Chapter 2：Transport Ship

1386 A.M. (After Meteor)--

Airspace above Sector-K (Kansas)

Laying on the grass Danny takes his hands and laces them together cradling his head. He always loved this spot. The shade of the Willow tree was always so soothing. It was his favorite place to watch the clouds floating by. Taking a deep breath he's filled with the sweet smell of the wild flowers growing in the near by meadow. A strand of grass dances in his mouth as his mind starts to wonder through memories of the not so distant past. Back to the day when he first arrived in the infamous Sector-K and the perilous incidents that occurred that day. The day that nearly ended his life. How did he even managed to make it out alive?

Danny lay on his medal cot in cell A-521 on the air transport ship along with three other men he could only suspect were guilty of their various crimes. Thanks to the Department of Criminal Justice they were on a one way trip to Sector-K. So much for "Justice," he knew that he had been framed for the murder of Division Commander Ken Wesley, but proving it would be another story. He had no alibi, no suspects and no idea where to start. He could hear the sounds of the guards making their rounds as they patrolled the ship. Danny looked up from his cot. The guards were dressed in gray military uniforms. Their boots were practically new, spit shined to perfection. Danny held in a laugh as he was sure that he would be able to see his reflection in them. Rookies obviously ready to kiss up to the Corporal with a stout "Yes sir!" AR-15 assault rifles were strapped securely across their scrawny backs no doubt fully loaded ready to shoot first and ask questions later.

He viewed the surroundings of his cell as he attempted to adjust to his reality. The cell was uninviting and bare, with only two metal bunks and one toilet. He shivered at the unpleasant thought of having to smell the excrement of others in such a small area. On each bed were very thin cotton blankets visibly worn. Danny wondered about the last time they had even been washed. By the smell of them he guessed about a month, maybe even more. There were three other people in this cell with him. A greasy looking, potbellied man, and a pale, sickly man that looked to be in his mid twenties with long black hair. The last man was a homely looking middle aged man who talked a lot. A bit too much for Danny's taste in this case. He had decided that he didn't really have much use for the middle aged man's life stories. So he attempted to tune him out the best he could.

He disliked the big guy the most because he always ate the majority of the food that was delivered to the cell. This left the rest of the cell mates barely anything to eat. The sickly looking young man looked like he would benefit from a few good meals the most. He was an odd fellow. Danny was sure that he "wasn't all there." He sat in the corner the whole time and didn't speak a word to anyone constantly fidgeting with his hands as he whispered to himself. This made Danny feel uneasy, so he stayed clear of him as much as possibly, still making sure that he kept an eye on him in case he tried anything funny.

While Danny was laying in his bunk the Middle aged man got up from the ground in front of the adjacent cot and started over toward Danny. He was a tall endomorphic man. His skin looked aged and his hair showed signs of graying. His face wore deep lines and his eyes were somewhat gentle yet wise in nature. He introduced himself briskly "the name's Clark," he said as he thrust his worn hand toward Danny. Danny sat up in his cot, taking Clark's hand in his and giving it a firm shake. "Say boy what did you do to get sent here?" Danny's face twisted at the question as he replied "I am innocent, I did nothing wrong".

Clark laughed a hardy guffaw and proceeded to tell Danny all about how he and his wife at one time had owned a bakery. He sounded proud at this fact. From the looks of him Danny could imagine Clark as a bakery owner who enjoyed the added benefits of being the first to sample all the products. He continued to recount his story to Danny about how the government screwed him over by shutting down his business. At a last stitch effort to "stick it to the man," he undertook a poor excuse for a robbery and was ultimately caught in the end. Danny rolled over and faced the wall to show that he was no longer in the mood to talk and tuned Clark out. Clark obviously didn't get the memo and continued yammering on, but Danny no longer payed him any attention. At this point he wish he had the gift of sound nullification, so he would no longer have to hear Clark's nonsense.

