Something Else

Revelations

She chuckles and reaches quickly into one of the coolers. I see her eyes squint then widen again. "Class three. Nice. Who'd you screw over?" I blink, trying to clear the surprise from my face. 

"How do y-" I gasp and my hand races to my bare neck. "Oh my god. Oh my god." It's gone, completely gone. No neckband, no death draft, no anything.

She smiles menacingly, fully opening the cooler now. I watch as she pulls out a thin metal band with a small pack attached to the inner wall.

"Looking for this? I have your collar." I wince at the word. It's what I've always called it, but coming out of her mouth...

"Give it back."

She laughs again. "That sounds aggressive. I could report you for that."

I know she's not being serious, but a nervous lump still rises in my throat. Who is this girl to joke about the most life altering experience a Levorian can have? I stare at the limp piece of metal in her hand. It looks so flimsy, so unthreatening, yet I know this unassuming scrap of aluminum could end my life at any moment. Its the reason I'm terrified to go outside and yet here I sit, begging for it back, willing to do anything.

"Please." The word grabs at me as I force it out. "Just give it back. I don't want to hurt you, I just want to go home. Please."

The girl scoffs. "Don't even try that with me. If you hadn't knocked yourself out like an idiot this whole situation might be reversed. Would you listen to my pleas before turning me in to central command?" Its a stupid question. She knows the answer and so do I.

"You wouldn't have time to beg for your life," I practically spit. "You'd be taken out completely like the criminal you are. You know who would've taken the fall for your little art projects up there? You thought you were sending some grand message? You really thought someone cared?" The questions fall out of me like fire. This feels so wrong, to cut someone with words. Levorians are kind, peaceful, but this girl has been ruining my life for weeks and some horrible part of me just wants her feel all the pain I felt.

She doesn't respond. Funny how quiet people get when they hear the truth.

I try again, less angry this time. "How did you even get it off? I thought..."

"That it was impossible?"

I nod. "Well, there's a lot you don't know. Yell at me all you want, but I'm not here to look out for you. The messages I send are never for nothing, and they're not always erased. Of course you wouldn't hear about it, you don't hear anything but the nonsense central command spews out at you. You guys are all just robots. So what if you're a good Levorian? You. Are. Bad."

I close my eyes. I don't even hear the claims she's making, they're just too much for me right now. Clearly nonsense, and blatant violations of the strict respect all Levorians are taught to have for our government. The one thing I do seem to focus on is her use of the phrase "you guys." She said it before, like she really thinks she's some different, better person for living down here in filth and obscurity.

"Just give me back what's mine and stay away from the school. Then you can live in your dirty cave and feel superior all you want. I won't say a thing about it." I fold my arms across my chest. Lies of course, but I'll say what I need to.

She chuckles again and moves silently closer, close enough to see the yellow glint of her eyes. "One thing you learn from living your whole life in a dirty cave like mine is that people-" She moves even closer and I feel her hot breath on my face, "are made of bullshit," she finishes, sitting back. "You're in my house, so you'll do what I want."