In the End, I Found Us

Chapter 1: That's Not Normal...

Kyriaku was ridiculous. Collecting food during daylight hours was horrible. The flies around the crops would latch onto your skin and draw blood. Mine is already covered in little red blots and smears. I use my scythe and harvest a wheat stock, watching it fall in a small cloud of dust. I pick it up and put it in the scratchy sack already brimming wheat. If they collected food during moonlight hours, they could collect more food and lessen the risk of getting bitten. Who knows what diseases these flies carry?

I spot one on my arm and smash it, smearing the familiar purple guts mixed with the blood on my arm. Disgusting. I tried talking to him but of course, I was a girl, and nobody listened to a girl. So I guess he can just sit all day in the leader's hut on his throne while we women harvest the crops that will feed him. I finish the row and walk over to the dirty blonde girl covered in freckles and lying on the ground, her hair splayed out on the dirt making her hair even dirtier. Broad-shouldered, Adonis sits next to her and feels her forehead with his hand. He looks up when I reach her. Penelope, my childhood friend, had already "passed out from the pain" and was now just being dramatic to get attention. I kick her knee and she jolts up.

"HEY!!! What the hell!" She sits up immediately rubbing her leg.

"She's fine," I say apologetically to Adonis.

"Oh, alright, good. See you tomorrow Penny." Adonis says, flashing a brilliant grin, and walks away.

I roll my eyes, "Seriously?"

"He's nice!" Penelope lowers her voice, "He'd be a good husband."

"You're 17!" I exclaim.

"That's the age we're supposed to get married, Cassandra!" She sighs, "You're almost 17 too, it's time you started looking."

I shake my head, "I'm fine with my life right now. I don't need to get a husband."

She glances at me and I know what she's about to say, "You need a husband. Not," she pauses, "anything... else."

I hate it. I hate the way she says anything. Fury boils inside me but I push it down and swallow the fact that she was taught to believe that. It's not her fault. It's this damn village. I'm trapped here. God. I'll never get out of here and even if I do, I can't leave Elder Iris. I want to cry but Penelope is looking expectantly at me so I turn around and move on to the next row. She falls in line next to me and starts working.

Since 3776, we've been on this planet. In 3244, humans left planet Earth and went from planet to planet, causing destruction wherever they went. So humans decided to split up between habitable planets. Our elders landed on Kepler 442b and built this small village. But before long, Kepler 442b and the others will ''become part of the thousands of shriveled black spheres floating in the rays of the dying out stars and we'll have to move again. So we have to take advantage of Kepler now.

I stare up at the sky and watch it for a minute before spotting a faint Navister speeding through space heading to a destination I will never know. It flashes like a wink before fading into the blue. There's only one Navister in the entire village and it's currently sitting behind the leader's hut gathering dust. No one is allowed to use it but Kyriaku and I'm sure he doesn't even know how to work it.

* * *

I grab the last of the seeds and shove them into the red soil and sit back on my legs.

"Alright, let's bring all this back to the village," I say pointing to the large pile of wheat and Penelope sighs and mutters something under her breath.

I swing the bag over my shoulder and start the hour-long walk back to our village. Like I do. Every. Single. Day. The same thing over and over. The only part of my day I look forward to is taking care of Elder Iris. My parents passed when I was young so the village council assigned Elder Iris to take care of me. When I turned 12, I was assigned to take care of an Elder so the obvious choice was Elder Iris. When I turn 18, I'll be forced to marry if I haven't found a husband yet. Then I'll have children and the cycle will start all over. Super depressing thought. I shudder and focus on my surroundings. The sky is getting darker and black shadows are forming underneath the trees that line the trail. A bird whistles in the distance and the only sound is our footsteps crunching on the rocks.

A stick breaks close to me and I jerk around to see what it is. A shadowy figure slinks back into the trees and a brief wave of panic fills my body until I shake my head and keep walking. Most likely a hunter staying out a little longer. That's all.

The sky continues to grow increasingly darker and the clouds are a thick chalky gray. Odd. A feeling of unease sets through me. We get the occasional rain shower or two but never a storm. The sphere keeps it out. A drop of rain falls onto my wrist and then another. And then another. Penelope looks at me quizzically, "That's not normal is it?"

I shake my head and start to speak but then I get hit with a chunk of sharp ice and yelp. It's hailing. Penelope grabs my wrist and pulls me towards the chamber off the path holding the sphere. We continue to get pelted by hail that grows increasingly larger. I cover my head and she does the same but it doesn't shield my hands and soon they're covered with cuts and blood is steadily dripping from a gash on the back of my hand with a piece of ice lodged in.

We skid to a stop in front of the chamber and she yanks open the chamber door and we fall inside. The door thunks shut and then it's silence, only broken by our heavy breathing. I glance down at my hand and yank the ice out.

Penelope watches it melt pink in my hand before talking, "That's 100% not normal."

I stand up and walk over to the center of the room. I stop at a pedestal. Normally the golden sphere sat on a wool pillow, but now staring back at me is one single piece of paper lying on the empty pedestal. I pick it up and read:

The leaders are lying to you

And now you will pay for their mistakes

Your blood on their hands

Will you be silent now?

TH