Dystopia (Dystopia Trilogy Book 1)

Chapter 11

Note: This is the 11th chapter out of 20. Each Friday a new chapter will be posted. However, if you wish to read it now, it can be purchased on Amazon, B&N, iBookstore, Kobo, and Smashwords. You can also follow me on Twitter (JMRUL) and facebook.

"Everyone up!"

Officers moved through the barracks, clanging their batons on the bed posts to wake everyone. Dana sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Up!" an officer yelled at her.

Dana stood up and pulled on her clothes. They had actually been pressed and washed in the middle of the night in preparation of the president's arrival. Officer Burroughs didn't want them looking too filthy for her annual visit.

The line of people shifted over to the eating hall. Dana looked at her tray in shock at seeing a slice of ham with oatmeal. "What happened to the usual fare of slimy glop?" she asked the server.

The man glared at her, but remained silent.

Of course, thought Dana, the president is coming, so we are allowed something different and halfway decent.

Dana sat with Elsie and Sanders as had become her custom. She tried to enjoy her meal while she could, not knowing when they'd be allowed decent food again.

"She's coming today," said Sanders, referring to the president's visit.

"We never would have figured that out," replied Elsie. "What first alerted you to all this?"

Sanders gave her a piercing stare.

"Is that why we're being allowed real food?" asked someone sitting nearby.

"Yeah," said Sanders. "It's their way of letting us know that she cares about our plight. We don't even have to work today."

"Nope," said Elsie, "we just have to show up, show our respect, and the rest of the day is free."

"Free," muttered Dana.

"What's with you?" asked Elsie.

Dana stared at her plate still thinking about the man that had died in her arms, gunned down like an animal. "I'm starting to wonder how we think of ourselves as free when everything we do is regulated."

"What do you mean?" asked Sanders.

Picking at the ham on her plate, Dana looked up and looked both Elsie and Sanders in the eyes. "Yesterday, I was sent to the Agricultural District where the food is grown for us. They were treated worse there than we are here. One man tried to escape and the officers killed him. They didn't even think about it. They just shot him. He died right in front of me, and I will never forget the look on his face."

"What-"

"And one man was so hungry that he took an apple from the bunch he had just picked. I watched as officers beat him senseless. No one did anything. Not even me."

"Well, what could you have done?" asked Elsie. "This is our world."

"Elsie's right," said Sanders. "There isn't anything you could have done. You know why we were all sent here in the first place."

"Perhaps you're right," said Dana.

The buzzer sounded. As one, people gathered up their trays and placed them in the drop-off area.

"Time to line up," said Elsie.

Dana followed the line as they marched to the main area of the plant. The machinery and incinerator had been shut off. Dana sighed. A day of no work meant tomorrow would be filled with added labor.