Torment

Kronole

For the next few days, following the medical inspection incident, I busied myself with caring for Andrew and cleaning Tanya's wounds. As I covered Andrew in another blanket and dabbed at his head wound, the sound of rolling metal drums caught my attention. Still not getting much of a response from Andrew, I checked the bandage covering his new stump, satisfied with his condition I left his side for the first time in days to see what was going on. Men were rolling the large steel drums, that many of us had used for storage over the years, towards the front of the carriage. I looked on confused, what was going on? As I made it to Tanya I gave her a sad smile, still well aware, that just like Andrew, her son had been ripped away from her. The woman was covered in bruises, previously I had wrapped a bed sheet around her torso in an attempt to give her a make-do bandage tight enough to help heal her broken ribs. Since her beating, she was in pain when she breathed or coughed, she had also been complaining of tenderness and stinging, so when I had a look and saw all the swelling and bruising around her rib cage, it was clear what damage had been done.

As I sat by her side, I placed the cold damp cloth I had managed to get a hold of onto her fractured eye socket. Tanya had a shiner of a bruise and the swelling from the attack meant she could barely open her eye or move her facial muscles without being in pain. Tanya was still saying very little, and although I had done everything I could for her physically, mentally the woman was destroyed. I rose from her bed and placed my hand lovingly on her forehead before leaving and searching for Curtis. I needed to know what was going on. Just as I was walking towards Gilliam's quarters, Edgar's voice filled the air. "Move! Move! Move! Move!" Edgar shouted running towards a man rolling the metal drums, with a plank of wood in his hands. With Edgar and the drums hurtling towards me, I jumped onto a nearby bunk ladder to get out the way. As the man rolling the drums moved to the side, Edgar pushed the Plank of wood onto the rolling drums before lying on them as if he were about to surf, seconds later he somehow managed to make it to his feet, riding the steel drums like a wave. "Stop fooling around!" I giggled as he jumped down, almost twisting his ankle. Edgar smirked before running off.

I shook my head smiling, before noticing Curtis, hidden away in a corner, looking at something in his hand as more steel drums rolled passed him. "What's happening?" I asked as I walked up to his side, carefully avoiding the men rolling the drums. Curtis looked to me, smiling slightly. "This is it, it's time." He spoke, suddenly serious. "Now?" I questioned in a whisper. Curtis nodded. "The drums, we're putting them together to create a blockade that can be pushed between all three gates, jamming them open." I nodded at Curtis's explanation, I couldn't believe this was real, everything had suddenly begun happening so fast. "But why are you hidden away here?" I pressed, wondering why he wasn't helping with the heavy lifting like he usually did. "I need Kronole." He answered. Kronole was Industrial waste and highly flammable. It became popular just before the ice age and as far as I was aware, it was widely used in the front sections of the train for its hallucinogenic nature. However, the substance is very addictive, and a few of the tail section passengers had lost their minds to the drug. In my opinion, it was worse than the extinct substances like Cocaine, Ketamine and Heroin. "What do you mean you need Kronole? Are you out of your mind?" I whisper shouted. "Not for me, for Nam Koong Min Soo." He replied as I made an 'o' shape with my mouth. "Word has it he was addicted, hence why he ended up in prison, so if we can get some, we can use it as a bargaining tool. I nodded, "But where can we get it?" I asked. Curtis looked around making sure no one was looking before motioning me to follow. As we walked through the train to a dark corner I had rarely visited, a strong chemical, fume like smell filled my nose and put my senses into over-ride. I let out a small cough before covering my nose and mouth with my hand, Curtis doing the same. We came to a narrow gap at the back of the carriage, the area was filthy, thick in dust and grime, with cockroaches crawling over abandoned building material.

I grimaced at the sight as Curtis lifted a gross looking sheet. The smell that rose from the movement was revolting and the two of us had to take a step back to cope. It was a mixture of the signature Kronole scent and something else disgusting I couldn't quite put my finger on. I looked to Curtis warily as he grabbed a metal box with the words Kronole painted on the side. He looked to me before opening the lid, revealing a load of washing pod sized, turquoise cubes. I gagged at the smell, but suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed the box from Curtis. I jumped back and Curtis instinctively put his arm in front of me. A dirty looking man pulled the box of Kronole towards him and the hole he'd been hiding in. His deteriorating health and addiction was clearly the other pungent smell swamping our senses. "I've got a better batch. Stronger, fresh, uncut. Want to try some?" He asked, his stench making my eyes water, Curtis looked to me. "How many protein blocks for 10 rocks of uncut Kronole?" Curtis asked. The man smiled, revealing his hideous teeth. "12," The addict smirked. "Jesus." I breathed as Curtis looked to me. "I have six." He said annoyed. "I have five and a half," I replied feeling in my pocket, I'd saved them for people like Andrew, but who knew what was going to happen in the next few days. Curtis looked me over, silently questioning if I was sure. I nodded.

"11" Curtis bartered. The man pretended to think about it before reaching into his pocket and pulling out 10 of the bright blue rocks. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the five protein bars I had before handing them to Curtis, who was already holding his own. Curtis took the handful of drugs before leaving our protein blocks on the side. The man grinned greedily as he grabbed them, placing one in his mouth and sinking back into his filthy hole with the rest. I shook my head as Curtis placed the Kronole in his pocket and we began to walk away. "Where did you get the extra bars from?" He asked. "I usually skip eating breakfast and lunch, I'm healthy enough to eat once a day, but some of my patients need extra's to build up their strength, so I save mine for them," I answered as we continued to make our way to the front of the carriage.

I noticed Curtis staring at me from the corner of my eye, "What?" I asked. "You are way too good for the tail section Hazel, so selfless. You need to make sure you keep your own strength up." I laughed at Curtis's reply. "Please! I'm just doing my job, besides, why did you have leftovers? You can't worry about me if you're doing the same!" I smiled causing him to smirk. "Well, there's always something I need to trade them for. Today it was drugs!" He smirked causing me to mock gasp and slap his shoulder. "We'll have none of that mister." I giggled as we stopped at the front of the carriage. The presence of guards delivering our second ration of the day, quickly made our banter disperse.

The guards were stood in their normal position by the protein block trolly. A weird-looking soldier was looking at his peers' weapon. I watched as Edgar picked up his protein block and then Curtis. As he did so I looked on warily as he got alarmingly close to one of the soldiers, looking as if he was checking out the guns. I quickly grabbed my protein block and continued to walk slowly around the order line we were told to form. I took a large bite, swallowing the substance quickly in the hopes of not tasting it. My actions made me gag, but I took another three large bites, quickly getting the food down me, knowing that if Curtis was right, I need my strength, sooner rather than later, shit was going to hit the fan. After I'd collected my food and eaten it and took my spot next to Curtis and sat beside him, pleasantly surprised that Gilliam had joined us.

"They don't have bullets," Curtis said. "What makes you think that?" I asked, confused. Why have guns but no ammunition? "You remember what Mason said? She said, 'put down that useless gun'." Curtis answered, reminding me of the events that took place across the last three days. "She meant she wouldn't give the order to shoot me," Gilliam replied looking to me and Curtis. "No," Curtis began shaking his head. "No, I think the guns are literally useless. They used up all their bullets four years ago on the last revolt." Curtis confirmed, I shuddered thinking of the massacre. "Bullets are extinct." Curtis finished. "If you're wrong, we could be finished before we even start. I think we should be patient. Wait for the next red letter." Gilliam said, surprising me, he was usually always for Curtis's ideas.