Don't Move

Soldiers and Green Smoke

After running for some time, we came to realise that we needed to find some sort of gas mask, but we soon realized we need to make it.

Leto cough violently and Tyler as well as me are sitting there sighing as we try to help her.

"Do you think that she got some of the smoke?" Tyler asks me and I nod. "Chemicals and gases are closer to the ground, so it is more likely that even if it is gone then she can be affected by it. Maybe we should carry her," I say seriously and he nods as he picks her up, placing her on his shoulders.

She giggles in between coughs as we continue to travel as far as we can.

We find food at every corner as wild fruits and vegetables grow. The animals don't avoid our gaze and we share with them what is available.

Soon, Leto's cough wears off, but the amount of people that are seen as we pass are not there as much anymore.

As the days go on and the green smoke attacks increase, animals disappear and food becomes scarcer.

"What do you think is in the green smoke?" I ask Tyler and he sighs. "I don't know," he says seriously, "let's rest and keep trying to figure it out."

Soon, his snoring fills the air and Leto's silent but heavy breaths are heard too as we lay on the branches.

My mind keeps racing and keeping track of the shadows keeps my mind busy as I try to make out the good shadows from the bad.

After some time, I notice a familiar shadow that has been missing from the streets for a while. There I see a group of soldiers around a fire just a few steps away from us.

I try to listen in on their voices by moving a little closer to them in the tree.

"A new race of humans," the man says in disbelief, "what happens if I don't do what you want?"

I did not hear him speak again, instead I heard a few voices speaking over a radio.

"Sir," he says politely, "we found a human that was resistant in a way that would be dangerous as per protocol." "Yes sir," another voice says, "we categorise each of them based on the test and the test also determines their dangerousness. We will continue to follow protocol and look for the rest that are hiding."

My heart sinks at those words and I start moving back to my tree as quietly as possible, but with those words running through my head I cannot even think about sleeping and all ideas of freedom have fled my mind.

I did not get to see them or even get an idea of how different they are from us which worries me.

I decide to refer to them as Greens since the smoke is most likely from them.

Soon, the sun starts to rise and I tell Tyler everything before Leto wakes.

He sighs deeply as he starts packing and thinking then he picks up Leto so we can start going down the tree towards a different direction, but once we hit the ground I see the Greens staring right back at us which causes me to freeze.

"Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," a man says seriously as he notices Leto which causes him to smirk, "most choose the hard way, but we have been given strict orders to take everyone in for testing." "So, what will it be?" a lady asks seriously as more join them. "What will happen if we don't?" Tyler asks and I glare at him, shaking my head.

"I don't think you want the answer to that question," another man says slyly, "either do this the easy or hard way, choose." "Tyler," I say seriously, "just choose the easy way for Leto." He shakes his head, "That's why I should choose the hard way." "He will kill you," I say with tears in my eyes, "they killed the other man last night, please just do things the easy way." He shakes his head, grabs me and starts running with the both of us.

"Tyler!" I shout, "they are going to kill you and Leto if you don't just...STOP!"

Items started being shot at us as well as other things.

Animals started chasing us as well as ice and fire started being thrown our way.

I turn to find I had been shot with a syringe and my legs start to give out as my mind starts to fade as Tyler fell to the ground and Leto cried out as she was captured then my mind went dark.

As I come to, I find myself in a white room with Leto crying in a corner and I try to go towards her but I couldn't move. I continue to struggle and soon it automatically released as I run towards Leto and she sobs in my arms. I pick her up and rock her as I sit on the bed.

A Greens Lady walks into the room with two Greens guards and says, "Miss, you are clearly a virgin so whose child is this?" I look at her as tears fall down my face, "Tyler, the man I was with, this is his daughter, Leto." "You will do your test and Leto will be transferred to our care unit until she reaches maturity as children no matter the species are out responsibility," the lady says seriously. "You are taking her away from me?" I ask her with fear in my voice. "She is not yours," the woman says rudely, "she is the governments and if she were yours then you would get visitation just like every Kerogen. Please take the child."

Leto screams as she is taken away from me and my tears overflow.

"It is better for her to become more like a Kerogen then to be human otherwise she will be treated like a human," the woman says, "so we are giving her a great opportunity."

After a moment of silence, she turns back to me.

"Are you going to be easy or hard?" she asks me and I get up slowly as I follow her out the door towards a testing room then I am transferred to a room filled with females.

I look towards the walls and see a list of categories which causes my heart to sink.