Fifth Universe

Lifeless

I wrote most of this late at night so please excuse any poor sentences or spelling mistakes you may find irritating. :) Also, it may seem boring at first so don't hesitate to skip this chapter if that's what you want.
-Author

I stare out of the only window in my house and sigh. The only view I get is another grey wall and a window parallel to mine. The only colour in this world is my skin and the sky, even my pet cat is grey. I don't remember my name, what I look like, let alone who my parents were. My life will probably bore any normal person to death. Here, there is no such thing as personality, character, colour and let alone fun. We call this place the Poll. Don't ask why, cause I have no clue.

I often sit at my window in my spare time, I mean there's nothing else to do. Besides, it's a thirty foot drop from up here, debating on weather to jump or not is as fascinating as it gets around these parts. I force myself to depart from the window and grab my school bag as I head out the door. I hate leaving my cat but I'm not allowed pets in class.

The teachers are robots and are completely useless when it comes to asking questions, most of us have given up on speaking anyway. Sometimes I feel as though I'm different, like I have something inside me that no one else has. A burst of energy just lingering in my gut, one that's growing stronger and stronger every day.

I walk into class with my stomach grumbling, I had forgotten to eat breakfast this morning, which is not usual since our timelines here are incredibly precise. My feet drag themselves towards my desk, second to last desk at the back, to the far right. Like my house, everything in here is incredibly dull, including my classmates. They all look like zombies, with no hope or anticipation for pretty much anything. Is life always going to be this way?

The robot teacher told us about why we were all here and why leaving isn't an option. We have this session every morning, being told the same thing over and over again. "You are part of a vital experiment that prevents human nature from destroying the planet. The outside world is filled with sin, grief, and sadness. You are here to prevent that from happening. To make Goldilocks a happier, healthier planet."

Just as our teacher ends her sentence the fire alarm makes a high-pitched screeching sound and we all get out of our seats quicker than lightening. This doesn't normally happen, usually the fire drill goes off before morning tea every term. I hear some excited whispers from behind me as we get in line to remove ourselves from the building. The girl behind me taps me on the shoulder and looks at me eagerly. "What do you suppose is going on?" She asks me. I shrug, still afraid of my own voice, one I haven't used in a very long time.

We wait for the teacher to find her place in front of the line and she leads us out of the room at a menacing speed. Most of the whispers have stopped and we walk outside in a dead straight line. My heart races just a little when we stop and take our places for the roll call. Five minutes later everything is dead silent and my feet ache from standing on the sharp gravel. All of my classmates eyes widen and they straighten their backs to respect the newcomers. About twenty men in black suits march up to us and hold devices in front of people's foreheads.

Some of them begin to panic and try to run away from the strange people, but they all get stopped from either teachers or the strange men. Someone even screamed and tried to attack one of the agents. The rest of us remained calm and continued to look straight ahead, waiting for our turns. By the time one of the men reached the person next to me I had a little understanding of what was going on. When the devices made a beeping sound the people were free to go and returned to their classes. When it made a ringing sound they were taken away and forced into a strange grey vehicle. Only about three people out of two hundred had been forced to enter the strange things, most of them screamed or panicked, but there was one boy who obeyed without question.  I silently give that boy my respect, there's not much else I can do but remember his bravery and smile at him if I ever see him again. My stomach sinks when I realise that it's unlikely anyone will see him again.

One of the terrifying men approaches me and presses the device against my forehead so roughly I almost fall over, he obviously doesn't give a damn about any of us. I squeeze my eyes shut and wait for the beep, but it doesn't come. In fact, neither a beep nor a ringing sound comes out of it. Instead, it makes a high pitched screech, kind of like a siren. I wince at the sound and before I blink I find myself in between two of the men, being forced into a separate vehicle  from the others. My instant reaction was to run towards the door and try escape, it doesn't work and I get pushed back in by some of the men before the doors seal shut. I'm in full panic mode now, never before have I been taken away, let alone kidnaped. I bang my fist hard on the door and lean against it, trying my best to escape. I don't know why I bother, I know it won't help, but I have to try. It feels like hours before I give up, I slump onto the floor and sit there with tears in my eyes. I can't just leave my home like that, my entire life is in the Poll. I never thought of leaving it in my life.

I rest my head against the wall of the weird sphere and examine the room. The lights are white as the walls and the only colour inside is the navy blue sofa that surrounds the room. The blazing lights hurt my eyes and I walk over to the light switch before sitting on the sofa and drying my tears. I have no idea where I'm going but I know that tears and sweat is not a good first impression to anyone. After I stop crying I notice the small round table in front of me with a large grey button in the centre with the words 'push me' printed on the top. I hesitate before pressing it but do so anyway, expecting the worst. To my surprise, a hologram appears with the face of a middle aged lady staring straight at me with a friendly, yet creepy, smile. "Hello, my name is Natasha, the secretary of the SBA here in Direwood. Of course, you probably don't know what that is but I'm not permitted to tell you. I'm here to tell you that everything is alright and that you will not be harmed." The strange lady continues talking, but I'm only half listening as I stick my finger through the hologram's nose and giggle a bit when I bend my finger to make it come out her eyeball. It gives me a massive fright when the thing glitches and I get an electric shock. "There is something special inside you, and that is why you're here. You may have not noticed that the orb you're in is flying, and is heading towards our bigger spacecraft in which you will get your own room, service, and dining. All of which is free! Remember, don't be afraid to say 'hi' to other newcomers who are probably just as frightened as you are to be here. Have fun staying with us for a few days!"

The strange message switches off and I look out the window, which is just about too tall for me to look out of. Even so, I still can make out the massive grey ship I'm floating towards. What terrifies me more is that part of it opens like a giant mouth, almost like it's about to swallow me. The scene reminds me of the story of Jonah and the wale somewhere in the Bible, I had never believed that such things were possible until now. A dark shadow casts over the orb and I get sucked into the massive machine. This terrifies me and I feel like fainting before I see a crowd of people waiting from the inside, most of them are the men in Black I saw earlier, but this time they seem taller. The others are teens about my age, all in very different outfits but with the same look of fear on their faces. By the time I reach the platform the massive 'whale's' mouth is shut and the door of my orb begins to open. I stay as far away from the entrance as I can as the agents stand there and wait for me to exit. "You might want to hurry up girl, don't want to come in there and force you out." One of them threatens me. With shaking hands I remove myself from the orb and stand between the men, waiting for some sort of command. "She's the last one, correct?" One man asks the other. "Yup."
"Alright, follow me." The tall one says. "I'm going to introduce you to your instructor."