The Girl They Sold to the Moon by Chris Stevenson

Author:Chris Stevenson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Intrigue Publishing LLC
Published: 2014-08-23T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Tilly saw confirmation of her worst nightmare once she exited the bank and stepped out into the open under the dome. The dome atmosphere swirled with trash and debris; the giant glass panels had iced over, dripping with condensation. Finding it impossible to breathe, she donned one of the oxygen masks and stepped out on the street. Frantic, she rushed to the first prone body she saw. She recognized the uniform as belonging to one of the guards. She checked for vital signs, finding none. Several other people lay in the street. Some people were on their feet and staggering down the perimeter road. All of them gasped for breath. She broke open the first aid kit and gathered up the oxygen masks. She ran to those on their feet, strapping the appliances on them. She told each one to get to the bank and follow the shaft to the emergency shelter.

Tilly couldn’t believe how many people had collapsed on the perimeter road. She dashed to each sprawled body, only to find them deceased. Their eyes protruded from their sockets; most of the faces were blue and puffy, obvious signs of suffocation. She found one of the more gruesome sights after lifting the canopy of a cart. Five people were crammed inside. All were dead. Tilly felt her stomach purging, sewage-like bile rising in her throat. Her legs felt like paper under her as she sucked extra hard for breath from the mask. She snapped on another replacement mask, having realized she’d used up the 30-minute supply.

Retracing her steps, she found one person alive on the way back, someone she had overlooked. The young female ward lay over a scooter with her hand raised. Tilly pulled the girl into her lap and slipped a mask over her face. The girl’s chest rose with a full breath. “You’ve got to get on your feet,” said Tilly. “I can’t carry you!”

They both rose, a swirling mass of trash and sand, pummeling them. More than half of the dome lights were out, casting them in an eerie twilight. The atmosphere felt like thick soup. Tilly plodded on, dragging the case with one arm, and crooking arms with the girl with the other. She felt the strange sensation of her body being pulled in different directions. Her chest tightened, making it almost impossible to breathe. It took her ten minutes to reach the bank and find the pressure hatch. She tossed the case down and began the descent, spotting the girl above her by directing her feet on the ladder rungs. She’d forgotten to close the hatch and damned herself. She felt so weak she had a hard time lifting her arms. Dazed, she looked down the corridor and saw two figures running toward her. They both wore masks and ward suits.

Dorothy took Tilly’s case and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, while Fia got the girl in tow.

“We had to come looking for you,” said Fia, “when we heard how bad it was.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.