The Trial

Chapter 15 - Edited

The meeting in his office goes on as I sit across the hall and wait. My new job as state clerk three is one I both fear and embrace, since it will put me under the watchful gaze of someone I had hoped to avoid altogether. This is happening far sooner than I planned, and I hope my mask holds firm.

The chair's not designed for comfortable and there've been numerous occasions of having the great desire to stand. I've been successful in fighting the urge to alleviate the soreness that encompasses my body like a vice, but don't know if I can ignore the pain much longer. It wasn't long ago that sitting on any hard surface caused me any problems, but my body has been protesting a little more with each passing year.

His door opens after countless minutes, or perhaps hours, and the black flows out as his ancient head looks directly at me. "Get in here, state clerk three." I nod as I stand without so much as stretching my legs as I cross through the entrance to his large office for the second time today, and see the fire in his green eyes hasn't dimmed. "Close the door."

I do as he commands without so much as a grimace, since I can't show any weakness. His neck crackles softly in his quiet office as he points a bony finger to a chair and sit before him without saying a word. The chair's far more comfortable than the one outside his office, and almost allow my mask to slip.

He takes a few ragged breaths and wonder if he's going to die before me. If he does, I'll get the blame and my life will be over. His bony hands move up to his mouth as he coughs and I'm glad he at least took the time to block most of what's released.

His eyes make me uncomfortable as he tries to melt my mask. "As state clerk three, you'll be living and working out of a warehouse. Before you ask, there's no number associated with it. You're being given a new driver. No one will be allowed inside. If you let anyone in, I'll know."

The words roll off his tongue as if he's reciting the same speech he's recited countless times. There's no malice in his words, but his green eyes tell me all I need to know. My mask remains perfect and my voice stays locked inside as I wait him out.

He turns to the closed door and yells with a voice louder than the ancient man should be able to make. "Get in here."

I hear the door open, but don't turn to look as someone in black stands beside me. The smell isn't particularly good, but at least I don't want to shield my nostrils from the latest assault. My head remains firmly in place as I wait for further instructions.

Without looking away from me, his voice hardens. "This is your new driver, state driver twelve, and he already knows where to go. State clerk three will be waiting for you and tell you everything about your new job." I'm a little confused and my mask slips a little. "That's right, state clerk three. She's still there and you'll be replacing her later today."

This is a first, since I've never known anyone that's ever been around when the change of people occur. It's always happened after someone disappears and odd to think there are two of us with the same name. I know there are a lot of people with the same name all over the world, but they're careful to prevent using the same ones in this region. For all I know, this is quite common in other areas, but I'm not in those other areas and it unnerves me a little.