10 Minute Tales

Jan 2 - Dystopia from Within

Rain. She hated the rain. The way it came and went without as much as a by-your-leave, the way it seemed to sink into every unprotected corner of the world. She looked out of the window, staring at the vast city from above, the urban sprawl stopping abruptly at the edge of its assigned territory. She liked the order the Supreme One had set. It helped things make sense. The Better For Us All, she reminded herself, as she turned back to her desk. The desk had very little on it, only a computer monitor. The keyboard before it was placed in an indent and designed to look like part of the desk, but it was that very keyboard that could change the lives of many. Being a worker in a city two simple Transtrain rides away led to a world of possibilities. Glorious homes, glamorous foods, the freshest and coolest of water, all for a fair and reasonable number of credits. She giggled slightly as she set on with work again. Credits drove her car, they powered her home. She was happy to let the Independence Motion say what they wanted, as long as she could get her pay.

Hours passed and she barely realised. The sun, once sat high in the murky grey sky, had now set and splashed reds, pinks, oranges, even a couple of strokes of green across the sky. She sighed and got up, locking her monitor.
"So much for today." She mused to herself, collecting an unassuming folder and walking towards the door leading to the elevators.
That was when the bomb detonated.
A moment's quiet tranquility was suddenly and irrevocably shattered, a wave of force knocking her off of her feet and square onto her back. She laid there for a moment, stunned, as people started to run around in a panic. The alarm started, its low note reverberating through the building. For a moment, she let her head roll to the side, staring out at the new hole, into the cityscape and the barren plains beyond. She felt the breeze on her skin, a soft wisp of motion that sent her shivering slightly.