Survival

Skyrah

My name is Skyrah Faria Thratch. The world is not what it was, I mean I don't know what it was like, I wasn't alive. I was born here in Creptium. In my history class they said that Creptium is built in America, in a state they once called Texas. We live inside the dome, it's forbidden to leave because you'd die, the outside still scorches from The age of Imperfection. No one in the dome has ever seen the outside, but we assume there is no life outside, we do know of other domes, just like ours, other cities that thrive. We aren't alone in the world. If there was any life on the outside, they would be mutated, they would have adapted through time to become beasts, nothing like myself. Everything in Creptium is perfect, the government will not allow flaws, we are all programmed to function perfectly, like robots I guess but we are allowed to feel emotion, that's what makes us human. It's a good thing we are this way, who wants to be defective. I don't know what happens if people are defective, if their genetic codes go wrong, I've known a few people that have been this way. I never saw them again. We are programmed so we don't rebel, crime is non existent because of this, and that's a good thing, wars are what got us here in the first place,living in a dome. 

I wake up on Monday morning at 5am to prepare for school. I look around my room, the white walls stand tall around me, the grey sheets on my bed crumpled from sleep. I get out of bed and walk into the bathroom attached to my bedroom. The shower door opens automatically and closes behind me, thousands of buttons hover on the walls, asking for temperature, shampoo scent, soap scent, water flow and things like that. I press a warm temperature and heavy water flow. I'm soon soaked so I then ask for a coconut shampoo and lime soap. The soap sprays onto my body in a foam and gets taken away by the water, then the shampoo appears from the wall and I apply it myself. When I'm cleaned I set the shower to the blow dry option, and ask for my hair straight, air blows from above and below drying my entire body in an instant, it drys it in a certain way that my hair is left straight and glossy after. I step out and cover myself in a silk black gown. I then brush my teeth and go to the wardrobe installed in my wall.

We don't have a choice in what we wear, it's always the same, but we are allowed dresses for dances and special events, each one designed specifically for you. But casual wear consists of a tight pair of grey pants, a fitted grey blouse and black boots that reach my knees. Hair is always expected to be tied up, except for at home or at special events. I tie up my long blonde hair into a high ponytail. Girls are allowed to wear minimal makeup, so only one layer of black mascara, black eyeliner and a nude lipgloss, so that is what I put on, although it doesn't make much of a difference it makes me feel less self conscious, even though we are flawless, their are still people that are better looking than most.

I walk to the kitchen to find my mother sitting at the mahogany dining table, father must have already left for work, I have two sisters and two brothers,they are still getting ready I assume.

"Hello mother" I say and take a seat at the table, my breakfast materialises in front of me. A tall glass with a thin stem filled with bright orange juice, a white plate filled with pink bacon and soft pancakes with butter and a smooth golden syrup. 

"Good morning Skyrah" she says in a bored dull voice.

"How did you sleep mother" I ask politely.

"I slept just fine Skyrah" she says impatiently scanning her newspaper whilst taking sips of rich black coffee. My brother then enters, he is 15 years old but is tall and muscular because he is programmed for sport, he is good looking, he has soft tanned skin, blonde hair that sweeps across his forehead but not too long, long hair on boys is forbidden and he has these sharp blue eyes like crystals. 

"Hey Sterling" I say nicely.

"Skye" he says in an even tone. My youngest brother walks in just at that moment, he has curly blonde hair, he looks like sterling, they both have the same blue eyes, he has these cute little dimples that make him look like the innocent five year old he is. He was programmed to be highly intelligent, like knows how to dismantle a bomb and build a robot kinda intelligent, he's five and he is ten times smarter than I'll ever be.

"Quinn" I say happily, he runs up and lift him up, twirling him around, he giggles and squirms as I place him in the chair. The same breakfast I ate appears in front of Sterling and Quinn. Just as I'm about to leave my sisters walk in, they are twins but they couldn't be more different.

"Hey Layla" I say trying to say it without bitterness, we don't get along. She has long black hair she ties into a side braid, it falls down to her waist, she has fairly thick dark eyebrows and thick lashes framing her light purple eyes, our parents had them programmed like that, purple was the big colour of that year. Layla just ignores me and walks to the seat furthest away from me.

"Hey Astraea" I say kindly, out of all my siblings I'm closest to Astraea. She has light purple hair, as I said purple was the colour of that year, she has blue eyes and pale skin.

"Skye" she says happily, Layla rolls her eyes.

I retreat to my room and pack my bag for school. I throw in my books for Math, English and History, I also pick up the book I'm reading for the study period. I have a photographic memory so I don't really need to study. People don't understand why I collect old books, I don't really collect them for what they're about, I like the idea of them. The feel of the pages, the way that they age, the scent they have when they get old, the soft colour of the pages, the way the ink belongs. I like those things, everything is read on a hologram, they call them HoloReads, but real books are much better. I gently place the book in my bag. I put my MusicMatch in the pocket of my backpack. A MusicMatch is a small thin, music player, but you don't need headphones, you just need to touch it and if you let go it plays aloud, I always turn mine off when it's in my bag. Satisfied with my packing I go to the locker built in my wall, it's voice activated, only I can open it. The door pops open at the sound of my voice and I retrieve my bow and my quiver filled with arrows.

We have two hours right after lunch where we can practise our talent, the one we were programmed with. Sterling will take part in sports. Quinn will make a circuit for a robot. Layla will do her fight training, her special ability is strength, although I'm not sure she's that good. Astraea will paint and sing and dance, her talent is creativity. I will be transported to the forest dome with a few others that share my ability. Survival. I will hunt, fish, carry on building the shelter, if it gets cold I'll start a fire, but I'm never happier than in those woods. Sometimes they throw wild beasts in there, genetically mutated dogs just so we can test our reactions and killing ability. Not a lot of people have the survival trait, I'm the first child, they say the first is always a screw up because the parents didn't know how to programme them right, that's why my skill is useless, the dome is the safest place in the world, there's no use for my ability, but I can't change it now. 

I walk back and wait I'm the living room for everyone, my mother leaves without saying goodbye, she cares more about her work, she's a doctor, so it is important I guess. When everyone is ready we leave for the bus. I see the grey vehicle approaching in the distance. Colour is a rarity, most things are kept a bland colour except for people, maybe that's why I like the woods so much, the vibrant green and rough browns, the clarity of the blue water in the lake I found deep in the woods. As we get onto the bus Quinn sits next to his best friend Rei Teller, he's a small dark skinned boy a year older than Quinn, but they spend a lot of time together because they are both crazy smart. Sterling sits at the back with some sporty guys, that are complete jerks. Astraea and I sit together and Layla sits on her own, she's always been a recluse. Somewhere on the journey as I stare out the window I start to wonder what it's really like on the outside, whether it's like what they tell us, or if it's something different.