Beneath the Blind Sky

Chapter 8

I turn towards Mina in disbelief, and I can sense Orchids confusion. What would the ship need an army for? It's not like we have any enemies. We're alone. 

"The Army?" I ask, making sure I heard her right. 

Mina nods her head excitedly and I sit back, confused and lost. A sense of doubt blooms in my mind. We've always been the Uselesses, the people kept alive for...for...my train of thought ends and I turn towards Orchid, hoping her reaction is different then mine. When she doesn't say anything, I explain my thoughts to Mina. 

"If we're useless, that means...that means that we wouldn't have a purpose." I can feel her wanting me to continue, so I do. "If we didn't have a purpose we would be using up precious space on the ship. Precious space that they can't afford to lose. If we were useless...we would be dead." I can hear Mina's head nodding, and I feel my stomach churn. We have to be part of an army -or something. Otherwise we would be dead.

The heaviness of what I said takes a toll on Orchid; she breaks into a sob and I immediately try to comfort her. Mina says nothing, does nothing, and I groan in frustration. 

"It's okay Orchid. But can you go into the bathroom? Me and Mina need to have a little talk." 

I don't mean to take my frustration out on her, but the confusion I've faced in the past few weeks has been messing with me- making me feel I'm delusional. She sniffles and nods her head, reluctantly dragging her feet to the bathroom. When I hear the door shut and lock I begin to pellet Mina with my questions.

"What do you mean, army? An army for what?"

"Charlotte, can't you see? We're the army for if we arrive at a planet. We're going to be the first to go onto a new planet. That means we're going to be the first to die if the air is poisonous or if the temperatures are dangerous," she hisses, spit flying out of her mouth. 

We both pause and sit together, silence surrounding us. I can hear Mina's heavy breaths; I can tell she's attempting to stay calm. But what does this mean for us? What does this mean for Orchid? 

"We're the guinea pigs," I whisper. 

Mina takes my hand and attempts to comfort me. It doesn't work. The thought that we're all going to arrive at a planet and be thrown onto the land with hopes that the air isn't toxic is terrifying. And the only thing that has brought us to this fate is our disabilities -our weaknesses. What everyone else on the ship believes makes us useless.

"Mina, knowing this doesn't change anything. We're still going to be guinea pigs -we're still going to die," I whisper. She scoffs. "It changes everything. Charlotte, without knowing we could never act! Action doesn't happen without knowledge. And now that we know, we're going to do something about it."