One

Helena and Blad.

"I'm cold Helena."

She knew it was and there was nothing she could do about it.

It felt like they"d been cold for weeks, that there was no real warmth left in the world.

Every bit of joy she"d known so well, seemed to have been sucked from it. What had once been a kaleidoscope of colour was now, bleak and dead.

The bright skies and colourful world that had been everything she'd ever known now dull and lifeless. No longer seeing the colour in it. There was no more joy and happiness was a long-ago memory.

There was only hiding and sorrow now, anguish where they'd once been so much joy and she couldn't let her despair wash over her. Trying to stay upbeat was becoming difficult, all she really wanted to do was roll over and cry, wallow in her own misery but she couldn't let that break her, they still had so much to do.

Besides, Jacqs needed her to be strong, she could feel her own despair matching her own. It was more than a child should ever have to bear.

"I'm sorry baby girl," she whispered. "Come here I'll wrap you up." Jacq crawled closer and sat on her lap, wrapping her in her coat as Jacqs snuggled in. "I can't light a fire, it's not raining." Jacq nodded. She knew the score by now. It needed to be raining to light a fire, it would keep the smoke down and not allow others to find them.

Without it…..

She took a shuddering breath. She couldn't think about that….

At least the cave was dry, and so were they, if a little cold. They'd been many times over the last few weeks when they"ve been damp and outright soaked. It was that time of year and she"d worried that Jacqs would come down with a chill. With no medicine or access to any medical care, that could have been deadly. But they"ve been lucky. Finding cover most of the time, managing to stay fairly dry and when they had got soaked, she"d found some shelter and been able to light a fire. The rain ironically helping to dry them too.

It wasn't much but it was all they had, and she'd learnt quickly to make the most of it.

They'd been some hard lessons over the past weeks. Some shocking and horrible, others, learning experiences that could have been deadly. Soon learning what she could and couldn't do to not draw attention to them. Attention they did not need. Hiding and remaining in shadow. Making no noise. Not alerting anyone to their presence or giving their position away.

Sighing, she looked at the cave again in the dimming light, it was too carved to be natural. It was man made she was sure of it. But it wasn't the first cave they'd been in and been disappointed.

Could this be the one?....

They'd been looking in caves for over a week, not finding what they were looking for. Getting there had taken weeks more and she wasn't even sure if she'd got it right this time. They had no map. No grid reference. She was working on the sun and moons position, the directions she'd been told. Trying to stay positive and upbeat, she couldn't let on to Jacqs about her concerns. She was scared enough.

"We'll have some food soon." She told Jacqs determinedly.

"Do we have some?" Jacqs knew better than to ask for food and water now. She gave her what she had when she had it. Eeking it out. Making it last as long as possible.

"I have a little. It will be enough, if this is not the right tunnel, I will go hunting tomorrow."

She felt Jacqs nodding, feeling how much weight she'd lost in the last six weeks and she was responsible for that. She needed to do better by her, just not sure how. It was a miracle they'd made it this far. A lump came to her throat she swallowed.

She should have done a better job, not sure how she could have but what she'd done, didn't seem enough….

She knew Jacqs wasn"t alone in losing weight. Her own clothing had become very loose. That puppy fat that she"d been carrying was now gone. The constant running, carrying Jacqs and walking had made her more muscular, her body firmer, leaner. But they were both weak from the lack of nutritious and plentiful food that had once been all they'd known and the lack of water they'd also once taken for granted.

She'd picked up things on the way, carried what she could for them. If they'd come across farming land, they'd kept to the fringes and stolen apples and corn, what fruit and vegetables they could find. Often, she'd sacrificed eating and drinking to give Jacqs what she needed. But it still wasn't much and once out of the farming landscape, always on the move, it was mainly nuts and wild fruit they'd been living on and what she could catch in snares when she chanced it. But she could only cook those when it rained. So she'd started to collect food on the run, to cook it when she could knowing when rain was coming and keep it for several days sharing it out until she could do it again.

They were both feeling the effects, suffering from the lack of regular food and little water, there was no doubt about that. Keeping on the move was becoming more and more of a challenge. They tired quicker now and had little energy for much else. But she'd kept pushing, carrying Jacqs when she could, letting her rest.

