After Death (The Thinning 2)

Chapter 1

It was like I was dreaming, I could hear what was happening around me but my body was paralysed and I couldn't open my eyes. I wondered if this is what death felt like but, after what felt like hours I started getting feeling back in my hands and feet. All it took for my body to fully wake up was me being lurched forward in my seat, wherever I was sitting. 

I rolled my head backwards so that I was leaning against a cool medal and I focused all my attention on getting my sight back. When I first opened my eyes all i saw was blurs but, after rubbing and blinking my eyes profusely the world slammed back into full view and I could see where I was. If I'm being honest though I wish I was still asleep, I was surrounded by the others who had failed the 10-241 and we were in some sort of warehouse. There were people in white aprons standing with their backs faced to us working at assembling something but, I couldn't tell what it was.

Some of the others started to stir in their sleep and bring themselves back to this ugly world. A guard came over and threw some clothes at us. "I want everyone dressed in five" she yelled. I quickly got up afraid of the consequences and put on the new clothes. Once everyone was dressed we all stood in an assembly line, "As you have noticed you are not dead...yet. The thinning is a lie we never killed off our own children, instead, we decided that we could use them, and you, for a better purpose, other than littering the graveyard. We made a choice to spare you and serve a higher purpose. As you can see behind you this is a factory for manufacturing necessities that are in high demand. Each one of you will be placed in a job that suits your aptitude scores. You will work in that job until we say otherwise. There is no leaving the building you will eat, breath and live in this building. Now as I call your name step forward and another officer will take you where you are needed." She finished saying as officers came forward and stood in an assembly line the same as ours.

She said a couple of names, of people I didn't recognise and then she said mine "Blake Redding", I step forward and the officer across from me roughly grabbed my arm and dragged me off to an unknown place.

We walked through the factory passed all the people and ended up in a large room on the other side of the warehouse. There was only one other guy from our group that was there. The officer pushed me to stand by the other boy and then left. A few moments later he came back with two bags "You two will be training to become officers like me and the rest of the people you see around this compound", he threw us the bags "In these bags are your uniforms, put them on and meet me in the middle of the room in 5" The officer left us so I started looking through the bag hoping there would be something useful in helping me escape but, all I found was clothes. I put them on and slowly walked to the middle of the room with the other boy.

"Alright you will both be training to be what we like to call Reapers, you will be the ones to walk the kids to the thinning and subdue any who try and leave. Do you understand?" He stood there like an army officer, head held high, feet spread wide and hands behind his back.

The other boy and I said "yes". 

"Good, training will start today." He smiled a wicked rueful smile. 

The boy and I were split up, I was put in combat training, I sparred with a lot of the other officers and I was good but not amazing, the last officer basically dumped me like a sack of potatoes and when I didn't get up, he came and stood over my body and took off his mask, under the mask was a boy a few years younger than Blake, with blond hair and light skin. "Don't worry about it, you're better than half of the officers around here, not me but, we can work on that", he said as he took my hand and pulled me up.

I looked at him and smirked "Thanks".

The reigning officer marched towards the center of the room and yelled "Dinner time, and after bed. Get your asses moving." Everyone basically ran out of there. I followed the crowd and we came to a big dining hall. There were lines upon lines of long wood tables and on the right side was already a long line of people waiting for food. The boy who had beaten me and said "I'm Simone by the way" he looked at me with his hand out.

"I'm Blake," I said as I shook his hand.

He smiled at me and then said, "come on let's get some food". I followed him up to the increasingly long line and we waited not really talking. 

Once we got to the front of the line an old lady stood there with a plate in her hand. She filled it with some sort of mush put and apple on it and then passed it to me. I walked away looking disgusted, What the hell did she give me? Simone came and stood by me, "it doesn't taste, smell or look the best but, it's edible" sort of laughing as we found a table to sit at. 

"So...are you also a Reaper?" I said wondering if maybe he has ever been outside the compound.

"Yes, but I've never been outside the warehouse. Probably next year, though." he looked at me with a sad smile on his face. 

We didn't talk that much as we ate, I  knew Simon was thinking about something important, maybe his family or his life before this place. When we finished our meals we were lead towards another room filled with beds, well they weren't beds exactly more like cots. They consisted of a thin mattress covered by a thin blanket, with a thin pillow. I don't know if its just me but, the guy who picked this all out must of had a fetish for things that are thin. 

"Follow me," Simone said, "there's an empty bed near mine". I followed him towards the right edge of the room. He stopped in front of a bed and pointed towards the one next to him. I took off my boots and jacket and laid them underneath my bed. When my head hit the pillow I was off, to dream of a life I could have had but, probably never will. 

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I could feel the sun on my face, I was standing outside my house waiting for someone, someone I could love, someone who even through our worst days managed to pull me through it and show me the light. Then I saw her, looking happy, running towards me. I smiled at how silly she looked running towards me and then she jumped and landed on me pushing my body to the ground, "Hey Blake" she said kissing me, I was speechless how was this possible I was just at the warehouse, I looked around confused "what's wrong Blake?" she said tilting her head to the side.

I put my hands on the side of her face a kissed her like she was my oxygen and if I didn't kiss her I would surely suffocate. As we parted I looked at her and said "Laina, I..." but, then it all disappeared, everything that mattered to me was gone and instead I was left with the darkness of the warehouse.

Someone was nudging me, I looked to the right and saw Simone sitting up "you okay man?" he asked curiously.

I looked at him and sighed "Yeah I'm fine". Simone laid back down in his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Did you say, Laina?" Simone asked a painful curiosity spreading across his face.

"Yeah, she was...special to me" I said thinking back to the dream, the way she looked trying to etch it into my brain.

Simone suddenly stood up and pulled me up with him "come on". I followed him towards another room which was a bathroom and pushed me inside.

"What the hell?" I said looking completely confused.

Simone started pacing around the bathroom, "you said Laina, did you mean Laina Michaels?" he looked at me and finally stopped pacing.

I looked at him and said, "Yeah why?"

He looked a little dumbstruck and then composed himself and said "Well I'm Simone Michaels, Laina's brother"

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Hey everyone,

so that was the first chapter, hope you like it

Comment and vote

I'll probably update once or twice a week so just keep a look out :)