Author Games: Atlas 01

TASK 1: Destiny - Entries

ARIES#001: Rose Everett 

Long gone are the days of barefoot running in the streets.

I think to myself as I shimmy off the white flannel covers that cling to my sweaty skin. Outside I can hear the distant hum of corporate vehicles making their rounds, collecting what they can off of the streets and throwing it into the back of their pick-ups. It amazes me, how much everything has piled within the last decade along the streets including in my own securely gated community. I glance at the digital clock on the bedside table, the blood red numbers reading nine o' clock. Strange. The sun can barely be seen behind the smog for it being later in the morning; usually a small ray is able to peek through the satin curtains by this time of day.

"Rosie?"

The voice in the bed makes me jump and my skin crawl. Not today. Suddenly becoming aware of the minimal amount of fabric covering my body I bend down to pick up the oversized t-shirt lying on the bedroom floor and slip it over my bare chest. I glance back quickly to the bed to find Hunter stirring awake, his eyelashes blinking rapidly. Any girl would be thankful to wake up to a man as muscular as Hunter. Any girl other than me, that is. Hunter pulls back his side of the sheets to reveal his prominent six pack and muscles that end in a 'V' before trailing down to his manhood. I like the way Hunter's body is symmetrical, it has an artistic appeal to it, but that's about it. Hunter looks me up and down, his eyes narrowing.

"When was the last time you showered?"

"Yesterday."

"You have a patch of dirt on your hip," Hunter points to the spot. "Where did you get that?"

I look at him in disbelief and sigh. "That isn't dirt, Hunter."

Silence falls in the room as I quickly exit, leaving Hunter alone in the bed. I make my way down the stairs of the two-level home into the kitchen, noting to myself how the marble floor feels unusually cold on my feet this morning. I pull back my hair and get to work on a routine that numbs my body and soul every morning. Frying pan, one large egg from the fridge and a green onion that had cost me a hefty twenty dollars at the market. I had argued with the vendor at the time, but when the deathly plague of insects came down from above and ravaged most crops on Earth, it was hard to come across an organic vegetable, let alone a vegetable at all. I remember the house once being nice when my parents had lived in it. They had called themselves Officers of Peace, and made their money protecting the people of their gated community from those who rendered themselves Androids. Each Android they had killed wagered them a hefty sum, and it makes me smile as I remember the Bonnie and Clyde way they had dealt with most of them.

I crack the egg into the pan and turn on the small television that sits beneath a pile of dirty rags and decaying leaves of the house plants I had attempted to grow. As the egg sizzles in the pan I listen to the sound of Robin Merryhart's voice from the television.

"There is a dust warning in affect for Nevada, please be cautious if you attempt to go outdoors, although it is highly recommended that you stay indoors for the day."

I nod as I got my answer as to why the sun was not appearing to show; the cloud of dust was suffocating it into a state of nonexistence. The egg continues to sizzle in the pan with me paying little attention to the browning beginning to form around the yolk. On the television screen Robin sits warmly in a newsroom studio against a greenscreen background of the once thriving Las Vegas strip. I have always wondered why the studio seemed to be so efficiently funded while schools and shelters were so grossly poor and overrun. Surely the Government could find better things to do with their money than do Robin's hair and makeup, right?

"Also, another reminder that the military is still looking for recruits for their newest mission aboard Aries IV. Recruits must either have knowledge on science, mechanics, astronomy, or the biology of the human body. All those in Nevada who are considering must meet at the large tent set up in the market square. Earth is in peril, we humbly ask those to step forward in hopes of creating a better future... a better you."