Project Genesis

CHAPTER TWO.

The room was silent, each person appeared lost in their own individual thoughts. Corvus was the only person who seemed to be tied down to reality as he paced around examining the room. The small short haired girl across from Orion broke the trance everyone seemed to be in.

"If we are going to be stuck together, the least we can do is introduce ourselves. I'm Lyra." She let out a shy smile as she turned to the boy next to her expectantly. He regarded her slowly before rolling his eyes and remaining silent.

"I'm Leo," said the boy on her opposite, kindly saving her from the embarrassment of being ignored by the other boy.

Slowly, everyone around the room began to exchange names, all except for the one strange boy. He regarded everyone around the room with a glare from behind his shoulder-length black hair. Orion couldn't help but notice the strange pain in her head when she heard the other's names. Draco, Leo, Lyra, Ara, Carina, and Lupus. They all seemed to have such strangely familiar names, but it was like her brain was blocking the memory. Some of the members of the room began to engage in small conversation, but the one boy remained silent, leaning sullenly on the edge of his pod.

"How are we even supposed to get out of here anyway?" Corvus was feeling along the walls, inspecting to see if he could find some sort of exit. Orion watched as his hand grazed a spot on the wall that seemed different in texture than the wall surrounding it. Testing it, he applied pressure to the area, jumping back in shock when it gave in to his touch. Suddenly, the room shuddered. Worried glances were shared around the room as people held onto their pods for support.

"Oh, now you've done it," said the boy who hadn't introduced himself sarcastically. He rolled his eyes at Corvus.

"Well we have to get out of here somehow, don't we?" Corvus retorted.

"Whatever. My name is Crux, and clearly, I'm smarter than button pusher over here," Crux smirked as Corvus went red in the face.

"It's Corvus," he spat.

"Guys, we don't have time to be..." Lyra began to intervene warily but was cut off abruptly by another deep shudder coming from beneath the room.

And that was when the world exploded.

The rumble in the floor had ceased and they were now being pinned down to the floor by the sheer force of the movement. Panicking, Orion tried to reach out and grab on to something, but her movement was halted by another shudder of the room.

Up.

Orion looked around frantically. They were accelerating upwards rapidly but from where? Her stomach dropped as the room shook violently, her head beginning to feel faint from the movement.

As suddenly as it had begun, the movement came to an abrupt stop; the jolt threw Orion slightly from where she had stood. She tried to stand, but her legs felt weak and shaky as she assessed the room around her. Each person seemed to share a look of fear; even Crux had let his tough façade slip slightly.

Orion walked over to where Corvus had been standing when he triggered the button on the wall.

"You triggered something when you pressed this plate." She began to feel around the edges of the surface.

"No shit he triggered something." One of the boys Orion remembered as Lupus rubbed the back of his head.

"Guys, shut up. Listen." Lyra had her hand up in a 'stop' motion.

"Do you hear that too?" she questioned.

It took her a second, but Orion soon realized what sound she was talking about. Somewhere beneath their feet, a dull hum was resounding. It was low and barely audible, but it was there. Suddenly, all the lights in the room shut off except for one; a flashing blue light in the middle of the wall. It was small, only about the size of a fist, but it got the attention of the room. It was almost transfixing, they stared as it continued to flash, its light illuminating the faces of those in the room.

And then it turned red.

Orion swallowed hard, her heart rate increasing slightly. The light no longer flashed but instead remained a bright, angry red. Orion felt more rumbling beneath her feet, and quickly grasped the pod closest to her; her eyes remained transfixed on the wall in front of her. She realized quickly that it was moving; receding into the ceiling like one big garage door. Light began to filter in from outside, Orion felt as though her heart was going to pound out of her chest as she strained her eyes to see what was beyond the wall. The natural light shocked her eyes in contrast to the once sterile light of the room. Nobody dared move a muscle, each person seemed to be waiting for someone else to make a move.

Orion wasn't quite sure what happened next.

It was like one second her body was adamant about remaining within the safe walls of the room, and the next her legs had a mind of their own. She surged around the others making her way to the very edge of the opening before stopping in her tracks. The silence of the group seemed almost eerie behind her now as she glanced out into the unknown. Hot air hit her like a slap in the face as she shielded her eyes from the harsh sun.

Sand.

All she could see in front of her was sand. It must have stretched out for miles on either side of her. She looked around in disbelief, wondering how the hell they were supposed to navigate a dessert when they had no idea where they were or what they were supposed to be doing. She felt the anger grow inside her as she once again futilely tried to recall some shard of memory with no success.

"Guys?" Orion had been too lost in thought to notice that Lupus and Leo had exited the room and had walked about ten meters away from where she stood. They seemed to be looking at something in the dirt. The rest of the group jogged over to where they stood to get a look at what they had found.

The sight almost made Orion sick.

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