Society of the Kuvek

Chapter 5

    I wake and sit up, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I then glance and my lime green wall clock that is hung on the opposite wall of my bed. 3:07 AM, I rub my eyes, still tired, but not expecting to get anymore sleep. I walk to my dresser and throw on something random, a horizontal striped light and dark pink shirt, white cargo pants and black combat boots. My room looks terrible. A bed, desk, and dresser are all that's in any room. I added the clock and a few pictures, but the plain white of the walls make me think I'm going crazy. I try to spend as little time as possible in this room. I walk down the gray halls and step into the elevator. Dujuik really needs to fix this thing; it's unbelievably loud and annoying. I descend as the machine comes to life, loudly as if to ensure no one misses it. The door opens with a hum and I step out onto the first floor; I walk to the closest chair beside the couch and sit down. The walls are plain white down here, but the furniture is very colorful; a forest green couch and two chairs, one blue the other gray, all of which semicircle a dark brown coffee table. On the right of where I am is the kitchen area, (the whole floor is open with no walls or divides). The table is light birch and the six chairs are mismatched with different color woods and metals. The fridge, stove, and sink are all a gray metal and the cabinets are all a cheap brown wood and covered in paint from a finger painting incident with Heloni and Xeris. I glance at the couch and notice the Kuvek we picked up yesterday sleeping soundly. Wequ told me that Dujuik is going to take him to the SKD headquarters outside province ten. No one else is going in and hopefully they wont ask any questions about Heloni and Xeris. Though I don't know why they want them, they're too young to do anything and though they're Kuvek their gifts haven't appeared yet, they can barely communicate with Dujuik. I sit in the gray chair and listen to the Kuvek newcomer snore; he looks to either be in his late twenties or early thirties, which means that he was a teenager when the Kuvek were killed. He has short, dark brown hair with a bit of hair on his chin, and he is wearing a gray T-shirt and baggy brown pants. I dig around in my pockets and find a notebook and a pen; I scribble on the page, drawing whatever comes to mind. However, I am quickly bored and so I stand up, walk to the driver's seat, and buckle up. I once asked Wequ if I could drive and she said no because she didn't think I could. I tried to argue but Dujuik was there to back her up and I didn't get very far. That night Ferixc woke me up and showed me where the controls were and he let me drive until morning. I like to drive us a little further because I wake up before everyone and I don't have much to do. I put my hands on the steering wheel and glance at the map with Wequ's carefully written instructions. I push on the gas petal and gently move us along the road. I enjoy driving. It gives me a feeling of calm as well as wracks my nerves every time I remind myself that there are living people that are my responsibility to keep alive. I drive for about an hour before I hear the elevator come to life; I pull over and get up just as Ferixc steps in the driver area. I smile at him but he doesn't return the smile and instead nods toward the windshield.

     "You drove some?" He asks in his deep, quiet voice.

     "Yes," I answer and move out of the way, as he sits in the driver's seat, buckles up and starts the engine.

     "Is everyone else asleep?" I ask. He nods.

     "Yes, but I checked on the twins and they look like they're about to wake up, I'm going to drive some more," Ferixc says and at that I leave and sit back in the gray chair. I pull the notebook and pen out of my pocket and try to sketch the sleeping Kuvek. I draw quickly of his outlines but I go back to random scribbling. I like to close my eyes and move the pen over the paper and then open them and try to make sense of the shapes drawn. The few times I've ever shown my drawings to someone praise immediately follows but I just ignore them and have stopped showing anyone altogether, I just don't like being lied to. Ferixc has told me that I'm okay but there's still room for improvement. I don't trust many people, even on something small, but I know I can trust Ferixc; we have each other's backs. I return to drawing the sleeping man and am filling in his features when he groans sleepily and sits up. He looks up at me as he rubs his eyes and I put my pen and paper back in my pocket.