P.C Programme

Chapter 2

After eighteen lightings and listening to Bettina's cackle all day, I leave the activation room on floor minus 245 and take a shabby lift up to the surface lobby. I walk through the long corridor almost identical to that of down stairs, except the doors have apartment numbers instead of serious warnings. Rubbing my eye as I slump down the corridor, my neighbour passes and gives me a reassuring smile which brightens up my evening. I spot the rusted handle of my door and brake into a brisk walk as I imagine the privacy of my flat. I immediately strip to my underwear as the door closes. The light flickers as I rinse my face in the sink next to my mattress. I'm hungry, but I have no food. We get four slices of bread and three apples to last the week. I normally run out on Fridays and go Saturday and Sunday without food, but I've ran out today, Thursday.

I dry my hair with my shirt as the light disappears. The bulb flashes thirty seconds later and completely blows out. I'm left in the dark for the rest of the night, but I'm already in bed.

I wake to a rumble, the kind of noise that sticks in your head, that you never can forget. My heart drops as I realise the time... 3 minutes late for work. Pulling a shirt over my head I stumble through the door and basically crash through the flimsy wall as I trip over a loose bit of carpet. I race past the other apartments and continuously press the button for the lift. As soon as the doors slide open, I jump inside and press the button for minus 245. Although it feels like eternity, the lift only takes 30 seconds until the doors slide back open and I'm greeted by a suited women.

"Late!" she says, almost relieved to have someone to keep her busy. "number 119" I say, annoyed to find myself in this position yet again.

"Ok, I will see you at 5 o'clock. You know the drill" says the woman as she jots down my number. The thing is, I am all too familiar with the punishment for being late... A good beating, or if your more than ten minutes late, whipped.

Every half an hour I would press that button. Watching compartment 444 erupt with bright flames. But today I've noticed something that I never had before. Normally,the people are sedated and then rolled into the compartments on hospital beds, but today I saw a women open her eyes and look straight into the CCTV camera. But I heard no scream as I pressed the button, no cry for help. So I studied my screen as the flames roared, and noticed a small circle as dark as night. I knew straight away what had opened in compartment 444... A portal.