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— HER EYES WERE HEAVY WITH TIREDNESS, DIPPING CLOSED WITH EVERY STEP SHE TOOK. Cleo Wendell looked up at the dimming lights of Alpha Station, the continuous, minute hum of the formidable space station filling her ears. She glanced down at the girl by her side, watching her little mouth open for an enormous yawn.
Penelope Barnett was a girl that Cleo had gotten used to having around. A child with stringy brown hair and a smile that was brighter than the sun, she was someone that Cleo so desperately wished was her own. Unfortunately, like most children on The Ark, Penny came from an unfortunate life.
"Cleo?" She asked, looking up at the older girl.
"What is it, bug?" Cleo asked sweetly, stopping their journey so she could kneel down to her level.
"I don't want to go home," she responded, her lower lip sticking out in a pout.
Cleo's heart ached for the young girl, knowing very well why she didn't want to go. If she was six years old living with Moira Barnett, she wouldn't want to go home either.
"I know, bug," she replied softly, pulling Penelope into a hug. "But I can't keep you overnight. Your mom won't let me."
She felt Penelope nod slightly against her shoulder as they stayed that way for a second. If her dad had still been alive, it probably wouldn't have been as bad. But ever since Philip was floated, Moira had gone off the edge and had taken out all her anger on her only child. Penny often came to Cleo with small bruises littered over her skin and small cuts lingering underneath her clothes.
But since there was no solid proof of abuse happening – no witness accounts, no recordings, and especially because Penny wouldn't speak against her mother, nothing happened. The guards continuously sent her off with uneasy laughs and empty apologies. When she had gotten an audience with the chancellor, he had told her that he was sorry, but she should learn to keep her nose in her own business. There wasn't anything he could do without proof and Cleo suspected that maybe he just didn't care.
"Always remember what I told you though, okay?" Cleo pulled away from the hug, giving a smile to Penny. "Don't talk back and don't stay in sight. If she starts hurting you, go get help from the guards okay?"
Penelope nodded, prompting Cleo to stand back up and retake her hand. They walked through the Ark, traveling from station to station until they reached Factory Station. Her heart filled with sorrow, like something bad was going to happen – but she shook it off. She got that feeling every time she dropped her off.
