Vadal touched the side of his pants once more, feeling the familiar bulge of his pistol. He felt off balance on the ship, and he could tell he wasn't alone. All of the people on were close to his age and had the look of a survivor on them: wary, and hardened. It seemed strange to him that they hadn't dispossessed anyone of their weapons, and stranger still that no one had started a fight or been killed during the long trip. He had been on the ship for two weeks now, and their destination, according to the captain who chimed in over a loudspeaker with regular updates, was very close. They'd be there by tomorrow afternoon.<br/><br/>He found that the thoughts of a new life didn't allow him to sleep. He tossed and turned on the top bunk that he was sleeping on, unsure of how he felt, mostly because he didn't know what to expect. He couldn't trust this venture blindly, as he knew that would only lead to disappointment. But he couldn't help but feel hopeful that this really was a colony where people had learned to be self-sufficient... where people had rediscovered what it was to live a normal life.<br/><br/>He closed his eyes for the entire night, but he didn't once fall into sleep. As light started to pour in through the small window of his room, he grunted and threw the covers off himself. Perhaps he could get a look at the island already.<br/><br/>Vadal rummaged a bit through his backpack as he walked down the hallway to the door that led outside. It felt strange to look at the scraps of dried fish and pieces of flint inside. Survivor tools that might no longer be necessary. He sighed and opened the door, only to find that a small crowd had already begun to mass up by the prow of the ship. The sun's orange-pink hue reflected off the ocean water, bathing it in a fiery color. The sun was only just poking out from a distant array of tall, cathedral shaped buildings on an island. He couldn't quite make out the details yet, but he almost felt like laughing with relief. There really did seem to be proper civilization in store for him.<br/><br/>They had been told they'd be screened once they got to the island and assigned to a job that suited them. He rather liked the idea of it. Maybe he could be a carpenter.<br/><br/>A gunshot followed by an anguished scream interrupted his thoughts. He whirled around to see a man standing over a bleeding corpse with his gun still pointed at the body. A woman next to the man sprung on him, clawing at his gun to try and take it away.<br/><br/>"What the hell...?" Vadal muttered to himself.<br/><br/>Two armored men came out from inside the ship and split the two people apart, quickly cuffing up the man with the gun. The woman writhed in the guard's arms, screaming, "Why didn't you take our guns! Why?!"<br/><br/>The man grabbing her had a helmet on, obscuring his face. The voice that replied seemed to be modified electronically, as it didn't quite sound natural. "It lets us know who the troublemakers are," he said. He lingered on the words, as if he was enjoying the moment.<br/><br/>Vadal put a hand to his gun inside his pants once more. Everyone was looking at the scene, muttering and looking at each other with renewed distrust. The buildings in the distance grew larger as the ship moved imminently towards them, and suddenly, they looked a lot more ominous.