Providence

Due Diligence of the Individual

Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of their personality is possible.

--- UN General Assembly, 1948, Universal declaration of human rights (217 [III] A). Paris. Art. 29.1

The first part of the stairs looks beautiful. One wall looks out over the circular hall, where the girls can spot the statues of the angels, illuminated from below. The other wall displays one window after another. First, the girls see nothing but the building lined against the citadel, but soon, they stand higher than even the top of the tallest building in the city, and they can enjoy a breathtaking view of the night city. On the ceiling, the occasional lantern is placed. Throwing shimmering shadows against the walls.

After a while, the bars on their right side make place for solid brass walls. The ceiling becomes lower, leaving barely enough place to stand up. The stairs become less wide, allowing only two girls to walk beside each other. Erin and Gwen walk in front, while Laura and Sadie follow behind. They walk for hours, spiralling slowly higher and higher, looking over the city.

"How high is this thing," Laura asks. "It seems to be going on forever."

"Two kilometres," Erin says. "Which means we have to step up almost twenty-thousand steps. We are not even halfway. We still have a long way to go."

Laura looks out of the window. "I think we are more than high enough." She stops and starts to untie the knots on her makeshift robe.

"Laura, what the hell are you doing?" Sadie exclaims.

Laura ignores her and continues untying the hempen rope. She drops the rags on the floor. Sadie demonstratively covers her eyes.

"Laura, please keep your clothes on. Are you trying to plant unclean thoughts into my mind? Girls are not allowed to undress in front of each other. That is heresy. Erin, Gwen, both of you, please close your eyes."

Erin ignores her and looks at Laura. Laura is standing almost naked in from of them. Two pieces of grey, fitly cloth cover her chest and private parts respectively. Belts secure a large cloth pack, tied neatly to her back. It looks like a makeshift parachute. It seems to be secured very well against her body. The belts look way stronger and way more expensive than any clothing Erin had ever seen. Metal strands are woven through the fabric. A large brass knife is taped to one of the belts. Erin is quite familiar with the brass knives. They don't look like much, but they cut through metal like butter, and through skin and bone too. Erin's Mom used a similar knife to make the scar on her arm.

Laura unsheathes the knife and taps the window with the tip of her brass knife. It immediately shatters on impact, in a rain of small hexagonal shards. A cold wind emerges from the gaping hole and blows through the hallway. Erin shivers. The cold air coming from the window smells strange. It seems to be missing the everlasting burning smell, that is everywhere in the lower parts of the city. Laura stands in front of the opening and takes a deep breath.

She turns around and waves the knife at the three other girls. She is trembling like a leaf. The knife shakes in her hand as if she is about to drop it. "Toss me your backpacks," she says. Gwen and Sadie hesitate, but Erin immediately complies. With a single movement, she unstraps her own backpack and throws it at Laura's feet.

"You are not gonna take my food, you heretic", Sadie yells.

Sadie grabs Laura's arm, in which she is holding the knife. Laura tries to break free, while Sadie knocks the knife out of Laura's hand with her arm. The tip of the knife graces Sadie's other arm, making a large gash across it. Not stopped by the impact, the knife sails through the air until it lands on the stairs, right in front of Erin's feet. The hilt sinks into the stone, only leaving the handle visible.

Sadie curses loudly, and grabs her arm, stopping the bleeding. She starts screaming in pain.

Erin ignores her, bents over, and pulls the handle of the knife. It comes out of the stone stair with ease. She points the knife at Laura.

Laura looks at the knife point with big eyes, her back pressed against the remainder of the glass window. She lets go of Sadie, and slowly sits on her knees.

"Please," she pleads. "I am sorry for trying to rob you. But please don't hurt me."

Sadie yells from behind her tears. "She frigging stabbed me, Erin. Stab her. Or push her from the building. Kill the heretic. Free the world from her demonic spirit."

"Please," Laura keeps crying, "Most of my family has lost their food privileges. I am just trying to provide for us. I, I was desperate."

Erin shifts and points the knife at Sadie. "Give her your backpack." She looks over at Gwen. "You too, Gwen."

Gwen nods and takes off her backpack. She puts it in front of Laura, next to Erin's. Sadie looks horrified.

"What? Are you crazy, Erin? She is the heretic here, not me. She tried to steal. Why are you siding with her."

"We can go without food for a day. She needs it."

Sadie's nostrils flare. "Are you kidding me, Erin? If her family lost their food privileges, there is probably a good reason for it. The angels don't take food away for no reason. They are just and fair. If we give them our food, we are aiding criminals to avoid their punishment." Sadie keeps her arms close, shaking her head. She for a moment stops applying pressure to her arm and sprays blood everywhere.

Erin steps forward and places the knife on Erin's forehead. "Letting people starve is never just. Food should be a right, not a privilege. Now give her the bags of food. I am not asking you again."

Sadie sighs. "Fine. Just take it." She takes off her backpack. Erin picks it up and stack in on the others.

Laura stands up. "Can you help me tie all four backpacks to my body?"

Gwen steps forward. "Sure, let me help you."

Erin keeps her knife pointed at Sadie. Gwen makes sure to secure all the backpacks snugly to Laura's stomach and legs, using multiple knots of the hempen ropes, and securing them one by one. Laura grunts as the ropes brace the skin of her legs and stomach. Laura is basically holding all of them in her arms, leaving her back free for her makeshift parachute. "Will you manage with this?" Gwen asks.

"They are secured to my waist, so they will have to do. Laura says. With those words, she jumps out of the window, opens her parachute, and glides down above the city.

Sadie sighs. "Great. There goes our food. Now we will have to go hungry. Like a bunch of heretics."

Erin looks at her. "Don't be a baby. You'll be fine if you don't eat for a day. I have spent many days without food before. Maybe it teaches you to have some sympathy for the less privileged."

Sadie grunts. "The less privileged don't deserve our sympathy."

Erin decides to let that outburst slide. "Whatever, just let me let take a look at your arm."

Erin hands her knife to Gwen and takes the Integrity Booster from her belt.

Sadie looks up. "Hell, no, you are not injecting me with that thing."

Despite Sadie's protests, Erin stabs the device into Sadie's arm. The large flesh wound immediately heals, not even a scar remains. Sadie screams in pain.

Sadie curses. "Those injectors hurt more than the wound. Holy Hell."

"Would you have preferred I let you bleed out?"

Sadie grunts.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Let's just keep going. We have a long way ahead of us."