Holding Jacqs to her now, she kept an eye on the entrance. You could never be too careful. She'd learnt that quickly too. It might look calm and empty but that didn't mean it was. One hand on her weapon, a sharp knife she'd taken from the kitchen as she'd run, she rarely slept these last weeks.

And when she did, she'd wake scared that they'd found them.

Her time of peaceful sleep and naivety were over.

They'd barely got out and away.

And so much had been sacrificed for that to happen. Her chest hurting once more when she thought of it.

Damn, she had to stop doing that it wasn"t helping….

Feeling Jacq's fall asleep against her, she held her. She'd seen things that a child should never see.

For what seemed the millionth time since this all started, she closed her eyes and asked the heavens, what on earth had happened.

But like before it gave her no answers.

Their world was Sanctuary.

A planet colonised during the Colonisation Programme of Old Earth. It was lush and beautiful. No real predators, although very different from old earth, nature here lived in harmony. It was peaceful. They had no enemies. The planet uncolonized before their arrival, with no indigenous people or natural predators, the colony had flourished.

Many generations later, she'd grown up happy. Loved. There were no hardships other than hard work, no nasty, hateful or painful times. The farmstead of her parents did well. They were well fed and worked a good living and both she and her sister were well cared for.

They never had to doubt their love.

Why would they? Their parents never stopped showing them how much they loved them.

Her childhood had been nature and wildlife, plants and the growing world around them for food and a good life. Sunup to sundown she'd had the freedom of the world around her as her playmate. And school had just become interesting. Puberty having hit her year, there had been many pairings. No longer the immature play acting of childhood, this had the passion that lacked. Youth's exploring their sexuality, finding girlfriends and boyfriends, but she lacked the confidence for that. She wasn"t ready and found the whole thing far too intimidating. Tongue tied and immature, she wasn't one of the popular girls and didn't really want to be.

She was happy with her group of friends, going to school, doing the homework and happy to come home again. Learning as she worked and lived with her family. Her parents had recognised she had a keen, sharp mind. They'd taught her how to live, how to survive in the wild and made her learn giving her access to the old ways.

There is no room for laziness in their world. Everyone had a role to play and had work to do for the benefit of the whole.

And very few things gave them cause for concern.

They had the freedom to roam, to play, to be who they wanted to be. The community was a happy one. Peaceful. Mostly they got on with each other. No need for heavy policing or an army. People were friendly and generally cared for each other. Neighbour happy to support neighbour. To come to their aid in times of difficulty or illness. People shared what they had. Came to others rescue. Often sacrificing for others.

It had been their way of life.

It was beautiful.

She"d been told that was unique in humans, but it was all she'd ever known.

That most humans historically were self-centred, self-serving back on Old Earth where they'd come from. People looked to themselves rather than anybody else. Society had deteriorated in the throws of destruction and famine. Few lived anything but a nucleus self-interested way of life that didn't work in a supported sharing and strong community. By that point on Old Earth, they'd been little to share or inclination to do so.

It was a world of credits and personal interest. Personal survival.

She found that difficult to believe and to understand, this was the only world she"s ever known. And here the community was everything. Their projects and food production thrived or failed sometimes depending on the help and availability of the people around them to give their time.

And the community was always willing.

People knew how important it was and made sure failure didn"t happen.

She"s been told many times that the structures to their way of life came from the beliefs and way of life of the Amish families back on Old Earth. They'd rejected a lot of the modern ways and it made for cleaner healthier lives and in doing so, in the end, that had saved them in the face of destruction and devastation elsewhere in the world. It was a lesson well learned. And in real terms because of it, when Old Earth started to fall apart and resources were nearly exhausted, it was this community that continued to thrive helping and supporting those around them that hadn"t.

The corporations that were in control had no rule over them. They were a united and separate people. Success in the face of such odds was a revelation to everyone. And because of it, after everything they'd endured on their home planet, it was what the colonists had wanted for their new world.

A simpler life. Became their way of life.

Fear had not lived in her world. Until that all came crashing down.

And it did.

Their world had been a world where aggression didn't live.

Where wars or fighting wasn't part of their way of life. Their communities rarely disputed anything. People rarely argued. They didn"t fight over anything either. People were more likely to give things away, go without themselves than covet someone else"s. Their existence was often described to her as a commune, a people who shared a joint way of life.

