THWACK!
For a moment I can only see white. A deafening ringing starts up in my ears. I’m unable to keep upright, my heavy head drags me backwards crashing into the metal surface underneath me. When I come to again, the left side of my face is moist. I reach up to touch it feeling my ear is wet. The liquid is warm and silky, too thick to be water. Blood. I’ve cut my head open.
Brilliant.
As I prop myself up on my elbows, I force my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of this…Vent? Tunnel? I don’t know and I guess it doesn’t matter, I don’t intend on staying. How I got in here is unknown to me, how I’m going to get out is also unknown to me. Cautiously, I flip myself onto my stomach and begin crawling forward because there’s got to be an end somewhere…Right?
Every so often I whack my head on the metal ceiling forgetting how low it is. And every time I look up expecting to see something new. I don’t. Just two tiny glowing rings of orange that materialise out of nowhere. There’s a continuous flow of blood dripping into my left eye blinding it. I think to stop and wipe it properly, but something tells me this is not an option. Wherever I am isn’t safe.
I pick up my pace; by doing so I’m making more noise. The metal around me clangs every time my knee hits it. It occurs to me that being quiet is my best option, but quiet equals slow and slow won’t do. I need to get out.
A low hum starts up behind me. Not a good sign. I speed up more, essentially tripping over my own limbs as my arms keep getting in the way of my legs. I’m beginning to think this tunnel’s endless. I’m feeling along the floor, the ceiling, the walls, whatever my hands can grab at to find a door, a gap. Nothing. More crawling. It doesn’t help that I’m only working with one eye.
The hum grows louder. My body’s drenched in sweat. So much moving and nothing to show for it, no exit in sight. An ear-shattering bang paralyses me. The floor of the vent starts shaking and I’m thrown from side to side. One shake is so violent it smashes me straight onto the floor. Wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve just bruised a rib.
The hum is no longer a hum. It’s a growl. My brain starts racing at a million miles per hour. What animal is trapped in here with me? The creature’s snarl grows louder.
It’s coming.
Panic consumes me. I can’t get anywhere fast with this shaking. Every time I put down a knee, I’m bashed into the wall or thrown backwards.
The whispers start.
“We know what you did,” the spiteful voice tells me.
“You thought you got away with it?” Another says simultaneously.
I shake my head to clear it.
“Demeter!”
This voice catches me off guard. I recognise it. I open my mouth to reply but no sound comes out.
“Demeter!” The voice wails.
“Demeter!”
I jolt awake. This voice isn’t so distant. It’s down the hall.
“Demeter!” She repeats. “Get up!”
It was only a nightmare.
“Leave me alone!” I croak.
I hear the volume of her footsteps increase knowing soon she’ll be at my door. I shove my head underneath my pillow. The hot air underneath it suffocates me, but I don’t dare come up from beneath it. I don’t know when she got into my room, all I know is the small oven I’d trapped myself in is gone. What’s replaced it is a sharp chill and blinding sunlight.
“Get out!” I yell, reaching for the pillow in my sister’s hand.
She deflects my drowsy attempt. “No! You have to get up. We can’t be late…Again.”
“Oh, what do you care?” I mumble.
“A whole lot. Much more than you clearly. Now up! I don’t like repeating myself.”
Liza storms out before I can get another word in. I flop back on my bed shutting my eyes. I won’t go back to sleep now; I’m too riled up. But if I can waste a couple of extra minutes of my sister's time, I’ll have achieved something.
Satisfied enough time has passed, I begrudgingly pull myself out of bed. With the speed of a drifting cloud, I float over to my rocking chair where my school uniform folds neatly over it. I slip the white button-up blouse, and today the grey pleated skirt instead of my trousers onto my body.
My tongue presses against the roof of my mouth, dry and tasteless. Still half asleep, I make my way to the bathroom inches away from my bedroom. There’s no queue today, the way it has been for weeks. Before I used to have to fight off at least three of my siblings before breakfast. There hasn’t been a need, everyone prefers to use their new free time to get in more sleep. Liza never gives Ares and me this luxury.
As I suspected, Liza’s the only person in the kitchen when I walk in. There’s nothing on our large round dining table. I pull a face wanting to rid my mouth of the minty taste. I don’t know why I do; I should be used to this disappointment by now. I’m parting my lips to say something before my sister cuts me off.
“No, we didn’t get any food.”
I groan, slumping onto my dining table chair. This is getting ridiculous.
“I don’t know why you’re complaining. It’s your fault we don’t have any,” she mumbles.
I blink at her. That was harsh. I do know it was my fault, but I’m not the only one to blame. He was the one who…I stop myself. I don’t want to think about it or him.
“So, what are we going to do about it?” I ask, straightening up. “What is Mother doing about it? I mean, it’s almost been two-”
“Why do you always think I have a solution for everything?” Liza cuts me off. “Why don’t you try and figure things out yourself for once?”
I narrow my eyes feeling my anger wanting to choke me. First, she brings up the incident and now she’s yelling at me? It’s too early in the morning for this. “Fine!” I say, getting up. “I will!”
I walk straight past her as she stares me down. My sister’s waiting to see if I’ll actually do it, leave. She knows my decision when I slam our front door, marching down our street in the opposite direction of school.
The white buildings that line each street keep me company as I walk. I don’t have a destination. I’ll walk until my legs feel like they're about to fall off and the school day’s almost over. Walking to distract myself has always been what I do. Albeit the streets are much busier than I would prefer, it being rush hour.
