The Named [3/?]
There were riots in the streets. Rioting was something she'd never even heard of before today. They were terrifying. People screamed obscene things around her as she pushed her way through the crowd. She just needed to get to the store down the row. If only the people around her could understand that!
She was tossed and carried with the force of the raging mob of bodies. She was helpless. Her small form was absolutely useless to fight back.
"Excuse me!" She called out. It did no good. Even if they could have heard her over all their angry voices, not much good would have come of it, she thought. They were so, so angry. She could almost feel their rage like a living thing beating and breathing under her. It was like riding on the back of a raging dragon.
Fate seemed to take pity on her. At the very moment she decided to give up, someone moved just enough to drop her to the ground. She had just enough space to crawl through the legs of the people and get to of the way. Thank goodness for her thin frame.
"Phew!" A sigh of relief left her.
She looked on as the people ran through the streets. She couldn't help but wonder where they were going in such a hurry. It was a little strange, in her mind, to show such anger so openly. She didn't know it was possible for people to gather together and cause a raucous over something they weren't happy with. Number One suggested that they keep these things pirvate for the good of the community. Surely, such displays would only bring down the quality of life?
She shook her head and continued down the street toward her destination...only to freeze where she stood. She'd been carried farther than she thought. She was no longer sure where she was.
A quick survey revealed her to be beside an alley of some sorts between two buildings she'd never seen before. Had she ever been in this part of town?
She didn't think so.
"Little miss!" Her head turned at the voice. "Are you lost?"
The voice turned out to be owned by a male who looked at least four years her senior. She nodded. "I was trying to get to the market, but the people came...." She trailed off.
"They took you to a part of town you don't know. Is that it?"
She nodded.
"What is your number?"
"14," she answered, unsure of what this man's intentions were. It was true that there wasn't much crime where she lived, but it did exist.
"My number is 70. What is the location of the market you're looking for? Do you know?"
Number 14 felt like an idiot. Here she was panicking about being lost when all she had to do was pull out her distributer and plug in the co-ordinates. "Yes. I'm sorry to have bothered you."
Number 70 shook his head. "Don't worry yourself. Run along now."
She nodded her head, her long braids swaying with the motion.
She pulled her bag around to her front and pulled out her device as she watched the tall young man walk away. She hadn't been paying much attention before, but he had an odd accent. She wondered if he was from around here.
Her distributer chirped at her and spit out the directions across the screen. According to the little map, she was just around the corner from it. How odd that such a place would exist so close to her home! She was sure she'd never been in this area in her life, but here it was.
After a brief moment of thinking, she decided that it couldn't hurt to explore the area. She had her distributer with. If she got lost, she could always plug in her home address. There wasn't much that could go wrong as long as she didn't end up horribly lost.
Number 14 checked out the building closest to her first. Like all the other buildings in her city, this one was exactly nine stories tall, and the standard uniform pale gray of non-governmental buildings. The odd thing was the lack of any sort of identifying sign. Buildings always had a banner over the front entrance that gave their business code, as well as a directory listing what sort of businesses it contained. If a person wanted more information, they could just search the business code with their distributer and find out everything from who owned it down to which standard set of furniture they had chosen.
She jogged over to the other building to see if it was the same. It was. When she looked across the small street, she noticed the standard fare of shops, but, right in the middle of the row, there was a third building just like these two. No banner. It was possible that these three buildings were in the process of being filled, but it was a bit strange to Number 14 that they would just stand there with nothing to tell a number what was in there. Even buildings under construction had a special code: B-400. These three lacked anything.
It was weird. Not odd enough to go poking around; after all, it could just be that the city hasn't gotten around to putting up the banners yet, but it was still odd. There weren't even any construction bots around. And the placement of them....
Number 14 shook her head. She shouldn't be so suspicious. Mistakes often happened. Maybe they weren't under construction after all, and their signs just hadn't been published yet. That was possible, too, wasn't it? Far more likely, as well.
She wouldn't snoop on, in, or around the buildings. That would be frowned upon. But the alleyway was right out there in the open. It wouldn't be bad if a young girl wandered into an area like that for just a few moments, would it? She visibly shakes her head. No, it should be fine. Besides, she was very curious as to why she'd never seen this particular area of town before.
She discreetly checked to the left and right to make sure no-one was paying attention before ducking down the gray wall-lined alley.
It was clean, but dark. A lot darker than she expected. A lot darker than should be possible for this time of day. But then, the buildings did block the palce from the sun's rays.
