Paranoia

Chapter 1

"There was a time where everything was good. We were good. Over the years, though, not so much. Then it just simply got worse. and worse. and worse. to the point where there was nothing left. We are not currently at that point. we are at worse and worse; and i'm scared to what happens next. Never the less, like the stubborn, comically foolish entitled-feeling beings with a superiority complex we are; we'll fix this. Atleast thats what we said when we were at just worse. But this time i have a feeling it'll be better, we'll be that flutter of a butterflies wing to cause a earth shattering tremble continents away in a butterfly effect. But, what do you do when all odds are against you? What do you do if you live so deep in the slums you can't even be told apart from the trash? What do you do if you're all alone with a mangy house cat stray as your only company, and even she will disappear every now and then? What do you do?
Well, You create a little... paranoia."
Chapter 1
"At this point who even knows what year it is. It would be a miracle if anyone could even take an educated guess; its a constant struggle to remember the date in this drab world. At Least for us it is. Me, i leave a reminder in the dirt, a slip of paper in my pocket, steal a newspaper; whichever method for whichever day.
Today's date? Its July 18, 2082." The teenage girl explained proudly, slender hands on her hips that gave a little cock of attitude and shifted all her weight to one leg. Standing at a staggering 5'3 she gave an annoying grin in a show off way, proud of her knowledge. Meanwhile the two that stood before her look annoyed and if anything mad about the waste of time.
"I asked for the date not your life story." The older girl sneered, with crossed arms. A dirty frown, dirt on her simple shirt and shorts; her brother standing a bit behind in even dirtier clothes. Rolling her eyes she soon watched as the two walked away; the older of the two grabbing the smaller one by the hand and dragging him away.
The girl, named Lucy, was a short thing weighing a solid 107 pounds with straight brown hair falling to the shoulders and dull forest green eyes. She had the average build but in the conditions she's been living in she's horribly skinny for a girl her age, the age of 16. She was one of the many slumdogs which resided in this broken down city. Ever since that one guy took office and became head honcho things have only declined. People died at an increasing rate, cites collapsed economically, physically and just in general, left to be overrun by nature, slumdogs or both.
Slumdogs were the trash of society, the tier below poor that were the homeless, the dirty, the disease that wasn't even considered remotely human. As the population increased so did the scale in the class system. The rich were the very elite and were very few, the middle class becoming slightly bigger and increasing; meanwhile the poor skyrocketed and soon the slumdogs were created and became their own class because there was just too many. As that particular class rose so did other "trends" and "practices". Since they were lower than humans ,slumdogs were treated just like their name, some were taken into slavery sold and bought to whoever while others were left to hide and run away from said slave traders; while some of the worse ones were off to another fate. A horrible practice that had most raising eyebrows but even in the end they just turned their head.
Naturally as the country rose so did its army, so it could defeat its enemies and further expand its rule, and of course the new leader was a power hungry tyrant with a convincing smile. He had decided that the soldiers were being too soft and thus made a little law, most were against it but even they could see the upside and eventually it was passed. A law where useless slumdogs were used as targets, to harden the hearts of the soldiers and make them cold killers and more efficient in war. Not only did it improve battle stats but it was also a steady population control; gruesome yes, but effective? even more so. All those who had a problem were quickly silenced in whichever means until it was so common and used most stopped batting an eyelash. Throwing their humanity away at the stake of another.
Lucy looked a bit around before stepping back into the alley and continuing on her way around the outskirts of the city using back alleys and roads as a cover. The city she currently resided in was the kind where it was a middle class before stepping a few ranks down. Now it was a loud place full of merchants and the poor, stealing, crime and all of the above as people struggled for life. She padded along in her torn and clearly used shoes and listened to the sound of worn rubber quietly hitting asphalt. Completely unaware as a hand shot out and grabbed her by the collar dragging her backward and causing her to lose her balance. A scream in protest stopped with a hand over her mouth as she was turned around and immediately stopped fighting, recognizing her assailant. A growl and a glare she pushed the boy hard in the chest and away from her, puffing out her cheek in a chipmunk like pout.
"David! What the hell!" She meant to shout but came out in a deadly hiss of a whisper. Lucy looked the boy up and down angrily as he recovered from the push, brushing himself off. A stupid grin like usual he lurched forward and wrapped an arm around her neck and held her in a playful headlock.
"Come on, girl I's just playin' wit ya" He said in his usual deep southern accent. Tan skin from hours of a day under the heated sun and dark hair falling in gentle curls with even darker eyes to match. Standing not much taller at 5'7 he was a clear four inches taller, though skinny he was more built from his work. His father was a well known merchant from the southern part of the world and usually made cycles starting from bottom to top then top to bottom. David johnson, the boys name, usually traveled with his father so he could learn the business and soon take over. Currently 19 both could relate when it came to unusual shortness and if they would ever be their average height, which was the base in which both bonded and formed a friendship.
They met when she was 12 and he was 15, his first time coming to this city they met when his father caught her pickpocketing him after she bumped into him. She spent the night in their little wagon getting scolded by the man while the boy sat there and watched confused by the whole situation,unable to comprehend why someone would ever steal in general and steal from him more specifically. He was in a sense still naive and innocent to this aspect of life, never thinking people would be low enough to steal let alone murder. She had gone a through a stern talking to but the man eventually quit, saying something about forgiveness and a clean slate if she worked for him the next day and paid off what she could've stolen, which was outrages to her even though she never took anything but it was either that or the police and no one wanted that.
The next day she was stationed outside a small stand where she was getting strangers and potential customers to stop by. Being a familiar face quite a bit of people stopped by from thugs in mohawks and little old ladies that knew her mother. Each time someone stopped by the boys father would swoop in and bring their sights on what laid in the stand, half the time they bought something. He was pleased with the output and profit as they began to pack up, as he promised he let the girl go and forgot about the whole ordeal; but the boy didn't. Instead as she turned and walked away that night he snuck out and searched for her. Finding her in a alley talking to a cat and after her cussing him out and telling him to get lost; then after him still following like a lost puppy curious about this new world, they forcibly became friends.
"So what are you even doing out here?" she questioned him slowly backing off and as he started to follow, turned around fully and began to walk. A few long strides and he was by her side and gave a small shrug.
"Well my dad gave me a break and i happened to see a small and familiar little brunette that seemed as mad as ever, so i thought i might as well say hi."
He put his hands in his pockets and continued to walk, bumping into her shoulder.
"So how have ya' been? You never write to me." He whined.
"God, you're too stupid. One there's really no postal service in this dead end place and two- You're always moving so wants the point." She said
"Youre always moving so wants the point." He copied, hearing this line enough to memorize it.
This place had no formal postal system, it didn't even have a proper government. People just kinda, did stuff, followed in the flow of the mass as to not be outcasted, which caused many more to follow for the same reason and create a never ending chain effect. Though of course there were the standard gangs and local thugs, it was all part of the status quo, for every group there's a bully.