Finder's Keepers

Chapter 2: A New Arrival

I've been here for over a month now. I know the media would love to hear about Ponny, but I keep my mouth shut. I'm going to keep his glass dome secret. Besides, I've lost connection of the outside world. I don't need them. The glass dome, the fruits and vegetables and Ponny are enough to make me happy. Pon has new facts for me everyday. One day, as we are tending the flower bushes he says something interesting.

"Ayla, have you ever eaten 2000 year old honey?" He asks with a wistful, dreamy look on his face. I shake my head.

"No. Why?" I say. I've heard honey is from bees, but those are extinct now.

"I have. Honey never spoils. I'd like to give you some for being such a nice companion. " He says. I'm in shock. Something that old would be precious. You could sell it, become a mord and be rich for the rest of your life. He gestures for me to follow him. He unlocks another door, and inside the room are jars. Jars and jars of a yellow substance. This would be worth billions.

"My ancestors once owned a honey company. " He explains. He hands me one.

"Pon, I can't-" I start.

"Take it. " He interrupts. I take the jar and it fits in my hand. The wrapper is too faded to see what it says. I'm in awe.

"Thank you, Ponny. " I say, still moved by this little honey jar. Pon has a dazzling smile on his face, extremely pleased with himself. I roll my eyes and carefully place the jar in my pocket. I place my arms around the little boy, engulfing him in a bear hug, like a mother bear would do to her cub. We spend the rest of the day tending the plants. It is near dawn and I hear gears and a whoosh of water, like a hurricane.

"Pon!" I scream. He puts a finger to his lips, gesturing to be quiet. I nod. The noise suddenly stops. Pon looks around nervously.

"We have a new arrival. " He says, as he starts to go to the room that connects to the rest of the world. It's the room where I fell though the silver panel. Ponny opens the door, and a girl is there, shivering. She has short neat brown hair, and everything about her is just so uniform. Her big brown eyes are open wide and she looks harmless. She's wearing blue clothes, like I did when I got here. Searcher clothes. I'm no longer a Searcher, I guess you could even call me a mord.

"How much money do you mords want, trapping me like this?" She snaps, fear and anger in her eyes. She looks about the age of 13.

"We don't want money. " I say calmly. "I know you are a Searcher, I was one too. " Her eyes widen as she realizes who I am.

"By the Lands, you're Ayla! That girl that disappeared a month ago! How..." She trails off, amazed.

"Just follow me. " Ponny says with a sigh. "I'm Ponny, by the way. "

"And I am Saige. " The girl says, her huge brown eyes twinkling.

Saige decides to stay with us too. We all agree it's better then the outside world. Living here, in the glass dome, is better then all the Sanctuary's in the world. We live like mords, eating what we wish. We wear jeans freely, as Pon has cotton plants. We make our own clothes and Saige decides she likes to design them. I like Saige. It's nice having another girl around. She and Pon are the family I never really had. Being the oldest though, I sometimes need to keep things in order.

Time passes, and none of us a really aware. Saige's parents are probably worried sick and searching for her, and I can tell she really misses them. She doesn't make note of it, so I just let it be. She still doesn't talk very much, but she has a pleasant presence. Pon is as interesting as ever, deciding to invest his time on installing a television in one of the spare rooms. It's tricky, with us being underwater.

Before I know it, it's my birthday. I am 16 today. The two younger kids had surprised me and baked me a plain vanilla cake. I have no idea where they got the ingredients, but I accept the present anyway. It reads,"happy birthday, Ayla!" in green icing. It's a bit messy and you can tell Pon had scribbled that on. I've never eaten cake. We share it and it is moist and fluffy. I decide I really like it. I'll remember this day forever.

My black hair is now down to my waist and Saige's pixie cut is shoulder length. I notice how Ponny's hair never grows. It is just always falling above his eyes. I watch him, and I find that his body temperature is always cold. Not warm, like Saige's temperature, but cold like metal. Maybe he had done experiments on himself to stop fevers and hair growth. I'll watch him more carefully.

Ponny has got his television all set up. It took awhile and help from Saige and I, but it is finally done. The tv sits across from Pon's loft bed in his room. We are all invited to watch it. Ponny flicks it on. We crowd around it and watch. A reporter, in an oxygen mask, obviously, is standing next to my Sanctuary. Why? That is my immediate question. What the lady has to say has me on my knees in front of the screen.

"The earth is getting worse. " The reporter says. "The air pollutants are the same but there is one thing that is significantly different; the last Sanctuary will be built today. " I realize what she means. The world has finally run out of supplies.

A/N Okay! That was Chapter 2! Hope you enjoyed that.

~BernoFanatic (Green)