With a watch on his wrist, no memory of his past, and a puzzle-filled room, Atlas tries desperately to escape the elevators.
Upon waking to darkness, Atlas stumbles into the white room. His desire for answers driving his feet to move. In the firs...
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The first battalion was successful in their engagement. The government soldiers took the bait and proceeded to fire back, costing the lives of several resistance fighters. The second battalion could only wait patiently for their queue.
For Atlas, everything felt surreal. He knew these battles were nothing new for him, but without his memories, it felt like a first. The adrenaline was the only thing keeping his knees from buckling. The tree he had selected to hide behind provided excellent support for his weakened body. His comrades seemed to be in no better shape as they watched the battle ahead with stricken faces.
Unable to pull his eyes away from the massacre, Atlas tried desperately to escape into his mind. He traveled back to earlier in the day. Colin had finally opened up about The Projects. Atlas had listened to the horrors that were transpiring behind those lab doors. Every test imaginable was being performed on the weaker sex; possible cures for diseases, human limitation tests, sanity assessments were a few projects among the unspeakable truth.
Atlas tugged at his dream-- memory where the scientist had sent him to 'Project 87'. He couldn't imagine what other horrors awaited him if he had completed the task. If he had managed to escape the cycle of rooms, would they have poked and prodded him further?
Would it even be possible to leave those rooms?
He had remembered the horrifyingly vast number of floors as he dangled from the metal box of death. His brain struggled to keep up with the numbers as he calculated how many rooms and how many victims occupied Project 87. How many people had failed to escape?
"The bill passed three months ago," Colin said as he had prepared him for the speech, "The first five years were hard enough with the mass murders and imprisonment of the males. Then the Purge Initiative became law."
"What's the Purge Initiative?" Atlas questioned, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
Colin shook his head, tears shining in his eyes as he replied. "I was an assistant surgeon one day and the next I was less than dirt. The PI law eliminated the use for males entirely. Originally sperm was being sampled from those of us who were seen as 'worthy' after the strenuous screening. And those who weren't worthy... well let us just say they were less fortunate. After a breakthrough in surrogate science, the government didn't need our sperm, so we were deemed expendable. If it hadn't been for your mother, I wouldn't have survived." Colin choked as he spoke.
Suddenly more curious, Atlas interjected, "My mother?"
Colin nodded, "Yes. She was a heavy influencer at the time. She warned me and many more about the PI reform before it was officially passed. I lost my job, my family, and nearly my life." Sensing Atlas' push for more answers, Colin continued, "She was discovered as a resistance ally and captured the day it passed. We haven't seen her since..."
