It Was They

Chapter 1

The roar of a jet turbine marked the start of a new day. Choking grey dust fills a small apartment through cracks in its windows as the shuttle screams into the distance.

A young woman sits up coughing puffs of burning grit from her lungs. Her tangled brown hair is frazzled and dust-filled, looking more grey than natural.

Standing upright and shaking her clothes clean, she is met by a soft but electronic voice.

"Goodmorning, Elizabeth. Today is March 6th, 2057. The forecast for Pittsburgh is cloudy, with a high of 102 degrees Fahrenheit. The air quality is to be rated between 207 and 217. It is advised that all individuals wear their assigned respirators and any additional protective equipment available."

"Thank you Sera," replies Elizabeth as she wipes a layer of dust from a mirror opposite of her windows. Looking herself over, she notices the grey pigment that had crusted along her eyes overnight. She was only thirty-five years old yet wrinkles at younger and younger ages wasn't uncommon.

The rest of her face still looked familiar to her. A small but well-filled nose sat above her dryer than usual, salmon-colored lips. Her slender chin and cheeks looked as though she has missed a few meals. Her piercing blue eyes remained ever full of hope and purpose as she looked within her very soul staring back at her.

As she turns the faucet on for water, she lets it run for a moment as brown water slowly dilutes to a clear color. The well had run dry again. A new one was put in place by Zomana engineers yesterday. Clay pigment still gets through the filters and it's best to let it run until it appears clean.

There remain few natural resources left on the planet that isn't contaminated or fit for human consumption anymore.

All of these issues stem from the Grey War nearly twenty years ago. A battle between all of the previous nations of the world whenever a cure for Grey Lung was discovered. Microorganisms brought back from Mars were infecting individuals at alarming rates and causing a global outbreak that strangled one's ability to breathe as the lungs were overgrown by a grey substance.

The Zomana Corporation had been rising in the science world as state of the art and spearheaded both space and underwater exploration.

It was they who brought back the microorganism from Mars. It was they who discovered the initial outbreaks. It was they who ground the world to a halt, like their predecessors two decades before them when an airborne virus that looked like a simple head cold, compared to this. It was they who had a research lab stationed at Yellowstone National park which discovered a cure. It was they who survived when all other corporations fell during the fallout. It was they who helped rebuild the world after the ash settled and wreaked havoc on the environment. It was they who took the world as their own.

Elizabeth finished washing her face with a damp cloth before applying a gel to her hair labeled "Zomana Grey Gone." It was a blended dry cleanser, effective at removing the acidic powder that coated the world after Yellowstone buried the world in ash. She scrubs it through her hair before running a comb through which collects all manner of dirt and dust before scraping it off on the edge of her weathered trash can.

Her hair, now straight and face clean of dirt, she finally felt confident enough to go outside. She starts by sliding on an olive-colored jumpsuit. The Zomana "ZC" logo emblazoned on the left breast pocket in bold black showed itself proudly to the world. She then slides on and straps black boots with aggressively designed soles for all manner of terrain. Lastly, she fixates a grey respirator on her face. It encloses her nose and mouth quite snugly. Russet-colored filters protrude from both sides with Z on the right cheek and C on the other. Each breath feels like crisp air. The filter works so well that the air further dries her mouth out.

Picking up a well-stuffed backpack with a full-face respirator hanging from it, she throws it over her shoulder before looking over her quaint apartment once more. She steps out into the overcast walkway lined up to a maroon-colored Z Corp shuttle being boarded by others wearing similar clothing.

Armed soldiers wearing maroon combat gear and fully enclosed masks flank the bottom of the ramp and the doorway entrances within the ship itself.

Once everyone is seated, the soldiers file into the remaining seats on the corners of each row of workers. Belts automatically snake down over the crew and Elizabeth's shoulder and secure themselves over the thighs and torsos of each passenger.

Overhead, Sera's voice fills the cabin. "Good morning crew. Today, you will be working within the Steel City Experimental Agriculture Fields. The Z Corp employees there will be identified by brown uniforms with SCEAF written across the shoulders. Please, enjoy your ride and we shall arrive in approximately 9 minutes."

The shuttle begins rocking slightly as the thrusters ignite. The rocking becomes a violent shaking before the blood rushes to Elizabeth's feet as the ship violently leaps skyward. Pulling a small, heart-shaped locket from her breast pocket, she opens it to see a picture of a rugged man no older than twenty holding a child who shares her piercing blue eyes. She loses consciousness while gripping it and smiling. She wakes up to the sounds of screaming, the smell of smoke, and the heat of flames around her.

