Stargazer (Write Awards 2013)

Chapter 18 (Write Awards 2013)

I was growing tired of all this. I just wanted to go back home. Hug Rune and kiss mother. I didn't want to be gassed again. I was getting sick and tired of it.

The sound of an alarm woke me. It echoed through the windows and into the house. My eyes cracked open and I jumped up from the couch, wiping a bit of drool which had formed in the corner of my mouth. Carmen was gone; not in any of the rooms in the house when I searched. I ran outside and saw that the door to the main building was locked.

"Hello?" I cried, bashing my hands on the door. It didn't budge. I screamed and tried hitting the windows but they must have been very thick. There was nothing that I could pick up and throw. The couch was too heavy and the small appliances didn't scratch the glass.

I continued to scream, hoping for someone to hear me. That damn alarm wouldn't stop blaring and I couldn't budge the feeling that something was deeply wrong. It was as if I wasn't thinking about it, I looked up to the camera that was in the corner of the large room and at once I saw myself in the same control room as before.

This time, the men who were at the computers were now slumped over, their heads pressed against the keyboards. I walked forwards and leaned down over them, alarmed to see their faces open in shock. I looked up to the screens and - to my horror - saw armed people running through hallways and into rooms, shooting at the surprised people inside.

They wore the same uniform as Guards, and the black guns in their hands were so familiar I felt a wave of nausea pass over me. People slumped against the white walls, leaving a streak of red in their path.

Before I knew it I was back in the house area and my hand was already involuntary hovering over the panel and willing it to open. The door opened with a small whoosh of air and I could smell the thick copper scent of blood. I stepped forwards and headed down the hall, trying not to feel like I was lost - which I was.

After a while I started hearing the sounds of the guns from the Guards echo through the hallway and a Guard - dressed in shiny armour - was stumbling towards me, blood splattered over his chest. He didn't see me until the last moment and we both went down.

I stared, wide eyed at this man. The blood of people was now smudged over the front of my clothing and on my hands. The gun was sent flying from his hands and I was thrown off the Guard.

In fear, I grabbed the gun and aimed it at the Guard as he started to rise. His voice speaker crackled before his voice came through, crackling. He was laughing.

"You would not dare shoot me," he chuckled. "I know you girl. You are weak. Would not hurt a-" he was cut off by the charging sound of the gun. It buzzed in my hands and I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what would lie before me when it was over. I felt the power in the gun as it was shot, the power blasting through my bones. Then, it was dead silent.

The blast still rang in my ears and the smell of the sweat gunpowder lingered in my nose. I opened my eyes and dropped the gun in horror. The man was lying up against the wall, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were wide open in shock, the corners of his pupil already going cloudy.

I just shot a Guard. A real, fully grown Guard! I could go to prison for the rest of my life for that! Or worse. I would be shot. My head was going at a thousand miles an hour, turning over every possible torcher method possible - some making my knees shake and heart race - when I heard a gasp.

There was another Guard who had just turned the corner, gun in his belt. The silver plate was splattered with blood but it looked as if it had been wiped away so the person inside could see.

"I-I didn't mean i-it!" I stuttered, looking back down to the dead Guard. I took a shaky step backwards when the other Guard started running towards me. I screamed, confirming my thoughts of a finial death when my wrists were yanked forwards and I was engulfed in a hug. More than shocked I froze, unsure on how to react. Why was a Guard hugging me?

The Guard pulled away but still kept a grasp on my wrists as he reached up and took off the helmet. A mass of caramel coloured curls spilt down around her face which was grim. I started crying harder.

"Shh," Carmen whispered, placing a hand over my mouth.

"Carmen?" I whispered. She nodded. "Why are you in a Guard uniform?"

"I was recruited shortly after you left." I frowned, confused as why they started recruiting girls. Men had more muscle power than woman so it was natural for the men to go fight. I have never seen a female Guard. "We need to go!" Carmen hissed, snapping me from my thoughts.

She picked up the gun from the floor and put it into my hands. "You can do this." She reassured me before taking off, dragging me along.

There were hundreds of thoughts in my head and they were all about Carmen in that awful uniform. Her hair was bouncing behind her head and I noticed a small pin holding a section of her hair back. It was a small butterfly, with large curved wings and elegant swirls. It was the size of a small coin and made from what looked like brass, unrecognizable under Carmen's long thick hair.

I reminded myself to later ask her about it - something that fancy would cost a lot of money - as she took me down a flight of stairs. The sound of fighting grew the further we descended, and so did the quality of the lights. They slowly faded from a bright white to a dull yellow. Carmen placed on the helmet and I heard the click of night vision being activated. She continued to lead me down a rapidly dimming hallway with blood covering the floor.

"Carmen!" I puffed, yanking on my wrist. She didn't let go but started running slower, allowing me to talk to her. "Where are you taking me?"

"You need to disable the device June. It's set to go in half hour."

"What?" I hissed, making her come to a stop. She sighed but allowed me to continue. "It's going off tomorrow! Not in half hour!" How could I lose a day? A day and a bit? It must have been that gas. Sleeping gas. I swear when I get off Earth I was going to have a long holiday. Alone.

"Yeah June. You we're gone for hours. Now we can stand here all day and chit-chat or do you want to save the planet?"

Obviously I wasn't going to argue with Carmen about that. She rolled her eyes and we took off again. This time we paced ourselves to go faster as bodies began littering the rooms. I didn't want to imprint their faces into my memory so I tried not to look at them.

"Aaron's here. And the whole gang," Carmen huffed as we came to a sealed door. It had pass worded locks on the side and after bashing her hand against it, I knew Carmen didn't have the code.

"And Stephen?" I asked, stepping up. A small red tinged her checks and she looked down. I chuckled and focused onto the lock. I smiled when the door opened with a click. Carmen gasped and I turned to see her staring wide-eyed at the door, then to me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"How the hell did you do that?" she asked in amazement. I opened my mouth to tell her but someone grabbed me from behind. I screamed and turned, raising my hand to hit the person who had grabbed me, forgetting about the gun.

"June!" It was Stephen, bloodied but Stephen. Red matted his curls and his usually pale face was sheet white, making the freckles stand out. He gasped and fell, my arms automatically supporting his weight. I buckled as he leaned into me, and as I went to grab his waist, my hands slipped into something warm and wet. I looked down and gasped when I saw red. Red on the front of his stomach, slowly seeping down to his pants. He mumbled something, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and went limp.