Helpless

Chapter Two - Equality

I woke to a pale stream on sunshine on my face. Sometime during the night I must have pulled the covers further down. I was freezing so I got up and ran into the kitchen. The kitchen stove still had some red coals in it so I put the last of the wood that was inside on it. I sat as close to the fire as I could without being burnt.

After I warmed up I changed into the warmest clothes I had and walked outside. I checked nothing was stolen out of the vegetable patch or the chicken pen, then I went to the well. I let the bucket drop then pulled it up again. The bucket was less than half full. On my way back I collected a handful of mint leaves from the garden.

I poured some of the water into the pot and set it aside to boil. I cut up the mint leaves and added them to the water. We couldn't afford black tea anymore because it was rare, so we made our own mint tea. I took the bucket to the bathroom and filled the bowl in there. I put the bucket next to the door because it was already empty again.

The tea was ready so I took half of it to Mrs Maggie who was still in bed and I drank the other half. I went to the bathroom and cleaned myself with a rag and the water from the bowl. We couldn't have showers anymore, there was to little water. I put on my working clothes started cooking some scones. There was a large amount of flour for sale at the town square for half price so I bought some as a nice treat for Mrs Maggie.

Mrs Maggie came into the kitchen yawning. She asked if I saw any patrols on my way down to the well. I shook my head and told her about how little water is left in the well. She instructed that she will go alone to her friends house and I shall buy more rope for the well from the town square and then stay home and clean the house. I noticed how she carefully avoided the severity of our lack of water.

I finished cooking the scones and put them in a little basket and put them on the table. Mrs Maggie had changed into her best dress and left with the scones. I knew the store wouldn't be open yet so I started cleaning the house. I started by sweeping each room and opening each of the curtains. The bedroom had a stone floor and the other two rooms had dirt floors. Next I made the beds and stoked up the fire.

I knew the shops would be open by now so I changed into one of my long dresses and took three copper coins out of the box that is under Mrs Maggie's bed. I walked to the town square and walked into the hardware store. It is considered a men's store so I looked down and quickly found the rope I needed. A man bumped into me and jeered at me. I quickly made the trade and walked home.

I changed back into my work clothes and took the rope and bucket to the well. I attached the new rope to the existing rope as tightly as I could. I attached the bucket and lowered it down slowly. When I pulled it back up it was full but the water was a bit brown.

When I returned to the house Mrs Maggie was home and had already changed out of her dress. I showed her the water and she said we have to filter the water out of it through a shirt. She went and got one of my old shirts that's too small for me and strung it over our other bucket and started pouring the water over the shirt. She then said after all the water has gone though it, you have to boil it then let it cool. Mrs Maggie said to clean all the water.

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I found Mrs Maggie sitting in a chair under the window in the bedroom. I follow her line of sight and see a squad of patrols walking through the town. They are brandishing their batons towards anyone walking on the streets. They were nearing our house so I quickly pulled the curtain back across the window.

I asked Mrs Maggie about the patrols because they have been coming to our town more frequently. She told me they were men that worked at the Grand Castle in Immunda. They were like policemen but also looked for male and female teens to kidnap and make them work at the Grand Castle. They are particularly interested in girls that aren't accompanied by men.

I am lucky in this town. Unless you go to the hardware store females aren't really discriminated against. The closer to Immunda you get, the worse it is for females. I have read in many of my history books I sneakily bought, that there used to be gender equality; but not since the war.

The books are always vague about the war, no one wants to admit what happened. The only way to find out about it is through word of mouth. What I have found out is: there was a World War III and every country was bombed at least once. Some countries were hit with nuclear weapons and aren't inhabitable anymore. In my country, Australia, power stations, communications and technology facilities were targeted. By the end of the war every power station and communications centre had been bombed. All the countries are still recovering from the war.

During the recovery in Australia everything started going backwards. An incredibly rich family built a large castle to live in. They had strong views on issues and got people to agree with those views by giving them work. The workers built a city around it called Immunda. This increased the divide between the rich and the poor. In the surrounding areas small communities built towns. Living in the towns was better because people had more freedom of speech. The family living in the Grand Castle became like dictators and declared women were lesser beings.

I peeked out the window and saw one of the men in the patrols grab a girl around the age of fourteen and drag her away with them. The horse and cart brings up the rear of the patrol line. The man stopped the cart and pushed the girl inside. I looked back and saw a woman and young girl around the age of six crying and calling to the girl. I turned away from the window disgusted at the sight.

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The last of the patrols left the city taking with them a total of ten girls and three boys. That is devastating for a town of 200. I walked around the streets to discover who had been taken. I went to my neighbour and to my dismay, Mallory was one of the girls taken. She is my age and has been my best friend for forever. We used to play together on the street. I hugged her Mum and she started crying. I told her to tell me if she ever needs anything, let me know.

I continued to walk around and gave sympathy to the seven other families that had their children taken from them. I didn't really know any of the other children though. The patrols coming more often, and taking more people is starting to become unbearable for our town.

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As I laid in bed that night shaking from the cold, I continued to think about the patrols. I was trying to connect the people that they taken together. Then I thought about their appearance. They all had dark brown hair, were tall and around my age and a bit younger. That was also a description of me. I shook me head in disbelief. It's just a coincidence I told myself.

I shivered again so I pulled my woollen blanket tighter around me and went up to the window. I peered outside and saw more patrols sweeping the city. They were stopping and standing on the edge of the road. I looked along the roads I could see. There was a guard stationed every 500 metres along the road. I pulled the curtain across the window as well as I could and walked into the kitchen. I put another log on the fire and laid down in front of it to warm up. Before I knew it I closed my eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep.