The groupWhen Nova and Tessa find the collapsed form of Celia, stepping around two very still bodies of what looks like Caia, and Zomb, Tessa places a finger under Celia's nose. She's breathing which means she's alive and Tessa relaxes, Nova, and Tessa each grab one of her limbs, careful as they head into the room where he door looks broken in. There's a faint trail of blood and feathers, and Nova can see some movement going on in a closet. They set Celia down, Tessa wandering off and snatching up a thin blanket. She drapes it over Celia, who is sleeping still, and Nova goes over to the door, breaking the handle in her hand. When she enters, Tomaz is on his feet, wings spread out, eyes traced with anger and defiance. One of his eyes is swollen shut, and his lip is curled over his teeth When he sees that it's Nova, his stance relaxes, wings dropping down to his sides. The eye that's normal brims up with tears, and he steps to the side showing the broken form
The world was ending for many citizens as they continued to stare at the announcement monitors. Dr. Astra walked around the room, where it showed the beloved Twelve Higher Ups. They were bound and gagged, staring at Astra with fear, and then staring at each other. Astra continued to talk, telling the story of how she lost her brother to the Testing. As she talked, she had a handgun that she was putting together, snatching up six bullets. "I know each and every one of you have given your all, your children, your lives for this useless government, but there must be an end to their reign. Now before you call me cruel, and heartless, let me show you the videos of the children who were considered unfit for living up to their society standards." A clip played of various kids, placed in cages with collars around their necks as they wore the same black suit. A woman on the sidewalk cried out as she recogonized her daughter who had been eliminated two years ago. When the vide
The truth is what broke them. Lootings, and havoc began. The middle and poor to break into the homes of the rich, taking their food, and value. Theu took objects, shoving the people that were still in their homes into their basements, and locking them away. "Down with the System! Down with the Testings! Down with the Systems!" They chanted, swinging their fists in the air, and screaming at one another. They are not fighting one another; they simply attack the rich, and steal the objects. Drones with cameras fly by, but no Officers are on the scene. They're all with Astra, who still continues to play her little game with the Higher Ups. No one is coming to help. Businesses are getting destroyed, people running for their lives. A finely dressed woman stands in between a random man, and her daughter, a the man holding a knife as he points at the jewlery on the little girl. "People of Main City, may I have your attention?" the screens ask, and for a mome
Jonathan's POVWhen I wake up, I'm strapped down on a hospital bed, the room spinning. An I.V is in my arm, pumping me with liquids-or drugs. I'm alone, feeling sicker and sicker the more I move my head around. At one point, movement catches my eye, and a figure stands at the edge of my bed, reaching out for me. "Who are you?" I say out loud. I sound drunk when I speak. "You're safe." The voice says, turning around and walking out of the door. My head leans back, and I fight off the nausea. I need water, I need these restraints off, I nedd something. I pull my arms, and legs, feeling the leather bite into my skin, and my stomach rolls. I lurch upward as I try to expel the contents of my stomach. There's nothing, so I make loud dry heaving noises, spit landing on my blankets. The door opens, and someone walks in, making a disgusted sound. I know that voice, though I hadn't heard it in a while; she steps closer into the light, confirming my train
It feels like they've been warped back in time, as the las tliving Higher Ups stand there with nooses around their necks, flimsy chairs underneath them. Astra thought about having their face covered, but she didn't want to miss the fear in their eyes as they realized that their life was going to end. She raised her eyes to the crowd, bowing as they cheered, some booing. Officers were crowding the front, and she held out her arms, and spoke into the mic. "Welcome everyone, to the once in a lifetime show!"Jonathan's POVWe're running fast down the halls, Lu leading the way. I've managed to recover by eating a lot of food, and chugging some water from a cafeteria we passed by. There's not any Officers waiting to ambush us, and I wonder where everyone is at, when Lu disappears down a hall. I follow, noting that this is a dead end, and I glance around, searching for some sogn of where she went. A pebble hits my ear, and I grab at it, noticing that a painting is
Astra's POVIn the end, when the bodies were stuffed in body bags, Astra felt nothing. Just the usual craving for a cigarette. It was the only thing she felt besides nothing. The worst part about her craving, was that it wouldn't be fufilled. She didn't want to go to the unmarked land, and search through old stores for what she wanted. They probably weren't that good anyway. So there she stood, feeling nothing but that annoying craving. When the ceremony is said and done, Astra wanders off to the Rejects and Runaways. Some are trying to hold her hand, and thank her. Others call her the angel of justice. Most don't come up to her; they probably fear her which she is okay with. She sees one of the oldest of the groups standing off to the side, graying brown hair braided down her back. The woman gives Astra a curt nod, and Astra heads over to her, noticing that Lu is still not among them. "Have you seen my daughter?" Astra asks quietly, making it look like they're j
