Mad Ember

P R O L O U G E

"Ionizing radiation levels are at an all-time high. now reaching 30 Gy causing extensive neurological damage. Within minutes those exposed will experience severe vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and large hives. Seizures and ataxia can also occur. Death within 48 hours is inevitable if exposed for more than one hour. Citizens are reminded to keep sector provided radi-suits on. Remain in ventilated rooms whenever possible until your scheduled evacuation day. The sector thanks you for your cooperation... Ionizing radiation levels are at an all-time high. Levels are now reaching 30 Gy causing extensive..."

    My father turned down the small radio that has repeated the same message for the past month. The only reason it was even on was because today marks our evacuation day. It's also my birthday. I'm turning ten, which means I am now old enough to board.

    The ship taking us away was huge, no... massive. Still, it was clear that not everyone was going to fit. Therefore the mood was in a frenzy. People were running around like chickens without heads as they tried to board the... safety of the ship. Peering in, I almost liked it out here better. Then again, one look at the guards changed my mind.

    They were behind us shoving people into the spaceship with their pointy sticks so they didn't have to touch us. Some even drew blood. "They see us as vermin!" My father's voice constantly reminded me of that fact. I scratched at my arm with a frown, blisters were already starting to appear. I tugged at my father's shirt with a frown. He quickly glanced at my arm and nodded.

    "I know." With that, he grabbed my hand and my older brothers and trudged us through the crowd. I took a quick look behind me... men and women wailed in pain as their bodies succumbed to the radiation. There were old bodies scattering the ground covered in the wrath of radiation, nobody had bothered to claim and bury them. They simply lied there, nobody cared.

    "I said move forward!" A guard from behind us screamed, smacking a woman to the floor then proceeding to kick her. I stopped in my tracks. What he had just done? I know for a fact that a man should never treat a woman that way. My abrupt stop started to cause a back up which resulted in a harsh jab to my back.

    "Forward!" The guard screamed. His spit spraying on my face made me scrunch up my features even though it had only landed on my gas mask. I kept quiet and turned back around tearing my eyes from the scene, only for them to move on to the next.

    "No! My daughter! Please, she... No!" I saw a father wail as his daughter was ripped from his hands.

    "Daddy!" The girl screamed but was then cut off by a snap to her neck by the man holding her. The guards saw it as a merciful act. Better that than the radiation.
The father fell to his knees his whole body racking in sobs. Never have I seen a man cry like that. I've never seen anyone cry like that. His cries only grew when the guard shoved him on the ship as he yelled "Underage!" Reminding every one of the guidelines you had to meet to board...

"Space is limited. All persons must be between nine and sixty years of age. The maximum weight allows no man, nor woman above 400 pounds, 181 kilograms. No man nor woman reaching above the height of six feet eleven inches will be permitted to board. All persons must complete and pass individual intelligence assessments proving their value to board. The sector thanks you for your cooperation."

    My value was math. I could solve any problem thrown at me. Math was concrete and I could trust it not to change, so I took a fast liking to it. My thoughts snap back to the present with another harsh jab from behind. I bite back a wince. "Move!" This time it was a lady. How could everything turn so bad so quickly?