Bloodlust | lrh

1. Don't go out after sunset

The breathtaking city of Chemin, only breathtaking because of its notoriously low air quality. It's genuinely difficult to breath outside if the factories are producing something especially toxic. Trade and commerce is illegal between Chemin and cities under the government's command, but that doesn't mean people don't find a way. When something is forbidden, everybody suddenly wants to partake.

Today is one of those poor breathing days, and it takes nearly all of a girl's strength to reach her job before collapsing. Soka lets the glass door close behind her, dropping her hands to her knees as she hears it click into place. She only needs a few deep breaths. After living in these conditions for twenty-four years, you'd be used to the extremes as well.

"You're late."

The girl takes one last breath, finally feeling strong enough to speak.

"I nearly died of a heat stroke out there. You're lucky I'm here." Her boss shoots Soka a death glare, but it's lost on the girl. She knows well enough that Leah can't ever get mad at her, not even when she's inevitably five minutes late to almost every shift.

Soka throws her bag onto the counter in the back, only reappearing after her punch card is slid. There's a pile of books behind the register, and she knows damn well that those will be her responsibility to put away.

There isn't much of a market for pre-planetary antiques, but the few who love them love them hard. Books are like gold to these people, since salvaging literature wasn't top priority immediately after a mass extinction. All the same, Soka feels like there are too many in her arms as she picks up the stack from the counter. She organizes what feels like hundreds every day, even though they are the same ones every time. The store hasn't received any new ones in almost a year, considering the construction of the wall.

This new government wanted to crack down on their borders. Chemin is a lost cause according to them, this wall being their final attempt to keep the chaos away from their streets. Soka never understood how world leaders could turn a blind eye to what happens in her home city, but that didn't mean she was jealous of those born on the other side. How could you be jealous of a lifestyle you know virtually nothing about?

Soka's daily run ins with violence have turned her cold, but not nearly cold enough to lose her own humanity. Yes, she turns her head at the sight of fights and mugging. No, that doesn't mean she will ever do such things. There are few people left that hold those same standards, having morality. She read something about morals in an old philosophy textbook. To her it felt like the rest of the city needed to read that book, too.

"We're getting more books today, Soka." Leah calls over to the girl, watching as her face lights up with anticipation. Leah has been keeping this shipment a secret for a reason, for the bright-eyed girl with a love for reading always bubbles over at the mention of new pages to look through.

"When are they coming?" Soka's day is turning around, and now it will be nearly impossible to focus on putting these boring, already read, books away.

"Tonight. I'll let you take one home if you stay to help get them inside." Leah dangles a treat right in front of Soka's nose, knowing she can't possibly refuse such an offer.

The only issue the girl has with pouncing on the opportunity is rule number two. Don't go out after sunset. Those words have been engraved in her brain since she was old enough to talk. Her parents are no longer here to remind her, which is why she reminds herself on a constant basis. Against her better judgment, the girl agrees. Not a single thing could match her love for learning, not even the fear of Chemin after sunset.

Soka spends her entire shift anxiously awaiting this one crate. There are a few people who come in every day to flip through the same pages she already has so many times, people who know Soka well by this point. She finds it comforting to have conversations with them about what she reads, since this is the only place where she actually speaks to anyone at all. The entire city was unsafe, but a girl with little income doesn't even live in a relatively safe part. The people she sees on her walks to and from work are people that would saw her limbs off and roast them over a spit if it meant they wouldn't slowly starve to death.