Jonathan's POV"Did you kill her?" I asked when we grouped up with the others. Celia takes her time looking at me, shaking her head side to side, before looking back at the ground. It's a small bit of comfort after all; that is Lu's mother, someone that we know and is within the group. "Did you find her uncle?" I ask, Tomaz, Nova, and Tessa making sure we weren't followed. We have no idea if Lu is going to join us or not, but I still think we should wait just in case she changes her mind. Celia cocks her head to the side, as if she's listening in on the distance, and then relaxes. "Her brother is in a different country, a small place called Aponeal. He has no memory of the life over here." she stops, looking unsure as if she should keep talking. "Yes?" Nova asks gently. "He has a family. And a daughter the same age as me. He has his own life. Why can't she be happy that he's happy, even if it's away from her?" Celia asked, glaring at her shoes. "It's co
Astra's POVThe hurt in her chest is what makes her go through the ruins of her old office. A keycode there would fix all her problems.She limped, touching the tender spot on her head, feeling a wave of dizziness hitting her. She needed to grip her broken down desk for support. Opening the drawers, she found it at the very bottom, still glued after all this time. Perfect. Pressing the buttons with the numbers she had remembered by heart, the keypad pinged, before going green, the walls sliding down and exposing another room. Lights flicked on one by one, and at the end of the hallway protected by a glass case was exactly what she was looking for, They will all pay. She walked forward, and made slow steps to the concotion that had started it all. This had been the very first testing of the product, one that had long ago been perfected. And she was going to take it. Shattering the glass case, and grabbing it in her hand, she rolled up her coat sleeve,
The country Anthem was founded in the year 2099, after the collapse of the British Empire. Due to several wars that had been breaking out, an uneasy truce forming. Though famous for their trades, their science was blossoming, advanced technology coming out almost every year. Until they caught wind of what was going on in Main City. Instead of being appalled, they were intrigued, dipping into the funds for Anthem's cities building being put into purchasing young children, and being wired to their desire. Secretly, they were being sold off into distance countries used as either bodyguards or assasins needed for shady governments. Some were even experimented enough to be kept as pets. Once the animal DNA came into play, they did whatever they wanted to those poor chidlren. Until an escape was planned and half of them went missing. Now, catching the attention of a certain team, Anthem's most ugliest secrets are coming into the light. And
Rumors have been going on around a country not far from Main City. Anthem. A prosperous country with even more advanced technology-and even more secrets hidden within the Capital Tower. Children and young teens are going missing. The Officers are coming up empty handed, but even they cannoy deny something strange is going on over there. And that's where Celia and her team come in. Contacted by Anthem's leading lady Saoirise Renn, she's desperate to get some answers and hopefully get the children back home safe and sound. Something is taking the children. Someone has plans. Celia and her teammates are determined to take down the kidnappers.Jonathan's POVTruthfully, I don't want Celia and the others to join in on this mission. Not that I don't need them; more of a I want them to lead as much normal lives as possible back home. Their childhood has been taken from them; they don't need to witness the disaster in another country. But I know when we're
Jonathan's POVWe're in the main building of Main City. The cameras are facing us, and the smallest groups of kids that I've seen. The survivors. They are the only ones that made, desperate to stay alive, and be reunited with their families. But after everything that's happened, they look like empty shells of what they use to be. It's Celia who's talking into the cameras; the feed is being shown to every available screen in the city. She looks more like an adult than the child she is, and I feel a wave of sadness. "We have no government, and we have no one to lead us. The time to choose what we do and how we do it is now. We ask that each person vote on someone they trust to be the leaders. No one that approved of the Testing trials, or experimenting on children may enter." and when she says this part, there's fire in her eyes, as if she's daring them to do it. "We're on our own now." she says, as the cameras cut out. Several months later...I wake up sore fr
