When Helaina woke again she felt strange it was morning, people were moving into line, she stood like any other morning and made her way into line, she couldn't see Adella, Adella was always awake first and she was 1 division over, she usually came and got Helaina before the warning started.
Helaina made it through he first half of the day, she felt strange and people from other divisions were staring at her.
When it came time for the scheduled break Helaina made her way over to the wall she, Adella and Zey had claimed, Adella and Zey were already there, as they turned and looked at they seemed to look as if they had seen a ghost,
" Helaina, is in really you?" Adella said as she stood up and became level with Helaina,
" Yeah, why? You looked scared out of your wits, what?s going on?" Helaina asked as she sat down,
" You have been gone for a whole week, we assumed you had been recycled," Zey said,
" A week," Helaina exclaimed, " You have got to be kidding, I only saw you last night when we went into our divisions."
" It has been a week and another 4 divisions have disappeared," Adella said, " Not only that but you look different, pointy ears and all," Adella continued while pointing at Helaina's head,
Helaina's reaction was to place her hand over her ears, feeling how they had changed,
" I think I remember being taken, I thought it was just part of my dream, they changed me," She said
Helaina lowered her head, she felt like someone had stolen part of her self, she had been taken from her home, had her memories taken, forced her to live in a compound of concrete and metal with only the basic amenities and now she had had her humanity taken from her, this was a great way to start of her 19th year, if that was really how old she even was, memories weren't exactly reliable these days. For the remainder of the rest period Helaina sat with her head between her knee?s, she now knew why all the other had deliberately been late, how could anyone live knowing that they had everything taken away from them, not even your soul could be left untouched.
-*-
The next day at scheduled rest Helaina brought up the idea of escape,
"We can't just walk out, the implants react if you leave the area, remember what happened to Sharee, she didn't even make it past the guards inside the doors before her implant killed her," Adella said,
" I don't remember her," Helaina said,
" She was before you arrived," Zey said, " Too many tried to escape in the beginning, it is a horrible way to go,"
" No more worse than being late, but hopefully better that being recycled," Adella added.
" What if two of us sat back to back and were late in the morning, shouldn't the two implants electric charges disable each other, the implants would be useless than and we could sneak out," Helaina suggested,
" It could work, but there are three of us, who would be left behind?" Adella asked,
" We;ll discuss that later, we should think out the rest of the plan first, what do the two escapees do once they have disabled their implants, they would have to wait in the divisions until everyone else has left, and no one knows what happens in there once everyone leaves," Zey said,
" Has anyone noticed the large grey metal door at the far end of the main corridor, we walk with our back to it every morning, only people in the lower divisions ever get near it, has anyone tried to escape out of it?? Helaina asked,
" Don't know," Adella answered, " Never really thought about it, we all just assumed that it was locked, no one was game enough to go near it,"
" but there aren't even any guards," Helaina said
The rest of their time was spent planing about escaping, even though in the end only two would leave.
-*-
Over the next week, every spare moment was spent planning and scheming, and wondering what exactly they would do it they every really made it to the outside. As the week was drawing to a near, gossip was running ramped, people were saying that the number of divisions disappearing was going to increase, twice as many were going to disappear. This left the trio's plans rushed and unprepared, on the last day of the week they were again sitting against the wall making plans, Adella suddenly noticed that one of the Oafs was coming towards them, or as Zey called they Fixed Idea's,
"Guys, we have trouble, cutie is heading this way," Adella said in a scared voice,
As the Fixed idea reached them Zey threw a piece of paper into Adella's lap,
" Uh, 223, Master want you," The Fixed Idea stammered,
Zey rose and started to walk away, he suddenly turned back and smiled, he mouthed good luck and then turned around and walked away.
" He worked for them," Adella said shocked,
" What's on the paper?" Helaina asked reaching forward and picking it up,
" Adella and Helaina," Helaina started, " Please trust that no one will find out about the plans we have made, with this letter you will find plans of what is on the other side of the grey door, I never had any intention of coming with you, there is no way that I could leave without them noticing, everything that you need is in the plans that I have given you, you will have to leave tomorrow morning if you are ever to go, after then it will be to late, of the 500 people that were originally here, stolen from the outside world, half have over the last 4 years killed then selves, about 100 have died in experiments and 100 have been recycled, I was unable to help everyone, but if I can get just you two out it will be better that everyone dying, I have no choice but to serve the master, he created me and holds me to this place with an addiction that is life threatening, please forgive my deception, Zey, Type 223."
