Fallen Sky

Chapter 3 - Invisible Chains

Kira's pov

The camp had come together by the end of last night. It wasn’t much—just a rough circle of logs and branches arranged around a modest fire. But it was enough. For now.

We all sat there in the fire’s flickering light, warming our hands against the cold, trying to keep our minds off what had just happened. The descent, the crash, the fact that we were now alone on a planet we barely understood. But despite it all, something about the open sky above felt liberating. There were no more walls, no more Council to tell us what to do.

As the night crept on, the dark enveloped us, wrapping the camp in a cloak of uneasy silence. One by one, the others drifted off to sleep, curling up on the ground or leaning against trees. I stayed awake a little longer, staring into the flames, feeling the heat against my face. The fire was the only sound now, crackling softly, as if it, too, had a heartbeat.

I let myself drift into sleep, thinking about what tomorrow would bring, about what freedom truly meant.

But then a sharp voice cut through the stillness.

“Guys!” someone yelled. “Wake up! Guys, get up!”

I jolted awake, my heart racing. Instinctively, my hand reached for something, anything, to defend myself with, but there was nothing. Just my own fists. I blinked, trying to make out who was yelling, my eyes adjusting to the low light of the dying fire.

It was Ella.

I wiped my eyes and stood up, making my way over to her. “What’s going on?” I asked, trying to shake off the sleep clinging to my mind.

Ella’s face was pale but determined, her eyes wide as she scanned the camp, making sure everyone was paying attention. She was clutching a small, sharpened rock in her hand, the tip stained with something dark—blood. “You know the shot they gave us?” she asked, her voice quick, urgent.

“Yeah,” I said, confused. My body was still groggy, but I could see the others waking up now, too. They were stirring, sitting up, murmuring to each other.

Silas, who had been resting against a tree, rubbed his eyes and muttered, “The sedative. What about it?”

Ella shook her head. “It wasn’t just a sedative. They implanted chips in us. They’re watching. Monitoring us.”

“What?” one of the younger boys gasped, his voice cracking with fear.

The rest of the camp exploded into murmurs and panicked whispers, everyone asking the same questions, their voices overlapping. “What do you mean, chips? Why would they do that? Is she serious?” I didn’t need them to confirm it. I knew it was true. I always suspected The Zenith wouldn’t let us go so easily. Why would they? They didn’t send us here to survive; they sent us here to die. But they wanted to watch, to track how long it would take. To study us.

“They implanted us like animals,” Ella said, her voice more steady now, matter-of-fact. “Like Commander Lyra said, they’re watching everything we do.”

I got up without hesitation, walking over to her. “Do it,” I said.

Her brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, my expression firm. “I’m sure. Take it out.”

Without another word, Ella raised the small rock in her hand. The sharpened tip gleamed in the faint light, and for a moment, I hesitated. But no. This had to be done. I extended my arm, my wrist exposed, and Ella didn’t wait any longer. She plunged the tip of the rock into the soft flesh of my wrist.

The pain was sharp, like a blade slicing through my skin, but I barely felt it. My hatred for The Zenith burned hotter than any pain they could cause me. I gritted my teeth, refusing to make a sound as she worked, her hands steady and quick.

It wasn’t long before the chip—a small, metallic sliver—was pulled free from under my skin. Ella held it up for a moment, inspecting it before throwing it into the dirt.

It was done.

Silas was the next to step forward, his expression unreadable as he extended his arm. “Do it,” he said, his voice low.

One by one, more of the kids lined up—Dane and Zane, two boys I’d met yesterday, both as fearless as they were reckless. Then others followed, until nearly half of us had torn the chips from our bodies. About fifty kids now had freed themselves from the eyes of The Zenith.

But there were still sixty-one of us left, still bound to the invisible chains they’d implanted in us. Sixty-one that The Zenith believed were still alive.

The air was thick with tension, the fire casting long shadows on the faces of the others. I felt the weight of everything—our situation, our freedom, and the realization that we were on our own. But for the first time, I wasn’t afraid.

I walked outside the clearing, finding a quiet spot near a large tree, and sat down. My mind wandered, thinking about how different life could’ve been if things had gone another way. If my parents were still alive, if Owen hadn’t been taken, if The Zenith hadn’t destroyed everything.

A tap on my shoulder made me jump. I turned quickly, ready to defend myself, only to see Silas standing there, his expression unreadable in the low light.

“Hey,” I muttered, my voice quieter than I meant it to be.

“Sorry for scaring you,” Silas said, his voice soft but deep.

“All good,” I replied, brushing off the moment. “Just thinking.”

“I figured.” He sat down beside me, stretching his legs out in front of him, leaning his back against the tree. “What you did back there, with the chip—it was brave.”

I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “Brave? I don’t think getting a rock stabbed into your wrist counts as brave.”

“It does,” he said, his eyes locking onto mine. “You were the first to step up. The others, they saw you do it, and that gave them the courage to follow.”

“They would’ve done it anyway,” I said, shrugging. “Besides, The Zenith deserves worse.”

Silas nodded slowly, but there was something more in his eyes. “You really hate them, don’t you?”

“I don’t just hate them,” I said, my voice hardening. “I want to watch them burn. They’ve taken everything from me. My family, my freedom. They think they can rise from the ashes, but they’re wrong. I’ll make sure they burn with them.”

Silas didn’t say anything for a long moment. He just looked at me, as if trying to understand something. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and sincere. “The kids look up to you, you know.”

I blinked, surprised. “What? No, they don’t. They follow you.”

Silas shook his head. “They listen to me because I know how to lead. But they look to you for more than that. You’ve shown them that down here, nothing The Zenith says matters. You’re showing them how to be free.”

I stared at him for a moment, trying to make sense of his words. “I’m just trying to survive. Same as everyone else.”

He smiled faintly. “And that’s exactly why they follow you.”

For the first time, I wasn’t sure what to say. Silas wasn’t like most of the other kids. He was smart, calculating. But he wasn’t wrong. Down here, we were all equals. No Council, no power structure. Just us, trying to live.

“Thanks, Silas,” I said quietly.

He nodded, standing up and brushing the dirt off his pants. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”

I watched him walk away, disappearing into the darkness of the camp. His words echoed in my mind, lingering long after he was gone.

We were all equals down here. Maybe he was right. Maybe we had a chance to make something different. But first, I had to make sure The Zenith never set foot on this ground.

One way or another, they would pay.