Astra's POVThe hurt in her chest is what makes her go through the ruins of her old office. A keycode there would fix all her problems.She limped, touching the tender spot on her head, feeling a wave of dizziness hitting her. She needed to grip her broken down desk for support. Opening the drawers, she found it at the very bottom, still glued after all this time. Perfect. Pressing the buttons with the numbers she had remembered by heart, the keypad pinged, before going green, the walls sliding down and exposing another room. Lights flicked on one by one, and at the end of the hallway protected by a glass case was exactly what she was looking for, They will all pay. She walked forward, and made slow steps to the concotion that had started it all. This had been the very first testing of the product, one that had long ago been perfected. And she was going to take it. Shattering the glass case, and grabbing it in her hand, she rolled up her coat sleeve,
Jonathan's POV"Did you kill her?" I asked when we grouped up with the others. Celia takes her time looking at me, shaking her head side to side, before looking back at the ground. It's a small bit of comfort after all; that is Lu's mother, someone that we know and is within the group. "Did you find her uncle?" I ask, Tomaz, Nova, and Tessa making sure we weren't followed. We have no idea if Lu is going to join us or not, but I still think we should wait just in case she changes her mind. Celia cocks her head to the side, as if she's listening in on the distance, and then relaxes. "Her brother is in a different country, a small place called Aponeal. He has no memory of the life over here." she stops, looking unsure as if she should keep talking. "Yes?" Nova asks gently. "He has a family. And a daughter the same age as me. He has his own life. Why can't she be happy that he's happy, even if it's away from her?" Celia asked, glaring at her shoes. "It's co
Astra's POVIn the end, when the bodies were stuffed in body bags, Astra felt nothing. Just the usual craving for a cigarette. It was the only thing she felt besides nothing. The worst part about her craving, was that it wouldn't be fufilled. She didn't want to go to the unmarked land, and search through old stores for what she wanted. They probably weren't that good anyway. So there she stood, feeling nothing but that annoying craving. When the ceremony is said and done, Astra wanders off to the Rejects and Runaways. Some are trying to hold her hand, and thank her. Others call her the angel of justice. Most don't come up to her; they probably fear her which she is okay with. She sees one of the oldest of the groups standing off to the side, graying brown hair braided down her back. The woman gives Astra a curt nod, and Astra heads over to her, noticing that Lu is still not among them. "Have you seen my daughter?" Astra asks quietly, making it look like they're j
It feels like they've been warped back in time, as the las tliving Higher Ups stand there with nooses around their necks, flimsy chairs underneath them. Astra thought about having their face covered, but she didn't want to miss the fear in their eyes as they realized that their life was going to end. She raised her eyes to the crowd, bowing as they cheered, some booing. Officers were crowding the front, and she held out her arms, and spoke into the mic. "Welcome everyone, to the once in a lifetime show!"Jonathan's POVWe're running fast down the halls, Lu leading the way. I've managed to recover by eating a lot of food, and chugging some water from a cafeteria we passed by. There's not any Officers waiting to ambush us, and I wonder where everyone is at, when Lu disappears down a hall. I follow, noting that this is a dead end, and I glance around, searching for some sogn of where she went. A pebble hits my ear, and I grab at it, noticing that a painting is
Jonathan's POVWhen I wake up, I'm strapped down on a hospital bed, the room spinning. An I.V is in my arm, pumping me with liquids-or drugs. I'm alone, feeling sicker and sicker the more I move my head around. At one point, movement catches my eye, and a figure stands at the edge of my bed, reaching out for me. "Who are you?" I say out loud. I sound drunk when I speak. "You're safe." The voice says, turning around and walking out of the door. My head leans back, and I fight off the nausea. I need water, I need these restraints off, I nedd something. I pull my arms, and legs, feeling the leather bite into my skin, and my stomach rolls. I lurch upward as I try to expel the contents of my stomach. There's nothing, so I make loud dry heaving noises, spit landing on my blankets. The door opens, and someone walks in, making a disgusted sound. I know that voice, though I hadn't heard it in a while; she steps closer into the light, confirming my train
The truth is what broke them. Lootings, and havoc began. The middle and poor to break into the homes of the rich, taking their food, and value. Theu took objects, shoving the people that were still in their homes into their basements, and locking them away. "Down with the System! Down with the Testings! Down with the Systems!" They chanted, swinging their fists in the air, and screaming at one another. They are not fighting one another; they simply attack the rich, and steal the objects. Drones with cameras fly by, but no Officers are on the scene. They're all with Astra, who still continues to play her little game with the Higher Ups. No one is coming to help. Businesses are getting destroyed, people running for their lives. A finely dressed woman stands in between a random man, and her daughter, a the man holding a knife as he points at the jewlery on the little girl. "People of Main City, may I have your attention?" the screens ask, and for a mome