I walk past a group of builders putting up another one of those pylon things that have been popping up around the city for the last couple of months. I never listen to my brother when he raves about how much they’ll improve the connection for slates, specifically the latest versions. I can hear his voice now, ‘Everything will work ten times faster than before.’ As if there was anything wrong with the connection previously.
The closer I get into the heart of Pelegon, the more congested it gets. Traffic, both road and air is at a standstill. The pavements are no better. I keep my eyes glued to the ground as I squeeze through tight gaps, accidentally shoving people as I go. A lady with three children scowls at me. I want to apologise when I shove her again but it’s not my doing. Four people in white jumpsuits and veiled masks - the uniform of Establishment officers push us all. The flow of people splits directly down the middle like a clean cut from a knife to let them through. A man who didn’t get the memo is rammed out of the way by the white blurs.
Odd.
I make a note of it.
To escape the rush hour manic, I turn off the main road and onto Elrose. One of the quieter streets in central Pelegon during rush hour. This street is filled with countless baby clinics. You only go here if you want a baby, or you’ve come to collect one. As a seventeen-year-old girl I have no business being here nor do I want to be. I find myself running down the street. It repulses me. My twelve siblings have told me all I need to know about having children…Not to have them. I don’t have the energy.
I feel I can breathe again when I see it - the park at the end of Elrose. A huge stretch of black tarmac, white plastic benches, and a large concrete hill so high it overlooks the city. I cannot wait to climb it. The top of the hill is another world on its own. The white city I call home lies on the ground before me. And how can I forget the city’s newest additions - the weird pylon things sticking out like sore thumbs.
I lean back on the hard concrete to watch the aircars, airvans, and planes above. Their familiar hum that isn’t as audible down below provides a sense of comfort. I’ve spent so many hours on this hill waiting for my mother to be done at clinics. Every visit I thought would be my last never was.
I shut my eyes, folding my arms on top to block the sunlight falling over them. It’s times like these I wish we had things to provide consistent shade. I wonder what’s stopping all the brains in The Establishment Centre from inventing something like that considering they can make just about anything.
A faint beeping to my left has me peeling an eye open. I’m not surprised when I see a crab rolling past. C.R.A.B., audio recording camera bot. Technically the acronym is A.R.C.B., crab just happens to sound better. The crabs are exactly as their acronym says they are. The tiny robots patrolling our city. They are everywhere Establishment officers can’t be, not that there are many places without Establishment officers. Crabs are to help keep us in line and make sure no one’s due a visit to a torture chamber.
And for a reason I still can’t place, their presence didn’t stop me. I did what I did, regardless of the fact they’re everywhere and were probably watching our every move.
I slam my eye shut, ridding myself of the thought. Today will not be the day I think about it.
I must’ve dozed off. I’m woken by a blow to the foot.
“Ow!” I yelp. I rub my eyes to put the blurry person before me into focus. I groan once I see them. “Shouldn’t you be at school?” I say, sarcasm lacing my voice.
“You’re funny,” Liza replies, sitting next to me. “You know Ares and I can’t get in if you aren’t with us. ‘Family must thrive together,’” Liza sing-songs.
“Did you just recite The Establishment slogan to me?” I snort. Trust my sister to annoy me and make me laugh all in the space of an hour. “Where is he anyway?”
“Still at home. I told him we probably won’t be going to school today.”
I nod. “How’d you find me?”
“Easily,” she pushes her dark brown hair out of her face. “You’re always up here.”
I shrug. Maybe I should be thanking my mother for forcing me to find this place of refuge.
“Look, Dem. I didn’t mean what I said earlier. It’s not your fault we don’t have any food, you didn’t know what you did would result in these consequences. We were running late. It was in the heat of the moment. I- I’m sorry.”
My sister never apologises.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have run off and made you both miss school.”
“You always make us miss school,” she laughs.
“Hey! Ares makes us miss it more than me,” I reply, a smile on my lips.
Liza nods, agreeing. “And about the whole food thing, Ma told me last night that she’s going to sort it out with The Establishment today. That’s why she wasn’t at home this morning.”
“She wasn’t?”
Liza shakes her head.
“Oh,” I shrug. “Anyway, finally. Two months without food was rough. I don’t think I could go any longer.”
My sister glances at me. “Do you pay any attention at school? We can go two months without water, four months without food.”
“Yes, I know,” I snap. “But who would willingly go four months without food?”
Yes, theoretically our bodies have everything they need; the correct amount of nutrients, our blood sugar levels won’t change, and we’d have enough energy to sustain us. However, after the fifth day without food, your stomach feels like it’s going to flip inside out. You get this overwhelming feeling of being uncomfortable every second of every day as your stomach growls at you, begging to be fed. And don’t get me started on the tasteless taste in your mouth.
Liza clutches her stomach as my words sink in. We sit in silence for a beat until she says, “Are you ready to go?”
“I guess so. Where are we going?”
“Anywhere. I’m just sick of sitting on this hard ground. I don’t know how you do it.” She extends her arm out to me. I take it.
On the walk out of the park, I tell my sister about The Establishment squad barging through the streets. We’re turning back onto Elrose when I see her. Liza doesn’t as she urges me to carry on.
“No!” I scream at the woman on the other side of the street.
Liza jumps at my volume increase. She still hasn’t seen her.
I march across the street. “No more!”
Liza’s not behind me. She’s still across the street looking at our mother in the doorway of a baby clinic.
