Stargazer (Write Awards 2013)

Chapter 17 (Write Awards 2013)

Heyo! Alright, quick authors note: This story has to be finished before the deadline of August 5th. So ... I am hoping to get it finished before the start of August (edited and everything) so updates will be quicker. I might even update two chapter in one day (maybe) I'm going to update as I write (and with school back on it will be in a mad rush to finish everything)

Please don't forget to vote if you enjoy reading! (makes my day)

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When I came to, I felt surprisingly calm for someone who was gassed. I had spent what felt like years inside blackness, alone with my thoughts. I remembered coming to the conclusion that I was gassed - which explained the smell - and taken back to the lab. But when I opened my eyes I found I was in a completely different room.

The walls were grey, lit with what smelt like oil-base lamps. The flooring was wooden, polished with a thick shine. A black couch was placed to the far wall with a small round coffee table in the centre of the room.

She was sitting on the couch, legs crossed at the ankles. The mask was placed on the coffee table and from the way it sat; I could almost see its eyes as it stared at me. A door opened and in walked Brenda. Her heels clipped the floor as she walked over and sat on the couch, also crossing her legs.

I tried to look at Brenda but my gaze kept wandering towards Carmen, seeing if I could catch her eyes, but her gaze was lowered.

"What a nice reunion, isn't it?" Brenda asked with a smile. When I didn't respond she clapped her hands before folding them in her lap.

"Why?" I asked Carmen, my voice barely audible from the mixed emotions swarming around inside my stomach. I felt like I was going to vomit. Carmen raised her head and looked at me in the eyes.

"When I asked my uncle about the Screamer, he wanted to know why I was asking about something so top secret. So I told him about you and Earth. Then I was put on the second lunch and well, Brenda found me," she gestured to Brenda while speaking, "and asked if I wanted to find you and keep you safe. And well, here I am."

My brain was muddled when she finished speaking. She captured me because she wanted to find me? That didn't make much sense. She knew how I was going from the video chat. I wasn't in any real danger here. Well, maybe except if the device went off and the world went into war.

"Enough of that," Brenda interrupted. "June, you are safe here. Isn't that what you have always wanted? To be safe? Sound?" She smiled and stood up, motioning for me to follow her out of the room.

I got up off another couch that was in the room, following Brenda out with Carmen following. Two men stood outside the room and started following us but were dismissed by Brenda.

"June, you can truly be happy here. We have a five star security system and warm rooms where you don't have to worry about war going on right outside your window," she caught my questionable eyes, "Carmen told me everything," she confirmed. I looked over to Carmen who was busy looking out the windows in the hallway we had walked into.

Through the windows I could see a large house, painted white, with large windows allowing light to reach every corner. The ground was dotted with flowers and bushes, as green as the colour would come. It has been ages since I saw a proper flowering plant, not counting the few I saw in the fields.

"You can live here. Climate control twenty-four -seven, two large bedrooms, a kitchen with unlimited food resources and television with all channels. You will never have to worry about war again," Brenda finished with a smile. This time, the smile seemed genuine as she opened a white door which led into the outside environment. "Have a look."