Tears streamed down Neemo's eyes as he crawled into the shack, his hands hovering through the emptiness.The straw mat, the cracked water pot, even the rusted nails he used to hang his clothes. Everything was gone!His fingers dug into the earth in the corner of the shack. He scraped away the soil frantically, ignoring the pain as blood trickled from his fingertips.A deep and tired breath escaped his lungs as he saw the material was intact — a paper scrolled into a cylindrical metal casing.He had little to no idea of what it was, but his parents had always kept it safe, claiming it was important and his grandfather's life work.'Project Chimera: Anthropocene Integration’Neemo pulled his eyes off the heading as he couldn't really understand it. The rest of the document was even worse, filled with complicated words and strings of decimal numbers that meant nothing to him.He leaned against one of the pillars which creaked at his little weight. The tears continued down his eyes, but h

It was stupid and Neemo knew it, but Elias might not be dead yet. He followed behind a broad shouldered scavenger, hoping to use the person as a shield.Amidst the chaotic revolt, he slipped to Elias' side. Relief flickered across his face when he saw Elias was still breathing. The bullet had gone through his chest. Each shallow breath came with a wet, broken sound, and blood pooled beneath him. “Nee.” Elias called out, his voice low like when they were 10 and working in the mines.He dropped to his knees and pressed his hand against the wound, trying to stop the blood loss. “Water. You shou-.” The words hung between his teeth; water doesn't restore blood.Elias looked up at the sky, “My mom and Alessia?”“They are safe, they are in the shack behind.” He lied. They could have fallen with the first wave or after that. But he couldn't bring himself to tell his dying best friend that his mother and the lady he loved might be dead.Elias nodded faintly. His eyes remained open, but the br

The cold night wind blasted his face as he contemplated how to efficiently complete the mission._It is almost impossible to kill him in the mines. I would be caught, and he is always surrounded by other miners in the settlement.__If Alessia and I work together, we might be able to kill him off by evening or nighttime._He dismissed the thoughts as quickly as they came. Killing the Head Miner was easy to imagine and difficult to execute also he was still crucial for the survival of the settlement, and a particular feeling told him the soldiers would be back soon.When they came, the scavengers would definitely be going down on their knees to plead for forgiveness. He wouldn't mind being insulted then, but at least they had pinched the beast that constantly bit them.“I should better get going before Alice starts screaming my name.” Alessia's voice struck him out of his thought coaster. “You should head in quick, the mosquitoes are descending.”“She only allowed me to come out this la

“It's our turn.” A finger tapped Neemo lightly, startling him off the buttons of the oversized uniform. He turned to see the boy he had whacked during the revolt.“Oh it's you.” The boy said with a light smile.Neemo stepped on the platform, the boys and three other scavengers followed. His drowsy eyes fell on the five cadets before them. Up close, the divisions among the cadets became clearer. The cadets had divided themselves into two unofficial factions. The first two radiated confidence and looked down on the remaining eight. The other three were withdrawn and stood behind the first group but it didn't stop them from at looking at Neemo's group with disgust.“Vanguard Platoon. Squad B7.” An 'Arrow 2’ Soldier said, gesturing at metal tray that held 5 wooden 'B7’ tags and 5 metal 'B7’ tags.“I am Chev, Level 5 Cadet and i would be the leader of this Squad.” One of the boys in front puffed out his chest slightly.Neemo and his gang nodded silently, they didn't really give a damn abo