Under Black Skies [Novella/Novel Excerpt]

When I came to, I was in a burning field.

The air was so thick with smoke I could barely breathe. The once familiar town was unrecognizable. It looked like the remains of a battlefield from a movie.

But that didn’t last long either. The fire had died down by the time the sun rose. The tall wall of flame had shortened and most of the buildings had fallen.

It felt strange being the only thing in that place that still had its original form. Was I the only one left alive? I had no way of knowing and I lacked both the energy and desire to seek out the answer.

I felt that since I survived, I should live on.

I started walking, the building crumbling behind me my incentive to move forward – to escape the danger. I wasn’t really concerned about getting burned up like the people lying around me. The enemy’s air raid had ended.

But still, I had to keep moving.

It was already a wonder I was still alive, so I didn’t know if a rescue team would even be coming.

Would I survive? Could I survive?

Whatever happens, I won’t be able to escape from this red world. It was such an absolute hell that even a small child could understand it; a boy of eight. Me.

I collapsed.

Was it because there was no air? Was it because no energy was left in my body? I stared up at the clouded sky. I knew that everything around me was burned up, the many shriveled people littering the ground, so my only escape was to look into the sky.

The dark clouds loomed overhead, telling me it would rain soon. That’s good. The fire will be put out once it rains. I said to myself that it hurt. I said so on behalf of all people who couldn’t even say so.

That was ten years ago.

Now I was trying to escape from another hell. A cleaner, pristine, and more organized hell, but hell just the same: Virgilius. I was taking a risk. I knew that I would probably fail and get canceled, never to see anyone ever again.

But I still had to try.

“Sage! Hey, are you listenin’?”

Gray snapped his fingers in my face. I was placing food capsules in certain sections of my tray in the lunch line or I’d have broken his fingers. I glared at him as the lunch lady placed my tray in one of the machines, pressed a button and then handed it back to me. Actual food had replaced the pills.

“Man, what’s with that look?”

“Gray, what the fuck do you want with me?”

Gray was my friend. Sometimes he was an annoyance that I longed to get rid of. But six out of seven days of the week, Gray was my friend. “I just asked if you have P.T. this afternoon. Geez.”

“I’m skipping.” I knew that skipping my Physical Training exercises would land me in The Pit. But that’s only if I got caught.

His mouth gaped at me, forming into a perfect ‘O’ before closing it. He realized that I was walking away and he was now forced to catch up. “Are you serious? You can’t just skip P.T. You’re so busted if the Drones catch you. You’ll be in The Pit for three hours, min!”

“Like Sage gives a shit, Gray,” came an arrogant voice from behind us. We both turned and looked to see a girl with platinum blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin, an overwhelming look of apathy on her face.

“Nobody asked you, Cerulean.” I could hear the panic in his voice.

“Like I give a shit, Gray.”

We sat at our usual table, the three of us, and I mindlessly ate my meal while the two of them continued to fuss at each other. There was normally a fourth, Midnight, but she was currently in The Pit. No one would tell us why and we didn’t ask questions. Curiosity got you into trouble around here - outside the classroom, at least. We’d find out the truth once she was let out.

“In all seriousness, though, are you really going to skip P.T., Sage?” Cerulean asked. I only looked at her as I shoveled the instant mashed potatoes into my mouth. I gave a half shrug and she said, “Keep this up and you’re gonna get thrown into the Camps, doing hard labor.”

The Camps were a punishment facility – a harsher version of time-out. Time spent there varied, depending on what you did. Obedience was expected, at least from the adults. But really, how well-behaved did they think a bunch of amnesiac orphans given Crayola crayon names would be? Especially during the “adolescent” phase.

“Wanna go outside?”

They both looked at me, then at each other, and then back at me. We’d just left from “outside.” Gray cleared his throat. “We go outside every day.”

I tore into my biscuit, rolled my eyes. “I’m talking about ‘outside’ outside.” I pointed at the window behind them, to the silver and white-washed city filled with all of its doctors and scientists who’d taken care of the three hundred and fifty orphans who had survived the Red Wipe ten years ago. “Past the gates and into The Wasteland.”

“Are you crazy!” whispered Cerulean, the pitch of her voice elevating. “Do you want to be canceled? You know they’ll do it just like that.” She snapped her fingers in my face to emphasize her point.

I glared at her. I really hated that shit. “There’s something out there. Why do you think those who’ve talked about leaving Virgilius have been sent to the Camps permanently? What are they schooling us for? I’m sick of living like this.” I threw the bread onto my plate. “I’m leaving.”

“That’s suicide, man!” Gray was freaking out at this point. “Besides, how do you plan on getting out alive? They’ll cancel you on sight!”

Both Gray and Cerulean’s expressions changed almost instantly. They must’ve seen the look on my face. Too bad I couldn’t see it. 

“You think I’ve been eating half my meals and skipping P.T. for fun?” Their brows creased with worry, but something lit in their eyes. “Tomorrow night. You can stay or go, it’s up to you. But I’m leaving this hell.”