Beau and Tessa returned to the dome only briefly to recharge as they soon realized their truck was running on less than ten percent battery life. Once they grabbed a quick snack, and a few words with Mayor Carnie about their discoveries, Beau returned to his truck while Tessa left to be with her mother who needed her to synthesize more medicine. She promised she would return soon.

  Beau drove back out on another mission. His truck rumbled over the ramp and across the rift gate, back toward the South Corridor to get to the bottom of the truth behind their existence inside the dome. Even though his curiosity was at maximum, he knew the priority was to locate more food if it existed. In a matter of days the people inside the dome would feel the creeping starvation setting in. People would die if they didn’t act and find resources.

  The end of the South Corridor opened into another vast concrete chamber. Emerging from the dark, to Beau’s great surprise, was another Paradise Dome. It was somewhat tarnished but nearly identical to theirs in shape and size, pearl white on the exterior and nearly ninety miles in diameter. Beau hit the brakes as he caught sight of it. Painted on the side were four yellow digits. “4455.”

  He stared at the number. He sat unmoved. His throat felt hollow. His hands hung limp on the wheel. And then—his memory latched onto something.

  FLASHBACK (10 Years Ago)

  The projector whined to life. Grainy lines raced down Beau’s third grade classroom wall. Beau and the rest of the students groaned in near-perfect unison.

  “Again?” Beau muttered.

  “Like we haven’t seen this a million times…” a kid whispered.

  But when the music played, they all fell silent. The tune from a soft piano played; the sound was hopeful and filled with a synthetic kind of warmth.

  The screen lit up with the face of Dr. Randall Gerben—bearded, intense-eyed, standing on a hill before a digital backdrop of green forests and sapphire skies. He smiled, calm but burdened, like a man carrying the last scent of the dead world. He couldn’t have been older than fifty.

  “My name is Dr. Randall Gerben. I once believed I could save the world. A foolish thought.”

  He chuckled sadly.

  A few kids mouthed along in perfect sync with the recording.

  “I was part of a project meant to change humanity. But instead…we watched it all burn. The green gas came first. It was silent and weaponized by the ones in power—shadow governments, black-budget warmongers, you name it. I couldn’t stop them. But I chose to save you.”

  The video switched to a separate video with bright eyed children, sunlight streaming onto gardens, and the Paradise Dome rising in the distance giving the impression of hope.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Paradise Dome. It’s one-of-a-kind. There’s no other like it in the world. It’s more than shelter—it’s home. You must wait until the gas clears. Don’t worry. That won’t be long, not with all the resources at your disposal to create a thriving population. Once you reach a population of one hundred thousand residents, the dome will crack open like an egg and you’ll be free to stretch your wings like a bird.”

  His smile widened.

  “Until then, be strong. Be kind. And trust that the truth lives here. You needn’t worry. Enjoy your lives inside Paradise Dome.”

  The video ended with the trumpet-heavy anthem. The children stood and clapped like they were supposed to. The memory hung like scripture inside his mind.

  Beau had believed the reality given to them.

  They all had.

  BACK TO PRESENT

  But now—staring at that number, 4455—Beau’s heart dropped into a cavern he hadn’t known was there. Had the residents of 4455 been given the same video? Were they told of their own “one-of-a-kind” sanctuary? Were they raised on the same lies from the same script?

  How many domes were there? How many people believe in the apocalypse?

  He swallowed hard. He opened the truck door with fingers that felt suddenly cold. The wind that met him was dry and thick with a coppery scent of rust and decay. His boots touched down on the concrete floor with a small echo.

  Something stirred in the shadows. A creature skittered across a ventilation pipe. Another loomed nearby, antenna twitching. Stay away. Just stay away. His axe was inside the truck. He froze. Were they probing him for weakness? He couldn’t see them from that distance, whether they were ants or some other more treacherous monster.

  He climbed back into his truck, slammed the door shut, and drove.

  The shadows skittered away in all directions. He spotted one creature who couldn’t quite flee his truck beams which cast light over a scurrying giant cockroach. It was as big as a coffin lid but with wings and much faster than an ant. It sent chills through his system.

  He drove full speed around the exterior perimeter Dome 4455, back toward the corridor he arrived from, when he found a section of Dome 4455 that he hadn’t noticed before. There was a large breach in the dome. It was massive and peeled open. Black scorch marks licked outward like soot covered fingers. An explosion, maybe?

  Maybe the citizens broke themselves out? Were they trying to escape something from the inside?

  Beau parked, overwhelmed by the discovery.

  He looked into the gaping dark rift, into Paradise Dome 4455. He couldn’t tell what kind of world lay inside. The only detail was an expanse of beach sand which had spilled out from the rift. Hundreds of small piles of bones lay scattered, the remains of rotting fish which gave a pungent smell, even from that distance. The air also faintly smelled of burning plastic. It smelled like a conflict.

  He checked his cellphone. He wanted to call Tessa and report this, but he didn’t have any signal outside of the Dome 101. Still, the others had to know about this.

  Beau Danning sat and stared at another entire world that was dark and seemingly emptied of inhabitants. But then a thought came to him. You know what else may lay inside Dome 4455? Food. Resources. Things they could use right now. Maybe even survivors.

  Maybe their dome wasn’t special, and who knows how many other domes there may be, but that wasn’t going to stop Beau from protecting the people inside Dome 101 who were special to him.

  Beau pressed on the gas pedal and inched onto the sand through the rift of Dome 4455 determined to find food and help his people.