Gemini

chapter 1

Chapter 1

Bodies lined the streets with blood leaking from their eyes and mouths, their faces as pale as paper. Screams and cries heard for miles as a mob of men and women bang on a large metal wall blocking off a segment of this large dying city. Some citizens are starting to show the same features of those lining the ground while a few drop from their exhaustion. They bang like their life depends on it as a siren plays echoing throughout the city. Groups of men quickly line inside the wall all with rifles that matched their light brown clothing and armor, helmets covering their faces with large wide visors glowing a light blue. They are ready if the wall fails them.
The loud siren quiets to the background of a recording
"Please return to your homes, curfew is in full effect. If you are seen outside you will be detained, this message will now be repeated.-"
Children can be heard crying in the chaos when the phantom that they all feared finally shows itself. A thin trail of white smoke poking through the clouds overhead. The mob's antics only intensified as this trail slowly led down to the ground and with one quiet pop it was all over. A blinding bright light erupts from the impact making no sound at first as a devastating wave of energy cuts through the city like a hot knife. Buildings collapsed into clouds of debris and trees turning to instant ash as the sound of the devastation finally caught up with the destruction in a sudden never ending boom. The destruction drowned out the sound of the mob before it finally reached the wall. Every single living thing outside the wall simply disappeared. The large metal wall shook violently, but not caving. The segment of the city inside remains standing, the tops of some taller buildings singed from the heat and radiation.
A small child kneels on the back of his family coach as he watches the red glow in the distance. He can't see over the enormous wall at the edge of the city but he can feel the shaking and hear the sand and small pebbles hitting the glass in front of him.
"Charlie, come away from the glass, now."
A sorta panicked voice as his mother coaxed him away from the sight.
"Mommy are they alright?"
"No sweetie they're sick and we're not"
She says clearly trying to calm the boy as she gives up on him getting off the couch on his own, picking him up and rushing him to the back of their apartment.
"Can't we help them?"
"They are beyond help, all we can do is make sure they don't doom us all."
She rubbed his back with her nails as the boy outstretched his neck just to get one last glimpse of the outside world before they round the corner and he's left not understanding why.

