Deprived [DEAD]

Chapter 2

As the world comes back into focus, my mind still stays in the dark. Blurred shapes are the only things I can make out.

"Fran!"

My body shivers from a rushing cold. I finally come into focus.

Emas stands over me, his eyes dark with worry. My body is sunken into my warm bed and Emas hovers over me with a glass of water in his hand.

"Fran, are you okay?" he asks as he slowly tips the glass.

"Don't pour that on me," I groan as I roll over, trying to keep the warmness. Emas laughs above me, seeming rather lighthearted.

A frown plasters my features. How is he capable of laughing? After all, we just learned the government’s largest secret. I'm at fault though, bringing the secret out of the dark shadows of the internet.

My mind searches for the reason I wondered. Why did I look those images up? I could've saved myself from this nightmare if I hadn't wondered about our destroyed brains.

Emas frowns down at me, seemingly reading my mind.

A deep sigh escapes me as I wrap a blanket around my shoulders and trudge around the house. I have no where’s to actually go, no where’s in mind, I simply pace.

My heart seems to skip a beat. Something isn't right.

The loud crush of metal stops me immediately. Emas races to my side. We both stare at our metal walls.

Large indents slowly show themselves as intruders attempt to enter.

"Fran, go into the basement, now!" Emas yells, shoving me towards the secret door. He runs in the opposite direction, towards the weapon bunker.

My best friend was right when he said metal walls were better than wooden.

After all the wars and overpopulation slowly destroyed the earth, many mutant animals roamed the land. They're the only life other than humans and a few remaining animal species.

No one considers those beasts animals though, they're simply known as defects.

Adrenaline rushes through me. What if it's defects trying to break in? What about Emas?

I can't turn back now; the large metal door down to the basement has already been locked shut behind me by Emas.

I try to calm myself with deep breaths. The darkness surrounding me doesn't help me though. The only thing that does is the warm blanket wrapped around my shoulders that smells like my best friend.

I think the emergency check list over in my head.

My gaze searches the room for a small slip of paper. The white page shines in the darkness. Seven dark numbers are written across the perfectly white piece.

I read them aloud, "1-2-8-0-4-5-7."

It's the door's code if I'm down here so long that I start running out of food and water. My eyes land on those next.

Not a lot of preservatives sit in the corner on the tall shelf, just enough to last me about a week and a half. The same amount of time the government uses to try and locate someone. Once the time is up, they declare that person Missing In Action or simply dead.

The government doesn't truly care about the citizens, they just care that no one tries to rise against them. All the politicians just compliment us and give us money to vote for them. It is a good idea though compared to the amount of poverty that's taken over the world.

Loud pounding echoes around my hideout.

It's the government; their boots make the famous thuds.

Do they know we found the images?

I didn't erase it from my history.

Once they find me, I'm dead.

After they kill me...

Emas.