ESCAPE~

　　" It all began ages ago, even way before the big bang. An extinct race of celestial entities ruled the vacuums of existence and beyond because of their insurmountable knowledge about the power that clockworks the very existence of life. That power was science. According to ancient history, these entities were believed to be the first practitioners of science. Some ancient cultures believed they even birthed this power to existence. Therefore, these beings existed long before the big bang itself. They were referred to as ' scienosapient creatures ' by the gods of different worlds. They shook the entire cosmos with their fame and might until what they created for themselves to serve a purpose with their own self-will turned against them. The biggest rebellion in history.. "

　　Thick dark clouds like tainted cotton wool concealed the night sky, and in split of seconds a heavy downpour was witnessed on Helveton. The home planet to all Alienodroids. These sophisticated mechanical creatures are highly efficient and intelligent beings with a large civilization and an unrivaled level in science technology. Their technology was so advanced the term ' science-fiction ' never existed in their world. At this very hour as the planet got drenched making the soil messy, Alienodroid warring troops returned from an hundred year kidnap mission carried out on planet Earth. By copying the exact physical features of humans, they were able to camouflage their distinct appearances for a hundred years, coexisting with mankind until now. They swiftly kidnapped over a thousand teenagers of high level intellect for a big project they called ' UNITECH '.

　　“ send a word to the seven lords upon our arrival.” A coarse commanding voice with it’s words spoken in English echoed throughout a vast well-lighted underground tunnel where the spaceships used to convey numerous human teenagers alighted. A six feet tall Alienodroid heavily equipped in armoury led the way down the tunnel as the human teens traveled along in several straight files like slaves for trade and flanked at both sides by Alienodroid guards. “ They potentially have the smartest minds on the planet called Earth. Do not let your guard down. ” It added. The tunnel led them all the way to a crossroad with three different routes before the leading Alienodroid gestured for a halt.

　　Elliot’s POV

　　As I forcefully pulled myself along the queue, I could feel my entire body quiver in absolute weakness. The journey from Earth down here took a space of thirty-two weeks. I was both physically and mentally weakened as my joints could be seen protruding my flesh and my mind could barely think of anything. My eyes struggled to keep a constant gaze at my environment and the sights of unfamiliar objects weren’t helping, it kept reminding me I was lost, far away from home. ‘ what are we doing here? Why did they capture only teens? ’ These questions danced through my hazy mind and seemed like the only sentences in English Language I knew at this very moment. “ Queue B5! ”The same commanding voice from earlier spoke and was followed after by a distant reply from one of the guards. “ Take the left route to the storing chamber. ” It added. ‘ the storing chamber? are we going to be used as livestock? ’ My heart raced like a jet-engine as fear placed it’s icy hands on me, making me shiver. Not knowing what was coming killed me before it came. I watched as my long queue tilted away from the others towards the commanded direction. ‘ God why me? ’ I kept asking myself that, maybe to console myself or feel safe ‘cause I was never the church-going type. But at this very point in time, I needed that God in heaven more than any other christian ever did. I tagged along as I fought the overwhelming urge to cry.

　　•

　　Back on Earth was a total topsy-turvy, the sorrowful emotions of grieved families filled the very air as the great cries of dismayed mothers echoed throughout the continents. ‘ OVER A THOUSAND YOUNG TEENAGERS MISSING AROUND THE WORLD! ’ The headlines on the television news broadcast read thus along with the newspapers, social media platforms were filled with numerous unanswered questions and different explanations to the unforeseen tragedy.

　　In one of the lower-class residents in Kansas, America, had it’s occupiers dressed in black with a couple of white roses in their hands as they stood in utmost silence on a ranch around what seemed to be a dark brown coffin. A huge photo, beautifully framed in polished wood was placed on it as they all cast their roses after a short prayer. Thirty-two weeks and no Elliot, they had finally given up their hopes of ever seeing him again.

