Orbital by bill zhao copyright 2017 Bill Zhao Table of Contents act one (earth)

April 12
th 
2489
Fifteen now. And that’s the age when the orphanage gives you a small
cupcake, says thanks for your time and kicks you out. And with doing
so, they gave Derek a small apartment and 168 hours to pay his weekly
rent. Nothing has changed since. A few robberies, a few phones, no
companions. The only people he knew were his boss and the bosses
‘assistants’. The murdery-assassin type of assistants. They were the
reason Derek never lost his job due to competition and for all he knows,
he’s probably not working for the wrong people. Control was
everything there. It meant wealth, power and not ending up like Derek.
All he did was sit at his cubicle and type stuff for hours on end. Boring
and pointless but it was his only source of income. Good income. And
he wasn’t going to question it.
To him, the dream ended there but there was always that one last part
which he wanted to forget. One last dire ending to an already horrible

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nightmare. This part he knew was fictional.
The shadows of the other orphans danced on the wall behind him. The
dim glowing LED flickered inside a cage beside him. 10 year old Derek
was half asleep when he saw the shadows stop moving and all plunged
into silence. The shadows whispered in loud, adult, gruff voices.
“Great... done for the night again. Personally, I think he should be put
in prison just like the rest of them.” Another replied “What rest?”
Hoarse laughter followed as the shadows moved out. Derek knew this
didn’t happen. He just kept denying it. Over and over again. If they
knew, he would have been taken already… right?
0500 Hours, Summer, 2502