Along the dunes, where sand mixed with toxic chemicals to form distorted and discolored glass, Noland and Jade walked. On one side were endless dunes, completely devoid of life. On the other the Chemical Sea bubbled and hissed while behind them, two pairs of footsteps trailed off along the slope of a dune.
Soaked in sweat, Noland threw his jacket into the sands in frustration after looking up at the scorching sun.
"Come on, Jade! We need to move and find shelter. Anything is better than this!"
"There has to be a boat," Jade's voice croaked ahead of him. He could see she was also suffering from the heat, but her mental state forced her forward. "There's no way there isn't a boat."
"It wouldn't be called banishment if there was a boat! We need to move and-"
Abruptly, Jade turned and shoved Noland backward into the sand. She glared at him angrily. The once dried, crusted blood now smeared from the mixture of heat and sweat.
"Why did you two- no, you THREE- have to insist on all that stuff!" Jade shouted. "Lucky's dead and now we're going to die!"
"You were in on it too!" Noland rose to his feet, raising his voice in return. "You could've stopped and walked away!"
"And leave the two of you alone to be arrested? Then for me to be left alone in that forsaken fucked up city?!"
Scowling, Noland gestured wildly. "It's not our fault you don't have a backbone to say no! We- I was just trying to get us a little more in life!"
"Bravo," Jade sniffed, her voice trembling with emotion. "Fenrik was on board too. But both of you destroyed this family."
Noland was about to mention Lucky but clenched his teeth, his expression darkening. He knew Lucky did nothing wrong and Jade couldn't help but eye him and scoff.
"Wow, not bringing up Lucky this time when you fuck up. Changed a little too late."
"I would've called him a lucky little bastard," Noland muttered. Guilt was crushing his spirit as he spoke. "But I can't say that this time... or ever again."
'This was my fault. I caused it because I wanted to...'
Noland's expression tightened further, biting his inner cheek to the point it bled as he fought back tears. He turned away, knowing Jade was there and probably had her own tears she wanted to shed outside the emotional waves of 'it's your fault' he felt from her, and croaked weakly:
"We need to move or we'll die."
It was bitter. Bitter expressions and torn hearts as Noland grabbed his jacket and stepped up the dunes to venture deeper into the wastelands. Behind him he heard the soft patter of footsteps in sand. It was his only consolation that he wasn't going to be alone when they died a pitiful death.
'She doesn't want to be with me, but she just doesn't want to be alone either.'
-----------------
"Wake up."
A voice reverberated as if underwater. Lucky groaned. The pain was gone but he still felt the straps restricting his movement.
"Wake up, Lucky."
Instinctively Lucky flinched, recognizing that dreadful voice through his previous screams of agony. His eyes shot open, terror gripping him, and his body tensed. The restraints jerked angrily with a loud metallic clink and once more, the doctor loomed over him with an intrigued expression.
"Let me go..." Lucky croaked, his eyes darting around fearfully trying to find the next utensil that would be used.
"Hm... your eye appears to be working," the doctor observed. "Unfortunately, I was not given permission to dissect you fully. Your body has been stitched back together, for now."
"What did you- what's going to happen to me?"
"Nothing, so long as you cooperate," a foreign voice invaded his ears, deep and raspy voice. Heavy footsteps followed and a new face appeared above his restricted view.
White eye. Bald. Golden-trimmed uniform.
"I am Commander Zenith. I've convinced the Custodian of the city to spare your life if you are willing to cooperate."
"Why the FUCK would I cooperate with either of you?! You've tortured me for hours... days?!"
"Your friends are locked up in our prison," Zenith stated. "If you refuse to cooperate then you will be executed and they will be turned into feed. It requires only a single command."
Tapping at his milky eye, which squelched each time, Zenith continued, "The doctor implanted a device as a precaution against rebellion. You will be terminated if you rebel."
"You're enslaving me?" Lucky croaked.
"Not quite."
Turning away, the doctor began to speak with a displeased tone. "This is a waste of time. I could learn more if you allowed me to fully dissect him."
"A lab rat..." Lucky muttered.
"The doctor explained to you one of this city's products," Commander Zenith said. "The second we hope to achieve with the few resources that we have, are people."
"What you consumed made you our lab rat," Zenith nodded. "A living experiment that will determine whether we can export people. Soldiers, workers- away from this shithole. Your life holds the key to the freedom of future generations."
"Y-you're lying. People as products? If that is the goal then it will never stop. Someone's profiting!"
"Correct. There will never be freedom for the majority of people here. Only a few every year."
Zenith added, "It's better than nothing."
A sharpening sound made Lucky flinch, understanding the source without needing to see it, and he immediately nodded.
"Glad we have an understanding." Zenith's head swayed out of view as the sound of metal clinking and sharpening grew nearer.
Lucky, beginning to thrash around, screaming in panic.
"I'll do it! I'll do it! Don't- stop!"
"There are a few more experiments I must run before you are set free into the high-city," the doctor's gleeful voice slithered into his ears. "You are truly lucky as your name suggests, Lucky."
"AAAA!"