The Weight Of Deafness In Love And Survival

Chapter 1-What is Happening?

I can feel the sun on my face. I can see trees all around me. I can smell the scent of the wildflowers on the breeze. I can even hear the birds singing the song only they know the words to. It's so beautiful but it's not real. Reality is being stranded in space locked in a cell for knowing the truth and unable to hear anything without the magnet connected to my head and aid around my ear. It's been ninety-seven years since the nuclear apocalypse killed everyone on Earth and left it covered in radiation. But there were survivors; twelve nations had operational space stations at the time. Now there is only the Ark; the one station forged from the many. We're told the Earth needs another one-hundred years to become survivable again. This is at least four more space locked generations and man can go home, back to the ground. The ground, that's the dream. Unfortunately, we'll never make it there. Life-support on the Ark is failing and has been for a year. Jake Griffin, Clarke's father, discovered the flaw and wanted everyone to know. Clarke found out, agreed, and told Wells and I. I agreed with them, but Wells didn't and told his dad, Thelonious Jaha, the Chancellor. This got Jake floated and Clarke and I locked up in the Skybox, awaiting the day we turn eighteen to be floated.

Suddenly I was dragged out of the "bed" and my thoughts by rough hands causing my eyes to fly open. In my cell were four guards; two who were holding my arms, one who was getting some sort of metal bracelet out of a case, and one who was holding said case. I watch in confusion as he comes and snaps it on my wrist, with multiple stings from what feels like needles piercing my skin. I just let them lead me out even though I still had months before I turned eighteen as it was only a matter of time before they culled the prisoners to give them more time. But my eyes widen and I freeze when I spot my adoptive parents, Julie and Romero Snow, standing just outside the door. They step closer with the extreme sadness at the loss of yet another daughter in their eyes. Their biological daughter died ten years ago from a heart defect that wasn't discovered until it suddenly killed her. They tried to have another child but then the flu outbreak that killed my biological parents, my childhood friend, his parents, and others on the Ark and took my hearing happened and they decided to adopt an orphan. I was said lucky orphan who was adopted by them, became a "privileged" who lived in Alpha station, and was adopted by a family who did it out of love and not for the extra rations. I was even lucky that someone ninety-seven years ago thought it was a good idea to stock the space stations with cochlear implants, sign language books for the sign languages of each stations nation, and medical books and videos covering deafness and cochlear implants (which included how to use them, how to complete the surgery, and how to fix them). But then again, I was the first deaf person on the Ark in nearly sixty years so everything was new to everyone involved, I was labeled either a freak or an idiot or even both from almost everyone, and everyone I had loved was dead.

Romero looks at the two guards holding me and asks "Can you give us a moment with our daughter?" They must have agreed since they let me go and stepped back. Romero and Julie then closed the distance between us, hugged me, and Julie connected the processor to my implant where it needed to be. The council had taken it away when I got arrested, since I didn't need it in the Skybox especially with me being in solitary, and me getting it back meant we weren't being culled but something else entirely. But before I could question what was happening I was shot in the neck with something and everything went black.