Grook
New Member
There were no hills at Hillside Grove Space Facility.
The land sprawled out as far as the eye could see, flat and red like roadkill that had been run over a few too many times. The air was so dry that when you inhaled, you could've sworn you were swallowing a fistful of razors. In the sweltering winter heat of southern Arizona, a drab bus skidded to a halt at the edge of the only building in miles.
Hillside Grove looked as if God had dropped a concrete block out of the sky and it had landed in the middle of the desert. Spindly aloe plants and succulents struggled on the curb. It was a meager attempt to spruce up the block. But a block was still a block, and regardless, nothing could mask the ugly wooden sign, complete with scripted font, that clung above the front doors: “The road to human progress starts here!" The path was unpaved and bumpy, solidly reflecting the ramshackle Hillside experience. But it was the innards of this block that were most important– essential to the world, and essential to the furthering of humanity.
The silhouette of a girl in the window of the bus could be seen in the purple dusk sun. As the sputtering of the bus died down, teenagers and young adults began to gather around the little square on the door that would allow them to see outside. Abandoning their dinner and bitter medication that rested, untouched, on the table, a hushed excitement descended over the small huddle.
"Get back, please, everyone," a wide-bodied nurse called out from the end of the hall. "Give them some space when they come in," she huffed, guiding them away from the door and back toward the dining area. The bus door slid open with a squeal of protest. Footsteps approached the door. The girl’s anticipation was enough to make the dry air humid and claustrophobic. The double doors opened soundlessly and a pair of bare feet passed over the threshold.
Sam was arguing with a guard when the new kid came in.
“What the hell, man?! You’re really just gonna ignore the letters they sent me? Come on…” She danced around his waist, pleading as he held a set of envelopes high above her head. “They’re all I got left from my sister. It’s a bit screwed up, you know. You should just let me read them. Who cares if they need to go through detection first?” Sam continued to whine, marching about with her fists clenched like a child about to throw a tantrum. God dammit! She couldn’t have shit in this place. That was when the guard brought out his baton, and Sam gasped. No way they were gonna use that on her! She made a quick move to the left but the guard was faster, warily swatting her away from him. Then, with a thunderous crack, the guard paled, realizing his stray baton had not hit Sam. It instead came down hard on the shoulders of the newcomer.
The room settled with a collective gasp, then fell silent.
