Chapter 1:
The Volunteer Who laughed
The Dome Never Stopped Breathing
[PROCESSING UNIT: 072D][STATUS: ACTIVE][THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM!]
A sharp laugh escaped Sade's throat as she stared at the flickering holo-feed – the same laugh that forced itself out a few minutes ago in the briefing room. The other volunteers probably thought she was crazy.Maybe she was. It didn't matter. They were here to harvest Flux cores from the drowned.Blanks.Suicide. But they were already dead. No one came back from the Harvest.The Processing Hub's blast doors groaned open, a chill wind laced with the salty smell of Flux sneaking through.She retrieved her Slab from the slot-in terminal beside the doors, and strapped it to her chest. The device’s beeps rhymed with her pounding heart. She stepped out onto the rooftop. It was illuminated by orange floodlights.The rooftop was a different scene from just half an hour ago.No more volunteers pushing and shoving to get through the blastdoors – some falling off the sides to the waiting horde down below – as the Sea silently approached from the horizon.She could still hear the sound of heavy meat crunching through bone when they fell.The Dome's radar swept the rooftop. She followed its beam past the ruins to the Dome itself, shining like a beacon. Its soft glow caressed the black sky of the Blight. The red radar ringing its walls kept sweeping for the Sea. Her eyes stayed on the Dome for a moment, tears welling up. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her green coveralls. A chuckle scraped out of her throat before she could stop herself. Then it stopped just as fast as it came.She cleared her throat and looked back at the receding blastdoors. They were briefed on where to get the cores, but not how. She considered going back to ask the officers. She shook her head and walked over to the ladder shooting down the side of the metal structure.She looked down.Puddles dotted the ground, their surfaces still. For now.She knew what lurked underneath, watching, waiting for a chance to drown her. She took a deep breath. Went down the ladder a rung at a time.Her boots sank into the mud with a squish. She stood still, watching the puddles.They stayed completely still. Why aren't they coming out?She waited a moment, then moved, walking between and around the dark pools. Their surface quivered when she got close. Her heart pounded, her legs and body already bent into a running stance. The ruins were maybe a hundred meters ahead.Her Slab beeps sounded louder than ever in the silence.But nothing happened. The pools quivered and stilled.She didn't stop. She kept walking, the Hub disappearing behind her. A smile split her lips. And somewhere in the ruins, something shifted.
A sharp laugh escaped Sade's throat as she stared at the flickering holo-feed – the same laugh that forced itself out a few minutes ago in the briefing room. The other volunteers probably thought she was crazy.Maybe she was. It didn't matter. They were here to harvest Flux cores from the drowned.Blanks.Suicide. But they were already dead. No one came back from the Harvest.The Processing Hub's blast doors groaned open, a chill wind laced with the salty smell of Flux sneaking through.She retrieved her Slab from the slot-in terminal beside the doors, and strapped it to her chest. The device’s beeps rhymed with her pounding heart. She stepped out onto the rooftop. It was illuminated by orange floodlights.The rooftop was a different scene from just half an hour ago.No more volunteers pushing and shoving to get through the blastdoors – some falling off the sides to the waiting horde down below – as the Sea silently approached from the horizon.She could still hear the sound of heavy meat crunching through bone when they fell.The Dome's radar swept the rooftop. She followed its beam past the ruins to the Dome itself, shining like a beacon. Its soft glow caressed the black sky of the Blight. The red radar ringing its walls kept sweeping for the Sea. Her eyes stayed on the Dome for a moment, tears welling up. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her green coveralls. A chuckle scraped out of her throat before she could stop herself. Then it stopped just as fast as it came.She cleared her throat and looked back at the receding blastdoors. They were briefed on where to get the cores, but not how. She considered going back to ask the officers. She shook her head and walked over to the ladder shooting down the side of the metal structure.She looked down.Puddles dotted the ground, their surfaces still. For now.She knew what lurked underneath, watching, waiting for a chance to drown her. She took a deep breath. Went down the ladder a rung at a time.Her boots sank into the mud with a squish. She stood still, watching the puddles.They stayed completely still. Why aren't they coming out?She waited a moment, then moved, walking between and around the dark pools. Their surface quivered when she got close. Her heart pounded, her legs and body already bent into a running stance. The ruins were maybe a hundred meters ahead.Her Slab beeps sounded louder than ever in the silence.But nothing happened. The pools quivered and stilled.She didn't stop. She kept walking, the Hub disappearing behind her. A smile split her lips. And somewhere in the ruins, something shifted.
Gurgling.
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