The Zeta Strain

Chapter 1

I always hated living like this. In complete squalor, wondering if I'm going to bed hungry… watching my family starve. It's a shame. The crazy thing is I've never known anything else. I find myself going through the motions, sometimes not even questioning why I do the things I do. They just happen. This heat is unbearable, yet I am still out in the desert hunting. Searching for that little bit of sustenance to get my family through the next couple of nights. 

High noon is the devil here on Nibiru. Living under three suns in a barren wasteland can really take a tole on a person. Especially those that are weak of mind. I never considered myself weak. I've always had to be strong. Always. 

Just one foot in front of the other. If I don't catch anything everyone will starve. We don't know when the next rations are coming in from Eridu. I hope it's soon, they never announce when. It's so odd. I have such a disdain for that place, yet it seems so familiar to me. So comforting. But how? I've never even seen past the giant metallic walls. It's so strange that I feel this way, especially with the way they treat my kind in the Outdwelling. 

I stop dead in my tracks. There is prey is nearby. I can feel it. My mind's eye senses something in the distance; hidden in the shallow sand. I grab my spear and begin to lock on to the mental energy of my target. The closer I get, the stronger the sensation, until I get within spearing distance. I clutch my spear and rocket it towards my prey. A clean kill. Only a faint squeal. As I close in on my kill, I recognize the creature. fat dune rat! Good food for a night or two of sparse eating. Better than nothing I suppose. 

Loud sirens shake the earth from across the desert. Chills run down my spine as I look at the dune rat on the end of my spear. The great rush of joy I felt from the hunt, gone. I know what that sound means. It's time for us to get our rations. More importantly, it was time for my little brother to go through this incredibly scary process. My hands tremble as I remember the first time I went with my uncle Amos. The sirens roar again and quickly bring me back to reality. I let out a sigh from the pit of my soul in worry of the coming hours. Not even the freshly killed dune rat, a feast for my starving family, could rid me of this feeling. The weight feels like a curse. Even though we desperately need the rations from Eridu, I dread taking Tylus to help me. 

As I walk over the sand dunes on the outskirts of the Savagelands; the first thing I see are the walls. Those giant, infinitely oppressive metal walls. So menacing, but still beautiful at the same time. I sometimes sit and admire the view from the tops of these dunes. There's a stillness up here that cannot be described. I can also see my house from here. Sometimes I laugh because of how tiny and insignificant my house looks compared to this monstrosity of a city that we apparently live to serve. It's hard to stomach for most of the Outdwellers, and they hate Eridu. Sure, they do horrible things, but can everyone in Eridu be that bad? I choose to think not. Either way, I know that Tylus and I are done for if they find out we're Psylings. The knots in my stomach make me want to collapse in fear. I know I can't though, not when my family, especially Tylus needs me to be strong.