Star Killer

Chapter 3

           My Fingers run slowly across the pure white scar stretching from the base of my neck to the middle of my chest. The dull numb tingling is the only sign that my hand is actually making contact with the ancient indent that was long ago carved away by the sun's rays. I shake my head and tear my hand away from my chest so I can pull on my tight aqua training suit and clip on the ten life essential pressure stabilizers. I work slowly, focusing on every detail to simply keep my mind from wandering. Today, thinking could be the very mistake that will take my life.

            I don't fear death. Don't mistake me for someone that treasures life. I see my existence as simply a dot among an endless scape of lines. My only reason for going on is to simply provide Adler with a friend in this tedious school so he isn't so alone. I am repaying my debt. That's all. I know of all the friends he used to share on Sabhir's surface, I know that every night he prays for their safety, hoping they made it out in time. I am a stand in for people I don't even know. I won't change the world or even make a dent in the timeline of Sabhir. I simply exist. Everyday stars die. I don't fear the death of them.

            Pulling on my hydro boots and supply belt, I stand and stare out the window. People lumber down the street, unaware that they live the lives of sheep, corralled by the very sun that gives them life. Ignorance is bliss though. A sigh escapes my mouth as I tie back my choppy hair and turn to face the small broken glass that hangs on my wall to simply remind me of what I look like. I was never one for appearances. My scissor cut ebony hair is uneven and the shorter ends stick out like rouge waves that frame my pale skin. Making eye contact with the gray and amber pools that rest in a constant scowl among a sea of freckles, I sneer and scrunch my eyebrows together. The cracks in the mirror warp my facial features and mask almost my entire lower face so I can't see my down-turned lips.

            Disgusted, I whirl around and stride to the door, yanking it open and ungracefully stomping my way past the other twelve doors in the hallway I reside in. Each door holds a different pair of teenagers, each with their own stories. Stories I couldn't bring myself to give a shit about.

            As I pass the last door, it swings open and out waltzes the human that I cared for least of all, Ajax. The Prince of Douche bags himself who was only surpassed in fuckery by his father, James Mikeral. The pair never failed to go out of their way to humiliate and downsize any family less well off than themselves. Back when the sun went red, his family stayed behind because somebody needed to keep the peasants from falling into chaos. After seventeen fantastic years of life under hundreds of miles of cholesterol water, he has done nothing but create classes among a group of people that don't matter to the planet, let alone the Stonce system. Instead of us working together to hunt and better our miserable lives, we have all divided and no progress has occurred. There may be more shacks built every year and more food grown, but that only suspends our crushing fate. More and more hunters are being trained due to lack of animals to hunt. Already five more valuable species have been pushed to extinction and ten more have receded into the stone tunnels no one dares to explore. All the death is caused by rotten slugs like the Mikeral family that insist on extra rations and only the best materials to build their shining white block houses. Well guess what Ajax? You can suck my a-

"Well look who it is, Mr. Waste of Oxygen himself!"

            Ajax's deep baritone voice vibrates against my eardrums and it takes every ounce of self-control to not make his voice go high was a swift kick to his land down under.

I take a deep breath to compose myself. "Hello Ajax. Preparing for today's test too?" I grit out past my bared teeth.

            He scoffs under his breath and absentmindedly picks at the skin tight fabric that stretches across his arms. He may be rich, but no amount of money could get him out of the test, so he is stuck in the same situation as me and held tight by the same suit that will carry us to our potential deaths. He could try to deny his fear and hold himself at a status above mine, but it would be essentially useless because out in the field we are the same.

            Ajax seems to have realized the same thing as me because his eyes have a sudden flash of fear in them, but he would never admit it. His pride holds him captive and forces him to bottle all of that fear inside.

            Before he can speak again I turn on my heels and march down the stairs, our conversation over as abruptly as it had begun. Good. I have to keep my concentration on the task at hand. No distractions.

            The downstairs hallways are buzzing with all the other students my age, even though only four of us are risking our lives today. Everyone just wants one last look at our faces before our duel with death begins.

            Shouldering my way through the crowd, I make my way to the large cafeteria where the other students are probably already waiting. The faces around me give me a wide range of expressions. The small first years give me looks of confusion, while the young adult final-years laugh or look away with a grim scowl set on their faces.

            While death is uncommon and injuries only result in telltale scars, it does occur and the reality of the danger only hits people when someone lacking a limb or two returns from the test. Every student that isn't pursuing mathematics of engineering careers has to eventually participate in the event. Even scientists have to join in the fun because we need more people out in the field. If I survive, I'll be forced into a hunting career to help keep the colony well fed. All of our ship technology has become corroded due to the designs being fit for air travel, not water. Designing and building water crafts takes too long, so our people have found a better way of travel.

            We can't use the ships to hunt and we can't swim fast enough to catch the streamline fish and mammals that make up our diet so we must rely on a different means of water travel. The problem is that the transportation sports fifty razor sharp teeth and is as tall as two fully grown men stacked on top of each other. They also tend to be very picky about their riders and they express their opinions very vividly when they meet someone they aren't too fond of. Down here we view the gaining of said transpiration as a test. Successfully choose your new pet and you move on to become a hunter or a scientist. Fail the test and your new career is lunch.

            I was never one for tests though, but today, failure isn't an option.

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This chapter isn't the best, but it has valuable information I needed to give before the next action packed chapter comes out. I hate and love Ajax... I'm still figuring out what I want to come of him in the future!