Wincing in pain as she tries to move. She looks down at a horrific scene. A piece of metal from the ship has impaled her, through the torso and into the support structure of her seat.

She now can feel the warmth of her blood in her fingertips as she attempts to pull it free. A wave of pain washes over her, as she begins to drift fully out of consciousness, once more.

Chapter 2

White light peers through Elizabeth's eyelids as she stirs awake. She hears unintelligible, muffled words from a blurry, humanoid silhouette above her. Trying to focus, she finally can make out a shape.

A male, not quite forty with a salt and pepper colored beard repeats the muffled words, "Elizabeth? Elizabeth, can you hear me? Elizabeth!"

She feels the man's hands grasping her hand and the other shaking her by the shoulder.

Her mouth is dry. She is finally able to croak out a reply. "Zachary, is that you?"

A grin emerges from beneath the beard. "Yes, my dear, it is me."

Zachary plants a soft kiss upon her forehead, as Elizabeth struggles herself upright.

Looking around, Elizabeth notices the room is rather dilapidated and worse for wear. She is in an old hospital. Upon noticing this, she pulls the blanket from her body to reveal bandages around her torso with dried blood. Only now, she can feel the unmistakable sensation of her wound, deep within her abdomen.

She looks at Zachary, his eyes filled with nothing but care and awe for her.

"Where are we, Zach?"

A deep sigh escapes between his lips before he replies. "The old cancer research center. We've been moving constantly for the last five years. The Defyance had been pushing back against the Zomana corporation. The more we do, the brasher they become against us."

Elizabeth suddenly feels a chill crawl down her spine. "Zachary," she begins. "Where is Alysa? Where is our daughter?"

His warm demeanor turns somber and he breaks eye contact while looking downward. "She's with Zomana now. They took her in a raid on our last base, just over two years ago.."

Horrified, Elizabeth processes what is her worst nightmare. A few tears well up within her eyes.

"How dare you! How dare you allow them to take her! How could you, Zachary? No! No! I refuse to believe this!" Burning tears stream down her face as she allows a primal cry of anguish to escape her lungs.

Shuddering with grief, she collapses into Zachary’s embrace. He holds and consoles her before finally speaking up. “I believe she is okay. She is a fighter. She learned from me after all.”

With a shaky voice, she replies, “How can you tell? You know what kind of monsters they have run the correctional facilities. Anyone who doesn’t share their values is tortured and changed until nothing of their former self remains. Oh, my poor Alysa, I only hope you are still alive.”

Pulling slightly away, Zachary looks Elizabeth in the eyes. “What would you do to get her back? Would you fight alongside us now? Would you try to push back against the Zomana Corporation? Would you do unspeakable things to make them pay?”

The tears in her eyes dry up fairly quickly. Her distraught look turns into one of purpose and almost anger. “Yes, I would. I would bring hellfire and destruction to them. By any means.”

Zachary breaks eye contact with her once more before replying. “I was afraid you would say that, Elizabeth.”

She feels hands grasp around both of her arms from behind. Struggling against them she looks over her shoulder. Her eyes grow wide with dread. The gloves of those claiming to be Defyance have a small ZC stitched logo on the wrists.

Her head whirls around to meet Zachary once more. “Zachary, wh- what are you doing?”

He removes a needle from a drawer, then removes the cap before speaking. “I’m truly sorry, my dear. Zomana cannot have ideas of hope or supporters of the Defyance roaming about.”

He approaches her and inserts the needle into her neck. Instantly, she loses the sensation of her muscles and goes limp. She tries to speak but only mumbled noise arises as she has no control of her tongue or mouth.

“I’m truly sorry, Elizabeth. Our daughter has become one of the key players in assisting the infiltration and destruction of Defyance members. There were several on your rocket. She sabotaged it. You weren’t the target but rather, a casualty result. Please, don’t take this personally.”

As her vision begins to blur, a teenage girl approaches her. Piercing blue eyes lock with hers before she hears the words of horror.

“Don’t worry mother. There aren't any correctional facilities anymore. We have much more sophisticated and rapid ways to deal with free thinkers. You won’t even know what happened from here until the end of your days.”

Alysa pulls the heart-shaped locket from her mother’s breast pocket. Opening it, she paces back and forth for a moment.

She dangles it in front of Elizabeth. As the world begins to fade, Elizabeth hears Alysa once more speak.

"The Zomana Corporation is many things, mother. It was they who brought the Grey. It was they who caused the sickness. It was they who caused the war. It was they who ended all wars. It was they who showed us we could rebuild. It was they who showed us we could thrive. It was they who gave us a future. It was they who made our family whole once more."