Not that she really understood what that meant or the distinction. To her, it was the only world she'd ever known. It was their sanctuary. Sanctuary from the old world and Old Earth. And they'd named this new world exactly that many, many generations ago.

Sanctuary.

Their communities did not pit man against man or woman. Communities didn"t fight other communities, they talked, worked out their differences in council if they had them. People were generally agreeable, fair and compromised for the good of the whole.

Their world was called Sanctuary for a reason. They had no enemies, it was a place of harmony, peace and safety.

What need was there of an army?.... None… how short sighted that was….

Since their colony was established and the years passed, those that came with the colony program to protect them gradually died out as the generations passed as well. And as they passed and security was perceived as not needed, they were not replaced. Other jobs had more value to the whole.

That complacency had cost them everything…. Did they not remember it was a vast universe out there with so many unknowns….

She sighed. They'd been no need for self-defence or weapons training.

No need to learn strategy or fighting.

They had some security, a local police force in each community that spent more time walking and chatting than actually having to arrest anyone. There was no legal system here as she'd heard of back on Old Earth. No judges. No solicitors or barristers. If a crime was committed, the community decided their punishment. Not that there were many.

Punishment was usually work related to the one that had raised the complaint and no one she knew was ever seriously punished. People accepted their roles and juvenile high jinks were just that. It was a world of farming, of agriculture. Of people seeking personal growth. Living simple lives. No one went hungry. No one was too poor to live.

They didn't need an army.

She'd never even heard of it being discussed. Never once had she seen it on a council meeting agenda. After so many years since the initial colonisation, her people hadn't expected to find they'd need one. Their families had been here for generations without a problem.

Coming from Old Earth on the colonisation program, her family had come seeking new land. With hope of a new life. To start again and do things differently. She knew her ancestors had blamed greed for much of the Old Earth's problems. And they were determined not to repeat it.

Expecting they'd be dangers; they'd come to this world prepared for anything and found a world with hardly any dangers at all. A surprise to everyone, it was peaceful, one in stark contrast to the Old Earth with all its conflict and exhausted resources.

She'd been told in history classes that Old Earth had been dying.

She could believe it when told the horror stories of its destruction. Large global Corporations that she didn't understand the concept of, ran that world back then, they had stripped it of everything, then over mined its Moon destabilising it before taking to the stars for the riches on other worlds found by probes sent out decades before.

To her it was mind-blowing that such things were possible.

Overpopulated, resources stripped, food production failing, the weather unpredictable, storms had raged across the old world as the ocean levels continued to rise. And a great many people had died. The old, the young, the poor, the ill. Only those with credits or skills to survive did.

She'd seen the records of ‘cities' of millions of people that had collapsed.

It was hard for her to imagine any of that with their simple lives. No huge cities here, no heavy industry lived here but the stories her parents had told her had been passed down each generation, so they'd never forget how lucky they were to have survived it.

And it all had been very real.

She couldn"t think how anyone could allow that to happen. Even the numbers in their millions made little sense to her.

How could there be so many people in such small spaces?.... Where was the room for growth and independence, to explore and challenge yourself?....

It was beyond her imaginings.

She didn't know what a ‘corporation' was, but she'd been told they'd taken over the running of the old world. It wasn't a good thing in hindsight. A group called Earth Corp had taken over much of it. They had held to the worth of credits that people bought things with. She didn't really understand that either. They didn't use a monetary system. You earnt what you had and bartered or made agreements. But on the old world, the resources that were left were few, and governments were happy to let the Corporations run things to survive.

It all seemed a little short sighted to her.

Why would you give such unaccountable power to so few?.....

She didn't know and didn't have the answers to that. And once they realised those minerals would be running out of those precious materials they wanted so bad on the old world, corporations sent out probes to the universe, looking for other worlds that would keep them running. Looking for more wealth.

She guessed to them it was the logical next step.

And once they'd started, they couldn't stop. Or didn't want to.

It sounded so alien. Such an unnatural thing to do….. What was the point of credits if you ruined the world you lived in and couldn't spend it?.....

It made no sense to her. Having nearly killed the world and many of its population, the Corporations had looked to other worlds for the riches they needed to keep their business's running and their ‘shareholders' happy. It was a world where credits were described as ‘God'. But she had little idea of that either. You couldn't ‘buy' anything on her world. If you had surplus, you could share it or barter it for something else you wanted.

