Project Ignite (Zana and Sia)

Sulien, Lighterdome.

Project Ignite, day five.

Rey, Zana. Female. Age: 15. Threat level: 2.

Retrieving patient in three hours...

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Hot, stiff wind stirred up dust particles and sent them flying.

The sun beat down on a single figure traveling across the dry, cracked landscape.

Only one pair of eyes roved the land.

Zana jogged toward her home, decades old necklace bouncing carelessly against her neck. Her black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, but several unruly hairs escaped.

Her home loomed before her, the formidable hundred meter wall cast much-needed shadow onto the lone figure. The wall was several miles wide, a hundred meters tall and fifty feet thick, fortified for whatever the world could throw at it.

The thing is, the world threw nothing at it. The people of Fajra never saw foreigners, only an occasional animal. The only one who left the city walls was Zana, an adventurous girl with lots of free time.

Zana’s father had died only a few days after she was born, she had no siblings and her mother worked all day in order to provide for the two of them. Zana had explored much of the city, but she also spent a lot of her time outside the city where she often trained in self-defense. One could never be too careful in Fajra.

Zana had begun on her way back from training in the desert caves, a mile from Fajra, her face was sweaty and her clothes sticky. A heavy backpack was slung over her shoulder. Her well-muscled arms and legs were beyond dirty, caked with sand and dirt.

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Retrieval in action...

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She had almost reached the front gate which was comically small, when she heard a noise she only heard once a year.

Every year, a helicopter of supplies arrived, dropped off outside the gates. None of the Fajrins every saw it, but Zana had multiple times.

She stopped and glanced up, eyebrows lifting when she noticed the lack of the ridiculous bright orange paint job. This helicopter was black, the blades longer and it was sleeker. Zana pursed her lips, decided and then full-out ran the rest of the way to the front gate.

Zana slowed as she entered. The gates automatically swung shut after her.

Fajra was built rather like a mountain, the buildings continued up, ending in a peak. The streets were cobble-stoned. There were usually venders shouting from their stalls, but today everyone stayed home. It was resting day. The streets were empty and quiet, so Zana heard when the front gate blasted open.

She heard the thump of feet.

Zana turned and ran.

Now, she liked a good fight, but avoided them if possible. Zana twisted and turned, the sound of the intruders quickly fading away. She grinned. She’d lost them.

At least, she thought she had.

As Zana strode through the empty streets towards her home, she heard a boot scuff the ground behind her. She whipped around and her eyes widened. Several meters back, there were two men. Both wearing black, a purple triangle stitched into their clothing and on the black masks they wore over their faces. They stood in the shadows, seeming slightly surprised she had heard them.

Zana smirked. A fight it is. She thought. The decision evaporated when her green eyes fell on the many weapons they wore, and the weapons in their hands.

She ran. Again.

Zana felt something just miss her shoulder. It shattered on the wall. She kept running, keeping easy track of where the two men were by the heavy clomping of their boots. They were far behind her, but quickly catching up. Zana frowned. She was the fastest person in all of Fajra, having won several races, but these men were catching up with apparent ease. They had to be in good shape. Zana quickly shook off her thoughts, it didn’t matter if they were as fast as she was, she could lose them in the twists and turns of Fajra’s idiotic setup.

She took a sharp right; the men cried out in surprise and stumbled over each other to pursue her. Zana took off, faster than before, laughing her head off.

The men recovered and tromped after her. Gosh, they were relentless. Zana thought. She sighed and turned to face them. If she didn’t confront them, she would run forever.

Zana stood in a ready stance as the men rushed forward. She quickly dodged as two more darts whistled toward her. They were almost out of darts. Zana could see the darts lined up across their chests. One of them had two left and the other had one. Grinning, Zana got an idea; if she could get rid the last few, she could easily defeat these blockheads. She danced in front of them, taunting. They both missed her again.

One dart left.

Zana advanced, taunting them to shoot her. Catching on to what she was doing, they stopped firing. Now Zana was dangerously close to them, within reach of their muscled arms.

Realizing this, the men watched her warily. Slowly, one of them began inching around Zana while the other faked a lunge at her to divert her attention. Zana sighed. These men were better trained than she was. She was fighting them and she didn’t even know who they were or what they wanted. She put her hands out in surrender.

“What do you want with me?” she demanded, eyes following the man behind her.

Neither man answered. Zana laughed. “Cat got your tongue?” she taunted. Unfortunately, her smile disappeared as something heavy hit her from behind, knocking her on her face.

The girl wheezed and swore loudly at the pain in her ribs and bruised face. She lay stunned for a moment; the men began speaking in low tones. She struggled, twisting under the man’s weight. She kicked upward and her foot caught the man in his backside. He howled in pain and anger, the weight of his foot lessened. She rolled, sprang to her feet and ran. She had just made a mistake.

The instant her back was turned, the man with the last dart carefully took aim and squeezed the trigger.

Zana felt the pinprick in her back.

Fire rushed through her veins.

The ground came to meet her and her, the ground.

A flash of pain.

Oblivion.

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Retrieval successful.

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Sulien, Lighterdome.

Project Ignite, day six.

