[ Alex stares at Clarke captivated by what’s being sharing. It’s a strange glimpse into a new understanding of the situation. Not only is there this, the city, spread out before her in every direction, there’s the reality of the people around her that might come from somewhere unimaginable. ]

Space? Like an astronaut? But it must have been so dangerous.

[ Just the thought of free falling, no ground or sky overhead. Alex can vividly imagine the feel of being suspended forever in the dark. The returned questions takes her a moment to digest. ]

The quarantines were because of the Twilights. Everyone called them monsters-- [ the one who killed her mother, the one that had assaulted her, the ones that performed all sorts of violence for a small sum of money. The one who gave her a handkerchief to wipe her bloodied nose and held her hands steady because he knew she needed him. ] but they’re not. They are just humans and the world treated them unfairly. I don’t know if it was like that everywhere. I think just our city.

[ And then a small smile. ]

But if I’m honest, I think the sight of a large forest would be just as shocking as this city.