Beyond

ᑕᕼᗩᑭ丅ᗴᖇ ᗴᎥǤᕼ丅

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 ✶༄ ‧₊˚

Twenty blackout hovering cars pulled through a gate and into a winding path, eventually leading to a futuristic compound.

The compound had sleek white walls outside, except for the occasional wooden trim beam. The windows were tinted light blue, curtains drawn on every single one, preventing anyone from seeing inside.

There were two levels to the compound, both containing the same sleekness.

The twenty vehicles parked symmetrically on either side of the vast circular swivel doors.

The agents occupying the cars opened their doors before opening the ones in the backseat. Twenty confused children, ranging from ages ten to eighteen, stepped out of the cars and looked wearily around.

The agents corraled them into two lines, boys in one and girls in the other, before leading them roughly toward the doors.

The first thing seen was a tall podium with a man standing behind it, glasses on the tip of his nose as he seemed to focus significantly on the papers in front of him. One of the agents cleared his throat, causing the man to look up abruptly.

He noticed the twenty scared children, save for one, a girl looking around the age of fifteen, standing tall with a slight smile on her face. The corner of his lip twitched, but he didn't smile.

He cleared his throat before alining his papers and speaking loudly to the crowd.

"Hello, all," He paused and pushed his glasses up before continuing. "I am General Barlowe, and I will be the operator of 'Project Stargazer'," He broke again and looked around the room, scanning for reactions. He got nothing but fear from everyone except the one girl, who remained standing tall, the smile never leaving her lips. He shook his head lightly. He would have to break her spirit. "You will all be assigned strict duties to study for when on the ship. We have various jobs with two people assigned to each, the person assigned to the same job as you will be your training partner over four months."

Leo choked. He couldn't help but shout. "Four months!?"

The man tore his eyes off his paper and scanned the crowd for who said that. He spotted one kid, about fifteen, once again, except he looked utterly bewildered.

"Yes." He said, staring directly and the child. "Four months, mister. . ." He trailed off, flicking through his papers. "Leo Grant."

Leo gulped and shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, eyes darting around the room to meet anyone but his. The man let out a small huff before continuing.

"As I was saying before, I was oh so rudely interrupted. You will have a training partner who you will train with, share a room with, eat with, and spend every waking moment with each other, as that is how it will be in your brief time in space."

He shuffled his papers yet again before continuing.

"When I call your name along with your duty, you will walk to your assigned escort, who will bring you to your shared room. The jobs on the ship are: Pilots, Scientists, Watch Leaders, Engineers, Electricians, Weapons Management, Medics, Plumbers, Cleaners, and finally, Chefs. Without further ado, let's announce the names." He looked around the room before flipping his paper. "Our pilots we have, Emily Kingsley and Nick Sandler, please head to your assigned escort. . ."

This continued for a while longer before four people remained.

". . .Our watch leaders, Leo Grant-" He paused to glare at the boy before continuing. "And Sylvia Goth." He looked around the room at the final two people. "You two, Eddie Tuffin and Sophia Hester, go to the final escort."

By now, two kids (one boy and one girl) were standing in front of ten different escorts. General Barlowe turned to face them.

"Bring them to their rooms, and I will send schedules to each room by tomorrow at seven-thirty am sharp. Be ready and get some sleep."

The twenty kids were brought to ten different rooms.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Sophia found herself sitting across from a boy with light brown hair and green eyes. He was staring awkwardly down at his hands before Sophia extended hers into his line of sight.

"Hi!" She said happily. He glanced up at her through blurry moist eyes. "I'm Sophia, though you knew that. I feel like I should properly introduce myself. Isn't it just so incredible that we get to go to space? I think that-"

She was cut off by Eddie standing up abruptly and shouting.

"CAN YOU JUST SHUT UP!"

Sophia flinched but didn't say anything.

"GOD, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE HERE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE THINGS WORSE!"

Sophia looked down and gave a slight nod. She was uncertain if Eddie even saw it. She cleared her throat, begging her voice wouldn't waver.

"You're right. I-I'm sorry. I-I'll go now. . ."

She trailed off and pushed open the door to their shared bedroom, exiting into the sleek hallway. She left down a random hall, time to explore.

Eddie watched as the new girl, Sophia, left their room. She looked upset, her demeanor changing so quickly with just a few words.

Eddie sighed exasperatedly, running his fingers through his hair. He panted heavily before sitting down. He sat in silence, the only noise being his labored breaths.

Crap, He thought, realization kicking in. What have I done?

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Leo found the girl, Sylvia, quite strange. She didn't talk much, but she also acted rather unimpressed.

Leo was trying his hardest to start somewhat of a conversation, but every time he asked her a question, she would only answer with yes or no, and if it were ever a rather personal question, she would try her best to change the subject.

"Sylvia?"

She glanced up at him lazily, an emotionless look in her eyes.

"Did you have any siblings?"

She made some sort of a sound in her throat before clearing it and coughing slightly.

"Uh-um. . . None you need to know about." She replied as a matter of factly.

He could tell the emotion buried under those bored eyes and lazy expressions. He could tell she was hiding something. And he was going to find out what.