Refracted

- - 6 - -

The grass was green and I couldn't believe it. It was at this moment, I realised that I had never truly been outside before; I had never felt a light, summer breeze caress my face or walking among the dewy grass. Grand oak trees had never cast their shade over me because all I was used to was concrete.

And for a moment - for a tiny, minuscule, short moment - the vast despair swelling up inside of me turned into wonder. And I wondered. I gasped. I imagined the real consequences of coming to Terra in the first place.

The Earth was close to being decimated. Global warming, pollution, war and nuclear fallout were all vying for first place in being the most catastrophic. Life could no longer survive. So we had to go. The weakest of society (we are told to regard them as drains on a prosperous life) were left to die. They were unfit for life on Terra. They wouldn't make our planet great but bring it down. So we left. We left them. And everyone was okay with that...

Tales were produced of a resistance group that escaped to another planet for fear of the emerging dictatorship here. Of course, they were right but no one speaks of it. The penalty is re-education as I said before. A penalty worse than a merciful death, an escape from here. But alas...

I had escaped re-education once already and I had no intentions to do it again.

"Keep moving."

Something hard as jabbed into my back and I stumbled forward. Behind me, Alex had disappeared and the man from my cell arrived.

"Well you're just a joy, aren't you?" I muttered under my breath.

"We haven't got all day. Leave the compound," he said - not indicating whether he has heard me or not.

I shuffled and then stopped again to a very visible sigh.

Turning round to really look at him I asked, "what's your name?"

No reply.

I chose stupidity over despair and welcomed the oncoming silliness. Any alternative would have been too much to bear.

I giggled, yes, I giggled.

"I deem you Muscles."

My new nickname was fitting and with that I turned on my heel and walked on.

At some point, Muscles had stopped following me and I was free to roam in Zyphia. Deep down I knew that the Lower Authority would be searching me and it was futile to try and do anything amazing but I so desperately wanted to explore. 

After walking for a few minutes, I had reached the end of the grassy area and came to sign:

"You are now leaving Zyphia Botanical Gardens."

Huh, interesting. The Resistance compound was based under the capital city's botanical gardens?! I didn't think anyone had ever taken the phrase : hide in plain sight more literally. I mean, how many tourists would come every day here? Surely, they would have been spotted at some point?

However... looking around, there didn't seem to be anyone anywhere.

Oops, apart from that rather official looking soldier heading towards me. Curious enough, it wasn't a VISOR as was the majority of the police force on Terra these days. Trust me, I would know: the police force is the pride and joy of the Lower Authority. I doubt a newborn baby could have brought them more delight.

I hurried on while being careful not to draw anymore attention to myself. But then where to go? I had no home, nor job. Usually, people who left the child's facility were assigned a job and apartment but I had neither. The one exception to the re-education rule was the homeless: they were killed on sight. We were taught not to regard them as people, they were unfit. They were more drains on Terra. They were eliminated.