Refinement: A War of Europe

Chapter Thirty-Nine: East: Day Four

My feet quickened as I carried my dinner to my table. I was eager to start eating because earlier in the day I had to work nonstop at running around the compound to deliver messages and supplies. The food looked and smelled heavenly.

I sat down across from Adric and hastily took a bite out of my burger. My eyes looked around the room filled with the new Inaugurates. Their faces were gaunt and their skin seemed to be drained of color. There were a few girls at the end of the table I was at who were talking with hushed voices.

I noticed four figures walking towards Adric and I; they sat down beside me breaking the silence.

"Hey," said a guy with longer red hair, "I'm Hex. You're soldiers right?" He turned to Adric and I, shaking both our hands. There were two other guys and a girl who were muttering between themselves which were with him.

Adric bent his head down. "I am," he said. Then he let his eyes rise to mine. "Not her. This is her last day of Agglutination."

Hex turned towards me with a grin. "How was Inauguration then?"

"It was fine. I'm just glad to be done with it," I answered vaguely.  Then he laughed half to himself and then turned to his meal.

"Anya," Adric said, "Come with me. Leave your tray. I need to show you to your next task."

"Next?" I asked, letting dramatic displeasure flow through my words.

"Yes, Anya, next. Last too, mind you. It's going to be exciting anyways," he said in an assuring manner.

I followed him up a stairwell  for what seemed an eternity and then we walked out into the first level of the mall our base resided underneath. The ghostly lights were on and cast threatening grey shadows across the tiled floor. A strong breeze of freezing air swept my hair into my eyes.

We walked up an immobile escalator and Adric leaned against the bronze railing, looking over the vast space. He reached down by his side and drew out a pistol, handing it to me, barrel towards him.  "Take this," he said, "You're going to be on patrol up here. Rest of the night."

"All of it?" I asked.

"Yeah. All of it. If you want you can sleep for a while. There are others up here too. Just as long as you're up here in case something does get in. I actually don't think I've ever stayed awake a whole night. Maybe  a shift of a few hours, but really, the last time we were attacked was three years ago. That the soldiers outside didn't kill them first, that is," Adric said quietly.

"What exactly is it that we're protecting everyone from? West?" I questioned, a chorus of footsteps hitting the ground below us like ticking clocks.

Adric shook his head. "No. Not West. The Evicted. You know, the savage humans. Sometimes they attack us to try to get supplies when they can't get it from the towns. It's not like anywhere else has as much things as we do here. They could live centuries off of everything here without having to leave. Our troops saw them headed our way. Be prepared."

At the word Evicted I shuddered. It brought up images of my brother telling me about them which gave me an aching pain in my head. I quickly switched my thoughts to different things. Lauren. Lauren. Lauren. I kept repeating in my head. I wondered how she was doing. Tomorrow, that would be when the most important ceremony would be. That was when I would be sorted into my job.

Adric glanced behind us and then back steadily at me. "I've got to go unless they get into our base. I have  work to get done. I'll come back early tomorrow morning to bring you back. You'll need a few hours sleep before you have to go get sorted," he said.

"All right," I responded.

I watched as he started to walk off, and almost fell over the railing as a loud crash sounded, shaking the floor. Adric lashed around, holding a long and black gun in his hands. I turned back and looked towards the sound and my eyes expanded with shock. A high screeching sound burst into the room and the noise of screaming echoed loudly.