THE NEW WORLD ↠ TERRA NOVA [O.H]

1| IN THE BEGINNING...

Oxygen is a precious thing. With the Earth crumbling to its knees at the hands of mankind, there seemed to be little hope of a future where the oxygen was breathable and clean, without the need of oxygen masks—known as rebreathers—that were barely able to keep the small wisps of dust and dirt from being inhaled into the already damaged lungs of its inhabitants. The air was so thick that it suffocated anyone who breathed it in deeply—it was one of the first noticeable aspects of the prison cell that Emmy Cade had noticed within the first couple of days since she had been arrested and placed in Golad prison.

Six years prior, Emmy was just sixteen-years-old. She had once been full of life and happiness, but that was soon replaced with the overwhelming knowledge of death and decay that the cemented cell left her with. Only one of the walls in the cell was made out of a transparent material—Emmy knew it wasn't glass, it would have been far too easy to smash out of, if it had—that had been shrouded in a light beige cloud of dirt, smeared all over. A small cut-out-hole was left around eye-level in the wall, there wasn't much to see outside the gap, there were other windows with other prisoners—who, Emmy was sure, deserved all that they were given—and two guards dressed in black, with a gun in their hands.

The feeling of being alone was one that she grew used to, as sad as that may seem. In a way, she gained comfort from the fact that no one that she knew would be able to see what she ended up as. No one could see the girl who grew into a woman in a two-by-four grid with her skin barely hanging off from her bones, all but one. That was a matter of visiting being costly, especially if it was to see loved ones, it was probably one of the most expensive things to come across on Earth in the year 2146. Even four years ago, when Tanya had last visited Emmy, had been expensive—to say the least. The year 2142 was the year that Emmy's heart shattered in two, but the feeling of happiness had somewhat stayed behind.

In 2142 Tanya had visited Emmy for the last time. The tears that had welled up in Tanya's eyes worried Emmy, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the air that she wasn't used to or if it was the look of defeat already plastered upon her younger sister's face. The both of them knew that she wasn't going to be bailed out, there was no doubt about it. They barely had enough money to keep them afloat when it was just the two of them on a good day. But now, with the value of money dropping, Emmy knew that Tanya still wasn't better off without her. Either way, Tanya would still just be scrapping what little money she could find for a simple slice of bread—not even a whole loaf.

Emmy was thankful that the clear wall of her cell wasn't easy to look through. At least that way it was a struggle for Tanya to see how badly Emmy's body had become, even just after two years. Although she couldn't hide her face. She knew that Tanya wanted to make a comment as her eyes scanned over Emmy's face. The guard had informed her that she had paid for only a couple of minutes, and he would make sure that she didn't go over those few minutes. Tanya looked away from the guard and towards her sister, removing her rebreather with a cough before handing it through to Emmy.

"You need it, Em." Tanya let out a cough, her eyes squinting as tears collected in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm used to it, you're not. You need it more than me." Emmy shook her head, shoving the mask back out through the small hole in the wall. With hesitance, Tanya took it back and breathed in the—somewhat—fresh oxygen before taking it away once more. "This was a mistake; you coming here was a mistake." Her fingers hooked around the rim of the hole in the wall as she looked out at her older sister. "You've wasted precious money."

Tanya shook her head quickly. "It's not a waste, especially when the price of my actions lead me to seeing you." A small smile appeared on Emmy's face. "What happened to your hands?" Both of their eyes flickered down to the worn and calloused hands that Emmy was painfully forced to ignore and leave to get worse. Her fingernails had dried blood and dirt underneath them, lining her cuticles as well. "Please tell me that you didn't get into a fight with one of the guards, but that you accidentally scrapped your hands against the walls." Both of them knew the truth.