Last Light

Chapter One: Troubled Beginnings

"I am free to change my mind and chose a future I may want, but in the end my past will always haunt me..." ~ Bethany Ryans, Pre-Enclave Scientist, 2277

... because war, war never changes.

~~o~~

We were all told of the outside, or the Capital Wasteland, as people took to calling it.

I was told that it was little more than a ruin, a wasteland where civilised humans like myself no longer existed and that mutated beasts ruled there. That beyond our metal walls and corridors, so large and vast and so far underground that beams of sunlight were a rarity, was the end of humanity's once great civilization. A civilization that was left to crumble to dust and that we, the Enclave; sons, daughters and descendants of the once great Pre-war governments, were the only ones left to carry on their traditions. We were the only ones that could ensure the success of their hopes and dreams for a better, safer, tomorrow.

But... we were naive. We were wrong. So very, very wrong.

~~o~~

Raven Rock, 17th of July, 2277

Beams of red light flickered in each corner of the laboratory as the scientists rushed out towards the exits. The specimens that were once caged inside the cells sprang to life within a matter of seconds. If it was not for the glass wall that separated us, I wasn't sure I would still be alive.

"Shit. We have to get out of here," Alistair said. His bloodshot eyes, hidden under layers of dark circles, narrowed as he scanned the area.

"And where do you suppose we go?" I asked, my trigger finger twitched at any movement that wasn't ours.

Leather boots halted at the holographic schematic and after a moment-long stare, Alistair plotted a course to the vertibird bay. "We're here on level 2. The vertibirds are on a lower level . There's a stairway that leads straight there, if it hasn't already collapsed."

"Are you sure that's the best way to go? We don't have time to take detours."

"It's off limits to anyone who isn't military personnel. I'm sure. Come on Beth, we don't have much time."

The ground beneath me blurred as I ran. Screams drowned out most other sound, but my eyes focused on my brother. I couldn't lose sight of him.

As we swung round the corner, we were thrown from one end of the hall to the other. Shrapnel exploded from sealed compartments and allowed the fires to thrive. The heat and my rapidly tired limbs were almost too much to bare. Sweat burned my skin and the many blisters and cuts I had gained before the self destruct was initiated.

"Hurry Beth, we're almost there," I heard him call.

He stopped in front of the door and typed away at the terminal.

"What's wrong?" I asked in between breaths.

"It's not working. I'm trying the code but it's just not," he began, but his face softened when the door parted. "Oh, uh, never mind."

I rolled my eyes and dragged him through the door by his arm.

The door shut behind us with a heavy creek and we were left in the dark.

"Damn it, the power must have shut down," I said.

"This keeps getting better," Alistair muttered, there was an edge of frustration in his tone, but I knew it was due to worry.

The ground shook again and I clasped my hands around the wall for balance.

"You better be right about the vertibird bay being down here."

"I am!" Alistair shouted back, but there was a pause. It was small but it was enough for me to doubt his decision.

Once our feet could go no further down we grabbed the edges of the half-sealed door and tried to pry it open. After a few heavy grunts it moved just enough for us to be able to slip through. What we saw shocked us both.

Many of the vertibirds lay wasted under the mountain's rubble. Flames consumed the exits and there were so many bodies half crushed and scattered under layers of rock.

My God, I thought. There were radiation suits too; scientists who hadn't made it. I glanced at their faces. I knew those people. I grew up with them. Some were my friends.

Alistair held the bridge of his nose and let out a heavy sigh. "Shit. Who could have done this?"

The tears in my eyes stung, but not as much as the pain and anguish I felt in my heart.

"Alistair, we have to go," I whispered and tugged at his hand. "We'll die too if we stay here a moment longer."

I knew what he thought by the way his eyes contacted mine. What was the point of surviving if those we cared for were already dead?

"Alistair! We have to find the vertibird," I reminded him and shook his shoulder.

He shook his head and nodded. "You're right. It should be through here, if it's still there."

Through the smoke and boulders was a shape. It was flat and pointed. The light shined off the metallic tip. It was a wing of a vertibird and, much to our relief, it was intact. Two heavily geared soldiers patrolled the area.

One of the soldiers spotted us and motioned us to him with a weapon-held hand.

"Officer Ryans," the armoured soldier greeted with a short nod. "It's good to see you've made it, sir."

"Get this vertibird in flight immediately before this place falls on top of us!" Alistair commanded.

"Wait, what about her? We have strict orders not to take anyone but yourself."

My brother's mouth dropped. "She's my sister. She's coming with us, understand?"

"But-"

"Do you understand?" my brother asked again, his hand mere inches from his plasma pistol. It was at times like that when I wasn't sure whether to be thankful for the position he was in or to hate the way his military experience had changed him.

The guard hesitated but nodded nonetheless. "Yes, sir."

I frowned at the man before I entered the vertibird. There weren't many of us in there; two seats were left vacant.

They left people to die for my brother. Why?

With my belt fastened around my chest and stomach, the pilot engaged the warning lights. My seat rocked slightly as we were taken into the air and away from Raven Rock.

"Take us to the nearest outpost. I need to get in touch with Colonel Autumn," Alistair ordered and then turned his back to them. "I need to find out what the hell is going on," he whispered and wandered over to me.

"At least we're out of there," I smiled, but it was fake and we both knew it.

Alistair sat down next to me and took my hand.

He frowned. "What is this?"

He gestured to the puncture wound in my wrist. I took my hand away from his and hid it under my sleeve.

"It's nothing."

His eyes widened as realisation dawned on him. "Beth, you didn't-"

"I had no choice. Our home was going to be destroyed and my research along with it. I panicked. I couldn't find a vile to keep the sedative in that would last so... so I injected it into my arm."

Alistair blinked several times, my words barely registered. "You... idiot. Do you realise what that could have done?"

"It isn't dangerous! I did many tests and-"

"You don't know that! You never checked it over with the other scientists. We both know your 'research' is unreliable. You should have just left it."

"And leave the research I've spent three years of my life on? No."

He was about to retort, but the vertibird jerked.

Both pilots began to argue; their movements were erratic.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We're losing control!" shouted the pilot.

My hands clamped around the belt buckles. The room distorted. Objects flew from one end to the other and it was by luck that they missed me.

I looked back at Alistair before a white flash blinded my vision and an immense pain whipped through my bones.

Some time must have passed from then and when I woke. I remember the smell of burned fuel, a strong, potent odor that no one could forget.

"Huh?" I groaned as my eyes flickered.

I tasted dirt. Sand. It was warm against my skin.

The same light that ended my vision was there to greet it and I sighed in relief when my hand blocked it out.

Grey colours rose into the air in large clouds and it was only when my gaze left the sky that I realised what had happened. We had crashed.

I was still attached to my seat or what was left of it and my face lay against the mountain's rock. The world was upside down, or maybe that was me.

My belt snapped. I screamed. My back was the first to hit the ground.

"Crap," I cursed.

"Bethany? Beth, are you alright?" I heard Alistair yell in worry before his hands were around me.

I weakly nodded and swatted him away. "I-I'm fine. Where are we?"

He didn't reply, which got me to look up.

There were large gashes in his cheeks and forehead and blood covered the majority of his uniform. I wanted to say something, but all that came out was a dry cough.

The pressure around my shoulders tightened a little and he looked away. "You're not going to believe this," he whispered and took a step back. "We crashed."

"Can you tell me something that isn't obvious?"

"Everyone's dead. The pilots, soldiers."

I froze.

"The worst part is," he muttered; his back to me. "I think... I think we're in the wasteland."

My gaze landed on the distance, my eyes widened at the desert that surrounded us.