Imperfection

Imperfection Chapter 7

A blinding light greets us through the crack of the widening silver gates. I squint, trying to force my eyes to adjust to the sudden change in lighting. People around me mirror my actions, looking just as anxious as I feel. 
We all must have similar theories.

A boy sitting near me wrings his hands, his knuckles pale. A Sapphire girl chews on a lock of her bronze hair. 
A different boy mumbles under his breath, fighting a fierce face twitch. I bite my lip and drum my fingers against the vehicle's old disintegrating metal. 
The crack of the doors opens wider and the vehicle begins to move again, in the direction of the light. The uneasiness around us grows more and more severe by the second. Time seems to be moving at an agonizingly slow pace. My eyes are finally able to see through the bright light and I observe my surroundings.

Large metal crates sit, rusting away on the gravel-covered ground. Rotting wooden signs stick up from the ground stating locations, like "farmlands" and "generator." The thing that captivates me the most is the 6-or-7-story cement building in the very center of the mess.


The vehicle is parked in front of the grey building and the Dux Duci step out of it. 
The Lead Dux Ducis opens the door and barks at us to get out. When nobody moves, he grabs one poor child's arm and pulls him to the ground. 
Goodness. I thought Leads were supposed to be friendly. 
With the kid on the ground nearly in tears, people begin to move off of the vehicle. 
The Dux Ducis walks towards the entrance of the cement structure and yells for us to follow him. When my feet touch the gravel, I reach out for the boy on the ground and hoist him to his feet. 
Thanking me quietly, he walks, along with the rest of the group, to the building. 
I know I should be following him but something stops my feet from moving. I gaze upward at the cement dome, studying the water-spewing cracks decorating the dull gray ceiling. A dust covered circular window casts twilight sunrays down on us. Dark spots float around in the sky above the window. I decide to tell myself that they're birds, flying around in the air with out a worry, flapping their feathered wings without an ounce of care. In Beta, there were no birds. We had always been told most animals died out in the Exitium. 
Now the birds fly around above the dusty glass, probably letting out their calls. They seem to be mocking me, boasting about their freedom. 


Don't you want to see what is beyond these musty walls? They coo. 
Don't you want to be free of this oppression?

No, I reply. I am where people like me deserve to be.

The birds don't reply to me, instead they circle us over me, enjoying being wanted.

You don't know how much I envy you.

"Hey, Carrot-head!" A powerful voice booms through the smoke-colored dome. "If you know what's good for you, get over here,"


His voice hurls me back to reality and notice I'm standing alone at the front of the truck. 
Shoot, I've zoned out for too long. 
I blink millions of times to get the dream-like daze from my eyes and dash towards the building. 


The inside of the building isn't anymore attractive than the outside. Water stains splotch over the dull, aged surface of the wall. It's stuffy in here and the smell of must is ever increasingly prominent. We stand in a group before a large stage. Judging by the amount of light directed towards the stage, I'm guessing we're supposed to be focusing on it. 


On the stage stand 5 Dux Ducis, all looking as strict and serve as ever. In the middle of the five of them, a man sits in a different Beta in uniform. It's similar to the Dux Duci's uniforms, a spandex suit with a black middle and the words "Beta: Life 2.0" printed out along the chest. The most noticeable difference in the suits is the color. The man wears a suit with gold outer trimmings unlike the Dux Duci who wear suits with silver trimmings. The man sits on a throne-like chair, his tattered, dust-covered boots put on a stool, legs crossed at the ankles. A hideous snarl has settled upon his face. His very being sends out a terrifyingly powerful aurora. There are several words that could be used to describe such a man: awful, horrendous, heartless, merciless.

I am the last to walk into the building, quite some time after the other people did and he looks down on me angrily from his pedestal. 
He looks to a Dux Ducis beside him and whispers something to him, pointing directly at me. The Dux Ducis gazes in my direction. 
I look down at the tiled floor and try to hide from the Dux Ducis' glare, but my hair makes it impossible for me to blend in, as it always has. 
The Dux Ducis nods and salutes the man, his obsidian-colored hair flipping wildly in front of his eyes. 


The man in gold sighs and stands from his throne, the heels of his boot scraping against the concrete. 
His lips curl up into a smirk and he scans us all. 
" Welcome," He pauses for effect. "To Base Absconditus,"

Exitium: Destruction


Absconditus: Hidden