Project Genesis

CHAPTER FOUR.

         

"We have been walking for hours," Corvus whined, a pained expression on his face.

"Oh stop complaining. Do you want to be stuck out here overnight?" Crux rolled his eyes at Corvus who glared at him in response.

"Can you two give it a rest already?" Carina exclaimed angrily.

The tension between the two had been unbearable since they had set out walking, with each boy constantly making snide remarks at the other's expense.

"It's not my fault he has to be such a jerk all the time," Corvus said, ignoring the look Crux gave him.

Orion did her best to tune them out, her head still swimming with uncertainties. Ever since they had set out, Orion couldn't help but think about the gun inside her bag; it was as though she could feel it's weight on her back. She wondered if the others had also made the discovery of the gun but didn't allow her mind to linger on that thought for long. Orion couldn't remember having ever used a gun before, but she had felt something inside of her when she picked it up. There was some sort of strange familiarity when she held it in her hand; the smooth coldness tugging at something in her brain that she couldn't recall. Orion was shaken out of her thoughts by Corvus appearing at her side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a look of concern adorning his tan face.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little confused that's all." She forced a slight smile before turning away.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. This is a lot of information to process, especially when I still can't remember anything," he said, shaking his head.

Orion nodded her head in agreement, focusing her attention on walking through the sand. She knew Corvus meant well, but her brain was too tied up to attempt a conversation. Each step she took her foot would sink into the sand slightly, making the trek difficult. They had been walking for hours now and Orion was beginning to feel the burn in her legs.

"We should reach it in an hour or so," Lupus said confidently.

"If we keep making this pace, we should make it there before sunset," Leo added.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but my legs are on fire." One of the girls Orion remembered as Ara winced as she spoke, others nodding their head in agreement.

"Yeah, I have to agree with Ara on this one, maybe we should take a break," Draco said, slinging his backpack off before anyone else could respond. Others were quick to follow, each taking off their backpacks before flopping down on the hot sand.

As the hours progressed and they had gotten closer to the shape, it had become apparent that it was indeed a city of sorts, but several of its features had made Orion uneasy. It was still hard to tell, but it seemed as though the visible buildings were surrounded by a sort of large wall. It didn't look very tall, but seeing the wall left an unsettled feeling in the pit of Orion's stomach. Walls were built for one of two reasons: to keep something out, or to keep something in.

She tried to shake the thought off, busying herself with taking her water out of her pack.

"Guys, I'm almost out of water." Draco frowned, shaking what water was left in the bottom of his canteen.

Orion hadn't noticed earlier, but her canteen was nearly empty as well. She frowned, placing the water back into her bag.

"We have to find more water, whatever is in there is our only shot," Carina said matter-of-factly, pointing at the city in front of them. She had gotten increasingly annoying since they had begun walking, always managing to point out that she was the one that had noticed the city.

"Oh, what would we do without you," Crux said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Orion didn't agree with many of the things Crux said, but she had to agree on this one; Carina was beginning to get on her nerves.

She knew that the longer they stayed in one place, the higher risk the sun would go down before they reached the outer wall. The sunlight was already falling fast, casting an orange hue on the faces of those around her. Orion wasn't sure she wanted to know what would happen once the sun fell entirely.

"I think it would be best if we kept moving," Orion said warily, letting her doubts get the best of her.

"I agree. Something about this whole place is giving me the creeps." Corvus shuddered.

The next hour was spent mostly in silence, with some attempts at small talk made by Draco and Lupus. Even Carina was uncharacteristically quiet, busying herself by playing with the strap of her bag.

Now, only about fifty yards from the city, Orion began to feel her heart in her chest; their situation suddenly becoming so much more real when it was right in front of them.

The city was larger than Orion had initially anticipated, it seemed to expand for several miles on either side. Orion mentally noted that it appeared to be completely surrounded by the walls she had noticed earlier. She swallowed the fear rising in her throat as she approached the walls, regarding them with wary eyes.

Right in front of them, about fifteen feet tall, were the walls. The walls that contained whatever would determine if they would survive. The base was metal, but it looked ramshackle; like whoever had constructed them had done so hastily. On top of the initial wall, several wooden boards were attached haphazardly, like somebody had realized the walls weren't big enough. The unsettled feeling returned in the pit of Orion's stomach.

Orion began to stray from the group, running her hand along the cool metal surface of the wall. When she looked down at her fingers, she noticed the thin layer of dust that had accumulated on her fingertips.

"Orion, over here," Corvus called out.

She walked over to him quickly, the tone of his voice worrying her slightly.

"I don't want to make assumptions here, but maybe they were trying to keep out whatever made those." Corvus pointed upwards and Orion followed his finger to what he had pointed at before recoiling in shock.

Close to the top of the wall were four deep gouges, tearing straight through the metal. Looking around, she noticed that they weren't the only marks; there were several of them all around the top portions of the wall. The sun had almost completely fallen, and the temperature was beginning to drop noticeably. A chill ran down Orion's spine as she turned to face the group.

"We have to look for some way in," she said, beginning to walk quickly around the base of the walls, searching for any way in. Suddenly, she was halted in her tracks by the faint sound of something grinding against metal. Her ears pricked at the foreign sound.

"Something is out there," someone whispered from behind her. She couldn't distinguish the voice, too absorbed in the frantic beating of her own heart.

Orion squinted, trying to see around the bend in the wall with no success.

"What should we do?" Carina's loud voice made Orion jump and she turned to glare at her. Her stare was quickly interrupted, however, by the metallic sound stopping entirely.

Nobody dared move a muscle, the absence of sound becoming almost more unsettling than comforting. A movement in Orion's peripheral vision caused her to whip her head around in shock.

"Run!" Corvus yelled.

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