Divided

Chapter 2

                                                              CAT's P.O.V.

I woke up again. And it was dark again. It was cold again. Dirty again. Everyone else was sleeping in their mattresses. I got up and went to the corner. There was a crack in the wall. I called it "my light" because it was the only way to see the light of sun in the morning. While we're outside, then it's useless. It just bothers us. It burns our backs and makes our bodies sweat. "That's how we bath.", one old woman said. We bath with our own sweat. I put my hand close to the crack and watch the sun illuminate my palm. I wanted to be in Caelum. I wanted to live there. Others hate people there. I just envy them. I envy them, because they can watch how the sun rises. To enjoy it. I envy them, because they can take a proper bath. I envy them because they have warm and comfy beds. I envy them because they consider life an enjoyment, and we consider it  torture.

About a half an hour later, the guards came in and woke up the others. New boy that is departed here to Region 256, had a trouble waking up, so the guards kicked him. I could see the suffer in his eyes while he was getting up. Others sympathized with him. Regardless of that, they couldn't help him. It was time for work. We got out and immediately felt like rats getting out of holes. The sun shined brightly. Not very pleasant  for our eyes. We split in groups. I'm in  the mining group with my brother Trevor. Our mother Adrianne is in the group of fields' harvesters. Guards lead us to the mines. Today we are continuing our work in the coal mine. We picked up our shovels and flashlights. Just that. No helmets, no suits, just a shovel and flashlight. We got inside the mine and arranged down the whole mine. I started digging. Old scars on my hands started to hurt again. At first I'd groan, but now I got used to it. When I was younger I was with my mother harvesting the fields, but as soon as I turned 16 they transferred me to the mining group. Big cloud of dust started to spread between us. We started to cough, but all we could is to stop for a moment and then just continue mining. My brother was on the other side. At his age of 23 and seven years of mining experience, he got used to the dust and dirt. I didn't. I never will, actually. I hate it. We get a chance to take a shower only once a month. And that if we're lucky. I hate how sweaty and dirty I am at the end of the day. When I was working on the fields I used to be less dirty. At nights I can wake up coughing and thinking I'm in the dark mine again. And I get scared. Not only for myself, but for Trev and others. That's how my father died. In the mine. He was digging as usual and a rock detached of the cliff and fell on him. He died immediately. He doesn't have a proper grave. Just a pile of ground we marked with a dead flower.

After ten hours at mine, it is finally time to go back to the shelter. We called it a shelter, but actually it wasn't a place for protection. It couldn't protect us from the guards. It was cold and dark, but it was better from the mine. We got inside and found our meals that the guards left us. It is our lucky day. We're having a cooked potato and some bread with a bottle of water. We all immediately grab our bottles and drink at least half of the bottle. We sat and ate our meals greedily. Our hands are dirty and as we eat the potato with our hands it gets dirty and we're ending up eating dirt together with the potato, but we don't mind. As long as we get the potato too. Suddenly the door open and two guards come in pulling in a young girl with black hair who seems to resist.

"Let me go! Let me go!" - she shouts.

We all look at her. She's probably departed from another Region. She shakes her arms and whole body like she's being electrocuted. The guards throw her on one of the mattresses and she tryes to get out, but the get out faster shutting the door and locking it up. She bangs on the door with her hands and shouts but nothing happens. They don't come back. Looks like she's our problem now.

It's time to go to bed. The new girl just sits by the door and does nothing. I decide to approach her.

"Hi, I'm Cathleen." - I say.

No answer.

"You can call me Cat."- I continue.

No answer.

"Look..."- I sigh - "I know you think this is hard, but it's going to be the same as in your former Region."

"What region?" - she looks at me confusedly.

Finally an answer.

"The Region you were in. This is Region 256, what's yours?"- I ask her.

"I was not in the region or whatever you are thinking. I lived a happy life in Caelum." - she says with her shaky voice.

"Caelum you say? I've never met someone from Caelum! Please tell me everything about it!"- I sit next to her on the cold floor.

"I don't have anything to say. I don't live there anymore. It seems they won't send me back. Now I have to be here in this... this.... hellhole!"- she devastated covers her face with her hands.

"I can't tell you it's not going to be bad. It's going to be horrible, but it's your destiny. So it is mine."- I say.

"You don't understand. You don't know how good it was there so you can't regret for making a mistake that banished you from there."- she shouts.

"Well I do! I regret for getting born here. I know I couldn't do anything about it, but I hate it."- I shout on her back.

"Just leave me alone."- she says and turns her back.

I got back on my mattress. But I couldn't fall asleep all night. When I close my eyes I hear her sobs in the background.