Suddenly, a matching piece of metal was clicked into place around her own wrist, and the piercing pain of a dozen needles shot up her arm, leaving her momentarily stunned. Jerking her arm away from the shorter guard, Vivienne was surprised at how easily he let go. Her fingers grazed the metal wristband, and she lifted it closer to her face to study it. About a dozen tiny wires had punctured her skin, reaching as deep as her nervous system.
"Vivienne," Charlotte's voice trembled, her eyes wide and fearful as the guard pressed his hand firmly on her back.
"It's okay, Char," Vivienne reassured, but she couldn't hide the slight tremor in her voice. "Just do what they say," she urged.
The two guards then grasped the girls by their arms, preparing to escort them out of the familiar confines of their cell and into the vast expanse of the Sky-Box. But just as they were about to proceed, the cell door swung open once more, and in stepped a face Vivienne recognized all too well.
"Gentlemen," Marcus Kane addressed the two guards with a short nod. "Could you give my daughter and me a moment alone, please?" He asked, though his tone carried authority, and the guards obliged, escorting Charlotte, who felt confused and afraid, down the hallways of the Sky-Box.
Vivienne longed to follow after the young girl, to offer her comfort and reassurance as they walked together towards the unexpected. However Marcus Kane stood firmly between her and the exit.
"What's going on, Kane?" Vivienne's tone was laced with disdain as she locked eyes with the man before her, seeing through the feigned empathy plastered across his face.
With a careful touch, Marcus brushed a stray strand of vibrant blonde hair behind his daughter's ear, as though handling a volatile beast. "Vienna, my sweet girl..." he said, using the nickname Vivienne's mother used to use, letting it roll of his tongue like sickly honey.
She swiftly swatted his hand away, leaving it hanging at his side. "Just tell me what's going on, please," Vivienne's voice barely rose above a whisper, her legs already feeling weak as she prepared to beg for an answer.
Marcus heavily sighed, his eyes dropping to the floor before hesitantly meeting hers again. All her life, Vivienne had tried to figure out how her father's mind worked and how he truly felt. But even as he stood before her now with tired eyes, she still couldn't read him.
"You're being sent to The Ground. All one hundred of you," he finally told her. his hands resting firmly on the blonde girl's shoulders, anchoring her in place.
Anxious bile rose up in her throat as she suddenly felt the agonizing urge to throw up and rid her body of the panic coursing through it. Yet, no matter how many times she'd attempted it in the past, relief never came. The anxiety always lingered.
The Ground.
It had always been the dream; to return humanity from where it once came. But it had only ever been a dream, a distant hope for the future. Earth wasn't supposed to be habitable for another century. So what had changed?
"I wish I could explain it further, but we have no time," Marcus continued, noting the bewilderment on Vivienne's face. "You just have to trust me," he urged.
Vivienne scoffed. "Trust you?" Her voice barely above a whisper. "How am I supposed to do that?" A single tear traced a path down her flushed cheek, and Marcus's heart clenched in pain as he reached out, his thumb grazing her face. Vivienne flinched, stepping back, and wiped the tear away herself, leaving Marcus feeling as helpless as he had since her arrest.
Just then, the shorter guard reentered through the cell door and cautiously approached the two. Without a word exchanged, the guard moved closer, gently grasping Vivienne's arm, and guided her out of the cell, copying the actions taken with Charlotte moments earlier.
Vivienne didn't resist; she saw no point in putting up a fight. In her mind, she was bound to be dead by the end of the day, regardless of any struggle.
The halls of the Sky-Box were crowded with teenagers and children, some as young as ten, being forcibly removed from the safety of their cells and shoved around. In the chaos, a few were even beaten into bloody messes on the hallway floors and the crackling discharge of electric batons against burning flesh echoed off the walls, the stench of fear and violence filling the air.
Vivienne passed by people she recognized from the mandatory Earth Skill lessons they'd taken a few weeks prior. There was Jasper Jordan and Monty Green, faces contorted with fear and confusion. Nearby, Nathan Miller was forcibly pressed against the wall, a baton searing his back with a menacing sizzle. It all felt surreal, as if Vivienne had stumbled into a ghastly nightmare from which she couldn't awaken
But the screams surrounding her were very,very real.
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