Refracted

- - 9 - -

"Commander Stone, we need your immediate attention."

Within seconds, Rachel was gone, disappeared into the gloom of the flickering lights. I took a deep breath and followed her and Alex.

This tunnel was a lot shorter than the one we used to get in the compound which gave me the sense that we were in a corridor more than a tunnel.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

Our footsteps rhythmically slapped the floor, in sync. I felt alive. I felt part of the Resistance. I felt important.

As we reached an intersection, Alex flashed me a quick grin - somewhat more friendly now - and turned off down to the left. Rachel carried on straight and beckoned me to come with her.

"Verity, come on!"

It was not the first day I had hoped for but then again, I supposed it was the Resistance. I really needed to lower my expectations. I was free from the facility but I still had a duty and a job to do. This was no time to sit back and relax.

I scrunched hope my nose in disdain at the distinct smell of mould but pushed on.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The blaring alarm was ever-present now as we drew closer to what I imagined the centre of the compound.

My footsteps grew quieter amongst the chaos and soon I could no longer hear them at all.

Slap, slap, slap, slap.

Slowly, more people began to head to our direction, some heading towards wherever Alex went though too.

"Nearly there now," Rachel muttered. She was focused and I couldn't help but think of her admirable character yet again. I hoped so desperately that I would be seeing more of her.

We reached another set of oak doors but with one huge metal one in the middle that looked as if it could stand a nuclear blast.

I gasped.

The metal double doors were wide open and I followed the foot traffic inside where I also found a small seat. The room was like an amphitheatre- something 'Romans' and 'Greeks' used back on Earth, we learned it in school.

It was circular and in the centre was a currently empty stage. All the benches had been filled with the lower rows especially so. The walls and floors were black, contrasting greatly with the institution white lights.

The people around me were staring, including a small, blonde-haired girl who visibly turned her nose up at me. I instantly didn't like her.

I had lost sight of Rachel.

My eyes scoured the dense crowd, trying to find her but I just couldn't. I did, however, get a good look at the Resistance. Every race under Helios was somewhere or other, male or female, short or tall, hair colour, eye colour, it didn't matter. The diversity was amazing and beautiful in a completely different way to the botanical gardens.

The Higher Authority has deemed racism and sexism abolished when they colonised Terra as it would be the antithesis of prosperity. Yet, during the upcoming revolution - you know, the one my father kind of started - the government needed scapegoats and they used prejudice to regain control. Every so often now, they would use one discriminatory factor or another to unify the people. People rallied together with a common enemy.

Well that kind of backfired when the Resistance formed against them.

Some people just saw the prejudice as another reason to resent the government but we were all forced to go along with it. But not here. Here, we were all equal and I knew I had found my home.