Double Trouble

Boxless

The familiar sound of the alarm did not ring.
The familar clang of the box did not sound.
The familar screams of a scared greenie couldn't be heard from across the glade.
The familar looking box well, it did not rise from the ground.

Week 53. Day 371.

The first time the box did not come up.

It was somewhere between dusk and dawn, or so they assumed, how where they really supposed to know there were no clocks here, there wasn't really much of anything if they were being true to themselves, just enough to survive. The basics were delivered once a week from a box, things like food and water supply's, so they could eat, and occasionally sanitary products in the hope of staying clean but this wasn't always guaranteed. It rose slowly from the floor in the centre of their home and quickly descended again as if it was never there. No-one dared to follow it down, the drop seemed bottomless, as though if you jumped down you would never stop falling, that's what they assumed anyway, considering this box took hours to arrive, but would disappear within moments.

But once a month, the box would rise. Only it did not contain supplies, instead it contained a body, a boy who would be greeted as the new greenie and welcomed to his new home.

Month in, month out it would arrive, the leader would give a tour, explaining the rules to the scared newcomer hoping they wouldn't dash away from fear, or faint, or even klunk themselves, though this seems to be a pretty regular occurrence.

Once they had been given the tour they would trial for jobs, make friends, see what best suited their life in the place and move on, they would adapt and become apart of the family and then the process would repeat. By the sixth or seventh time around this became pretty boring but it gave them a routine which was something they could count on, on the harder days.

So when the box didn't arrive...

Well all hell set loose in the glade.

Two days had passed since the occurrence.
The glade had fallen silent, not a single word, whisper or breath could be heard.
Everyone listening and waiting, waiting patiently to hear the alarm, or to hear the cogs turning to see the box beginning to rise, but this did not happen.

It had now been a week, there was more chatter amongst the workers and their friends, some questioning what had happened, others trying to forget it and move on with their lives in the hopes that they could avoid any fear and disappointment that they may come to face.

"EVERYONE TOO THE HOMESTEAD, ALBYS ORDERS" shouted a voice across the glade, and soon enough all the boys started tricking in, waiting for what they assumed to be an announcement. But before Alby had a chance to speak there was shouting and questions coming from every direction.

"What if we just got the dates wrong? Maybe we messed up and it's this week" one boy piped up.

"Yo Alby, does this mean we are like gonna die?" another asked

"What about supplies will they stop"

"Maybe it broke"

"Shall we go see?"

"Alby.." "No but what it" "Is there no-one..."
"....believe me" "well i heard"

The room was getting louder and louder by the second, more and more boys talking over each other by the minute, some breaking out into arguments, others complete frozen from all the words being thrown about.

"QUIET" a loud voice boomed, echoing across the small packed room.

"Do you doubt me?" he asks firmly

"I was the first one here, i have not missed a day, i did not count wrong" he says pausing looking at all of the boys faces who stand before him, some expressionless, others angry their eyes flame with rage whilst others wallow with tears.