There was nothing of much interest down here. There were no strewn bottles, or diseased beats, or shady people hanging out in the shadows, though she wasn't sure why she expected there to be; Number One made sure that Eternia was safe. The alley was simply a place between two buildings.
She sighed, slightly disappointed. She was hoping for a little more excitement today, but she supposed that the riots were "excitement" enough. They had terrified her. Her small body was still shaking from being carried away from her street and none-too-gently thrown someplace unfamiliar.
"Ah!" Surprise graced her features as a thought occurred to her. "Shopping!"
In all the chaos, number 14 had completely forgotten about the errand that sent her out into the streets in the first place. Quickly, she gathered up her regulation shopping basket and headed out the way she had come. She double-checked her distributer to make sure she was going the right way and speedily made her way back to where she bought her groceries.
Small stands and shops like these existed, though they were rare. It usually meant that they were too poor to rent space in one of the larger, more official-looking buildings. Number 14 didn't mind. It meant that the place was usually quiet and deserted. Number 14 liked quiet and deserted. It was home-y and safe. She knew the clerk well.
The racks of fruit tempted her as she walked into the store. "Number 32!" she called out cheerily. Normally, such open displays of emotion were frowned upon (and grounds for being reported), but she and number 32 were always more open with each other. It was wrong, she knew, and part of her felt very, very guilty for being able to openly be so...warm, but it was nice to share that with another human. It was something that she knew her friends had never experienced. She wished she could share that with them, but it was extremely likely that there would be a call to Number One if that happened.
An older gentleman stepped out from the back. "Little 14. How are you today?"
Sometimes number 32 told her of places far away and long ago where people were happy and warm with each other, like he and she were. Number 14 was a bit on the naive side, but she knew better than to believe them. Falsehoods were nice to dream about, but there was no way that sort of thing could exist. Nor should it exist. It was wrong and shameful to be so open.
The people that rioted earlier should be very ashamed of themselves.
"Well and healthy," was her immediate response. It was the response that was taught for that question. "I came to buy some carrots and celery."
The older man nodded. "You know where to find them."
Number 14 nodded back. "Yes."
She placed the required money on the counter before walking over to the familiar display and picking out the vegetables she needed. She went ahead and picked out some good-looking onions, too, while she was at it. She needed them for a recipe she was making later in the week.
She pulls some more money out of her purse and places it on the counter. She had been here enough times that she pretty much knew how much everything would be before she even walked in. And she was nearly always right.
"You gave me too much," number 32 says with a smile. Number 14 found herself smiling, too. The older man always said such with that same expression.
"You'll go broke if you keep giving me money." She shook her head. She honestly didn't want to see the small shop go under. The economy was booming, but little places like this tended to have a certain stigma associated with them. Not many people would willingly shop at these places anymore. It irritated 14 (not that she'd ever admit it out loud).
Gathering her little basket in her hand, number 14 pushed the money back over the counter and made her way back out of the shop, her acceptable public face always in place.
She smiled and waved goodbye to the granddaughter of the shop owner, number 17, as the other girl walked up the steps to the shop. They passed each other in silence. Number 14 knew the girl from shares classes at the facility, but they weren't overly friendly or anything. Number One didn't like it when children formed friendships. It was a bad thing to get too close to people, he always said. It was shameful to burden another person with your problems, and bad for the growth of their society.
Number 14, of course, agreed with their leader. She hadn't been born yet when Number One became the head of their country, but she had seen from her history classes how much Number One had changed the place for the better. Their country was a dirty, sinful place before he came around. He had changed their disgusting ways into something beautiful and prosperous. They would forever be in his debt.
The pigtailed girl smiled as she walked back to her home. Thinking about their great leader always brought a smile to her face. And rightfully so! He was a great man, and was very much someone she admired. She only hoped that she could be as great as that someday.
'No,' she shook her head as she walked. 'Such dreams are for the filth who don't have the means to make them come true.'
Number 14 knew well the speech that she had reference automatically in her head. Number One lectured that hopes, dreams, and wishes were for lesser beings. They were not lesser beings. The moment that they dared to wish, or hope, meant that they admitted they could never make them come true. In their great nation, they had the means to do anything they wanted. They were a great people.
She would become like him one day, she decided. It was an admirable aspiration. To aspire wasn't the same as "to dream," was it? It should be okay.
