I was as excited as the others, looking around as we hurried to the smaller dome in the distance. Everyone was talking loudly, laughing, joking, flirting. The guy who had been in front of me was flirting heavily as we waited, but once we got in, he had started flirting with another girl. She was one of those girls that looked perfect and beautiful and her cleavage on display nicely enough that even I looked.
I didn't mind, the guy wasn't really my type, I liked less flashy guys who didn't scream 'douchebag' a mile off. His flat brimmed hat, fake bling, frosted tips and fake gauges looked ridiculous. Maybe you couldn't tell that on a phone camera while he did his TikTok celebrity thing. He had told me at least four times in our short conversation about his TikTok and viewers. He had never once mentioned his actual name, just his handle.
My online presence was much less sophisticated and popular. I was Radaghastley in an online D&D podcast. I had about 30 followers. The thought sort of tickled me that so many of these other kids were big online guru's and no one even knew my real name or face since I always wore a cowled cape for the podcast. It was sort of... ironic.
"Hey," a skinny boy with glasses said, dropping back and looking me over shyly. "My name is Henry. Hank."
"Ummm... Tauriel, but my friends call me Tor."
"Like in the Hobbit?"
"Yeah but just the movies, not the books. She was never in the books. My dad just really liked the name."
"That's kinda awesome. I was just named after my gramps. You from around here?"
"Yeah, farm out of the city. We're close enough if you climb the grain silo you can see the dome."
"That's cool. It really pop up overnight?"
"Yeah, no idea. I don't regularly climb the silo and look around for new things. You from around here too?"
"Yeah, St Charles. You a gamer?"
"Not like you mean."
"What's that mean?"
"You do video games, right? Twitch? Yeah, I'm a tabletop gamer. D&D. That's all I do besides working around the farm."
"Hey, that's cool though. Don't meet many geeky farm girls. Or farm girls really. You excited for this?"
"Not as excited as my dad was, geez louise. He lost the cheese right off his cracker when I got the invite!"
Hank laughed and his laugh made his face light up. "My mom was indifferent. To her it was the same as if I was going to a Con or competition. Just another weird internet thing I was into. I was what you call a happy accident. My older brothers are 24, 27 and 31 years older than me. Mom had me very late in life and she is... well, I will say it, a total boomer. In some ways it's awesome, in some ways it sucks. I have nieces and nephews I went to school with."
"Wow, I can't imagine," I offered, looking around the dome as he held the door open for me. It looked like a theatre with seats for all of us and no one else. "Where are the other people?" I asked. "And our bags?"
"Maybe further in?" Hank answered, moving to sit down in the back row to look at the huge screen. "This will be the video about not messing with the ecosystem or something and about only putting their company in a good light when we put videos up."
"Please be seated and watch the live coverage about to be presented," the feminine computer voice announced.
The few people still standing grabbed the food and water from the back and sat down, still talking to each other. We watched as the lights dimmed and the screen lit up, then the view of earth zoom in at an impossible speed that made me queasy to look at. I smiled when I saw my dad waving the ridiculous sign he had made and my brother standing as far as he could from him and still be close enough for dad not to gripe at him. It made me giggle as the camera panned over everyone that was outside right now. A few people called out hello's and pointed out their family, but mostly, people were still talking to each other, flirting, laughing.
The camera zoomed out and I looked away so it wouldn't disorient me again. I looked around at the other people in the room, all 18 of us. 9 boys and 9 girls, all of us 18. It was such an odd thing to me, but the group was diverse other than the age.
I saw Hanks' face fall as the screen went orange and I looked at the screen and the fire sweeping over the earth. I felt panicked and sick as I stood, shaking my head.
When the camera zoomed in again and panned over the dome and the scorched earth around it, I let out a wail of fear. Everyone was crying out, screaming, demanding to be let out, yanking on the door we came in.
"Welcome to Delta Dome, your new home. We have chosen nine viable regional candidates from each sex to start over in this region. Within the dome, you will find everything you need to start over. There are nine domiciles within the dome for when you are done pairing. Your jobs will become apparent once you reach the second waystation within the dome. As time passes, you will be returned here to speak with those from other domes to communicate what your needs are once the domes are opened. You have 48 hours to talk amongst yourselves and elect a leader and find a partner. If you have not done so in the time provided, one will be assigned to you. Please, exit this waystation through the door on the north and head to the next waystation."
I stared numbly at the screen as it went dark, listening to sobs and screams around me. What the hell was happening?!? My father... my little brother... they were out there!
A hand closed around my arm and I looked up at the boy who had my arm, pulling me out of the dome. He was yelling at everyone, shouting orders for everyone to get out of the room. Hardly anyone was listening, they were all screaming and crying. The boy got a few people to listen to him and lead people out. I stood on the rubber-like walkway and stared at the walls of the dome. Others pushed in around me and I was jostled enough that I stepped out onto the grass.
"Please stay on the path. Anyone straying from the path will be targeted and punished," the dome said.
Someone pulled me back onto the rubber, then started pulling me in a shuffling walk.
"Hey!" the boy who had pulled me out yelled in my face. "Wake up! You need to walk."
"I am?" I mumbled. "My dad..."
"Yeah, I know and it sucks, but we have to walk. This place is saying it has people who will kill us if we don't move. You wanna see if that's real? Me either, so you need to walk."
I nodded and walked, following the girl in front of me who was leaning on another boy and sobbing in his arms. I was still numb and in denial. It was some trick, some horrible, awful joke.
I stumbled through a door and was pushed into a chair by the same boy who was trying to move everyone along. He was shouting orders and moving people along, looking frustrated and annoyed. I looked at him and his darkly beautiful face and his long, gathered dreads. He didn't look like someone with his shit together, he looked like someone who liked to smoke pot, and I knew that was an awful stereotype, but I was a little amazed at how he was taking care of everyone single handedly. The rest of us were a mess.
