Children's Games: A Story of Modern Consequence

Chapter 5

~Emilia~

The city from afar was a dust covered mess, but up close, Emilia thought the place was beautiful. The glow from the setting sun made everything covered in the red dirt shine. This seemed to be the town's busiest time as the temperature slowly started to plumet. Billy had told her that the people here didn't like newcomers, as it brought new mouths to feed, and more space to be taken up. She saw quite a lot of people huddled up on the side of the path with nothing but a small bag on their back and wondered if she would be joining them by the time the moon emerged and the full extent of the cold night set in.

With the way she was dressed, she stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone, no matter their age, gender, or occupation, stared at her with annoyance. She understood that her presence was a pain, but they didn't know her at all. I don't know myself either...

Walking a lap of Fimiston took about an hour, and as she stood at the other end of the pit, she realised how big it was. The only machinery that she saw hardly made a sound and included small cranes that built the ginormous housing structures that covered the entire pit, all piled on top of each other like balancing stones. The lights strung through the air were light enough to brighten the darkening atmosphere, so much so that she couldn't see any lights on in the buildings themselves. There were hardly any gaps in her eyesight to see the rock walls engulfing Fimiston, but where she could see them, there were large vents that enforced airflow through the underground city as the pit roof started closing in on them.

She quickly realised that there weren't any cars, only a few peddle bikes and oddly shaped electric carts that the driver stepped on to move and transport their farmer's market goods. There were so many people, most of them choosing to walk all day in woven leather sandals that were sturdy enough to last a long time, but airy enough to help with the heat. She could feel it in the hot frustration of the passing pedestrians that it had been a hot day, though it was starting to cool down and Emilia was thankful for the over-shirt that covered her bare arms.

The people of Fimiston also reflected the same age distributions in the train. Although there weren't many children, there was no adults younger than fifty that weren't wearing a uniform.

A part of her was looking for Molly, another looking for Dominik, and another looking for the family she might have here. Although the longer she spent walking through the busy streets, the more she realised that the latter two were probably the same thing.

'I know you can't remember anything...' 'I know why you are here...' 'I know why no one else must know...' Was Dominik a deserted soldier as well? Is that why he was urging her to come with him? Can I trust him?

'You have to trust me.'

She had felt her whole tour of the city that someone was watching her, but no one looked at her except for passing pedestrians glaring at her and her uniform. Emilia sighed deeply, unable to decide as disappointment set in.

"Hey, excuse me!" came an authoritative voice as she entered the street. "You can't be in that building. You should know that."

Emilia turned to find a middle-aged woman wearing full camouflage attire, pointing at her to grab her attention. The woman wasn't threatening, but she was alarmed and annoyed.

"Hang on, you're not from around here," the officer observed, changing her attitude. Her face changed to express that she was far superior to Emilia in every way. "I can tell by those clothes. What were you doing heading here? Do you have family here? Are you planning on going somewhere else?"

Emilia froze as she tried to think of an answer. "What? I mean... I'm going to stay here... Yeah, I have family here," she tried to say confidently. Is Dominik my family?