(Celeste)
Celeste Morgan wiped the beads of sweat running down her face, looking up at the many suns hovering around her small home, she cursed under her breath. This planet always stayed scorching, it was no wonder they were producing less and less crops every summer. She had tried telling her Uncle Timothy that they needed to move but he had stubbed up. Now their produce was dwindling and soon they would have nothing to sell to the farmers markets. Then what would they do to survive? Would they lose the farm? Celeste had only been with her Aunt and Uncle a few short years, coming here shortly after her parents had died in a shuttle accident, they had been kind enough to let her stay with them. Somewhere along the way though, they started acting differently, less hospitable and more demanding. Now if Celeste wanted to eat, she had to earn her place by working the fields, they have had to let all their help go over the course of a year, now it was just her.
"You lazy girl, stop staring off into space, those weeds will not pull themselves." Her Aunt Darla called out from the house.
Biting the inside of her cheek she smiled, "Yes Aunt Darla." She yelled back at her and knelt back down on her knees to resume picking the weeds from around the tomatoes.
"When you are done with that, there is a leak in the water hose, I need you to patch it up." Darla stated, then walked back into the house.
Life could be worse; she could be living in an overpopulated planet run by over dominating Alphas. The worse of the worse breed of men. They took whatever they wanted not caring if it destroyed everything in their path. Celeste had been glad to be out of the city she had been living in, every year there were Betas that came to the house to monitor any woman over eighteens' heat levels. For whatever reason, if they were off by even a degree, the women were taken. The world was so strange, here though there were never any Alphas or Betas, just regular good old humans. The tourist they would have come by the farm just thought that the quaint lifestyle they lived was so interesting, they paid just to tour around the farm and look at the animals. Apparently earth animals and food were rare and worth a lot to have. Maybe if they got hard up, they would have to sell some animals, the tourist sure thought they were something special.
Pulling at a green weed she sighed wistfully, hard work had always made her feel humbler anyway, even if her Aunt and Uncle treated her like a hired hand. Celeste never shied away from a challenge, she would do her best, and be grateful that she had some where to call home. Now that she had turned nineteen, Darla and Timothy technically could kick her out, put her on the next shuttle out of town. Angering them was not something that Celeste was able to do, which she did not want to up set them. Confrontation was always something that made her feel horrible, she would rather just keep to herself, get things done and avoid any unnecessary drama. Everyone around her had commented that she was too nice, that being too kind would land her in trouble, but Celeste did not think that to be true. Most people were good at heart, some just needed a little more patience than others, over the years she had learned plenty enough to share. After having been here for the last few years she could not imagine being anywhere else, here she was freeโฆish.
The city law would have had Celeste enter the system, she would have been classified, and eventually mated against her will. That is what happened in overpopulated cities, women were all chipped, and classified as either Alpha, Beta, or in extremely rare occasions Omega. Both her parents had been Beta, so naturally she assumed she would have been classified as such. When she left, she had slid under the radar because she had only been sixteen at the time. Celeste jerked her hand feeling the sharp prick of a thorn tear into her skin, bringing her palm to her mouth she sucked at the drop of blood. Her poor hands had been through the ringer, calloused and dry from the years of working the field, it had left little room for soft skin. Celeste had dirt under her nails, they could not afford gloves, which would have helped protect her hands a little.
As far as appearance went, Celeste had wished she looked more feminine, that was the downside to always being outside. Where other women had nice soft pink skin, hers was tanned by the amount of time she spent in the sun. Her face was sprinkled with light freckles across the bridge of her nose, cheeks slightly burned, golden curls framed her face that had escaped from her hair tie. Honestly, she hated her appearance, but as much as she actually seen another person, there was no real reason to care how she looked. Tim and Darla were the public speakers for their products, Celeste just worked in the background, making sure everything ran smoothly.
Celeste had been so lost in thought that she had not realized that they day was almost over. The suns were setting in the sky casting a warm glow upon the land. Half of the crops were wilted, the other half were alive, for now. There was no amount of water that could keep the soil saturated, the temperatures had been getting more and more extreme as the years went. How they had lasted here this long she did not know. That thought reminded her that she still needed to go patch the hose, standing up she wiped her hands on her blue jean shorts, and went in search of some duct tape. "Duct tape, super glue, and WD-40 could fix anything with the right amount." As her Father had always said, Celeste laughed sadly to herself remembering her fathers voice. Oh, how she missed her parents dearly. Finding the leaks in the hose she finished binding them with the silver duct tape and then headed towards the house.
Stepping onto the porch she smiled softly, so many lightening bugs were out, they flitted through the sky without a care in the world. What would it be like to be that free? They looked like twinkling stars out there, but unlike stars, she could catch one of these. One landed on the banister, gently as to not scare it, Celeste reached out her hands and cupped it in her palms. Opening it slightly she watched her hands light up, she felt like a child again, leaning in she whispered into her cupped hands, "I wish to be as free as you are, my little bug." And with that she opened her hand and held it flat. When the lightening bug made no attempt to escape, she softly blew at it, sending it flying back into the nighttime air, carrying her wish with it.
Dinner that night wasโฆodd. Timothy and Darla sat in their usual seats and waited for her to wash up and sit down. They never have waited on her before to start eating. Coming back into the dinning room, Celeste raised a brow at them questioningly, "Is something wrong?" she asked.
Aunt Darla let out an exasperated sigh, "Why would anything be wrong silly girl?" She asked shaking her head.
"Can we not just all have a nice dinner together?" Uncle Timothy went on to say.
Celeste sat down, looking at the food on the table she was surprised to see actual meat of some kind. It had been a long time since she had seen meat, let alone eat any, something was up. They were acting suspicious and, in a way, almost guilty. Now there was meat on the table. "Well we do not normally have meat for dinner, what is the special occasion?" she asked making her plate.
"I just felt like making something that actually had a flavor today." Her Aunt shrugged.
Celeste scrunched her eyebrows together but decided to let it go, the food smelt delicious. The meat taste sweet yet salty on her tongue, and the mashed potatoes were smooth and buttery, the corn on the cob she smothered in butter as well. Not the healthiest meal in the world but when you did not eat like this often, it would be alright. "Oh, goodness Aunt Darla, this food taste absolutely amazing." Celeste moaned around another mouth full of potatoes.
Her Aunt smiled guiltily, "I know girl, eat up, enjoy it."
Something still did not feel right about the situation, but Celeste could not put her finger on it. Her Aunt and Uncle were never this nice, they never had this elaborate of foods, most nights Celeste was lucky to get a cheese sandwich. Not seeing what choice, she had, she decided that time would tell what was up. Celeste finished her meal and started cleaning up the table, there was a knock on the door, which startled her making her drop a dish.
"Timothy, get the door." Darla hissed in annoyance.
A visitor? People usually did not visit at this time of night, or at all for that matter. An uneasiness seeped into Celeste's skin, her heart pounded in her ears, who was at the door and why?