen more days. The only way to survive is to get a ticket onto the space station Avandra, currently orbiting Earth. But there are limited seats on the spaceship. Only the rich and powerful can get a seat on the Avan...
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13 days left
"What do you want?" I asked, trying to put on a brave face. I nudged the kickstand of my bike onto the concrete, gripping the handles tightly. I was less than a mile away from where the lottery was being held, but with nothing but a small knife in my jeans pocket, I wasn't getting past them unless they wanted me to.
The man with the rifle just smiled, walking up to me until I could see the green of his eyes and the sweat on his pale face.
"What do you have?" He asked. I let go of the bike, taking a step back as he got closer. My hand hovered near my knife. I wasn't going down without a fight.
"Nothing." I said honestly. I'd stopped carrying money or any sort of identification a long time ago. Nothing on me besides my knife, and I wasn't about to give him my only weapon. He looked me over for a second before one of the men from behind me stepped in front of him, putting a hand on the man.
"She's not one of them, just let her go." The man said. He wore a red bandanna across his face with a splattering of white stars across it, like a distorted American flag. The symbol of the Forgotten, a group that sprung up in Seattle as a protest against the upper class getting to live, and everyone else getting left on Earth like they were disposable.
The green-eyed man ignored him, keeping his eyes on me.
"Headed to the lottery?" He asked.
"Aren't you?" I kept my hand near to the knife, blood thrumming through my ears.
His face hardened.
"No. Only an idiot would think they have a shot of getting on that ship." The green-eyed man shrugged off the others grip, stepping towards me again. "Are you an idiot?" He grabbed my arm. I ripped the knife out with my other hand. He raised his hand. I slashed across his palm, drawing a pale red line in his palm as he cried out. "Shit!" He grabbed his rifle, pulling it up and aiming it at me.
A crack sounded out, ringing in the air right by my head as I sank to my knees. My heart rate skyrocketed, hands and feet tingling like electricity was pulsing through them. It took me a moment to realize there was no pain, no rushing blood. I glanced up, the green-eyed man pressed his fingers against his stomach, staring down in shock as blood oozed around his fingers. Another bullet went through his head a moment later and he collapsed.
I glanced around, the shot hadn't come from any of the people standing around me.
"Everyone freeze." A woman's voice called out, walking from inside one of the buildings. She walked towards me, jeans and her simple black vest revealing nothing about who she was. She wasn't armed, so she didn't fire the gun. I glanced towards the dilapidated shops and abandoned apartment windows, wondering where the gunman was hiding out.
The man with the red bandanna reached for his gun as she got closer to him. Two shots rang out and the man collapsed. She sighed as she turned to the other men.