Icylyn, Sia. Female. Age: 14. Threat level: 0.

Retrieving patient in three hours...

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“Hurry!” Sia shouted, pounding on the bathroom door. Her father said they were going to leave twenty minutes ago, but then he had gone to the bathroom. He wouldn’t get out. “Poppa!” She groaned. “I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes, come on!” Her father shouted something about a few more minutes. She was about to yell again when three of her brothers appeared at her side. “Let us handle this.” the oldest of them said.

Sia had five brothers and one sister, all of them had a mischievous side.

Sia stepped aside to allow her brothers to the door. She watched as they stuck a pin in the lock. It clicked and the three boys piled into the bathroom, screaming their heads off. Sia turned and sprinted to the front door, waiting innocently. Her sister, Charity, poked her head out her door. “Aren’t you and dad already supposed to be gone?” She asked.

Sia nodded. “He won’t get out of the bathroom.” she replied, laughing. Her sister smirked.

“I’m assuming Aiden and the twins stepped in?”

“Yep.”

“You’re sure I can’t come?”

Sia groaned. “Charity! I’ve said a million times, it’s only me and Poppa today.”

The sisters were close, even being four years apart. Charity was older, but she was kind and always found time for her little, and big, siblings.

Sia’s father came roaring out of the bathroom, three boys clinging to him. His hazel eyes sparkled as they fell on his two daughters by the door. He charged at Sia, arms outstretched. She danced out of the way, nearly crashing into Charity. “You’re going to mess up my new dress!” Sia’s big sister cried, but she was laughing. She smoothed her purple dress, reaching up with a slender hand to touch the cross-shaped birthmark on her cheek, a habit of here. “You’d better get out of here,” she whispered to Sia before retreating, her brown boots silent on the hall carpet.

“Poppa! Can we go now?” Sia complained as he and her brothers wrestled around the room, screaming and laughing. Her father stood, shaking Aiden and the twins off. Aiden was twelve, the twins seven. They were an evil trio. Sia’s two big brothers were always out and if they weren’t, they were on the computers. Her mother, a kind and a empathetic soul, was always working, always cooking. Sia loved her family dearly, but sometimes she needed to get away for a while.

“POPPA!!” Sia shouted at the top of her lungs. Finally, her father heard and grinned. “What? I was getting ready.” Sia shook her head, pressing her lips to keep from smiling. “Let’s go.”

A few moments later, the pair exited the house, breath puffing in ghostly plumes. Sia loved the cold. Even mid-winter, she was wearing a long-sleeve, neon yellow shirt and jeggings. No coat, no hat. Her brown hair was streaked with blue, it danced in the wind.

Her father, however, piled on the layers. He was wearing at least six layers. Together, they climbed in the van and pulled out of the driveway.

Thirty minutes later, the two of them sat in a restaurant, eating dinner. “So where do you want to go after we finish?” Sia’s father asked. Sia set down her fork to think. “What about the train tracks? I love watching the trains.”

Sia’s father nodded. “The train tracks it is.”

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Retrieval in action...

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Two figures stood in the twilight, close together.

In front of them, a train sped past, stirring up frosted leaves. Graffiti covered it, telling stories of the many places the train had been.

In the distance, Sia could hear a helicopter. She held her father’s strong hand, her head leaned against his shoulder.

The helicopter grew louder, drawing her attention.

It was black, a single triangle on the side.

It was close, Sia felt like she could touch it. She could see the people inside it.

It hovered mid-air, searching for something. Or someone.

Sia frowned as it got lower and lower. A thrill ran through her as it landed a hundred meters behind where she and her father stood. She naturally assumed it was a military helicopter. She had no idea how wrong she was.

Two men stepped out. Their clothing matched the helicopter. They wore masks and carried guns.

Sia’s father grabbed her hand and began leading her away. “I think it’s time to go, Sia.”

“Why? Who are they?”

“I don’t know.”

They continued away as the train disappeared into the trees. The two men were striding purposefully in their direction. They became ghosts as the sun fell below the mountains and their dark clothing blended into the slowly darkening surroundings.

After a few moments of pursuit, Sia’s father turned, face twisted with a hurricane of negative emotion.

Fear.

Anger.

Worry.

“Do you need something from us?” he demanded, his tight voice echoing through the still night air. One of them moved, but it was too dark to tell what they were doing. There was a click and seconds later, Sia’s father grunted in pain and collapsed.

Sia gasped and crouched down, touching her father’s neck. He was alive. Her fingers brushed something embedded in his neck. She gently pulled it out.

It was a dart, black feathered. There was a little bit of purple liquid sloshing in the vial. Sia felt herself panicking.

Her heart pounded.

Hands sweated.

Mind scrambled.

She shook her head, calming herself.

The men were advancing.

Her father was too heavy to carry.

She refused to leave him, so she stood and faced the man bravely, only to get a dart in her shoulder.

She blinked.

Her eyes closed again, but this time, they didn’t open again.

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Retrieval successful.

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Featured in this story: Book Master as Zana, Sia as Sia, and Ivy Carter as Charity (sorry, Ivy. I forgot to do this before)