The System

Chapter 1

Eriton was getting slightly warmer, the weather turning slightly nicer. Spring. I almost sighed as I opened the bedroom curtains.

The pale morning light filtered through the room, illuminating the cheap furnishings. I was never a woman of expensive taste which worked to Benjamin's advantage as his salary was barely enough to keep us going. Soon, he would promise. Soon, I will get that promotion. I knew of a sure-fire way to gain that promotion - the way Ben's superiors looked at me was almost predatory - but I always kept my mouth shut. The thought soured my gut.

There was a lot of that in Eriton: keeping your mouth shut; ignoring the problem; smiling at those you'd like to strangle. Everyone hid behind a false smile and you never saw the person behind the mask. The trick was to stop noticing that things were wrong.

Being oblivious was fine in theory but sometimes I found it difficult to help myself.

Realising just how dangerous my thoughts had become, I turned from the window, headed to the bathroom and began the mundane tasks that were my morning routine: Change clothes. Brush teeth. Apply smile. Make bed. Go to kitchen. Wash Ben's dishes. Throw away the note he left me. Have breakfast.

At the beginning of the partnership, Ben left a note every morning saying that he hoped I had a nice day and that he loved me. In the early days I had been thrilled: I had entered this partnership so that I would be better accepted in society - it was what was expected of me - there was never any love in it. When I saw these notes I got a glimmer of what life could be like. I could learn to love Ben. I could become part of that happy couple I had dreamed of as a child. At the start, I had even saved his notes in a shoe box. That box was empty now. His notes had gradually turned into To Do lists. I had found myself looking at a list of requests, sometimes even demands, in the morning, so I stopped reading them.

I did not love Ben. I was fond of him the way you would be fond of a small dog - it's slightly pathetic, but that makes you feel protective. Benjamin had all of the qualities of a dog: loyal, mostly good natured, and dependent on me for being fed and looked after. I could feel myself gradually beginning to resent Ben. Not that I would dare say anything about it.

Picking up the morning paper, I sat down with my toast and coffee. On most days the paper was the same old same old, just long enough to mention shop offers, achievements, and the weather. There was never bad news; that was reserved for the monthly newsletter, but I didn't have access to that. The newsletter was reserved for the powerful people, the people in charge of Eriton's well-being. Benjamin's job, I thought bitterly, was not good enough to merit a newsletter.

As on most days, the house was horribly quiet. Being alone with my thoughts worried me and so I scraped my chair back loudly. The dishes were done carelessly and I hoovered for as long as I could before the noise started to irritate me. I had many friends, but calling them seemed so pointless.  Everything was the same old, same old. No one changed and yet we were all secretly competing to be the best: who had the most handsome partner? Who had the nicest house - which was the most useless point of comparison. All of our houses were almost identical. They were my friends, but only so that I could say that I had friends; I did not like them and they did not like me. My whole life lacked meaning.

When I glanced at the clock it was only 9.30 in the morning and I was already bored. The house was bare and I couldn't help but wonder why I called it home.

I stood in the middle of the hallway; the kitchen to the right, the lounge to the left, and my 'homes' main entrance in front of me. I suppose it was easier to ignore how dull my life had become outdoors, but ignoring the other problems with society was much easier when you didn't have to see other people's masks.

It wasn't that Eriton was horrible, in fact it was almost beautiful. The buildings were almost white with different colours of flowers everywhere. To the West side was the sea and in every other direction there was an expanse of forestry. It was good weather more often than not and the large parks made Eriton look like a sub-urb, though it was big enough to be a county. The streets were always clean and you never saw anything other than happy adults.

But there was something off about everything. The way the buildings seemed to be different, yet uniform; how the flower beds looked as though they had been perfectly arranged, though no gardeners were ever seen outside of private residences; and the way that Eriton was enclosed by the wall, which was carefully guarded at all times. It was difficult to live a free life when you felt like a hamster in a cage, albeit a nicely designed cage.

Access to the forest beyond the walls was forbidden. There weren't posters up about it or anything. It was more of an unspoken rule. The authorities claimed (or, at least, Ben claimed that they claimed) that there were wild animals out there - dangerous animals that would kill anyone they came into contact with. But I had always wondered: if the danger is out there, then why are they watching us? Why would we not have the choice to leave if we wanted to? Surely it would be better to keep the threat out instead of keeping us in?

The phone on the table beside the front door began ringing, making me start. I grabbed at it too quickly, dropping it in my haste.

"Hello? Hello?" I called, scrambling for the phone.

"Em, it's me, Ben. Ha! That rhymes!" No, not really, I thought sardonically. "Anyway, I was just calling to make sure you got my message this morning?"

I blew the air out of my mouth in a gust. I hadn't so much as read one word on his note this morning. "No, sorry darling. I must have thrown it away by accident," I replied stiffly.

"How could you throw it out by accident? It was the only thing on the kitchen table." Ben must have taken my silence as a reply, either that or he didn't care. "Doesn't matter. It just said that I love you and to have a nice day." Again, I was silent, waiting for the part that I loathed. "Oh, and if you wouldn't mind, I could really use some of your stew for dinner tonight? I know it takes a while to prepare, but what else do you have to do, right?" He laughed.

I almost hung up on him. Almost. "Of course darling. Whatever you wish."

"Great, see you tonight," apparently my mood was lost on him. He hung up quickly and I was left alone in the hallway once again.

I put the phone down and stared at it, lost in thought. On one hand the stew would take about two hours to prepare and that would keep me busy. On the other hand I wanted to throw some poison in it. I mean, I could have achieved it. Who would suspect me - an innocent, caring and devoted wife? A car honking outside made me start again. My thoughts had been wandering into dangerous territory for the second time that morning. How long had I been standing here? How long can I keep on living like this? I asked myself. Shaking my head, I grabbed a light coat and left.