Underneath The Hidden Stars

Chapter VII

"Good morning, dear citizens. It is now 7am. Vetos' stars have gone to rest, meaning it is time for you to work in their wake. Please get ready for work and don't forget dear citizens: work hard, live well, and you will rise!"

As the announcement echoed throughout the level, a few doors opened in the dormitory the promoted kids were staying at. One by one, they started leaving their rooms and getting ready for the day. In less than half an hour, most of them were already in the kitchen, where Thomas took over.

"No one touch anything! I swear to Vetos, if any of you pricks touch any little thing, all of you are going to starve!" he said as he juggled multiple pots and pans around, somehow not spilling a thing and keeping everything pristine. Although Thomas didn't even ask for help, a fragile looking girl walked into the kitchen, picked up the plates and started placing them on the giant dining table that stood in the small backyard behind the house. One after another, everyone sat down at the table and gazed upon the feast that Thomas has honoured them with. "Bon appetite!" he exclaimed and dug in. Everyone followed him, and soon the table was filled with loads of crunching and happy morning chatter.

There were only 3 people that sat by the table without saying a word. The trio stared blankly at their plates and moved the food around with their forks. The sight they witnessed on the day prior, made them lose their appetites. Neither of them could get any sleep and since the adrenaline from yesterday had been long gone, they didn't have the energy to do anything. Their eyes would occasionally meet and they would force out a barely noticeable smile, but that's where their facial expressions and communication ended. As the girls poked around at their food a noise of heels clacking on the stone tiles made everyone turn back to the building.

"I hope I'm not interrupting the wonderfully smelling meal you're having," the woman started with the same fake smile she had on the day before. "After you're finished eating, come to the living room and we'll discuss some things, okay? Okay, see you there!" She smiled again, leaving everyone in a daze. The kids looked around at each other, giggled and continued eating, while some of them even started making fun of the way the governor spoke, imitating her extremely fake smile.

"Nice to see you all gathered here. I'll let one of our safety officers say a word first, if you don't mind." the governor stated and called in a man in a dark blue uniform. Following his entrance, Mira, Ava and Lucy all tensed up and glared at each other.

"Hey-uh, everyone!" greeted a short and rather round man. "First of all, I want to congratulate you all on arriving on Level 8! I really do hope you'll enjoy living here. However, I don't know how it is on your home levels, here things are, most likely, a bit different. Please don't ever talk to strangers on the streets, as sometimes, they might be extremely dangerous. Also, if you somehow become a witness to something bad happening, such as someone getting robbed or hurt, please report it to the safety police. My colleagues and I will be happy to help you and everyone that was involved, okay? Now, the reason I'm saying this, is because a man got murdered yesterday, and the person who reported the incident to us was the owner of the restaurant, who said a young girl told him of the man. Now, we can't be sure as of yet if the girl was the murderer or if it was someone else, as we just started gathering the camera footage, but please be weary of your surroundings at all times, okay? Okay. That's all I wanted to say. If any of you have any information of what could've taken place yesterday, please come by the security office and we'll sort everything out. I'll leave this to you then, governor." He said as he gestured at the woman and walked out of the building.

The governor smiled while waiting for him to leave, and turned back to the kids, who all around the living room. She interlocked her fingers and held her hands at waist level, while thinking of what to say. "Well," she started. "I know the situation is a bit odd at the moment, so let's try talking about something else. As you might have noticed, the ceiling here is covered in screens that portray the time to the second. So if you see the sunset, it's probably a good idea to head back home..."