TheColony

cHaPtEr OnE

June 27, 11:50 am
Year 2456

I felt a cold draft sweep across me. The scent of pine rushes through the room and I feel a slight breeze coming from the far corner of the room. I slowly open my eyes. A hint of fog peeks through my window, and I yawn. A kind of mournful yawn as i seek the warmth of the covers on my bed. I slowly sit up. The blanket falls to my side, and a gust of cold brings me to shivers. It seemed like it could be 2 in the morning just from looking out the window, but I know better. I went to sleep at 2 am.

I feel the rough canvas of my bed and get up. I rub my eyes, taking in a deep breath as I scan the room. A tiny little room. With no more than two wooden chairs, a table for one, and a dresser all scratched up from pests they call animals. Tomorrow is the day when I get escorted to a zone. The thought of it upsets me.

Groaning, I shuffle slowly towards the bathroom. A toilet is the only thing it holds. I sigh and do my business. The cold plastic disrupts the embers of sleep in me, and I try to hurry as it freezes my bum. Just the thought of having to be in the cold disturbs me. Then I think of it. What it would be like to travel down the mountainside of Crawford. Seeing the true beauty in the world. There is no beauty though. The only piece of scrap here on this earth that was created by nature was the tree of diversity. Hope. It had hope. We all did. Until the government took over what used to be called America. Now we sit here. Pray and hope this will be gone, but of course, were not stupid. This madness will never end. When I finish up, I wash my hands in the bucket of rain water and head out the bathroom. Walking down the hall, I hear John coughing and immediately know he won't be here for long if he keeps breathing in the gas from the atmosphere. We all wont be.

"Hey," I say, sitting down at the table. It wasn't a table to begin with. It was just a hunk of wood John found when we were out fishing one night at the Crimson River. That was years ago though. "Oh hey.." He replies, chewing on his nails. I scratch my head and grab a piece of raddish and pop it in my mouth. " I need to head out to the market today. Is there anything you need while I'm gone?" He shook his head, "Naw, I'm good." I nod and take a swig of what's left of the buttermilk. John frowns and picks at what looks like a scab on his elbow. I frown as well. "So, do you want me to stock the fish nets in the garage when I come back?" He focuses his gaze on the bowl of raddish roots and shrugs his shoulders, "I guess." I sigh. Without looking at him I mumble something under my breath and grab one more root before heading to my room. The wooden floor creaks as I make my way to the doorway. I shiver when I get in the room, and immediately wish I had wore something more than knit trousers. Slowly I take the pants off and slip on a huge cotton shirt and faded cloth drawers. I tuck in the shirt and throw on my wool jacket and head out the door. Thinking of leaving quickly before the market runs out of supplies, I slip on my boots and walk out into the cold weather.

I trudge down some boulders that help keep the cottage up and almost slip when I see a waxen reflection of me from the window. My tiny face was pale white, and my hair seemed like it was falling out. Worried, I step forward to the window and run my fingers through my long brown hair that ran scraggily down my back side. One by one, strands of it came out onto my hand leaving a huge knotted mess within minutes. "What..?" I gasp, looking at my reflection. At the end of the tiny hair strand looked as if they were grey and white. Leaving me confused, I threw them off to the side of the rocks and continue walking down the path Trying to forget about the hair. Today was like every other day. Cloudy, dark, depressing...It was freezing out, even though it was in the middle of June. Shocking right? I was used to it though. Soon enough the air will be filled with smoke from the factories, and I'll have to hurry so I don't breath it in. I took a deep breath and jumped from a huge boulder and shoved my hands in my pockets. After about ten minutes, I knew I would be seeing town coming into my view. And of course, I was right.