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-Prologue: A way out.
The sodden earth became eroded by serpentine winds, rattling across the baked sand .With the whips of it’s tail it created whirlwinds, sandstorms that engulfed the hidden city. The red sky was under demarcation to the dome-like atmosphere , with serene colors that spanned the distance. Ajax, a loyal companion to his new friends, enjoyed the harsh wind. Spooning him in instinct, slobbering in dehydration but excited. Enthralled by the outside world. Despite his recent endearment, he was walking on sunshine. The same could not be said for Candice. She could pay no disparaging remark to the scorching heat, nor could she embrace the wind with a smile. She was dragging her brother in the sand, specs glued to his trousers, he was slowly disappearing into the mush. He was swaddled in cloth and bandages, with a hood shading him. While walking Candice’s feet were slowly melting away, her tongue became dry. Ajax was barking at the wind, with his tail like a scorpions darted at the enemy. She finally stumbled upon a furrow and slid him into it. She wanted to fall to her knees, but couldn’t, they were slashed from the artifice she had to conjure from their previous journey. To escape the city.
Her brother, Fleance took the most damage. He didn’t just have smudges dotting his face, but slashes across his back. Candice’s hair smacked her, she tasted the bleach. That’s another reason to be relieved, to no longer be something you aren’t. A lab-rat. She had never relented to their extremities at breaking their spirits, with the excuse of finding a solution to humanity. She’d escaped her dank surroundings, with only her brother. And Ajax of course, never forget the extraordinary mutt that helped. Ajax was now at her side, lapping up the dry air. She pat his head and later rested hers on his, clenching her eyes. A pose that said ‘Thank you’.’W e need to keep going ,’Fleence finally spoke up. She shuffled across the floor to her brother, who was hanging onto his clarity, blonde hair glued to the hood. His dry lips were cracking at each word. ’There’s an old junk yard, a few miles west,’ he couldn’t move his head. As stiff as an old man with arthritis he stood, unbalanced by standing. Candice was soon at his side, ‘What then?’. They started their treacherous trail , with nothing but hopes in their pockets.
The junkyard was spacious, polluted by rusted vehicles. The sky turned jade, night was following them .Fleance broke open a window of one car that was still intact. He brushed off the glass from his knuckles and shook his fear. He propped himself on the drivers seat and started searching for resources. Candice reciprocated his quick-thinking, in that she started to explore the area.’ Don’t go to far,’ Fleance yelled. You could hear the fatigue in his voice, his words dragged on effort not energy.’ I won’t,’ she thought that despite his state his leader persona kicked in. A lizard skittered passed her feet, flicked it’s tongue at her. Ajax tilted his head , curious at the tiny dragon. He sprung after it, leaving dust in his wake. Candice was rummaging through car parts, boxes with dust bunnies and digging her way through garbage. She thought back to her brother, wondering how long they’d be able to survive. There’s one perk to the experiments, one she despised but came to appreciate. An adult can lose between 1 and 1.5 liters [2.1 to 3.2 pints] of sweat an hour.A child left in a hot car or an athlete exercising hard in hot weather can dehydrate, overheat and die in a period of a few hours. She read about that in a book she stole from the library. But because of her modified genes, she’s able to withstand even the harshest of weathers. The human survival rate had increased due to the experiments, having patients undergo extreme weather conditions, physiological and physical training. Things like having fasts to see who dies first, which experiment outwits the odds, ways to improve the chances of not dying.
There was one instance where a girl had to endure shortness of breath by drowning, to be able to hold her breath longer underwater. To make her lungs accept the water, in small amounts at first, not enough to kill her. Another, teenager with a substance abuse problem forced on him, to change the chemical make-up of the brain. Candice could deluge herself in all the horrors but instead sought to seek refuge. Casting the dreary thoughts from her mind. Ajax was now on another mission, one involving a beetle. The beetle was quite large, like a rhinoceros beetle. It was ready for a fight, rubbing it’s mandibles together like a villain. It’s shell glimmering , looking edible by the minute. Fleance found her,' It works’. She was stunned, ’The car?’.
‘No the plane’.
She rolled her eyes, ‘Let’s see’. They trotted away from the battle that was about to go down. The beetle was starting to puff it’s wings.
‘I can’t believe it,’ she tapped the hood. The engine roared, not like a lion more like a house-cat with anger issues.
‘ I know, I’m amazing right, ’he winked. She smiled but couldn’t fully enjoy the moment. Her brother looked like a soldier crouching out from a WW1 book. There was no blood but honestly, the boy was limping. She hugged him, he froze.
‘Why you so stiff?’
You’re going to give me a disease,’. She punched his arm but he was laughing. Sneaking into the moment was perky Ajax, ears straight like daggers.
‘Well, looks like he won,’ Fleence crossed his arms. Ajax rushed towards him, happy that his owner had a smile.
‘Whoa, spoke too soon,’ Candice brushed her red hair from her face. From a hill of wires came a moving stone. Ajax barked at it, but it spoke back. The beetle walked right through them, with Ajax as his audience. They burs-ted into laughter, the poor dog was to stunned to move.
