“Sophie, you've been chosen for the EVE Project.” 

The eighteen-year-old in question blinked at the two suit wearing men and tried to process what they just told her. She has heard of the EVE project before but always had been told it was never going to happen.

That it was more so an idea politics had been dancing around with. So, for these men in black to pull her out of class to claim she was in the project was madness.

The girl wondered if she was being played with and turned to ask her teacher what was up. But the older woman had disappeared into the hallway. Leaving her all alone and nervous. 

“Your parents have been made aware of this and have already made arrangements for your education. You don't have to worry about anything besides following us out to the car that's waiting.” One of the men told her while the other texted someone on his phone. 

Sophie laughed in shock and held up a hand to stop him. “Wait, what do you mean? What car? When did you speak to my parents?” 

The men looked at each other and switched lanes. The man who had been talking before had a softer tone as he explained further. “Your parents were supposed to have told you when the decision was made but they felt it was better we did. So, please listen closely, Sophie.” 

“As you may or may not know, the government has approved of the EVE project to begin this year. The EVE project is one of five plans in the US to help stop and hopefully survive a world ending event.” 

The dark-skinned brunette felt her throat grow dry as she asked in a meek, almost fearful whimper. “To survive a world ending event?” 

The man nodded. “Yes. Everything you've heard on forums and on the train is true. The world is coming to an end and we have to plan to save it. The EVE project needs young minds and that means you.” 

Sophie felt sickened as she sat with her head in her hands and sighed. She didn't know what to think besides the fact everything that could happen was happening.

The news made her want to scream and to demand that her parents come to explain it all. But she just sat there. 

With a pit in her stomach she swallowed and asked. “What will I be doing in the project?” She knew that she couldn't ask to be given a choice in whether she could participate or back out now. 

Because if the eve project was real that meant the world really was in bad shape. She heard people talking about it and calling it a stupid idea that would never actually happen.

Even with the news getting worse and worse the teenager had believed it would all work out. 

But it wasn't and now she was directly involved. “You will be one of twenty four girls from age eighteen to twenty chosen to be the mothers of the new world.” This really threw the brunette for a loop. 

“Mothers?” She wasn't interested in having kids and caring for any. 

The men in black noticed her disgust and waved it off. “By mothers we mean the one's leading the children that will be born after the end. You will not even be the one having them when the time comes.”

The dark-skinned girl shuddered and said. “So, if I'm chosen I have to have babies? How many and with who?” It was really getting worse. 

“That doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting you out of here and to the EVE project housing facility. The other girls are also being told about everything so you'll learn fully together.” He said. 

The teenager had so much more to ask but the men quickly stopped playing nice and snapped their fingers. Instantly, a group of men dressed similarly to them wearing sunglasses came into the room. 

The brunette wasn't able to ask what was happening as they grabbed and dragged her out of the classroom. Nobody was in the hallway besides her teacher who looked ashamed as she turned her back to the kidnapping.

Sophie burned with rage and glared the whole way out. It was clear that everyone in her life that she trusted had sold her out and made this decision for her.

Her parents refused to answer her phone which they gave back without much protest. They were watching her dial so she couldn't call any friends and was left trapped. 

Her eyes watered as she realized that they were ignoring her calls and probably focused on packing her things. Her stomach hurt as she was pushed into the back of a van and driven away from school. The drive was long and she couldn't see much outside of the tinted windows. 

All she could see was the men surrounding her with the emotionless looks on their faces. The sunglasses and the blank expressions made her feel scared.

She kept her lips shut however, knowing it was pretty useless to fight back at this point. Her school and parents were in on it so who's to say that anybody outside wasn't either. Sophie was stuck. 

***

They arrived after what had to be five hours of driving. The teenager sat up the entire time and jumped when the door slid open. She was met with a huge estate with a large building that reminded her of a mansion.

It was made of white stone and the front was filled with other cars that had people slowly existing out of them. 

She recognized that each car had two or three girls who looked to be her age getting out. The girls had a mixture of expressions on their face that could only be described as betrayal. 

Only one of the girls who had to be twenty had accepted the situation. This woman, a dirty blonde, stood with her arms crossed and her eyes on the ground. 

The men noticed all the girls' reluctance but refused to acknowledge how tucked up the situation was. Instead, they forced them all to go inside.

