Living a dystopian world, Ilah is brought up to fear the monsters hunting people in the night. The fears, the phobias, the remnants of the terrors before the victory of the Freedom Armies.
But when a new girl arrives at the city, she'll find that th...
Ilah had been at the kitchen queue for a while when Sushal arrived, still in her dirty uniform and carrying her usual cloth bag with her lunch.
"How are you doing? What did they do to you?" she demanded from Ilah, who moved away from the wall where she'd been leaning.
"I'm fine," she lied, rubbing at her face. It felt as if the cold seeped into her skin even deeper. "They just disinfected me and knocked some points off my card."
Sushal sighed. "It's not like you have points to spare," she said with a shake of her head. "But at least you won't be going to jail. I've seen people get thrown in jail for less than that."
"The officer thought I'd gone mad for a while. I have to go to therapy now," said Ilah, "That'll be hard to explain at the factory, but I'm gonna try my luck."
"You rely on your luck much. It's bound to run out," said Sushal.
The red light of the setting sun hit her face, highlighting the sharp edges of her face, the hollowness of her cheeks, and for a moment Ilah's breath caught on her throat as she saw why her mother had worried about Sushal eating.
Ilah looked away and kept advancing with the queue, for a moment wondering how to address the fact that Sushal seemed to be wasting away so fast now.
Or could it be that she had been wasting away long before now, and she had ignored all signs of it, the same as what had happened with Minah.
Minah's face flashed through her mind, and she flinched at the pain that she felt in her chest.
"Are you alright?" asked, Sushal, placing a boney hand on Ilah's back. "Did the guards beat you up?"
"No, no, I'm fine," said Ilah, straightening. They kept advancing. "I'm just tired. I need a good night's sleep."
"I wish you could stay with us. You shouldn't be alone now."
"Nah, I won't. They'll fill Min- uh, the place at my room soon. I saw a bunch of new arrivals to the city at the Disinfection center."
"I think it's because of all the attacks. I've heard that there are far, far more outside the city."
They reached the front of the line and each got bowls of soup served inside a round piece of bread. The warmth of it in her hands made Ilah feel a bit better. She looked down at it and saw a few carrots and turnips floating around, with tiny bits of potatoes here and there.
"You want to sit down at the overhang in seventh street to eat?" asked Ilah, looking around to see if there was anywhere better to sit down to eat around, but all the crates and boxes around seemed to be occupied.
Sushal placed her own soup filled bread inside the empty basket she carried and handed it to Ilah.
"I'm not hungry."
"Sushal..."
"I ate at the factory. I just wanted to see how you were doing, but I have to go now. Take mine, that way you have breakfast for tomorrow. They'll probably cut your rations now that you got less points."
"I'll be fine, but you-"
"I have food at home. And you know I don't...I don't like to eat in public," said Sushal, with a nervous air of finality to her voice. "Look for me tomorrow after morning shift. I'll get out a bit late, but we can walk back together. Now I have to go."
With that, Sushal patted Ilah's arm and left, her small form vanishing among the throngs of people now walking back home after their work shifts.
Ilah sighed, looking down at the bread bowl in the basket, and wondered what she could do not. She didn't feel like she had any energy to do anything other than drag her pained body back to the dormitories, but at the same time, a small alarm seemed to be ringing at the back of her mind. Warning, fearing, that danger was right around the corner. That danger was waiting yet again, to pluck everyone around her, one by one. Waiting. Expecting her. Ready to lash out from around every corner.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and placed her own bread bowl next to Sushal's in the basket. If she let her thoughts get out of control, it would only exhaust her even more, so she decided to stop thinking, and instead just focus on placing one feet after the other, making her way forward into the girls dormitories.
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Writing on this story has gone surprisingly slow. I dunno, maybe it's because I'm working on such a new genre for myself that I don't feel comfortable to let go as usual, but I really want to write faster here. Still, I hope you guys are enjoying it and as always, you can find me here:
