Project Genesis

CHAPTER SEVEN.

"Corvus!" Orion shouted out in shock, looking around for the injured boy. Her heart was racing, her eyes squinted desperately trying to adjust to the dim light.

Nothing.

No sound, no movement.

"Corvus, anyone please!" She continued to wander as though she was in a trance, blindly tripping over uneven patches of pavement. She couldn't be alone. She couldn't face the creatures alone. A million thoughts ran through her mind, her vision clouding with what she soon realized were tears. In her mind, she criticized herself for her wasted tears; for how weak she was. Something in her mind tweaked at the thought. Weak. She didn't know why, but deep inside she felt something stir.

She was screaming now, her lungs raw and desperate as she sought some shred of hope that she wasn't alone. More sinister thoughts lingered in the back of her head: how did Corvus just vanish? Where were the others? He was injured so she knew he couldn't have made it far without help. Somebody had to be out there.

Part of her reserved the hope that maybe the others had found him. That maybe he was with them, bickering with Crux over some unimportant issue. She clung to the fantasy, assuring herself that it would be okay; that somehow, she would make it out of this mess without being torn to shreds by one of the creatures that had killed Carina. She shook her head, not wanting to linger on the image of the beasts any longer than was necessary.

The sun slowly slipped behind the wall, leaving her surroundings fully dark. She bumped around, trying desperately to find her way back to the hotel, to some sort of safety. She tried with one last feeble yell to call out for Corvus; the hoarseness of her own voice surprising her.

She cursed as she tripped over something in the dark, falling to her knees in pain.  The displacement of dust caused her to cough and she quickly yanked her jacket over her mouth in defence. Only a bit longer, she thought; only a few more blind stumbling steps.

All of the sudden, Orion heard a loud groan, almost as though somebody was opening a door. Behind her, light spilled onto the ground from an unknown source. Panic surged through her veins as she stumbled behind the nearest object. She did her best to hide behind what she assumed was a car. As she crouched, the only sound audible was the sound of her breathing accompanied by her frenzied heartbeat. The presence of hushed voices caused her breath to hitch in her throat.

"Are you sure there's no more of them?" Orion's ears pricked at the sound of an unfamiliar feminine voice.

"Positive. The others must have left the boy behind," a masculine voice responded.

Corvus.

Orion tried her best not to yell out, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. What had they done to him? Who were these people? Orion recalled the projection that had been played to them when they were first awoken. It had said that they were the only ones left, so why were there people here?

She knew she had to find out more, these people knew where Corvus was and she wasn't about to give up on finding him. The pair had lowered their voices and Orion struggled to make out what they were saying. She tried to shift her position so that she could listen in on more of their conversation. Slowly, she shifted her body so that she was leaning up against the car she was behind. To her horror, the car let out a metallic groan when she leaned on it. She gasped holding her breath as the conversation ceased.

"Who's there?" the masculine voice asked. Orion remained still, her breathing shaky. She heard footsteps and held her breath, praying that they wouldn't find her.

Suddenly, Orion felt a hand grasp her arm. She attempted to scream but was quickly silenced by a large hand covering her mouth. In a panic, she began to struggle, but her arms had already been secured behind her back.

"It's another one boss," the man said, clearly speaking to the woman.

"Take care of it, we don't want to be out here when the drones come around." The sound of footsteps signalled the departure of the woman. Orion continued to struggle against the man's grasp, her tired muscles aching with every thrash. 

"Hold still, this will only sting for a minute." Orion could hear the smirk in his tone as she struggled against his hold, slowly realizing that her efforts were futile.

Her eyes widened in shock as she felt the prick of a needle on her neck followed by a rush of cool liquid. Her captor pushed her forward, releasing her from his grip. She tried to turn to face him but was stopped by the sudden overwhelming feeling of drowsiness in her body. She stumbled for a moment before falling to her knees on the ground. 

"What'd you do to me," she said, her speech slurred and slow. The man didn't respond, only letting out a low laugh at her expense. Orion felt her muscles relaxing and was barely aware when she fell forward, her forehead connecting with the jagged pavement.

And then it went black.

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