A Spark Of Hope [apocalyptic]

Chapter 5

It's been a month since I arrived in Fresno, and things changed a lot during that time. At first, there was just a weird feeling of insecurity that I just couldn't get rid of. It was really disturbing since I didn't understand why I was more scared in a military facility than in the wild. It went on like that for about a week and even while working with Halsey I just couldn't bring myself to relax. In the end of the first week, I decided that I needed to get some fresh air and go for a walk outside the walls.

Halsey was absolutely okay with it and gave me 3 hours of free-time to do so. But when I got to the main entrance, I was stopped by two guards that didn't want me to get out. It didn't matter how much I told them I wasn't working they just, wouldn't let me out. So, I backed off and went back to work. It really disturbed me that I couldn't get out whenever I wanted. I even talked with Halsey about it and she dismissed saying that it was probably nothing and that I shouldn't worry about it too much. So I listened and shrugged it off.

I tried to ignore the little things I noticed happening over time: a guard screaming in someone's face, people walking and staring at the floor, even people becoming skinny. But in the end, I knew that the situation would only get worst. I decided that as long as my life wasn't in danger, I shouldn't worry about it but something was telling me that it wouldn't be long until it was the case.

Being Halsey handmaid allowed me to go pretty much everywhere I wanted at nearly every hour of the day or night. And while talking with her I also discovered the reason I had the job I have: her big brother, the guy I met on the first night, had a crush on me. How fucking perfect. When Halsey told me I just laughed it off but it honestly concerned me. I really didn't want to get involved with this family in any kind of way.

Today was a normal day I was following Halsey around and was doing what she wanted me to. She asked me to go fetch her some chocolate in the kitchens so I went but when I got there, I heard somebody shouting insults at someone. I looked through the gap between the wall and the door and the thing I saw made my blood boil. A guard slapped one of the cooks and she fell on the floor. The guard screamed at her "Next time you'll wipe the counter enough for me to see my reflection in it!"

I was raging if I wasn't working, I would probably have defended her but I didn't want to lose my job so I shut my mouth and went in the storage to grab Halsey's chocolate.

I went back to her room walking as fast as I could, I needed to do something about it. Halsey needed to know so her father would hear about it.

I was walking so fast that I nearly walked past the light wood door that I was searching for. I knocked on it even though I am not required to do so.

The door opens "The guards are out of control since when are they allowed to slap people in the face?!" I say not quite screaming yet but the tone of my voice isn't friendly at all. Halsey stops herself from reaching the last book on her shelf and turns to face me. I realize that I probably shouldn't be speaking to her like that but I am so angry that I need her to understand it.

She looks at me for a few seconds, her expression is unreadable, she furrows her eyebrows and says calmly "What are you talking about?". For some reason the way she said it make me calm down a bit and I took a deep breath "I just saw a guard slapping the hell out of somebody's face" I articulated through gritted teeth. Halsey paused for a few seconds and in an almost robotic voice answered "That person must have done something really bad then." And just like that, she went back to organize her bookshelves.

That was it. Her ignorance and her dismissiveness made me finally open my eyes. This camp is nothing but a prison and the more time passes, the harder I'll be to get out. I am not going to be locked up in this facility forever, I knew that coming here was a mistake. I stormed out of Halsey's room trying my best not to show my obvious rage towards the situation. I immediately went back to my room and I collected the small amount of object I possessed and closed my backpack shut.