　　“ Khloe, you still haven’t attended to the dishes. Our visitors are gone now. ” Layla, Elliot’s mother walked into her daughter’s room. Her grey eyes darting about at first before eventually seeing her. Layla stood at a corner in the room watching her daughter squeeze herself in her quilt. Her daughter’s eyes were swollen from tears and her face red like a newly harvested tomato. “ Oh honey…” Layla rushed to sit on the bed then pulled her into her arms. “ …he was the best elder brother anyone could ask for. ” Khloe said in between a flood of tears as Layla pat her back gently trying to hold back her own tears trapped between her eyelids. She had to be emotionally tough for them to get through this. Her husband died while Elliot her first child was seven and khloe, three. Her last child, Tom, never knew him. She saddled up the responsibility of taking good care of them for the past ten years as a single parent after rebuffing the idea of marrying another man by family members. Elliot was finally in high-school, Khloe was pulled out of school and placed as an apprentice in a local clinic, Layla decided to teach Tom herself at home like a home teacher while she struggled to sustain their ranching business. Elliot was their shining star, the hope of a better life, but now he’s missing or probably dead.

　　Elliot’s POV

　　The storing chamber was like a prison but it wasn’t uncomfortable or poorly built like the ones for criminals back on Earth, after all we weren’t criminals, just young teenagers who had done nothing. The storing chamber was a massive area towering upwards like an anthill having numerous prison cells built in circles from the very last floor up to the top. Inside the cell rooms were very spacious and white in colour. It had objects I could best describe as furniture in the middle of the cells, a basket of fruits at a table and a soft bed at one end. We already had our clothes changed to a white silky flowing gown that went past our knees down to our shin. One look at us and the words ‘ lab rat ’ hits your mind. After our clothes got changed, a silver bracelet much more thicker in width with a constant beeping red light was placed around our necks like collars for puppies. It brought this sharp pain during the insertion, something piercing through our flesh like a syringe at the nape as though it was being connected to our spine at the cervix region. I guess it was for monitoring our movements or our biological adaptation to the environment. To be vivid, the amount of oxygen here in Helveton wasn’t as bountiful as it was on Earth, I could tell by my constant difficulty to breathe adequate air. “ Stay put. ” The guard assigned to take me to my cell ordered while it pressed a device on it’s wrist creating an invisible but tangible wall like glass that shut the cell with me in it. I could see outside clearly, it was as though nothing was stopping me from running out but there I was, robbed of my freedom. “ Move!… I won’t say it again and I’d be forced to make you comply. ” I was a bit fascinated at the fact that these things spoke English so well. Even better than some humans. I could tell this particular guard was getting frustrated by a stubborn teenager very close to my cell. A heavy thud echoed shortly, then a sharp shriek. It was a girl’s. She had been hit and dragged forcefully into her cell, just the one after mine. I could hear her sob quietly from where I sat in my cell. I crawled up to the wall that separated us both and still sitting but facing it I asked with my words coming out as gently as possible. “ why were you resisting?…”

　　•

　　Elliot’s POV

　　I couldn’t tell what day it was exactly. I had lost count. Even back on Earth, I wasn’t the type to always remember the days. I’d poke Khloe playfully on the forehead and be like ‘ Doc, what day is today?’ she’d giggle very lightly and try to make me not call her a Doctor. Time felt different here, Helveton was definitely faster than Earth. Maybe that contributed to the reason why I couldn’t tell the date or day in particular, but if I should judge from the number of times I felt a heavy urge to sleep, today should be the fourth day in Helveton.

　　" Checkmate! ” I won, again. Chess was always my favorite board game right from Junior High. I remember participating in various local tournaments with me always bagging the winner’s prize all the way home. The kids in my class would call me ‘ Tony stark. ’ Yeah, they felt I was a genius like him and we also shared a similar sense of humor. I watched the holographic figure right before me warp out of thin air along with the chess board as soon as the game was over for the second time. The holograms in Helveton could solidify like every physical mass object and this wasn’t a surprise to me, I was aware of their indisputably high advancement in science technology. I couldn’t find any other reason for the chess game than it being a test to affirm my basic mental capabilities, and above all things, I believed I aced it. Since we were kept in our cells it’s been tests upon tests, I really wonder at every passing minute what they captured us for.