|Wasteland: November 5th, 3028|

Tess.

I can’t believe how different it is down here

Tess?

I have always been curious about what it was like.

TESS!

Huh? I don’t know what Kyle could possibly want right now.

Let’s keep going. Oh, so I was pulled from my thoughts for something simple. Oookay. I just gave a curt nod in reply as we started to head off.

We traveled down to Earth, also known as the Wasteland.

Years before the virus broke out, Earth was a thriving planet with expanse of water, forest, and cities. But now Earth is covered with sand and debris. After the virus killed most of society, the leaders of the world gathered all the best scientists and architects to build cities that floated in the sky. The Gateway cities.

As we trek on, the endless miles of fine, yellow sand rise and fall almost like that movie from Disney. I think it was Aladdin. As I rake my gaze above the mounds, I catch a sign of the sand breaking away to reveal a mangled structure of metal beams.

Tess, let’s stay in here for tonight. Kyle says breaking my train of thought.

We were standing in front of a structure that appeared to be a shop.

Looks good to me. Once we settled down for the night, I checked my bionic arm to see how much charge it had. It was almost empty out of battery life, Earth has no electricity for me to charge my arm but luckily I brought some battery packs with me. Nowadays, bionic limbs were mostly used as a prosthetic or used by law enforcement to increase their abilities. Bionic limbs replaced traditional prosthetics years ago. Mine was simply needed because I was born without my left arm. I took it off and plugged in the bank then I got ready for bed.

‘Night Tess.

Goodnight.

|Wasteland: November 8th, 3028|

The past few days we just explored the land until we were found.

DUCK IN HERE! Kyle shouts to me.

The Sky Guards were after us. It was expected, after all, it is forbidden to travel to the Wasteland. It was one of the rules first taught to young children. But even as a small child, I wanted to see the world below. I had planned for months on how to begin my journey alone, but of course, Kyle insisted on coming along.

We jumped in between two buildings as the S.G. zoom by on their Gliders.

The S.G. normally had the same image. They were all males of the same build and all wore identical uniforms of dark blues and gold in RoboCop like fashion, minus the helmet. Their Gliders kind of looked like a motorcycle and a hoverboard cross in the same colors as their uniforms.

Let’s wait here for a bit to make sure they lost us.

Sounds Good.

I had hoped that we would not be spotted; we were only going to be gone for a week or two. Just a look at what was on the surface. I didn’t understand what the whole fuss was about. It was, after all, just a wasteland full of trash and abandoned structures from the past.

Once it was dark, Kyle decided it was time to keep moving. So we packed everything up and headed to a “city”.

|Wasteland: November 10th, 3028|

Kyle and I avoided the S.G. for the past two days. We were thinking of a way to safely travel back to the Gateway cities but it was nearly impossible with the S.G. looking for us. We thought about stealing a glider, but that would be too risky. We used parachutes and cloaking devices to make it down here. We hadn’t really thought about a way to get back. Maybe we can contact our friend, Jared. He was a Sky Guard a while ago and still has a glider. I’ll try contacting him tomorrow.

|Wasteland: November 12th, 3028|

I was never able to call Jared. While I was looking for a signal, I found the hidden truth behind the lie of society. There never was a virus. The leaders of the world built the Gateway cities then killed off most of society. The S.G. caught us soon after we had stumbled across a crater filled with bodies and debris. We were taken to a hidden facility in The Gateway cities, while we waited for our sentence. We were told if you were caught in the Wasteland then you would serve fifty years in imperial prison.

Hopefully, we will be sent to the same prison.

Kyle. How is that all you can think about right now?

I’m just trying to make light of the situation.

The door to the holding cell opened up moments later. Two S.G. came in armed with guns. They walked up to Kyle first and…

Why did we go on that stupid trip? It was supposed to be an innocent trip of exploration. Nothing more, nothing less. But I guess fate is not so kind. We should not have gone down to the Wasteland. Then we would have never found the truth. Kyle would still be alive to walk with me to school and back home again. I guess some rules were never meant to be broken. I close my eyes as I feel the cool titanium rests against my heated forehead. I take a deep breath. At least I’ll be seeing Kyle in a few seconds. *click* I just hope that...