Days Since Incident: 1100
Time: 6:01
Place: Campsite, Visitor Lounge
Climate: 78°F
‘I’d give anything to be back outside these walls.’ Hector said to himself. A rooster, that one of the guards left inside the Visitor Lounge, was making a return trip to his corner, after running around the tiny house.
For the past four days, Hector and Kayla had been woken up at 5am in a variety of ways. On the first day, they had a young boy play the trumpet around the small house. And honestly, it would’ve been better to bear if the kid actually knew how to play.
Yesterday, Hector made the unfortunate mistake of talking back to a guard. And as punishment, he released the rooster from Hell. It was safe to say that Hector would rather deal with running away from Chasers and Reapers, rather than stay another day in this abusive place. So, why did he stay there?
Kayla even wanted to get out. They were forced to work in fields from early morning to late in the evening; they had to make up for the food they were consuming. The food was the only thing keeping them from going crazy.
The food wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was something they haven’t had in a while: consistency. They were guaranteed food, safety, and a bit of normalcy so long as they did what they were told.
Everyone there had to pull their own weight, even the kids. There were about 80 people in total, and they all worked from sunup to sundown. There were seven “departments”, each governed by their own “elder”. They had groups of 12 rotate between six departments (Health, Education, Protection, Survey, Food, Machinery). Other than Grae, no one else did any work for the Science department, and no one ever knew what she did there.
Grae was still unconscious; Rayn could be seen running everywhere, covering his and Grae’s work. It took a lot of coaxing, but Hector managed to get information on Grae’s condition, and who exactly Rayn was to her. Hector immediately realized there would be trouble between him and Rayn.
Rayn barely acknowledged their existence, until he began questioning them about the kids. After much interrogation, Hector and Kayla admitted they had no relation to Ray and Mia. Without skipping a beat, Rayn informed them that they would have no access to the kids at all.
“Wait, what?! Why?!” Kayla exclaimed. She dropped the shovel she was using, and positioned herself in front of Rayn. He wasn’t going to walk away from her so easily.
“You heard me Kayla. I do not know you or your friend over there, and I don’t trust you. I can’t sleep comfortably knowing they’d be in your care. Look at you.” he said, while pointing at the both of them. “For all I know, you may try to hurt them.”
Kayla and Hector were beyond insulted. Hector had to hold Kayla back before she swung at Rayn.
“You can ask Grace!” Hector said, thinking of the only other person around who knew them. “You can ask her what type of people we are.”
The mention of Grae’s name infuriated Rayn; he hated the way her name sounded coming out of his mouth. And to make it worse, she’s been in a coma for five days already. He missed her terribly, and all he wanted was for her to wake up and be by his side.
He grabbed Hector by his throat, and lifted him off the ground. A few guards that were in the area quickly ran to the small group to assist their captain. A small group of civilians began to form around the group as well.
“Don’t you EVER speak of her so casually.” Rayn threatened in a low voice. “Next time you say her name, I will skin you.”
Hector knew Rayn meant what he said. Hector could tell he’s killed before by the crazed look in his eyes. All Hector could do was weakly nod his head in agreement. With that, Rayn released him. Hector landed on the ground, and had marks forming around his neck.
“Get back to work. We’re behind on produce, and we need to make up for it.” With that, Rayn turned and left. The other guards returned to their post, and the small group of civilians had returned to work.
“You have a thing for trouble, huh?” someone said from behind Hector and Kayla. They turned to see a man around their age, leaning against a shovel.
“What’s your relation to Grae?” he asked, the curiosity getting better of him. “We all made bets, you see. And we just got to know what on Earth you two did?”
Hector and Kayla couldn’t answer; all they could do is look at one another. For a few seconds, they let the man’s curious question linger in the air. Finally, Kayla said, “We do have a rough history with Grace.”
“Well, whatever relationship it was, you’d do well not to mess with them. They’re good people, but not the type you want to upset. Especially Grae...she has way too much of a desire to kill. I saw her fight, and believe me, she can kill you without hesitation.”
“Kill? Grace couldn’t hurt a fly even if it nearly sucked the life out of her.” Hector said. “She used to get mad at me for killing a bug.”
“Used to. People change over time. People have to adapt to their surroundings in order to survive. Do not make the mistake of thinking you’re dealing with the same person.” the man said before leaving.
“He’s right Hector.” Kayla said, helping him up. “You need to stop. You’ll be killed over someone who no longer cares for you.”
Hector knew Kayla was right; there was no way Grace would forgive him, let alone talk to him. All he ever wanted to do was apologize for what happened. No matter how things turned out, he still loved her. And no matter what Rayn said or did to him, it wouldn’t change.
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