Rising Up

Untitled Part 6

Cold.

That was the first thing that came to Allen's mind as he stared up at the three grey, lifeless moons above him. The world around him moved about in a chaotic whirl. The dirt beneath his back seemed frozen, sending sharp shivers down his spine as if to pierce his very being. However, his mind wandered elsewhere as the last of the twin suns dipped below the horizon, sending the once red sky into a deep violet, then an endless black. The surface barely illuminated by the very central sun.

It was getting colder and his skin tingled as small goosebumps rose over the length of his bare arms. He felt his eyes drift closed as he listened to the wind. It was always so calming. Despite the power of the growing world, no man could forever harness the true beauty of nature. Not on Earth and not here.

He breathed in a long breath of fog and let the dry atmosphere take over his senses. The light from the front port of his family's pod spilled out into the yard where he sat. He listened to the muffled voices from inside. He couldn't make out any words but the voices calmed him. As much as he felt like a stranger in his own home, the low hums radiating out of the thin stone and metal walls and past his ears sent his being into an almost content state of mind.
He couldn't help but wonder if this is what nights were like for my ancestors. The burn of freezing air. The ache. The numb feeling after the chemically polluted atmosphere washed over his flesh. Did the earth smell like a dry wasteland or was there something more? Were any of the other planets in the solar system this bleak?
Probably not.

He knew eventually someone would come out and force him back inside where the very walls seemed to suck the life out of everything he did. His only hope was to somehow leave this world before that moment came. Even if that meant just within his mind. His eyes slowly forced themselves open as he heard the door open and close. He listened to the rhythm of the person's footsteps as they approached him. With one last breath of the metallic, industrial air, he turned his gaze to look at the person who stood a few feet away.

Sam.

"What's my little brother doing out here in the cold?" he was expecting his brother to scold him. List all the reasons why sitting out there after the suns set was a bad idea. Instead, his tone was genuinely curious. Allen glanced up, taking in Sam's features and stopping on his piercing green eyes. How could he tell his brother of all people he came out there to escape?

"I don't know" he started with a numb chuckle, turning his gaze back towards the barren wasteland around him. He tilted his gaze upwards and breathed in another long breath of the dead atmosphere. "I mean who doesn't like the smell of pollution in the evening? It pairs perfectly with the lab-grown teas and mutated dinners, don't you think?" Sam scuffed to himself and moved to sit down next to him.

"I'm sure mom and dad would believe that but you and I both know that's bull," Sam sent a challenging gaze in Allen's direction, raising an eyebrow as if he questioned his younger brother's very being. "Are you going to tell me what's really bothering my little brother? Who do I need to beat up?"

Allen rolled his eyes, a chuckle escaping his lips as he turned to look at the other male. "Who says it's someone? Maybe I'm protesting the environment. I'd have to say I'm not a fan of red dirt. Why can't it be purple?" Sam's eyes drilled holes into him, all the humor his eyes once held sizzling into non-existence. Allen let out a long sigh. There was no escaping this one.

"I don't like inside," Allen said numbly, avoiding his brother's wandering gaze, "it's suffocating." His teeth clattered softly as he hugged his arms to his chest. Sam let out a disappointed sigh that caused Allen's heart to ache. Sam, of all people, wouldn't understand.