The Future isn't Bright

Sixteen

"Donna!" someone nudged me. I groaned and turned over on the futon. No way was I getting up. My muscles still hurt from yesterday.

"Go away..." I mumbled.  

"Seriously, Don-Don, get up." he responded. It had to be Ethan. Father always called me Don-Don... With the thought of my father, I groaned and curled into a tighter ball. I loved sleep because I didn’t have to think about him. This earned me a hard shove in the back from Ethan.  

"Stop!" I lamented, a little more awake now. Then, I heard a whooshing noise as I felt water soak into my pajamas. I screamed in surprise and shot up into the air, my sore muscles crying from pain.

"Ethan!" I screamed. He held his hands up defensively in front of his face, one of them holding an empty water bottle.

"Just not the face... Please?" he pleaded. I tackled him to the ground until he pleaded for me to stop. I rolled off of  him with satisfaction and stormed off to change, grunting at him as I passed.  

I yanked Chloe's heavy door open, completely forgetting the fact that she would most likely still be sleeping. To my surprise, she was wide awake. And to add to that, she was packing a pretty large purple suitcase laid out on her bed.  

"Chlo-"

"Oh, hey!" she said as she looked up, "Um, I suggest you get packed."

"What's going on?" I asked her, my voice having a tinge of worry. Both she and Ethan woke up before noon this morning, and I deserved an explanation.

"We're, well, leaving." she bit her lip.  

"Leaving? Ethan and I just got here!"  

"Donna," she said sternly, "I know that, but it's not safe here anymore. Do you want us to have the same fate as your father?" I creased my brow.

"You know what happened to him?"  I whispered quietly.

"Donna, I-"

"Tell me where he is!" I demanded, close to tears, "It's the least you could do!"

"Donna, I'm not certain where he is, but I know he's in the hands of the Government. And if we don't get out of here too, we'll be met with the same situation. Soon, the Government will realize your disappearance and start looking for you." she said gently, trying to calm me down. I pathetically sniffled my nose and rubbed my eyes. This place is the only place where I felt like I belonged. I wasn't going to let Chloe ruin it.

"I'm staying," I told her firmly, straightening my back as an attempt to appear more intimidating.  

"Don't be stupid. We're all leaving: me, you, Ethan, and Oslo. None of us are safe here."  

At the sound of Oslo's name, I softened up.  

"Are we going back to Femme, then?" I asked her.

"Erm, not quite. I’m not sure where we’re going, but my father has arranged something." she grimaced.

"We're staying in Mascel?"  

"Also negatory," she zipped up her suitcase.

"We're going to the countryside? Where the Lows live?" I asked honestly. This earned me a scowl from Chloe.

"There's nothing wrong with Lows. They're people too, just like us."  

"I never said there was anything wrong with them!" I argued. Chloe's face softened up.

"Answering your question: yes, we will be driving through the countryside."  

"Through the countryside? There's land beyond that?" I asked honestly.