Sector 0

Chapter 1

Amira waited atop a large hill near the old park, with a maple tree providing shade from the summer sun. She paced back and forth, going through what she wanted to say to her friends over and over in her head. Of course, she'd ditched work again, but they hadn't, which meant she had time to think about how to word it all to her friends, how to word that she wanted out, that she wanted to go beyond the walls. She'd mentioned this before, but they always managed to shut her up about it; "we're not allowed to, we'd end up in jail or worse," or "there's nothing out there, we'd starve or die of thirst." She was tired of the excuses and tired of waiting, there had to be a better life out there than this. Even if nothing was left, they could go and rebuild a new society, where adults and children lived together and teens weren't stuck doing whatever shitty jobs the adults didn't want to do.

She heard voices in the difference, looking up from the green grass she'd been staring at to see a couple of her friends - Ace and Devon. She relaxed a bit knowing Ace was there, as her and Ace had both expressed wanting to leave before, Ace was simply less serious about it. She sat down by the tree, trying to calm her mind before having to have this discussion with everyone.

As she relaxed, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled, seeing Devon leaning over her, his shaggy brown hair falling in his face, barely covering his baby blue eyes. Devon had a way of calming her with just a look, and he knew it. "Hey, Dev," she said with a bit of cheer in her voice, adjusting her pixie-cut light blue hair.

"You seem more uptight than usual, what's up?" He sat next to her, watching Ace adjust his red beanie over his straight, short black hair as he sat across from them.

"It's nothing," she said, apprehensive, "well, it's something, but, you'll find out when everyone else gets here. Where are they, anyway?"

Ace spoke up, his soft voice barely able to be heard over the breeze, "Raine got held up at work, some kid acting up."
"We are kids, Ace," Devon said jokingly.

"You know what I mean."

"Anyway, Mist is just running late, she wanted to stop at home for something," Devon smiled at Amira, slipping his arm over her shoulders, "so cheer up, yeah? They'll be here soon, and then you can get whatever's on that little mind of yours out."

Amira nodded, leaning her shoulder into him. They weren't together, but they'd always been more cuddly than what's considered the norm. Amira found comfort and safety in it, and that's what mattered to Devon.

Ace perked up a bit, looking off behind Amira and Devon, "there they are," he said softly, watching the two complete opposites head up the hill - Raine had chest-length, straight black hair, with several face piercings, and a dark hoodie even on a hot day. However, Mist was the exact opposite - A blue eyed, wavy blonde haired girl wearing an old graphic tee and booty shorts.

Amira stood up as they got to the top of the hill, hugging them both before backing off into what could be seen as the middle of the group, "great, everyone's here. That means I can dive into what I wanted to say," they all watched her, listening to what she had to say, "I know I've mentioned this before. Well, I'm mentioning it again, because I'm serious this time, and I'm doing it whether y'all come or not."

Devon spoke up, "Amira, not this again-"
"Hush it, Dev. I'm serious. I want out. This isn't a life, taking care of kids that aren't ours. I've read the books, the history books, families used to exist! Babies used to live with the people who gave birth to them! This isn't normal. I want out, I want to find somewhere else."
"There is nowhere else," Raine said, her face completely emotionless, "this is it, this is all that exists anymore. Nothing is out there."

"But what if they're wrong? 7 billion people on this planet, and all that's left is one city? There has to be more than just here, there has to be somewhere better," Amira said adamantly, "and even if there's isn't, we could make our own!"

Mist sat down with her legs crossed, looking down, "even if there is something else, if we got caught we'd get put in jail or worse. How would we even survive out there? We wouldn't be able to come back here."

"We'd take supplies, seeds, ways to start sustainable food, and we could find a water source!" Amira said, smiling, "It's possible, it's feasible. It's better than staying here, taking care of random kids and taking out garbage."

"This is what life is now, we've never known anything else. This obsession of yours is ridiculous," Devon said, standing up, "just relax, stop reading so much history, alright?"

"No, she's right," Ace said, standing up as well to face Devon, "it is feasible, just not alone. If we all went? It'd be something."

"Oh come on, Ace. Really?" Devon looked at him, less than surprised, "you too?"

"Look, I'm not arguing about this!" Amira spoke up, knowing that if Ace and Devon got into it, it'd get physical, "I'm leaving, and that's the end of it. Tomorrow night, I'm gone. If any of you want to come, meet me here at 9PM tomorrow night. Otherwise, I guess this is goodbye." And with that, Amira walked off down the hill, back to her apartment room.