Somewhere Quiet

Part 1

                        A single flare set the skyline ablaze with purples and pinks, bleeding out into the pitch black emptiness of the night. She sat in silence - in awe, this was something she had never witnessed before. She turned to the boy next to her, struggling to find her words.

Without saying anything, she turned away and stared in the direction of the others. They sent up another few rockets that, once again, shifted the sky.

"I suppose you never really had this sort of thing back at home, huh" The boy said, sensing her struggle at making conversation.

"I.... uh.. no, not really"

"We'll have to do this more often then." he turned to look at her, "Are you gonna go back?"

Strands of her golden hair fell between them, making the pair break eye contact. She shifted her gaze, observing the dancing reflections imprinted onto the ocean's surface. A soft midnight breeze pushed the salty scent of the sea towards her.

"I'm.... uncertain"

The boy sighed, not knowing how to react to her words. He soon decided to let silence sink in once again. Nothing but the soft lapping of the ocean's waves and murmur of the teens in the distance could be heard.

                                                                            »»-------------¤-------------««  

Dazed, she opened her eyes. She hadn't had any visions as vivid as such in so long. She pulled out a small, hand decorated notebook and scrawled what she could remember of the dream's events. She knew it was mad to believe in them, but she held onto the thought of them regardless.

She slid the notebook and pen back under her pillow.

Stepping out onto the cold, glossy marble, she made her way over to the window. Something illuminated the depths outside the establishment; normally she'd only see things like this from afar but this one was surprisingly close. At this distance, she could see all the details of the small creature; from its long spindly tentacles, to its translucent, blobby head. She began to scramble for a sketchbook in her bedside table - she couldn't let this opportunity go to waste.

As the small animal slowly began to drift away, she finished up her sketch and smiled.

"Goodbye my friend, may we meet again sometime"

As if on cue, the creature fumbled away, lashing at its colourless surroundings.

She glanced towards the corner of the room, where a soft light had been radiating from. A lit candle sat on a miniature table, that lay low to the floor. Behind it was a chair that had some clothes laid out upon it.

She traipsed towards it and begun to get ready.

                                                                              »»-------------¤-------------«« 

She stood in the main hall, along with others of her age. Not a word was uttered, as they all stood in lines, facing the front of the room. The silence of it all drove her insane.

The glaring lights, the clean white walls and the hard marble flooring all felt painfully cold. She hated the main hall more than any other room in the establishment, despite it having the best view of the outside. This was probably the only positive thing about the room, but it wasn't like she could look if she wanted to. She had to keep her head forward.

How long was she there, how long was she going to stay there?

Not much longer, apparently; as a droning, beeping noise began to sound, the signal of their arrival. A hatch opened in front of the mass of people, revealing a large amount of coloured boxes. She never knew where they came from, but  every day there would be 100s sat there, waiting. She never dared to ask, though she doubted anyone knew but the leaders.

The beeping came to a stop and a tall man stepped in front of the crowd. Leader Q. He was a stern man who had empty, colourless eyes and a harsh voice. 

He seemed more like a vessel for a machine, than an actual human.

He cleared his throat and began to read from a list. 

"V10r, H372, Nr29, P603 and TN06 have a quota of 60 boxes each for disruption. Ty32 and E7jl each have a quota of 80 for disorderly conduct towards a leader. D60g has a quota of 40 for failing to reach yesterday's requirements. Nt63, U9n5 and Yqp1 have a quota of 9 boxes each. Other than those mentioned, today's quota is 18 boxes per subject - failure to complete results in double the amount tomorrow, as usual. First 3 subjects to fulfil their quota will have a smaller quota tomorrow and will earn an extra 3rc." He turned to the general stood next to him and they exchanged papers and he read, "You will be granted with 12rc for filling today's quota."

With that, he left his position and pressed a button that adorned the wall behind him. It gleamed a sickening red light. Colour coded doors along the walls of the room revealed themselves and a noise sounded. A stern whistle was heard from the general signalling the start of work.

The girl followed the group of other "subjects" and lifted her first box - red. She scanned the room for the position of the corresponding door.

After a while of heaving boxes in silence, an alarm sounded. A boy stood still in the purple doorway. A blue box toppled to the ground from his arms. The noise of the howling alarm resonated throughout the room, deafening the inhabitants. Guards rushed from the walls, apprehending him. With little struggle, the guards left with him and the room was back to a deadly silence.

"How inconvienient... " Leader Q muttered. He glanced briefly around the room before fixing his eyes to a subject. With a stern gaze, his stance broke into a march as he approached the girl.

She sheepishly places her box down and stood to attention.

"Name?" the leader's harsh voice boomed in the mostly soundless room.

"....K-Kn83" her voice was meek.

"Subject Kn83." He began to write on his clipboard, "You will complete the rest of 09Ht's quota. You will earn an extra 6rc for today's work. Do it promptly or the earnings will be halved."

"Ye-Yes sir."

Without another word, he shooed her and she rushed back to work.

Instead of having 3 boxes left to sort, she had 16. Though she had to do a lot more work, she wanted the money - she needed it. She may have finally saved up enough. Maybe.