A camera drone appeared, zooming down into my face and watching me with its beady eye. That's when the tears finally came, a hot, fast flurry of water that stung my cheeks. I was crying on live tv and I no longer cared, the voters would see my emotion and finally regard me as human and if that was all that they saw then at least it would inspire some of them to fight the show. The whole world could see me crying and I could already imagine the tears of the people who voted for me being Jack's favourite, their money down the drain because I simply couldn't leave behind the weak thirteen-year-old girl. I didn't hear Rachel announce that the trial was over, I didn't even hear her announce that it was time to go back to our lodges.
The next thing I knew Jack was there and there were people walking towards him in the background, he looked frantic as though he wasn't supposed to be with me, and his words were warped in the confusion. "I'll fix this...I promise..." His words were rattling around my empty head and then he was throwing off the hands of the security officers who had followed him over and was storming off behind the stage.
Emily's small hand grabbed my bicep and dragged me to my feet. She led me by the arm back to the lodge as I trembled and tried to stop the tears, but they wouldn't end and turned my face into a runny mess. I was dirty, tired and hungry but none of it mattered anymore because I wouldn't be here for the next trial. I wanted to be mad at Emily for not trying harder, but I couldn't find it in myself when I knew that she had given her best.
When we made it back to the cabin, dragging our feet across the floor forlornly, I climbed onto my bed, dirt and all. Flecks of dried mud sprinkled the white sheets. Sobs escaped my mouth, deep and long. It was starting to set in that I didn't have a life to look forward to anymore. I would never see Ma again, never feel her gentle arms as she held me closer, never hold my cat again. I choked down another sob, sending it right back into my lungs where it rebounded and came out anyway. There was one good thing about death, I would see my Father again and his comforting embrace was enough to calm my sobs and leave me staring blankly at the wooden wall beside my head. By this point I'd already erased my last encounter with Jack, forgetting what he'd told me and letting my numb mind fall into a dark trance. Closing my eyes, I drifted to sleep, riding the waves of sorrow.
Waking up again was a start as I'd half expected to be taken away before the reward came. The bed sheet was ruckled and streaks of dust and dirt made strange tiger print marks across the white sheet. With a little hick, I sat up. My head ached and my eyes were puffy and blurry. My hand found the fresh suit at the end of my bed and clutched it tightly, I might as well look good when I die, I thought as I stood up and headed for the showers.
When I arrived at the shower blocks there was no one there and the odd running shower told me that there had been signs of life and I'd just missed them. Hooking my new suit over a steel hook I undressed and found the button for the shower, pressing it on and allowing the cold water to wash away the dirt and vile stagnant water. It was just me, my thoughts, the clogged drains and the cooling water. Finishing up I squeezed my hair out and towelled myself down with the stray towel that I had found on the way in. I climbed into my new suit and pulled it up over the rest of my body, buttoning the front with fingers that were slick with water. On the way out I dumped both the towel and old suit into the designated disposal bin and headed outside into the scorching sun.
A janitor robot entered the door just as I was about to leave, it looked at me with blank camera eyes for just a second before disregarding my presence and pushing past me to begin its suction cleaning of the drains. I watched it work for a second, smiling weakly at this new experience. Technology was scarce back home and there wasn't much that actually worked so this place was a wonder. Once it had cleared the first two drains, I stepped out of the door which I was still holding open from the robot entering and crossed the yard back to my cabin.
YOU ARE READING
The Camp
General Fiction"It's strange, one day your a nobody and the next you're absolutely everybody." Enola Seabridge is chosen to compete in the competition on a lifetime (literally) but when she gets there, she finds herself falling for somebody who she'll have to figh...
