Within the Walls

Chapter 1

Isabelle swats me. "Watch that tongue of yours." Then she breaks into another cough. This time, the cough lingers, taut with a rasp.

"Why are you coughing, Isabelle?" I ask, stepping backwards in instinct.

"No reason," she says, shaking her head, but another cough betrays her.

I narrow my eyes. "Should you go to the announcements?"

"I have to, Elle. Can't look like we're hiding something." She smooths down her braid and adjusts her skirt.

"Do we have something to hide?" I press.

"No, Elle," she snaps, and I shut up.

Sighing, I spin around and march out of the door. Isabelle scurries after me. We lock our apartment and descend the 60 steps, emerging in the alleyway. We weave our way through the streets, back in the square's direction. Along the way, we pass countless propaganda posters from the government.

Each poster depicts the image of the tyrannical leader of the Floodgates, Lord Sneya. He is a middle-aged man with greying dark hair. He has prominent cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and groomed facial hair. Sneya glares into the camera with a pair of arresting green eyes. Sometimes, I wonder if he can read my thoughts from the pictures.

"The River hides the monster. Touch even a drop and his Lordship will know." It reads in big, bold red letters above his image.

"If they're sick, alert a Tranquillity patrolman with immediate effect," Another reads.

When Isabelle and I arrive, the Convex people cram tightly in the square. My body shudders against the biting cold. Mothers wrap blankets around their children before themselves. People knit closer to loved ones. Faces are grim. This is no uncommon occurrence after such a merciless execution.

I push my way through the throng, only stopping to regard the stand. The girl's body is long gone. The scene before me carries no signs that her murder ever happened, but for the metallic smell of lingering blood.

The speakers on the stand crackle and a voice bursts through them. "Good evening, citizens of The Floodgates, both Concave and Convex I order you to pay attention." Lord Sneya's voice comes from the recording. "Before the rising seas could cease their destruction, a virulent disease broke out, killing off the adult population of our former world. The young immune banded together to survive and soon built these Walls, The Floodgates, to protect themselves from the incoming, wild oceans. We have our ancestors to remember and thank for their hard work in building these Walls. They became the foundations for our impenetrable kingdom, and I, your Lord, the descendent of the lead survivor, will guide you all to be the most long-lived of the generations. Here is to the now. Here is to you."

That is our cue to clap. We have heard the same recording forever.

The Prime Tranquillity Patrolman of the Convex sector, Sir Warner Fulton, steps up to the stand and eyes the crowd. He tucks his whip into his belt and casts his gaze at his script. The paper crackles into the microphone as he adjusts his grip.

"Thirty percent of corn crops are for the Concave Sector this week. Convex teachers, surnames S through Z, will travel to allocated Concave schools starting tomorrow. Convex children must adjust their days in class accordingly. We need our Concave children prioritised, as they are our next generation of leaders, doctors, and scientists. Any Convex children out of schools must join their parents in the farms or in other laborious sanctums."

"Do not forget, if you find someone with the first cough, you must report them to a Tranquillity patrolman immediately. I hope today's cleansing ceremony showed what can happen if you deceive us."