Her family had repeated the family history handed down from generation to generation in stories around the night fire. The older generation explaining it all to the younger. That in order for her family ancestors to be on the colony ship, they'd had to give over their credits and human cells. Their DNA. And Earth Corp had taken it all. Blood, bone marrow, eggs and sperm. No one knew for sure why they needed it, but it was a condition of a chance of a new life. Of living where others were dying.

They took it and paid the credits to go. Just like many thousands of others did.

And in return for a chance of that new life, they'd signed on to mine this new world for Earth Corp for 100 years of minerals. But that hadn't happened here. Earth Corp had sent the re-supply and pick up ships three times, one every twenty years and then came no more.

With no further communication, no one knew why they'd stopped coming and her world had chosen to move on. They had enough supplies to make it work and did.

The old mine tunnels were there but had not been used since that time. Her grandparents had told her why they were there. Retelling the stories behind their histories. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she'd ever need to know them or be looking to use them.

She thanked her grandparents for keeping those histories alive.

It was their hope now. Looking around in the darkness.

This could be one of the shaft tunnels….

Her gut was telling her she was right this time. But she'd been mistaken before. They'd wasted time in searching they couldn't get back. Their pursuers getting ever closer.

And hoped she'd got it right this time. In her bones she knew time was running out for them.

Taking a deep breath, she prayed she was right in this.

It was just too carved to be natural. Tomorrow, in day light, she'd look to see if it was one of the emergency living spaces her grandparents had told her about. The first of the colonist's homes made in rock mined out.

In their desperation, that's what she'd come looking for. They needed to find one and fast. They needed its protection now.

She wasn't sure it was even still working.

Or if it would let them in.

She was hoping on a wish and a prayer that it worked for her, telling Jacqs when she started to flag it would, giving her hope but in truth, she had no idea if it would or not. And she couldn't admit that to Jacqs.

She had to cling on to something.

They needed hope.

The first colonists had made the tunnels as their equipment was designed to do. Mining the ground for the ore that Earth Corp demanded. The bi-product of the mined ore was huge underground spaces that could be locked down to keep the colonists safe underground against possible catastrophe occurring on first arrival while they dismantled the ship to make the first colony as it was designed to do.

In truth, no one knew for sure what to expect on arrival on this world and it was this tunnel systems that was their safeguard. Living on the landed ship, they used the earth moving equipment to tunnel underground gaining those resources and making an easily defendable space. They'd created their own sanctuary. They couldn't live in the ship indefinitely. And its purpose was to be dismantled on arrival to make the first land community providing everything they would need to be a success.

She looked around again in the dark, trying to see something that would give her a clue that she had it right this time.

God she hoped so or maybe it was just another old mine….. There were so many…

Taking some comfort in knowing the colony programme had thought of everything. That they had provided every resource to make this underground cave system a success. In reality she knew as they had, no one would be coming to their aid. Going to an unknown world was a risky live or die situation. There was no rescue plan for any of them if it all went wrong. Her ancestors had had to be resourceful and use what they had. Be safe and secure to keep out predators or anything that was harmful to human life while they built the community and broke down the ship that brought them here for its resources.

With their own air and water purification systems, security, the tunnels had living space, replicators and hydroponics for food production. Everything that was needed to sustain life that had once been on that ship.

Not that she'd ever seen one or knew what to expect. Just the images passed down when her curiosity got too much, and she'd ask her grandparents to tell her the stories again or she'd looked at the historic records.

Taking a shuddering breath, she tried to keep her emotions in. She didn't want to wake Jacqs.

They were all gone now.

God she was so tired….

And thought of her extended family, her friends.

How many of them were still alive?....

She didn't know. Her heart hurting, tears in her eyes she held it all in so as not to disturb Jacqs in her arms.

Shaking her head a little she pulled in her strained breath.

Why had they chosen to do things in the old way?......

Were they wrong in that choice?.... Had they been stupid and naive?....

She'd been told that once the community was built, most of the old world had been left behind in those tunnels. They wanted a purer life on this world nothing of Old Earth.

She hoped that information was right too. That their grandparents had told it right, not just romanced it. They're lives could depend on it and her finding it.

