Oubliettes

Chapter 5: The Town Center

Blue and Zoe said their goodbyes to Oli, Alan and Minerva and made their way to the door.

"Wait!" Blue stopped. "If you leave, there won't be anybody running the place."

"Does it really matter?" laughed Zoe.

"No, I guess not." Blue followed Zoe outside. "Then, what's the point of even working?"

"It passes the time," explained Zoe.

"Isn't there anything else you can do to pass the time? Something fun."

"No, not really," answered Zoe.

"Oh." Blue followed Zoe to what looked like the town center. "What do you do except work?"

"Not much. We hang out, walk around, sleep."

"Sounds fun," said Blue.

"It's not that bad when you surround yourself with good people," smiled Zoe.

Blue thought she smiled a lot for someone stuck in this place.

"How long have you been here?" asked Blue.

"I'm not sure. Four months maybe."

The two women reached what Blue had decided was the town center. At first glanced, it looked like any normal small-town center minus the classic gazebo. However, it was not. Four streets started from the center: the one Blue had arrived by named Bienvenue and where Le dernier sommeil was and three other streets going in different directions. The first street as Blue already knew ended at the limit between Oubliettes and New Iberia, but the three other streets didn't seem to have an end. As far as Blue could see the streets were endless. The first one on the right was named Sans fin, the second one was named Interminable and the last one Éternel. Blue sure wished she had taken French instead of Spanish in high school; everything seemed to be in French and she thought understanding the language could help her find a way out. She made a mental note to go asking for someone who could read French as soon as she understood the place better.

"Where do these streets lead?" asked Blue.

"Depends. The one in the middle leads to an invisible barrier like the one you came through; the only difference is that you can't see anything on the other side except complete darkness. We call it the Void," explained Zoe.

"And the other two?"

"That's actually what I wanted to show you."

Zoe walked to a nearby sign that Blue hadn't noticed. On the sign Blue could see a map of what she assumed was Oubliettes. It was in the shape of a perfect rectangle divided in 195 sectors forming side by side squares. Blue searched the map and found the little red arrow that read "You are here". The square Blue was in was sector 17 and she noticed that the streets on the left and right led to the neighboring squares: sectors 16 and 18 respectively. As she looked at the other squares, she realised that they were all the same. One small street coming from the south, which was the street people came in from, one long street that went north and ended at what Zoe had called the Void and the two long streets that led to the neighboring squares.

"What are the sectors exactly?" asked Blue.

"Countries," answered Zoe.

"Countries?"

"Yeah, back in the days, some dudes who had been professors before they got here figured out that the number of sectors was the same as the number of countries. So, basically, you entered this place through the U.S., so you ended up in sector 17, but if you'd entered from Nepal then you'd ended up in sector 16."

"Why is the U.S. 17 and Nepal 16? Who decides that?" asked Blue.

"Alan told me they were numbered by date of formation, that's why it changes often depending on whether new countries are formed. Alan saw it change a lot since he's been here. And as for who decides it, no one really knows."

Blue didn't like that answer, but she decided to let it go. She would figure it out in due time.

"How long has Alan been here?"

"50 years and Minerva 40."

"Wow! Is that why they look so..." Blue hesitated.

"Bad?" laughed Zoe. "Yes, this place is not kind to people. It won't be kind to you. I used to have dark hair. Now look at me. You shouldn't expect to keep these blond hairs of yours and believe me when I tell you that that won't be the worst of it."

"Something to look forward to, then?" joked Blue.

"Exactly," laughed Zoe. "Keep that state of mind and you might just get through it."

Blue focused her attention back on the map looking for sector 32. She remembered Zoe had mentioned a man who had been trying to get out of here and she wondered if she might be able to get to him.

"Can we travel from one sector to another?" inquired Blue.

"No, we can't. There's one of these invisible barriers between each square, but we can communicate through the barrier."

"Really?"

"Yes, there are two messengers by town. One that speaks the language of the square to the left and one that speaks the language of the square to the right," explained Zoe. "Every day at sundown they gather here, and they tell us the more important news."

"That's how you know about the guy from sector 32?"

"Exactly," answered Zoe. "There was a time when he used to make progress every few days and the messengers would bring news of it."

Blue looked around and noticed people had started to come out and wandered around. Some seemed aimless; they looked like zombies just going with the motions. However, just like the people she'd met so far, some seemed just as happy as Zoe to be doing whatever it was they were doing; they weren't the majority though. Most people had the same red hair as Zoe, Alan and Minerva, some had no hair, and a small number of people still retained their original hair color. Many people had clothing attires resembling Alan and Minerva's.

"What's with the questionable attires?" asked Blue.

"The only clothes we have access to are the ones we came in with."

"You're kidding," said Blue in disbelieve.

"Unfortunately, I'm not. What'd you bring?"

"Some snacks, a flashlight and my phone."

"Sucks to be you."

"Gee thanks. Do you have more than one outfit?" asked Blue.

"No," laughed Zoe. "Most of us don't. Come on."

Zoe hooked her arm through Blue's arm and led her to one of the first building on Ave. Interminable. She opened the door and gestured for Blue to go in.

"I have to get back to work before I get in trouble," winked Zoe. "Jerry'll take care of you."