Nequam

Chapter 5

 "Time to enter the most dangerous section of Nequam, the place where millions of people die for no apparent reason. The place where-"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Sorry, I'm just stating the facts," Charlie apologized. Penny rolled her eyes as stared at the street ahead of her. She knew that Charlie was right. Nequam was cut out in sections, and this was the worst one.

Nequam was not actually cut out in sections on an actual map, but all civilians there knew that there were sections where they would die if they took one step inside, and there were others that were a tad safer.

There were four sections of Nequam, all of them forming a thick circle surrounding the middle, which was where the Control Center was. The Control Center was a large skyscraper that had 12,875,000 steps leading to the top, which was where the Heads controlled parts of Nequam.

The four sections all surrounded the Control Center and the farther away each section was from it, the more dangerous that section was.

The closest section was called "the Haven" by the civilians, for they knew that it was the only place that nobody but the officials could hurt them. Unfortunately, this area was extremely small and only a few, select people could actually live there. The park was right next to the Control Center, and was a popular place to visit. The Haven was also the only place with a school.

The next section was slightly bigger than the Haven, and had the largest population. People called it the ghetto. The ghetto was where Penny used to live before her parents were taken away. People were allowed to walk around in the ghetto during the day, but they had to stay indoors during the night. The ghetto was extremely crowded and there were often officials sent there to take people to the Endless March to control population. The Heads had partial control over the ghetto, but it was still dangerous there. People in the ghetto often visited the Haven during the day, but nobody could live in the Haven unless they went to the Control Center, filled out paperwork, fought for a house, and managed to move there. They would also have to be tested for incognitosis, though nobody knew what the disease was. Most people had it and were sent on the Endless March. The people of the ghetto decided not to chance death.

The next section was practically empty. There were no officials there, so nobody would be sent on the Endless March. The only reason it's more dangerous than the Haven and the ghetto is because there literally is nothing there. There is no food, no water, no shelter, etc. The only thing there is the people suffering from incognitosis. Those people start to go mad from the illness and fight for every scrap of food. Civilians called this place No-Man's-Land.

Penny and Charlie were at the edge of No-Man's-Land. They had hardly ever slept from the fear of meeting somebody there. They managed to cross No-Man's-Land in less than two days by just running and eating at the same time. This was not a place to linger.

Now they stood at the edge of the most dangerous section of Nequam: Chaos.

"How long do you think it will take to get to the Wall?" Penny asked. She could see its shadowy figure rising in the sky from where she stood.

"Well, Chaos is the biggest section of Nequam. You know how it took us about a week to get through the rest of Nequam?" Charlie asked. Penny nodded.

"Well, I'm guessing it will probably will take longer than that, if we want to remain hidden," Charlie informed. Penny sighed.

"Come on. I can't stand to stay in No-Man's-Land any longer," Penny said and stepped into Chaos.

The world changed instantly. Darkness settled in and bangs and shouts echoed in the distance. Ruins took the place of buildings and the air became harder to breathe.

Penny shuddered. This place was so different than all of the others. She never set foot in Chaos, thanks to the steel bridge she and Charlie had used when they escaped from the Holding House. Penny turned around. The Control Center, which had been in her sight the whole time, was obscured by the smog. Penny felt her heart drop. Even though it was miles away, the Control Center was reassuring whenever she glanced at it. It was a reminder of home, where she wasn't starving and dirty. Her chances of dying were much less than. Now, she had nothing.

Except Charlie, the friend she had since she was very little.

"Where do we go?" Charlie asked. Penny scanned the area. The ground was covered in cracks and broken glass. Penny knew that she would have to tread very carefully in certain spots, for the ground in Chaos was known to crumble and swallow up everyone nearby.

"Over there." Penny pointed to some trees in the distance. Charlie nodded and threw his blanket over his head. Over the past week, they finished the bag of food, mainly because they needed a lot of energy in No-Man's-Land when they were running for two days straight. All they had left was Penny's coal. They both silently hoped that they would find something to eat in Chaos.

Penny kept her head down and strained her ears for any sign of movement. They were still at the edge of Chaos, and nobody ever stayed there for long. Penny kept walking even though she was starving and exhausted. She hadn't even sat down for days, but the only thing that kept her going was knowing that she could sit down in the shade of the forest.

Suddenly, Penny's left foot flew behind her. She landed hard on the ground and felt a crunch from her arm that was underneath her.

"Penny!" Charlie cried and ran over to her. Penny moaned and rolled over. She felt warm blood gush down her right wrist. Her legs were scraped and her cheek was sore from her biting it on the way down, but nothing compared to the fire in her arm. Penny knew it was broken just from moving it. The small act caused searing pain to fly up her shoulder.

"Oh, it's definitely broken," Charlie observed.

"Thanks for the info, Doctor," Penny groaned. Charlie ripped a piece of his blanket and started to wrap her arm gently with it.

"What happened?" Charlie asked. Penny's breath started to slow down as the pain started to subside a little.

"I don't know. My foot just jerked behind me, and the next thing I know, I'm on the ground!" Penny explained. Her hand was wrapped neatly in the layers of white blanket. Charlie shoved the other half of the blanket in his pocket and helped Penny up.

"Oh," Charlie said. Penny eyed him wearily.

"What?"
"It's the incognitosis," Charlie stated grimly. Penny's heart sank.

"Oh," Penny echoed. Charlie managed a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry too much. I'll help you," he assured, though his smile was pained. Penny sighed and supported her broken arm with the other hand.

"Come on. Let's get to the trees and get some rest," Penny suggested.

"Are you sure you'll be wanting to do that?" a voice asked amusingly. Penny's blood went cold. She turned around and was face to face with a  seventeen year old girl.