Tears burnt in her throat. She'd been looking for those tunnels for weeks now. Needing to find them. Hoping they'd get lucky.

They had to be real…..

Finding this one as it got dark, exploring had been out of the question. She couldn't chance making any light. It would be seen for miles, and she knew they were still tracking them.

The raiders that came in the night, people they did not know, using air ships and weapons they'd never seen before, swarming over the land, taking and killing people.

Her parents scared at seeing them, her father had left them to try and divert their raiders from heading to their home. Her mother had held them tight and told she loved them and for her to take Jacq. To remember the stories and find the tunnels and run. Running through the kitchen, she'd grabbed a large knife and they'd ran. Weeks and weeks of travelling. Always looking over their shoulders. Keeping low, staying under cover, not making noise or leaving tracks. Running and walking, rarely stopping unless they had good clear cover and she could see what was coming and could rest a while.

Exhausted, the journey had taken its toll on both of them.

She was close to breaking, she could feel it and held Jacqs close, she knew she needed to find those tunnels and fast.

She couldn't let Jacqs or her parents down. They'd sacrificed everything for them to have this chance.

Her emotions battering her, she closed her eyes trying to stop her mind working. She needed some peace, some quiet for just a moment. Resting her head back on those rocks, clinging to her hope she tried for some calm. Tried to clear her mind and rest.

She wasn't sure what woke her.

Knowing instantly that she'd drifted off, too tired to keep her eyes open any longer, to stay awake and immediately berated herself, looking out over the terrain. Annoyed at herself for not holding on. The sun now up, but they were still in shadow, the landscape moved as men walked through it in the distance.

Shit…. They were here….

"Jacq." She whispered, not sure if there was an advanced party or not closer. "I need you to wake baby girl." Jacqs shook her head a little. It was adorable and she wanted to smile and indulge her but knew she couldn't, not now. "Jacq come on we have to move." She told her more urgently.

Jacqs stirred. "Helena?" she asked sleepily.

"Yes baby girl, we need to move. Now. Come on."

Helping Jacqs up she stood herself. Her limbs cold and stiff she shook them out as the sun streaming in started to warm her. Grabbing Jacqs hand rubbing it, she moved them quickly further back into the tunnel. It was definitely carved and man-made, running her hand along the groves, she could see that now.

"If this is one of the living tunnels, there will be a door protecting it. I don't have the last key number, but it will take a biosignature and our ID chips to give us access. We just need to find it okay." She told her confidently squeezing her hand.

Confidence she didn't really feel but she refused to let her fears get the better of her.

Not now. Not when they were so close.

Jacqs nodded and they ran further in, down long passages.

Looking for anything that looked like an entrance the tunnels splitting off in different directions they kept to the main one. As the light from outside diminished the further in they went, they came to a dead end in the shadow and stopped. It made no sense. If the tunnel had been finished with, they'd be materials on the ground, debris, it would be dirty like the others, maybe some old tools laying around, a trolly to pull the minerals out or old tracks, old rocks, something left behind that showed they'd been dug.

But it was completely empty and looked like just more wall.

Pure, clean, it made little sense.

"Tap the wall on that side Jacqs. See if it sounds different to this." She showed her and Jacqs nodded doing the same on her side.

As they worked, it all sounded solid to her. She started to panic.

If they found them here, they'd be nowhere to go…..

Had she killed them by doing this?....

Her worry and anxiety hitting her as noise, voices drifted in still sounding some way off to the front of the tunnel reaching her. Her heart in her mouth, she gripped her knife in her pocket looking in the entrance's direction.

They weren't here yet but not far.

"Helena?" Jacqs whispered and she looked back at her.

Jacqs was standing at the end of the tunnel, her arm halfway through it. It took a minute to register and then she understood. It was a false wall. A projection of some kind like the historic records. A good one. You couldn't tell. Pulling Jacq back towards her. She held onto her hand as she walked through the false image and nearly cried at seeing the doorway beyond it. Moving back through the projection quickly she smiled at Jacqs and pulled her through with her. The projection a good 10ft from the door.

And there it stood. She nearly cried but they weren't safe yet. They both stood in front of the door hardly believing she'd done it with the projection at their backs.

I made it mom….