Her house was only just up the street from the little shop, so it didn't take long to arrive. Waiting outside, however, was a person she didn't recognize. A fairly attractive number stood outside of her house, staring at it. She wondered if maybe he'd gotten the wrong address.
"Um...excuse me? Are you lost?"
Golden eyes turned to focus on her. The look in them was so intense that she actually flinched away from it and averted her eyes.
"Did you lose your distributer?" She looked at the number only after the words left her, but, to her surprise, he was gone.
She frowned. She hadn't recognized him at all. She knew most of the inhabitants of this city; she had grown up here, after all. That boy, though, didn't look familiar at all. She was positive that she would have remembered those eyes. They were so...fiery. Number 14 had never in her life seen eyes like that. It scared her a little, though she'd never admit that out loud.
Shaking her head to refocus herself, she dug her card out of her pocket and slid it home in the card-reader. Immediately, the door hissed open and allowed her entrance. She slipped her shoes off, took her card from the slot, and called out to her mother. She was sure that her mother would be in her office still, but that didn't mean she couldn't be polite.
She was unsurprised when she didn't get an answering call.
She set her bag on the kitchen counter and began to unpack it immediately. She wanted to get the carrots peeled and cooking. Out of everything, they would take the longest.
Orange peels fell into the compost tunnel as the knife separated the tough skin from the meat underneath of it. It was a nice calming thing to do. She didn't mind cooking at all, nor did she mind the prep work. It was relaxing, almost. She could probably stand there forever peeling vegetables.
The soft thuds of the peels against the metal were the only sounds in the deserted house. Her father was out of town on business, so it was just her in the house from the time that the facility let her go until the time her mother came home.
She didn't mind that either, really. It wasn't often that she got to be alone anymore. She felt like she was always surrounded by people. She knew this was unrealistic, but the feeling was there all the same. She had to work with people at the facility, she had to deal with them on the streets, and, when she finally made it home, she had to deal with them there, too.
It was maddening sometimes, always keeping up her smile. Still, although it was quite sinful, she took pride in her smile. Number One had complimented it himself years ago.
"What a good girl," he'd said. "What a nice smile," he'd praised.
Number 14 had been so pleased that she'd almost cried. How nice it was to be praised by such a wonderful leader! She wasn't worthy of such attentions!
She sighed contentedly at the memory. It felt like so long ago.
Number 14 placed the pot under the boiling water dispenser and slid it onto the heat-controlled top of the central section of the counter. She gave the carrots a rough chop and threw them in the pot to cook down some. Out of everything, they'd take the longest to soften up. She set a timer and, smiling lightly, hit the button on the control that turned the screen on.
The same thing played everywhere. The stations were full of reports about the riots. They'd started this morning, according to the smart-looking female reporting the news.
"Number One has assured us," she said, "that these riots will be taken care of. Do not try to approach these people. Do not listen to them. Ignore their shameful acts of rebellion. If we trust in Number One, everything will be resolved. Do not believe their lies."
She found herself nodding along with the screen reporter. She hadn't quite been following what had been going on, but she knew that the riots were uncalled for. No-one should question what Number One had told them. Why on earth would he lie to his people? It was absurd!
After giving the carrots a quick stir and putting a lid on it, she went to go get comfortable on the couch. Some relaxing would do her good after the stressful day she'd had.
She had just curled her feet up beside her and pulled the standard-issue blanket over her legs when a knock sounded on her door. She frowned. Who would be knocking on her door? Was her doorbell not working? She wasn't sure who would be on the other side, in any case. She hadn't been expecting company, and it was far too early for her mother to be coming home. Her mother wouldn't knock on the door anyway.
She pushed aside the blanket and crossed the room to the thick steel door.
"W-who is it?" She called out. For some reason, the peephole was blocked with what looked like a finger. She was most definitely not going to open the door when she wasn't sure who was there.
"Nobody important. You gonna let me in?"
The tone surprised her. It held...something that she hadn't heard in a long time. It wasn't the bland voice that she was so used to hearing.
It terrified her. And, on some level she would never in her deepest darkest dreams admit, it excited her. She didn't know who the man on the other side was, but something about the rawness of his voice made her want to let him in.
"Nevermind. Too damn slow...."
Number 14 almost hadn't caught the words. "Ah! Wait!"
But it was too late. By the time the steel slid into its slot, the other side revealed an empty doorstep.
On the ground, in the direct center, there sat a simple envelope.