" Do we trust him?" Adella asked, still shocked at the fact that Zey one of them was really working for the evil 'master'.
" We have no choice, we will die anyway," Helaina said.
-*-
The next morning Helaina and Adella sat behind one of the sleeping platforms in division 5, Helaina's division, just as the warning chime finished they sat back to back lowered their chins to their chests and let the implants in the back of their necks touch the others, as the pain started to increase they felt the implants rise in temperature and they heated up, in moments after the alarm rang electricity shot out of the implants and into the other causing them to heat up and knock the girls unconscious.
When they woke they were still on the floor of Helaina's division, no one had moved their bodies, as they sat up the simultaneously touched the circular implants in their necks, they crumbled at the touch, and left small burned in their place, if it healed one might never know they had ever been there.
" We had better get going," Helaina said as she stood up,
" Yeah," Adella said quietly,
Helaina lead Adella out of the division and towards the grey door. Surprisingly it was open and not to heavy to move,
" You have Zey's plans?" Adella asked,
"Yeah," Helaina said, " In a safe place," she said as she tapped her shirt pocket.
Helaina and Adella walked through the doors and passed many places they hoped never to see again, they crept past labs, that were filled with half formed creatures, some which may have once been human, some which probably could pass as humans and some that were just plain monstrous, the things that nightmares are made of. The path that was mapped out for them lead far underground, and at one stage they were sure that they would never see sunlight again, let alone the outside world which they had dreamed of for so long,
" We have to find this Cybersix chick, but where do we start looking, "Adella said as they walked along a dark, wet and stinky passageway,
" Zey says she is in a place called Meridiana, that is a city close to here," Helaina replied,
" But a million people in a city how will we ever find her," Adella asked,
" We find a way to make her come to us," Helaina said.
As they rounded a corned that had suddenly appeared there was no more passageway, it ended abruptly,
" What, you have go to be kidding," Adella said to no one in particular,
Helaina pulled a ladder from the wall,
"Looks like we go up," She stated,
Helaina again led the way, with Adella close on her heals, it wasn't a long climb, but in the semi darkness, the distance to the floor felt miles away, as they neared the roof and square of light appeared and the face of a fixed idea filled their view, Helaina screamed before she was pulled out of the hole and Adella was frantically trying to go back down when she was pulled out,
" So you think you can get away," Jose said as he sneered at them,
" Let us go you little twit," Adella yelled while being held of the ground by a fixed idea,
" Learn some respect, " Jose yelled back as he picked up a stick and hit her across the leg,
" Ouch, watch it," Adella yelled back as she kicked forward from the fixed idea and hit Jose in the head,
Adella twisted out of the hold the fixed idea had on her and took hold of Jose,
" Let Helaina go or you little master learns how to fly into that gully," Adella commanded,
" Let-her-go, let-her-go, let-her-go," Jose cried as he fought in the hold Adella had him,
The fixed idea that held Helaina let her fall to the ground,
" You won't get away, we caught Type 223, he's been recycled for what he did, and all the Beta H's he helped, no one leaves this place," Jose yelled,
" Shut-up kid," Adella said, " Now tell your Oaf to run along,"
" Um, fixed idea, return to father," Jose said while trying to get the fixed idea to understand that he needed help,
" Okay boss," the fixed idea said as he wandered off in the wrong direction,
" Noooooooooooooooooooooooo," Jose screamed,
" Okay, where do we dumb this," Adella said while shaking Jose,
" Bring him with us them we will tie him to a tree, someone is bound to come looking for him," Helaina said.
Helaina and Adella headed off into the rainforest still following the directions Zey had given them, as they walked they were both thinking of Zey, he had helped them and paid the final price, Helaina wondered what it meant to the recycled, in reality when anyone dies they get recycled into the earth, but somehow the way these people referred to recycled, it didn't quite sound the same, like if they really were going to be re-used somehow.
Helaina was moving faster then Adella and was leaving her behind, while following the plans, she realised Zey had left them a vehicle of some sort just through the tree?s, she didn?t want this little brat to see where they went so she lead Adella over to a clearing. There they stood on a hill that was slightly higher than the rest of the compound, grass leading from the edge of the clearing right to the back of the compound,
" Hey Jose, did you ever play rolly-polly?" Helaina asked,
" I don't play, specially not children's stupid games," Jose huffed,
" Well you'll love this," Adella said when she realised what Helaina had in mind.