Part 1
30 years later

A car speeds through a singed and broken city, echoes of what used to be behind every corner as moss and vines snake over almost every surface. The cracked and destroyed pavement is the only thing not covered by vegetation, having been cleared off just hours before. The car weaves and dodges old potholes created by countless where and tear without upkeep. The engine is the only sound that can be heard for miles other than the barks and shouts of old feral dogs. It finally comes to a stop in front of more military looking SUVs lining the front of the most structurally sound building in the area. The sidewalk by the building has been cleared of all debris, the same as the road. The driver's side back door opens with a creak as a very well dressed man steps out, fixing his demeanor as he goes. The movement of someone very familiar with a wealthy lifestyle. His suit is dark blue with even darker blue lines weaving down the limbs of the fabric. His tie matches the darker blue along with the collar of his jacket. His skin is a slight brown tan, the color of a man who's lived in the desert most of his life and his eyes are an ocean blue, intoxicating in their brightness and shine. His hair is very thin, almost nonexistent. Only leaving a slight darker shade over his head. He wears a hard expression, almost heartless in its coldness.
Shouts and cries can be heard from the building as he approaches, no door separating the outside world to the inside of the walls. Inside shows more age in the building, the roof having been completely caved in letting in rays of sunlight. Along the most stable wall is a line of children, all ranging in ages from 7 to 17 years old. Everyone else in the building are all wearing the same thing, a set of military grade gear with a golden brown bullet proof vest covering their chest. Other kevlar covered plates protect their thighs and arms to give the most protection paired with good flexibility. Their helmets cover every inch of their faces with nothing but a few little camera lenses on the front and seam lines criss-crossing all over giving them an expressionless and nonhuman appearance. They're straight from the city, no war under their belts to dirty their new armor. Their rifles all shared the same stock design, long and box like and all clipped onto their chests leaving their hands free. The only one that stands out has yellow markings on his upper arms, chest and left temple of his helmet. A little name tag etched into the material of his armor that reads 'CDR Kennedy'. He straightens at the sight of the well dressed figure in the form of his salute, his men soon following.
"Mr. Hall"
He says with enthusiasm, his voice amplified a little by his helmet.
The man waves off his salute and turns to the tariffed and tear covered faces of the children.
"How many?"
He says without breaking his cold eyes away from them.
"Ten sir, five pairs."
Kennedy turns his blank face towards the children as well.
"Two got away."
He finishes.
"Were they positives?"
"Not that I know of, Wesley. But one had a military grade rifle and out-dated armor."
Kennedy studies Wesley's cold eyes waiting for a response, and when he doesn't get one decides to break the silence.
"Should I give the order for a search party?"
Wesley doesn't look away from a pair of girls, easily the oldest in the group.
"No-not yet.."
He says quietly.
"Let's see if they're as smart as they look."
"Sir..?"
Kennedy questions as Wesley starts to take a few steps towards them. The girls shied away from his cold gaze. Tears started to stream down their cheeks, breaking the streaks of older tears.
He approaches them and stands over them, towering like a monster before he kneels down to their eye level with a sort of grace, his jacket lifting enough to reveal a chrome revolver at his hip.
He studies them for a long while. They both have bright orange hair, but the one on the right has curly hair while the one on the left has straight hair. They look as if they have taken good care of themselves before this encounter. Their faces are covered in freckles and smudged makeup mixed with mud and clean lines from their tears. Though they avoid his gaze he can tell that their eyes are blue or green. 'It's a shame they were born abominations', he thought. He clicks his tongue sympathetically and wipes the tears from the cheek of the closest twin.
"Don't cry, child. There's a chance you can leave this place alive."
He grabs her chin and points her face towards his, the first time he has shown any form of emotion.
"As long as you tell us what we want to know."
The building is silent as all the soldiers and the commander, even the other children wait for the girl's response.
"Don't tell 'em anything!"
A boy shouts from further down the line. A soldier breaks formation and marches to the boy as he unclips his rifle from his chest and colloids his stock with the boy's temple.
"Shut it!"
Wesley clears his throat, turning his expressionless face towards the boy, who now's holding the side of his head hard as blood leaks between his fingers. The boy sobs quietly to himself, keeping his gaze down.
The girl swallows in an attempt to moisten her dry throat.
"I...I won't tell you anything"
The girl doesn't look up at him, keeping her eyes at the dried mud and grime on her bare feet.
Wesley simply closes his eyes.
He stands up and fixes his coat, making sure it's nice and buttoned as he lets out a sigh. He then steps up to her sister and with one fluid motion grabs her by her hair and yanks her off the wall and onto her hands and knees. Before anyone can react, Wesley kicks her square in the temple. The girl's head makes a hollow like sound as she collapses onto her side, a dizzy gaze in her eyes.
"How about now? Think she can take another?"
He says as he grabs the fallen girl again by her hair to pull her up onto her knees, blood flowing from her temple and now her scalp where large amounts of her hair have now been ripped from her scalp. He pulls his revolver from his holster and holds it to the girls temple, he can tell she likely has a concussion and can't even tell what's going on around her anymore as her sister breaks into sobbing cries.
"No please! Stop!"
Her voice breaks as her words come out in a panic.
"Please she had nothing to do with him, just please stop hurting her!"
"Then tell me what where he is"
Wesleys' voice is calm and wrongly sweet.
"Please i can't"
She says as she falls to her hands and knees, her face in the dirt as she sobs.
Wesley looks down at the barely conscious face, her eye on the side of her head that he kicked starting to turn red as it fills with blood. He's not getting anywhere.
"Commander?"
Wesley says in his calm voice. As he drops the girl, her head hitting the floor as all the children wince from her limp movement. Her sister immediately went to her aid trying to wake her up from her dazy state.
"Yes sir?"
He responds as soon as the words leave Wesley's lips.
"take them all into custody, and send out a search party."
"Yes sir!"
Kennedy responds, giving his men the order as he begins to help round them up.
"And caption"
Wesley says as he holsters his weapon, then rubs the scruff on his chin.
"Yes sir?"
He responds as he lines up next to his commander, the line on his helmet shining a bright blue before splitting open and revealing the man's face. He's younger than most of his men but the lines on his face hide that well, the stress of his job having taken his youth. He gestures to the girl still at her sister's aid.
"Take this one to my personal lock up, I'd like to interrogate her further."
Wesley turns to look the younger man in the eyes only for him to straighten and nod to the direct order. Wesley nods back then turns from the scene and marches with purpose back to the vehicle that brought him here.

Several miles away a boy perches on a crumbling roof top, his thin boney body covered by his thick, oversized duster. The collar popped up covering his neck seamlessly blending in with his old military helmet. The helmet from an age before the camera lenses, instead having a long thin viser, wider in the center and thinner on the edges. The visor glowing a faint blue from his heads up display, the light slightly flickering from its age. it probably has a loose wire somewhere.
He lifts up an old military grad rifle so he can look down the scope to see the scene unfold.
"They're...they're taking them?"
He says in his shaky voice, the soldiers all forcing the children into the SUVs outfront of the building they were being held in. He can just make out a body amongst the chaos, or at least someone who's unconscious. He knows who she is.
"Did anyone else get out?"
A voice asks over his comms, the voice exactly like his.
"No.. just me and Amy, she should be there soon though."
His heartbreak can be heard in his voice as he lowers his rifle, he hasn't had ammo for it in months otherwise he'd take out the bald man right here and now. It'd give away his position and most likely be forfeiting his life but he'd count that as a worthy end. Sadly he used his last shot taking out that last captain, it didn't kill him because of those newer helmets but the impact had damaged the man's brain so bad that he now eats his food through a straw with a nurse wiping the drool from his lip. This new guy seems to be more cautious than his predecessor, he probably doesn't want the same thing to happen to him. If only he had one more bullet.
"Damian i...i think you should return to base."
His words are shaky, holding back his tears.
The boy, Damian, lets out a sigh before looking down at the rifle in his hands.
"Yeah... copy that."