The World of Tomorrow

Chapter Nine

I can't trust him! He leads me out of the house into the bright desert sunlight. Where is he taking me? Oh god, is he going to...I don't know, kill me or something!? The peaceful haze of his kind, handsome eyes had me complacent and willing to follow. But as soon as we walked out of the little shack, my calm is shattered.
Now I'm faced with the unfamiliar desert landscape, and plants and animals I've never seen before are questioning my sanity.
The bright blue sky smells like something clear and pure, like fresh water, but the orange-brown desert smells like old, rotten, dusty apples, and I immediately hate it. I stop walking, rooting my feet in place. Jacques looks back at me, the worry obvious on his face.
"What's wrong?" He asks with that deep voice of his.
"T-this is all s-so new, I-I-I don't know what's happening o-or where I am, a-and I'm s-scared and I wanna go home!" I shout to the sky. The events of today have finally caught up to me, and I melted to a panicking, stuttering mess. I feel tears flow freely down my cheeks, and I drop to the ground, sitting on my heels and covering my face with my hands as I cry everything away.
I hear Jacques kneel beside me, placing a tentative hand on my back. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asks gently.
"Everything." I sob.
He lifts my chin so I look straight into his beautiful brown eyes. "I'm sure that's not it." He smiles softly. "We can talk about it, if you want."
I look down at my feet, then back into his eyes. "No." I say quietly, still sniffling.
"Ok, then let's keep walking. We've got a ways to go still."
I hear the girl who came to get me first, Happiness, scoff loudly. She'd been walking in front of us this whole time, so I'd never seen more of her than long, swinging blond hair and a short, five foot frame.
Jacques glares at her before softening his gaze and looking at me. "Like I said before, don't mind her." He smiles at me. Maybe I can trust him.

                                     *  *  *

After walking for what seemed like forever, we finally arrive at a makeshift town. I was more than surprised when I saw the tin rooftops appear after crossing yet another sand dune. They gleam in the light of the desert sun, giving off the smell of something sharp. As they come closer into view, I realize they aren't really buildings at all. They're small, makeshift houses. The walls and rooftops are all made of the same corrugated tin, but they don't fit together perfectly. There are large gaps at most of the intersections, and the roofs are all lopsided.
Man, that's a pretty bad place to call home. I think absentmindedly. Oh. That's my home.
I was dreading the thought of having to live in a place that wasn't even closed in from the elements, when the smell of sage flashed through the air. It left just enough time for a glance in the right direction to see it.
A green cloth.
I was wrong, the houses aren't exposed to the weather, there are different colored blankets stitched together on the inside of each house. I peer at the gaps more carefully, and I can see the blankets on the inside of each one. Some are red, others blue or yellow, some are multicolor. I always hated multicolor things. But I also love them! Well, I guess I have mixed feelings about multicolor. Certain color combinations are really cool and smell interesting too. Others are just muddled and smell rotten.
Happiness and Jack-Jacques lead me to a house with orange blankets on the inside. They smell like spiced apple cider, just like my walls at home. Or, they're not my walls anymore, are they? I sigh and flop down on the cot in the corner. It's a lot softer than I imagined, but I'm to tired to care.
"Sleepy, huh?" Jack-Jacques! laughs. I've gotta stop thinking of his name as Jack, it's messing with me.
I mumble something in conformation, and he chuckles and sits down beside me.
I hear Happiness scoff again. "Well, this is your home now. We'll let you rest for today, but tomorrow you'll meet everyone and start on chores." She states and spins on her heel to leave the hut.
"Thank you!" I call after her.
She stops just short of the wooden door and glances at me out of the corner of her eye. They-they're purple. A mutation, not natural. Probably the reason she was kicked out of Future. Could you imagine being kicked out of paradise because your eyes weren't the right color? I'm really starting to hate all of Future's stupid rules.
"We've all been hating Future's stupid rules." Happiness says. Oops, did I say that out loud? The corner of her mouth twitches up, for just a second, in the smallest smile I've ever seen.
"Join the club."

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Wow it's been a while since I came out with a new chapter huh? Sorry guys, I've got like four thousand drafts of random book idea I thought of at like 2am, and it's really effecting my writing speed with this book! I'll try to get Chapter Ten out a lot faster!