Hazel- On the Run

Chapter 6- Life in Governia

Chapter 6: Life in Governia

The first thought Hazel had was that using the word ‘town’ wasn’t right.

Governia was a more like a camp built within massive walls, like the work camps Hazel had read about, when her class had studied World War II. Barbed wire lined the top of the walls, making escape almost impossible. Anyone found with potentially damaging powers (powers that couldn’t be harnessed) were held in the facility that sat on the outskirts of ‘town’. During the day the ones in the camp followed a strict routine which included roll calls and various types of work. At night they would be put in their dorms. Each morning a clean change of clothes would be delivered to your dorm. Everyone would eat together in a community hall for all meals. If you went against certain rules, your privilege of food would be taken away. As Hazel walked around the town, hundreds of voices flooded into her head. So many emotions came with them. They gave her a headache that she tried not to let show.

The tour soon came to an end, and they were sent to their dorms to ‘freshen up’ before the evening meal.

There were five dorms, each dorm holding about twenty beds. The beds consisted of a hard stretcher, blanket and pillow. In the corner of each dorm was a small room, which held a toilet and a sink. Hazel, Melanie and Aimee were separated, each into a different dorm.

A tall, slight girl with massive blue eyes and brown hair came up to Hazel who was standing idly in the middle of the dorm room.

“Are you new here?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Hazel answered. “We arrived today.”

“We?”

“My two friends and I.”

“Oh, separated?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too. I was brought in with my best friend. She was kept in the centre.”

“The centre?”

“The centre is our name for the facility that runs this place.”

“I guess it is quite a fitting name. By the way, my name’s Hazel.”

“My name’s Alice.”

“What’s your power?”

“I can shape-shift into whatever living form I want.”

“Meaning…?”

“Meaning animals and human forms. I can’t do plants or inanimate objects. What’s yours?”

“I can read people’s thoughts, speak into their minds and move objects with my mind.”

“So you’re a telepath?”

“Basically.”

They were interrupted with the sound of a bell that signalled the evening meal.

“Follow me,” Alice said.

“Thank you,” Hazel replied.

In a courtyard outside the dorms the groups gathered. Hazel noticed that no boys were present and no adults were either. All the girls there ranged in age between five and nineteen, some looked very scared or worried. Hazel felt her heart go out to them and wanted to comfort each one.

Hazel’s head was killing her by the time everyone had gathered. It took all her concentration to block out all the noise, to try not to listen.

A roll call took place before the girls all filed into the large eating hall. Guards were scattered everywhere around the town. Focusing on one guard, Hazel found out that there were numerous facilities. The one they were in was for the girls (between the ages of four and nineteen), one for all the boys (between the ages of four and nineteen), two for all the infants and females (above the age of twenty) and two for all the males (above the age of twenty). The facility, or ‘town’ as they called it, had about one hundred people in it. Hazel could tell by the voices coming in. That didn’t count the women, infants and males. The whole of the country had been searched and cleared of paranormals. Hazel knew of Mercedi’s true evil plan and it wasn’t for peace and prosperity. At least not for the paranormals.