PROLOGUE

As Annah scrounged through a rotting trash heap on earth that was, she heard her mother doing the same somewhere to her right. Annah grunted as she tugged at an object that was lodged in the junk pile. It wouldnt budge. After shifting around some garbage a bit she tried again and the object of her efforts came loose with a cracking sound. She stumbled a bit, and when she recovered she examined it. The object was rectangular with a glass front, but it was cracked, some of which was probably from its violent extraction. She turned the device over and the back was a dirty white, with some letters and a somewhat circular symbol. She carefully placed the object in the shopping cart that was next to her, Then straightened up and looked around for her mother. The smog lowered her view distance to about fifty feet, and the trash heaped everywhere obstructed her view. She scrambled on top of a large pile of destroyed cars and looked around for her mother. Then she saw her, looting a cars glove compartment. Annah jumped down and rolled to her feet, heading towards where she had seen her mother. On her way past, she grabbed the shopping cart with the days findings. As her mothers frail form came into view, Annah looked with a tinge of sadness at her mother, who would have been beautiful if not for her hunched back and perpetually sorrowful expression. Pushing the rusted shopping cart before her, she headed toward her mother. If she had known she looked very much like a shopper striding through a mall in Earth that was, she might have smiled. If anyone smiled anymore that was. She walked a little faster as she drew closer, eager to get home- if it could be called that. She let go of the shopping cart as she got close, and it rolled a bit before drawing to a slow halt. Annah nudged her mother, and she looked relieved somewhat. Annah signed some words to her. You. Find. Good? Her mother then nodded. Ever since her mother had started losing her hearing, she and Annah had been learning sign language. Now she was completely deaf as a result of the polluted atmosphere. Annah helped her mother to her feet and pulled the cart behind her as she and her mother walked. Thirty minutes they strolled through the endless, unchanging landscape until they reached a specific heap. Annah reached down and lifted the tiny trapdoor in the pile, revealing a small hole in it. She unpacked the cart and put all the stuff into the tunnel and pushed it through into the room beyond, turned around, and returned to help her mother. After she got out, she helped her mother slowly and painfully to her knees, then gently helped her through the tunnel. It got harder and harder for her every time, but it was better than being found by the raiders. Annah emerged into the dimly lit room and looked around at the features she knew so well. The ceiling was about five feet high and braced by various pieces of junk. Every night she worried the frail supports would collapse, but they had held thus far. The only furniture in the room was a bed she and her mother shared, a cardboard box to hold their findings while they looked for a buyer, and a nightstand that looked like it had seen better days. On top of the nightstand was a brass inlaid wooden box. The key had been lost, but it held her mothers only memory of her husband- her wedding ring. She never wore it for fear it would be stolen. Annahs father had died while Annah was a baby, so she had no memory of him. To her, her father didnt matter, and her mother never talked about him. Annah helped her mother lay down on the flat mattress then collapsed beside her. This is how it was every day, day after day, just barely able to earn their daily bread and water from the merchants. What a meaningless existence I have, Annah thought as she drifted away into sleep.

Annah woke with a start, nearly banging her head into the low roof. Beside Annah her mother stirred and turned over. Sitting up carefully so as not to wake her mother, Annah tried to puzzle out what had woken her. There didnt seem to be any immediate danger so she got to her knees and crawled out the tunnel. Standing up, she looked around. All seemed to be normal. She knew being out so late was dangerous, but she paid no heed. She scrambled up a nearby trash pile and lay on a mattress, staring at the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a star through the smog. But the sky was as yellow and dull as ever, a setting only interrupted by the outline of the Axiom in high orbit. She stared at it. If only mother and I could go there, we could get away from this horrible, pointless life and live amongst the stars, safe from all harm. But no, the Axiom was only for the rich. It had launched just before the Rift, by some farsighted businessman who had foreseen the apocalypse that had terrorized mankind. And while the cities burned, the privileged few remained in their ship, safe and removed from it all. She was interrupted from her reverie by a crash. She bolted upright, trembling. Listening, she heard voices. Raiders, she thought, and she tried to stealthily descend from her perch. When she was nearing the ground, her foot caught on something and she fell face first, twisting her ankle painfully and leaving her dangling by her foot. She cried out involuntarily, and suddenly the voices stopped. No, she thought, Please dont let them find me! Annah thrashed and tried to disentangle her foot, but only succeeded in bringing tears to her eyes. Quick footsteps came closer and closer, then a voice sounded out, loud and impetuous. Now look what we have here. A little tramp for our enjoyment. Another voice laughed. And its not even running. What a nice change. This was the second voice, and the words came out slurred. Annah twisted desperately, trying to reach her foot. She failed once again, and her foot turned as her torso dropped back down. She cried out desperately. Annah saw two large men in studded vests and leggings. One of them had a sword dangling from his belt, probably from a museum. They came up to her, breathing in her face. What should we do to you first? Annah squeezed her eyes shut willing it to be over and hoping that they wouldnt find her mother. Suddenly a bright light illuminated the inside of her eyelids and she heard a startled yelps, then two thuds. She gingerly opened her eyes, still blurry with tears, and saw both men on the ground, blood dripping from their ears. She heard a loud whining sound, and she looked up towards the source of the light. It was so bright, she had to squint. Through the blinding light, she saw a boxy shape, then suddenly her vision went black.