INKWELL

Chapter Six

June 1, 2081

The next day, I woke up feeling stiff. Though the chair was comfortable to sit on, it wasn't the best for sleeping. I stood up to shake my legs and stretched to remove the kinks in my body. A few other people were doing the same.

"Good morning," Wunmi said in a chirpy voice.

I turned to her and smiled. "Someone seems happy today."

"Of course. We are far from earth, away from the ink, and we are moving towards our new home."

I wasn't as excited as Wunmi. I loved the fact that we had gotten a chance to live but I was nervous about what the planet we were going to looked like. When I thought of it, one of the scenarios I imagined was wearing oxygen masks over my face. I hoped that wasn't going to be the case. When the ink had first started, people began to put nose guards but we soon realized it was futile. It had felt uncomfortable wearing a nose guard, I didn't want to imagine what an oxygen mask will look like.

"She's still sleeping."

"Who?" I turned in the direction she was looking at and my face fell as I saw Mrs. Abimbola still curled up in her chair. Dry tear marks were clear on her face.

"She's a strong woman, I don't know how she's coping with all these. Tobi might have been a jerk but it's hard to imagine that he is infected. He was just beginning to come to his senses, I mean he agreed to a truce with you, but now..."

She was talking about him as if he was dead and though I wanted to say he wasn't, I knew it was the same. Infection equalled to death. I just hoped he'll get a quick death. I wondered if there was any use hoping. His infection had started out slow, he would be lucky if his death was fast.

I shook my head to get rid of the gloomy thoughts. It was a new day and I didn't want to spend it sad.

"They wouldn't let us explore the spaceship," a voice said behind me.

I turned to find Yemilade and Chidinma standing with their arms folded around their chest.

"Why?" Wunmi asked.

"I don't know. They want us to stay in here until we get to our destination. That's not fair. What of those who are afraid of small spaces?"

"Claustrophobic," I provided. "The room isn't that small, Yemilade. And I think the officers are just being careful. If they let people out, someone might go missing or touch something they aren't supposed to touch."

"True."

I turned to see Caroline looking fresher that the day before. She had her hair up in a ponytail. "Good morning," she greeted in a cheerful voice.

"Good morning."

"If we can't go out, what are we expected to do then? Sit and be bored." Yemilade seemed more bothered about that than the exchange of pleasantries.

"No. There's a panel behind the room that would soon be lifted. It will reveal a relaxation room with several games and the people from the next room will also be sharing it with us."

Yemilade's eyes brightened at that. "Sweet. When are they lifting the panel?"

Caroline chuckled at the excitement in her voice. "Soon. In the meantime, there's a door over there." She pointed to a small door that I hadn't noticed earlier. "It leads to a small restroom where you can wash your face, teeth and other body parts. Water is rationed though so you'll have to make do with what is there. The good news is that the water is cleaner than most you've seen."

"Nice. What are we waiting for?" Wunmi asked rhetorically.

"Since it's a small place, two rooms for each gender, you'll have to wait your turn. People are picking up tags from the table in front. It shows what number you are on the list."