The Parables

Jacq - Precinct Ten

Jacq - Precinct Ten

Leaning my head against the window, I sigh. All I can think about are yesterday's events. Firstly I lost my job. Then I lost Jona. And now I've lost my family. What more could go wrong? Oh wait, a lot more. In two weeks, I'll be dead. I can still see it now. The Mayor on the stage. My name being called out. Every pair of eyes swinging around to ogle me as I headed towards my ill-fated end. Closing my eyes, I try to imagine something else.

A persistent beeping resonates in my ears along with the pounding of my heart against my chest. I can feel the adrenaline surging around my body and the apprehension of the unknown taunting my mind. Gulping, I clench my fists and centre my attention on the shrub wall ahead off me. I'm encompassed by four walls of leaves and twigs, entwined together to establish a box of bushes. I am trapped within it.

All of a sudden, the beeping stops. A moment later and the walls of bush beside me are swallowed up by the ground, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Glancing wildly from left to right, I catch sight of the male Martyrs, their faces as pale and as frightened as mine. Just then, the sound of a horn hits my ears. The shrub wall in front of me dissolves into thin air. Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I close my eyes and sprint forward.

My eyes snap open and I gasp for air. When I wanted to imagine something else, I wanted that something else to be something pleasant. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't. Ever since I was chosen as a Martyr, everything has gone badly wrong so this wasn't much of a surprise. Breathing slowly, I relax back in my seat and gaze out of the windscreen.

The sky is a dismal grey colour, the sun lurking coyly behind gloomy clouds like a toddler behind its mother. The branches on the trees are gnarled and bare like bony fingers stretching out to snatch at the car. Yellowed leaves litter the ground beneath the trees and pockets of withering, brown grass lie crumpled in a sporadic formation on the track. Occasional sounds of cooing doves and squawking crows reverberate in the distance, but apart from that, the atmosphere only contains a sound of mechanical throbbing from the car's engine.

"Where actually are we?" I grumble to the sentry. "Because it feels like we've been travelling in circles for hours."

"We're in Precinct Ten."

"I got that part." My voice is smothered in sarcasm. "I mean, where are we in Precinct Ten?"

"At the edge of the top border," the sentry replies monotonously. "We're about five minutes away from the train station."

"Lucky me," I mumble, turning to stare out of my window. "Don't suppose you can take me back home?"

"No chance." The reply is sharp and quick, like a knife slicing down on a carrot. "We've wasted enough of The Commune's precious petrol getting you to the train station. Losing it just to take you back home would be disastrous for the residents living in The Commune, especially if we did it all the time. They'd be forced to take a gas holiday to save some of our precious supplies."

"Is that it?" I raise an eyebrow. "That's the only reason why you can't take me back home?"

"Yes."

I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh, and you're a Martyr. You have an obligation to represent your Precinct in this year's Parables."

I let out a loud moan.

"Lucky me," I mutter under my breath again. "Lucky, lucky me."

A wall of silence develops between the sentry and I. It seems as though he has something to say, but can't get it out. Sighing, I shake my head and glance out of the other window next to me.