At the time of the Great Cataclysm a giant meteor hit the Earth and released some type of unknown gas into the atmosphere. Many people lost their lives due to the meteors impact. Some survivors were struck with a mysterious illness scientist guessed was a direct result of the noxious gas emitted from the meteor after it hit earth. Others managed to be immune to the gas all together. Those who came through the illness gained what could only be described as supernatural abilities. These people would come to be known as "Evolvers". The range of abilities were truly remarkable. One Evolver could find they had the ability to breath fire while another found that they could fly. The meteor killed off roughly seventy five percent of the population, but the remaining people of Earth banded together during this difficult time to restore Earth to it's former glory.

One would think that with so many people having special abilities, someone would be able to stage an escape, but the Department of Criminal Justice made sure that was not the case. Each transport ship was equipped with it's own special guard who was gifted with the power of negation. This enabled the bearer to cancel out another Evolvers power temporarily, preventing them from the use of their ability. This ability was considered fairly rare and extremely useful in the transportation of Evolvers. The D.C.J. learned quite early just how valuable these Negators were after they had one too many close calls in the early stages of transport to Sector-K. Because of the uncommonness of the Negators and a concern for working with government the Department of Criminal Justice had to pay a pretty penny to employ individuals with this specific ability. Needless to say Negators lived fairly comfortable lives.

Danny lied there in daze as he suddenly heard banging on the cell door. He turned over on his cot to see why someone was banging on the cell door. It was one of the guards, but seeing as though he wasn't here to deliver food to the cell Danny assumed that they were at their destination. "Get up" the guard said with a deep scratchy voice "It's time to drop". As Danny was led out of his cell he was put into a group with the other convicts from his holding cell and was led by a group of guards though the transport ship.

Drop? he thought. We aren't going to be let off on the ground? They were lead through the ship and passed many empty cells that had already had their convicts lead out of them. They were in one of the last cells to be emptied out, so most of the others were already gone before them.

He was brought over by the guards to a room where the other convicts were waiting. The room was very big about the size of a football field and was empty except for the prisoners. They were all standing in silence in an orderly fashion. All the convicts were made to keep silence the whole flight by the guards or they would get beaten. As he looked around the room he saw the floor was one giant escape hatch. As he saw that no one was giving anything to help them slow their descent he prepared to ask the guard about it.

He gulped and asked the guard "Do we get a parachute when we are dropping?".

When asked the question the guard first hit him with his gun in the head, causing Danny to fall onto the floor, then while he was on the floor the guard looked at him like he was stupid and said "You aren't supposed to talk, and if we give you parachutes how would we be able to get them back?"

Having got the answer he dreaded to hear Danny picked himself off the floor and resigned himself to his fate. He no longer asked any questions and waited along with the rest of the group. While he was waiting for his impending doom he heard a bumping noise coming from the doorway leading into the hangar. He looked in the direction of the noise and saw giant crates being wheeled into the room.

He looked at the crates quizzically and saw that they were filled with food. They mostly had dry rations and canned fruit or beans. Just the basic food for survival that would be provided to the residents of Sector-K.

So this is how the people in Sector-K get food he thought. I guess you can't have a state of convicts be entirely self sustaining he mused.

As he was looking at the crates he saw they had parachutes on the top. Feeling as though his heart was pierced by an arrow he laughed in self mockery at how food was deemed as more important than he was.

After waiting about ten minutes he hears the loudspeaker click on. The voice over the speaker said cheerfully "I hope you have had a nice flight. We are about to be over the designated dropping zone, and when you land I would advise you to be careful in Sector-K, the people there are not as hospitable as we are. While you are dropping please don't hold onto the food crates, that would be greatly appreciated..Oh, and please to aim for the water."

The loudspeaker clicked off and Danny began to guess the meaning of what was just said. Deep in his thoughts he was no longer payed any attention to his surroundings. While this was happening the hatch below his feet suddenly opened. His heart dropped to his stomach as his eyes opened with surprise. Then he began to fall.