Helena sat on the floor, staring at her hands on the tile. Her ears were ringing and she was breathing too heavily, her heart hammering in her chest.
She felt hands on her, lifting her, but she didn't care. She was carried out a door and set down on another walkway out in the dome exterior.
"Hey! HEY!" A male voice yelled.
He looked up at him and his dark eyes, dark face and full lips.
"Wake the fuck up! Didn't you hear it? You could have died!"
"Everyone is dead," she said numbly, her knees giving way again.
"Fuck this bitch," the boy said, walking away.
A girl came and lifted Helena's face to hers. "I will walk with you, ok?" she said with a fake smile. "Let's go." She pulled Helena off the ground and they started walking.
"You got her?" a young man asked, moving close, looking over the tall girl like he liked what he saw.
"Yeah, she's just shellshocked or something. PTSD maybe? I don't know. Something."
"I can help if you need me to," the boy offered her. "I'm Kyle."
"Dana."
"You don't look local, Dana?"
"I'm not, not really. Just moved here from Washington."
"Wow, like as far from Florida as you can get and still be mainland. What's her name?"
"Dunno. Hey? What's your name?" Dana asked Helena.
"Hell."
The boy laughed. "It's not that bad here."
"My name is Hell. Helena, but my friends call me Hell."
"Righteous. That's badass as fuck. You don't look local either, Hell," Kyle offered.
"I am. I just hate the sun and the beach."
"How do you hate the sun?" Dana asked, mostly talking to Kyle. "You think you can walk, Helena?"
"Just Hell. Yeah." Helena pulled away from the girl and stumbled and staggered after the two people flirting in front of her.
Another girl fell back and hooked arms with her. "Hey," she offered softly. "I'm Libby. Helena Chadwick, right?"
"Yeah?" Helena answered, confused. "Do I know you?"
"Oh, no! No, I watched all the interviews. Boned up. Most of us are all like, you know, online or social influencers of some sort. Not you though. I thought this was a whole media thing, so I couldn't figure out why you. I mean, you're super cute, but zero online presence, you know?" She left the comment lingering, but Helena stared ahead at Dana's back.
She was still seeing the scorched earth from the video they had been shown. Was everyone really dead?
"So, anyway, I kinda looked into you. Never met a child prodigy before. What was it like? Growing up like that? Graduating highschool at thirteen? You have a college degree! A masters. How do you even do that at our age?"
"So that's why you're so pale," Kyle said teasingly, looking back over his shoulder. Him and Dana were arm in arm now. "So how old are you?"
"She's 18, like all of us. Just really smart," Libby answered, looking down shyly as Kyle looked her over. Kyle turned away, disinterested. Libby was no more attractive than Helena was, at least in his eyes. His type was on his arm. Leggy blonde with a dark tan and smiling blue eyes.
Libby was only slightly taller than Helena and both were waify with minimal curves. Nothing like the girl on his arm.
Libby rolled her eyes and pushed her bleached orange hair out of her eyes before turning back to Helena. "Anyway, I'm a gamer mostly. I actually know a couple of these guys from online. Do you know anyone here?"
"No," Helena answered with a sigh as they entered another building.
The feminine electronic voice started in again and Helena immediately started to tune it out as she slumped into a couch next to Libby.
It couldn't be real, of course. None of it. It was some publicity stunt and they were all being recorded. The electronic voice snagged her attention.
"Welcome to your temporary home. 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. Mike Zimmer, please step to the front. This is Zim and he will be your medic. The medbay is located in the east wing, first door on the right. He will be working closely with Laurel, Denise and Michael.
Ryan Everett, please step to the front. This is Mount Never-rest and he will be in charge of raising the livestock. He will work closely with Michael, Lee, Chrissy and Dana. The barn is located to the north of the kitchen and will be open after this exercise has concluded.
Austin Tomlinson, please step to the front. This is Austin and he will be in charge of all woodworking. That includes felling trees, making furniture or other small wooden devices. Austin will be working closely with David and Jae. The woodshop is opposite the barn to the north.
Dominique Taylor, please step to the front. This is Que-tay and she will be in charge of pottery, including gathering clay and making bowls, mortar and other needed objects. Que-tay will be working closely with Detroit and David. The arts room is in the east wing, past the medbay.
Kyle Lewis, please step to the front. This is Klew-less 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.