I blinked, looking around the room at the blank stares and the sobbing girls. Hank was also sobbing, curled up on a couch with a cushion. I sat back, still numb and watched the beautiful dark boy get everyone settled and seated.
"Welcome to your temporary home." the dome said loudly. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. To the west are the dorms where you will each find a room specially designed for you and your needs. To the east are the rooms with your amenities. To the north is the kitchen and the door leading to the outer buildings. For now you will be staying here until you have chosen your partners, gotten a feel for your jobs and have elected a leader.
Let's go ahead and start. Shi Kwan, please step to the front. This is Shilight and she will be your medic. The medbay is located in the east wing, first door on the right. She will be working closely with Matthew, Hayleigh and Felicity.
Tauriel Ames, please step to the front. This is Tor and she will be in charge of raising the livestock. She will work closely with Deena, Darien, Matthew and Anya. The barn is located to the north of the kitchen and will be open after this exercise has concluded.
Paul George, please step to the front. This is PidGeo and he will be in charge of all woodworking. That includes felling trees, making furniture or other small wooden devices. PidGeo will be working closely with Ashton and Connor. The woodshop is opposite the barn to the north.
Loretta Linnley, please step to the front. This is Rhett and she will be in charge of pottery, including gathering clay and making bowls, mortar and other needed objects. Rhett will be working closely with Ashton and Abraham. The arts room is in the east wing, past the medbay.
Malik Lucas, please step to the front. This is KingMalik and he will be working with electronics and general repairs to the facility as needed. The repair shop is in the east wing, first door on the left.
Felicity Gentry, please step to the front. This is CityGentry and she will be midwife to the many babies born in the dome. CityGentry will be working closely with Shi, Matthew and Hayleigh. CityGentry will be working in the medbay.
Abraham Majors, please step to the front. This is MajorHamm and he will be working in masonry. MajorHamm will be working closely with Loretta, Henry and Ashton. The masonry is located next to the woodshop and the blacksmithy.
Sabine Dumont, please step to the front. This is DumontDelicious and she will be the seamstress. DumontDelicious will work closely with Anya and Emily. The design studio is in the east wing, the last room on the left after the swimming pool.
Connor Owens, please step to the front. This is O-win-again and he is the blacksmith. O-win-again will be working closely with Paul, Henry, Ashton and Abraham. The blacksmithy is located next to the woodshop, across from the barn.
Blaine Rosemond, please step to the front. This is RoseBlade and he is the beekeeper. RoseBlade will be working closely with Emily, Deena and Hayleaigh. The bees are kept to the south of the living complex, within sight of the barn.
Ashton Miller, please step to the front. This is AshestoAshes and he is a carpenter. He will be building larger structures and additions as needed. AshestoAshes will be working closely with Paul, Henry, Abraham and Connor. The woodshop is located next to the blacksmithy across from the barn.
Emily Wilkes, please step to the front. This is Emmy and she will be in charge of all of the crops, plants, trees and herbs. Emmy will be working closely with Shi, Hayleigh, Tauriel, Blaine and Deena. Emmy will be working from a plot map in her quarters.
Henry West, please step to the front. This is Hank and he is our site engineer. He will be drawing up plans for any structures needed within the dome, or large scale repairs needed. Hank will be working closely with Ashton and Abraham. The drafting room adjoins the electronics room in the east wing.
Matthew Lake, please step to the front. This is Matt and he is the veterinarian. Matt will be working closely with Shi, Hayleigh, Anya, Tauriel, Felicity and Darien. The Vet office is a wing within the barn.
Darien Crosby, please step to the front. This is TheCroz and he is the butcher. TheCroz will be working closely with Matthew, Anya, and Tauriel. TheCroz will be working in the kitchen.
Deena Carlyle, please step to the front. This is Dee and she will be the chef. Dee will work closely with Hayleigh, Tauriel, Blaine, Emily and Darien. Dee will be working in the kitchen.
Anya Dillard, please step to the front. This is DillyDilly and she will be working with leathercrafting. DillyDilly will be working closely with Sabine, Mathew, Darien and Tauriel. DillyDilly will be working in the design studio.
Hayleigh Zeilinski, please step to the front. This is HayHei and she is an herbalist. HayHei will be working closely with Shi, Matthew, Blaine, Felicity and Emily. HayHei will be assigned to the medbay and the adjoining alchemy lab.
There are some jobs with ample idle times and they can be recruited and trained to help those who have a large workload. This includes, but is not limited to: Ashton, Abraham, Tauriel and Emily, most often Emily and Tauriel. All guests with idle time will be required to work when they are assigned a temporary duty. Only three guests may not be assigned temporary duty. Shi must be available for the medbay at all times in case of emergency. Emily will never have downtime. Tauriel will never have downtime.
Now that you have all been introduced and assigned your jobs, you may see your rooms. You were each given a number on your invitation and your room number corresponds to your assigned number. Girls on the left, boys on the right on the west bay."
I blinked around at everyone, still numb and confused. The beautiful dark boy, Malik, started talking over the quiet sobs and pleas for parents.
"Everyone just calm down a minute, listen up. Eyes up here, all of you. Stop crying, just try and focus for a few minutes, ok? I know it's shit right now, but we are on some sort of timer. Two days or something. And there are jobs and shit. We will have a lot of time to talk and get to know each other, for now, let's look around a little. See if we can find the people running this and ask some questions. Stay in groups. Come on, everyone up. Let's all look around. You three, go down that hall. Check those rooms. You three, that hall. You three there on the couch, go in there where it looks like the kitchen. You," he said pointing at me, "and you," he said pointing at a tall boy standing on the back wall. "Come with me, we are going outside."
