Dead Mystery

Chapter One

I rub my eyes as I sit up in my featherbed. Moans from outside don't really alarm me, but I watch the fan turn round and around. It feels as if my life continues to just do loops of uselessness just like that fan. I can't help but wonder what I could be doing to actually try and help. My stomach growls, waking me from the trance. I realize I have to go to the farmer's market to buy some food.

"Shit... I didn't earn enough yesterday to buy anything... I wonder if Terry has any extra Pelz..." I whisper to myself and drag myself out of bed.

I double check to make sure my rifle is inside my closet and it is. The Manor government doesn't want anyone with guns in the society, but I don't trust it. I still have all my weaponry from the Cold Days and I don't trust the utopia The Manor has created. They say we are safe and for a while, Terry and I believed them blindly. That was before the Leak happened. The walls of Babel came falling down and it exposed The Manor's weaknesses for what they were.

"Terry!" I shout with a hint of drowsiness. She immediately pokes her auburn head out of her doorway and yawns.

"Yeah?"

My nails scratch my head as she walks towards me in her pajamas, "We need to go shopping. Do you have eight more Pelz?"

Terry gasps, "Eight?! What are you buying?"

"A meal for tonight. I didn't make enough yesterday on the farm so I need help," I sigh.

Terry furrows her brows, "Well, I don't make that much in the sewing factory... Why do things have to be so expensive?"

"Because we don't pay to live in these houses. Remember? The Manor gives the houses free with plumbing and electricity. All we have to do is be apart of society. It is a pretty nice deal," I cross my arms. Despite my distrust, I still am impressed at the amazing job The Manor has done. They've saved four hundred thousand people and have been able to provide for each one. The oligarchy started right after the Cold Days and they built the Manor's walls then as well.

"That is true. Let me go look in my savings box," Terry turns back into her dark room. After a moment she comes back with eight rock pieces and puts them in my hand, "So what's on the menu tonight?"

"Let me think," I pause and tap my chin teasingly, even though I already know what it will be, "A salad, beans, and peaches."

Terry gasps, "What's the occasion?"

"I just miss having nice meals like the old days. Can you believe it's been nine years since the whole world ran into shit?" I pull my brown bangs out of my face.

"I'm totally excited for tonight. It will make going to work a little bit easier," Terry scratches her stomach and practically dances back to her room to get changed. The nice thing about Terry's job is that we get free clothes sometimes. I never really get anything from my job, but it's okay. I like being a farmer, I'm usually the sower, but since all the crops are ripe, I'm the Harvester.

Running to my room, I change into jeans and a big teeshirt, sliding my glasses back onto my face. I throw my hair into a fishtail braid and make my way downstairs. Grabbing an orange, i sit down at the wooden table with a candle in the middle. Since things have been pretty peaceful, Terry and I have been able to decorate the house and make it feel more home-y. My eyes scan the hills in the distance and they also spot the Border Wall. That same wall stretches down and glides right past our house. The sun peeks over the wall in a potentially beautiful sunrise. I never will get over the view.

Terry joins me when I'm halfway done with the orange and she kicks her feet up on the table while nibbling on an apple. "Be safe out there, okay?" She says.

"I will. If any mosquitoes try to kill me, I'll make sure and be safe," I wink at her, but she frowns.

Her eyes narrow, "Velma... You know what I mean. If George does it again... And if that Leak happens again-"

"It won't. I'm not working in the same area as George and the Leak happened two months ago. I will be fine, don't worry yourself, you aren't Mom," I nibble on the last piece of orange and throw the peelings out the window, but Terry still isn't pleased.

"You know she told me to protect you."

I turn cold and glance back at her, "I don't need to be protected. I never had to be."

"But now you do. Don't expect yourself to not get into any trouble. I still am your older sister, and what you do affects me. What you did affected Mom-" she stops herself, and I could see the regret in her eye. She immediately softens her tone, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-"

"You don't mean to do a lot of things. I'll see you later," I interrupt and leave to not give her a chance to respond. Of course she mentioned mom... And of course she mentioned my idiocy. It haunts me everyday and I didn't need her to remind me.