The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 519

Chapter 519

A massive mountain range stretched on without end.

Deep in the mountains, halfway up a fractured slope, a huge structure clung to the rock face.

In front of the building, tall security fencing boxed off a narrow platform. Beyond it was a sheer drop that disappeared into nothing.

Above them loomed snow–covered peaks that never thawed.

A small line of people pushed garbage carts out through the base gates, their figures as tiny as ants against the

mountains.

The moment they stepped outside, the freezing air hit them head–on, forcing several people to stumble back. Heavy snow whipped down with the wind, slamming into their bodies.

They shook violently. Their thin clothes were useless against the cold.

A cold mechanical voice sounded in their ears.

“Return to base within one minute.”

Hearing the warning, the group forced itself forward again.

Crack!

The smallest person among them slipped and fell. The garbage cart nearly tipped over.

At the last second, a large hand grabbed him.

“Hold on.”

The boy looked up at the man beside him, his face thin. His eyes were too big for his face, but they remained steady and bright.

He nodded hard. “Okay, Dad.”

Bag after bag of trash was dumped into the bottomless pit. Once the load was gone, they turned and ran, pushing the carts with everything they had.

At 59 seconds on the countdown, they made it back inside, snow and frost clinging to their clothes.

As soon as the doors sealed, everyone stomped their feet and rubbed their hands together.

Gosh, that was cold.

“Achoo!”

Someone sneezed. He immediately covered his mouth and nose, then slapped his own face twice, forcing color back into it.

In Ark Three, getting sick meant being marked for disposal. You were either sent upstairs as a test subject or dumped straight into the abyss.

The base had no use for unhealthy people.

After returning the cars to their assigned spots, the group lowered their heads and got back to work cleaning.

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+15 Bohus

In front of them yawned a deep vertical shaft that connected all the upper levels.

This was Ark Three’s trash pit. Every day, massive amounts of waste were tossed down from above.

Their job was to clean it, haul it, and keep the place from overflowing.

They had to work 19 hours a day. No days off.

They worked through exhaustion and rot stench without stopping. If they slowed down even a little, the trash piled up immediately.

Even inside Ark Three, they were the lowest of the low.

Sometimes, though, they got lucky. Once in a while, they would find leftovers from the elites‘ meals mixed in with the garbage.

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