The End Of Nothing And The Beginning Of It All

Chapter Sixteen: Hope

So I began life in camp. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to have been saved, given food and shelter but there is something wrong with this place. I just can't quite pin it yet, I need to find proof for myself. I walked around camp seeing where I could fit in, watching everyone closely. I didn't like the sound of any of the roles but in order to stay here for now I knew I had to choose something. I volunteered to help with food foraging, after all it meant that I may have the chance to leave camp for a while and learn some valuable skills at the same time. An older lady named Tanya helped show me the ropes. A group of us went to a forest area just outside of camp that had been baracaded off to stop the Flukes from entering. It was quite a small area with a few trees and sections of undergrowth. A small area had been rotavated, I assumed, in order to plant seeds and grow produce. Tanya pointed to flowers, berries, mushrooms and even insects, explaining which were safe to eat and what to avoid. They gathered a few of each in small wicker baskets however Tanya made it clear to only pick a handful at a time to ration resources. There was surprisingly alot of edible things to forage in such a small area however this was not infinite. What happened when they ran out? We returned to camp, only to find several guards lined up to check the foraged goods. Tanya explained this always happens in order to check for stealing. It kind of seemed a bit extreme. Each forager had their items counted before being ranked according to the amount they had brought back. The person with the least was told to do better. How could they do better when they've been told not to bring too much back in order to save resources? Why were people being ranked on their performance? It seemed strange considering this was meant to be a united family environment. All of a sudden there was what looked like a struggle between a forager and a guard. The guard had found some mushrooms in the foragers pocket. Despite the forager pleading that these mushrooms were 'magic' and would be inebible to the wider population, the contraband was conviscated and they received a slash across their back from a sharp wooden cane. I gasped at what I had just witnessed. "That is what happens if you steal" Tanya whispered to me, she was visibly less affected by what had just happened. "Does that happen often?" I asked her. "Every few days so far. People never learn" she replied. How has this been allowed to happen? I immediately ran to the school to check on kid. What happens if they treat the children the same? As I entered the door, he immediately ran up to me with a massive grin on his face. I crouched down to give him a big hug which he reciprocated straight away. One of the teachers came up to me and said "You're a bit early. We still have another hour left of teaching". Kid clung to my arm again, I have realised this is pretty much his way of saying 'don't make me go back' or 'I don't want to do that'. So I improvised an excuse "Oh yes, sorry I forgot to mention. One of the guards wanted to have a meeting with us now so we have to get going". The teacher looked confused "Which guard? We weren't aware of any meetings" she questioned. I started to choke on my excuse. "Ummm. I'm not sure on people's names just yet. I think it was today anyway. Don't worry he'll be back tomorrow" I said quickly as I started to walk away with kid in hand. I took a deep breath. I'm not sure if that worked or not but at least kid is out of there for now, he had clearly had enough anyway. "How was school?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders in reply. I'm not sure what that means quite but it can't be that bad I guess. It seems like he had been looked after there, especially compared to what I had seen earlier with the foragers. We walked past the different areas of camp maintenance before being collared by an older man. "Have you seen Janice?" he asked frantically with a look of distress on his face. "They've taken Janice" he continued. "Who's Janice? Who's taken her?" I asked confused trying to calm him down. "One of the guards. The tall one that's in charge. They've taken my wife somewhere. Please help me" he pleaded with tears starting to form in his eyes. Before I had chance to reply a guard interrupted, almost dragging me away. "Don't worry Miss. Mr Cragley is always going on about his wife. Unfortunately we think she may have succumbed to the virus before we found him. Nothing to worry about" he explained, as if the old man was crazy. Kid and I continued walking back to our room, when we came across Henry.
"Hey Hope and Kid. How have you been getting on during your first day? Have you chosen a section to work in yet?" his attitude was so joyful and kind. You could tell he really did care.
"Henry can we talk" I replied, completely ignoring his questions due to the more pressing issues I had circling around in my head.
"Yes of course" he said with a more concerned look now on his face. He walked towards the usual spot in the dining hall. "Actually can we go somewhere more quiet. Our room perhaps?" I suggested, signalling for him to follow us. I mean I gave him little choice. "Umm I don't think I am allowed to go in your room. We are not allowed to invite others into our rooms" he rambled on until we reached the bedroom door. "It will be fine, I won't tell. You always play by the rules don't you?" I said chuckling before dragging him inside.