They didn't appear to have weapons but Sophie knew that they didn't need them. All they had to do was pounce on the girls and they would be taken down. It was maybe twenty of them to fight back. 

They weren't only outnumbered but they were outplayed. They were in the middle of nowhere with their parents playing along. Hell, the entire government was in on it and the dark-skinned girl couldn't blame them for it.

If the world was really about to end, desperate measures were going to be used. Desperate, sickening measures. 

The mansion was very modern inside and reminded the teenager of a bunker the further they went in. She had watched doomsday prepping shows as a child and her mind instantly went to that as she looked around.

It was cluttered with cans of food and the walls weren't covered in guns. But it was imposing and made her feel smothered. 

The windows obviously didn't open from the inside and the door had locks she'd never seen before. The carpet was thick and her boots sunk into them as she was herded downstairs. 

Sophie didn't think they were in a basement as she could tell there was more beneath them. The brunette wondered how deep and intricately crafted it was. 

She didn't have long to sit and ponder as the atmosphere became tense. All the girls were looking at each other with wide eyes as the men locked them in the big room and stood around them. 

They were trapped in a bundle of bodies with no way of escaping. The brunette felt sick, her legs shaking as she tried to make out any specific things. 

Anything that she could use to possibly get out of this horrible place. There was nothing, however, only the men that quickly moved into action. 

Like before, one of the group came forward and took control. The man cleared his throat with his eyes covered by thick shades. Once everyone was staring at him and waiting, he began to speak. 

“Ladies, all twenty of you have been told in one way or another what is going on. You're probably angry and confused as to why this is all happening so suddenly."

"We can't answer every question you have but we can tell you that this was a last resort.” The man said with his thick voice that snuffed out anyone else's thoughts and mumbles. 

“We have tried numerous times to do this, in other ways. Each way failed in one asset that was crucial to humanity's survival."

"This is the only chance we have left, whether you want to be involved or not.” The man told them to which some of the girls began to vocally argue and try to shout over him. 

This was ignored by the men who stood like motionless giants as their leader kept going.

They all had a one track mind due to their mission. “Four women from the last attempt will be leading you all to get used to your new reality. They volunteered and understand you all don't want to be here. But they know like us this is the right thing to do.” 

Everybody took the words in their own way. Some cried and tried to muffle their tears under their hands.

Others just glared at the ground with their hands balled into tight fists. The dirty blonde from before Sophie saw was the most angry. 

That blind acceptance she had taken had disappeared and blind rage had overtaken her body. She watched with shock as the girl pushed through their huddle to stand in front. 

Standing tall, the blonde began to demand answers. “You guys took me from my house and paid off my family so I could be a part of some failed doomsday project? You think I'll just go along with that?” 

Sophie wished she had the strength the blonde did to confront all those men who may or may not be armed. The long-haired woman looked to be the oldest out of the group and she acted like it. 

She had on pajamas that proved her story of having been at home. The blonde stared at the men down and they looked unmoved. Just emotionless.

These men didn't care that they wanted to run and escape. The world was coming to an end and they needed them for their plans. Sophie wondered what exactly they would do after this discussion. 

They had mentioned being mothers and refused to explain when the teenager asked what that entailed. She was beginning to fear the absolute worst was going to happen. With no one willing to step up to help them. 

Receiving no answer, the blonde got a frustrated look in her eyes and kept going. “What about our friends? Our careers? Some of us are in college and you expect nobody to ask questions?” 

This made sense to the brunette but the men quickly squashed her thoughts and the girl's words with their commanding tone. “Anyone who's anyone already knows what's going on and has come to an agreement that this is necessary.” 

“Your parents and loved ones have all been told what they need to know so that they agree. You said it yourself – they've been paid off and told to look the other way. It's better to accept it for now.” With that the men diverted their attention to their own private matters. 

Leaving Sophie to stand there, frozen as it hit her that her parents had been paid off to. They not only agreed to lie to her about this but to reap the benefits of it. 

She imagined that before the end happened they'd be living it up. Champagne, diamond encrusted glasses and the finest jewelry would be all there's. 

Any guilt they had would be gone as they'd been told that this had to happen. The world was going to change and this was the only way Sophie could survive. 

Even if survival meant everything she had ever dreamed of and been vanishing in a moment's notice. It burned her deeply and the betrayal was bitter as it sat on the tip of her tongue.