I open my eyes slowly as my alarm sounds off, looking up groggily to see my clock says 10:00AM.
I look up and see the familiar old, moldy and ill-maintained malls of my apartment and get up off my stained mattress that's laying down on the floor. It's also old and stained in a few places, but it's better than the cold hard floor. I rub my eyes as I walk sluggishly over to the door to my bathroom and slowly open it. I walk over to the sink and proceed to wash my face and begin my wake up routine.
I brush my teeth, make a cup of instant coffee and simply tune into the standard radio broadcast. It starts with the enthusiastic host welcoming Commander Jessie Dormer onto the show again this morning. She is not seen often in public but always appears in the morning to address the public. She talks in her strict and deep voice about nationalism, survival and doing your duty for your territory and neighbors by reporting illegals in the walls. The host starts to ask about the future plans for hunters and miners when the transmission goes static and cuts in and out. It does so for several minutes, I slap the radio a few times gently to try and tune it back in to no avail. It cuts into what sounds like an older man who's smoked for fifty plus years and he doesn't take time to start talking.
"The key to life is deep in the earth, far under the waves and echoed in the cavern walls of the deep." They pause and simply breathe heavily as if being choked for a few seconds before proceeding "But there is a cost to awakening the key, I pray that nobody follows me down here. This is a warning and a question, "What truly lies below the oceans?" The broadcast cuts out without warning and it tunes back to listen to the standard White bear propaganda and talk shows.
Time passes as the natural light from the outside has faded into the dark, The bright lights of the hanging lamps outside lighting up the important parts of the streets. I get up from my chair and go over to a small table beside my sleeping area to grab a cigarette out of the small plastic packet. I look down on the now ever present label simply depicting a pair of corroded lungs with health facts on the side.
("Maybe I should put in an effort to quit again.") I tell myself this knowing that the grip tobacco has on me personally is like a man sitting on you and choking you slowly, But hell an effort is still better then nothing.
I walk outside my small one room apartment labelled with the old plastic letters of "207-B" and I proceed down the hallway towards the stairs down to the first floor. I start to walk downwards, passing the couple from "203-B" arguing in a foreign language while standing on the stairwell. I simply pass by silently and quickly pass them then proceed down the stairs to the first floor, passing by a number of other apartments and posters on the way to the front door.
I walk outside and smell the polluted city air, I walk a bit down the sidewalk to the edge of the building and light my cigarette. I lean against the wall with my back to it and simply observe what's around me in the meantime. This area is not the worst in this city but it's still good to be a bit observant, just in case. Nothing noteworthy happens as I finish my cigarette, lick my thumb, put the burner out and toss it into the can on the ground there that's half filled with other cigarette butts. I walk inside, up the stairs, past the couple still arguing and proceed back to my little sanctuary. I think I need some sleep, My mind keeps wandering around in circles.
I open my eyes and my body feels sluggish like I'm moving in gel or slime. I look around to see nothing but darkness all around me.
Slowly sinking down into the darkness of the abyss. I can't breathe, my lungs start to feel strained.
The current is strong, it pushes me down slowly further and further, I struggle to swim upwards to no avail.
My lungs are straining hard now, I need to breathe but I can't.
It sounds like something bigger than me is moving around me but I can't see it,I can hear the water moving like its creeping up all around me.
My lungs are on fire now. Just one bubble, one little bit of air.
I look off in the distance and see a small light, before my eyes close for what feels like good.
I open my eyes in a flash and jump up, looking around and find myself back on my mattress in my apartment. I can't remember anything from that nightmare but I know that it was a nightmare, I clutch my chest to ease the heaviness..
My lungs are still strained but the feeling is fading, like something massive was sitting on my chest while I was sleeping and disappeared when I sat up. I get up once the feeling fades and start my morning routine, even though it's still dark outside. I can't and honestly don't want to go back to sleep right now. Some kind of primal adrenaline keeps me aware of something in the back of my mind.
Looking into the mirror after I finished brushing, I wiped some leftover paste from my mask.
My light green eyes behind catch my sight for just a moment before I turn back away.
I grab a cigarette from my pack,("I have one left after this.") and I proceed to start towards the door. I haphazardly look down to my small open pantry under my cabinets, A now almost diminished bag of rice and a few potatoes left. I look up on my Icebox to see if rations are coming up soon again this month, and the 15th is circled on the calendar.("Four more Days.")
I go out the door, through the hall, down the empty stairs, and outside the door on the first floor, out the door and I have my morning cigarette in peace. ("What bliss this is, for I pull the wool over my own eyes.")
My consciousness drifts back to reality as I open my eyes, looking up at the ragged and dirty walls of my apartment afterwards I check my clock and it is currently 8AM. I would get up, do my morning routine and proceed to grab my backpack and empty it out entirely on my table. I proceed to put on my light blue winter jacket, zipping it up snugly before putting on my black toque and pinning the insignia white bear over my heart. I grab my empty backpack and walk out the door to my isolated apartment. I look around to see that, likely, most of the neighbors have already left. The halls are empty and quiet so without wasting time I would quickly walk down the stairs and proceed out the door. I start walking westwards down the litter drawn street to the rations outpost.
I walk by those less fortunate than me on the way there, littered in alleyways are young and old alike wrapped in filthy rags. I look down and see a young girl playing with a doll made from what looks like old socks. She looks up at me and I quickly look forward and move along, those who make eye contact are obligated to help. Walking past buildings with broken or boarded up windows, across the street is what once was Lei Software is now a mess of charcoal and ash.
I walk quickly forward, out of the Green Section onto the Grey Section as the Distribution Outpost looms in the distance forward. Generic governmental posters strewed up all over the place as I entered further. One of a man in a glider as a recruitment advertisement to join the Glider infantry division, another with images of empty cans with the goal to teach people to ration properly. At least that's what I would think.
The outpost is just a block away, The metal bars on the windows and armed guards set up out front give it a bad look however. As I approach I would look up to see the old bells up top gently swaying in the wind, emitting a gentle chime in the wind.
Approaching the tables are lined up out front, those at the front getting their identification and ration papers inspected by some of the guards. Some are waived through and some are waived off, often leaving with desperate or frustrated expressions.
I walk down to the end of the line, occasionally hearing a few whispers in the crowd but nothing of much importance. The known rule is that nobody starts trouble in the Grey district, This is a rule enforced by both word of mouth and brutal force used by the enforcing bobbies.
There are few here who would dare to go against a normal Bobbie, Those people are fools but they happen. Those people are often beaten to the brink of death and thrown in what they call a "Reform Camp." Nobody however is crazy enough to go against a captain of the White Bear Order, Those people disappear never to be heard of again.
It gets to my turn after what feels like an hour but time is hard to tell during foggy days. I hand in my standard identification and ration papers for the month and after a bit of time I am allowed to pass on. I grab some essentials and leave quickly, stuffing what I can get into my backpack and sling it over my back. Walking back to my block as quickly as possible, I avoid the looks given from those in the alleys and those I pass on the street. Survival is tough here under the rule of the white bear but the cities are safer than the small settlements often found out in the wilderness. I finally make it back to the block, walking in the front door to find two bobbies armed with truncheons searching what looks like a woman white with red hair wearing a black touque, a tattered and stitched up black jacket and dark blue jeans on. She is calmly stating how her identification got lost when a bobbie with a silver stripe on their shoulder would walk in from behind me. I dont get a good look at them as the bobbie would plow through me and knock me backwards. He would glare at me for a moment, with a touch of sadness in his eyes before moving his gaze over to the woman on the wall. As he proceeds to walk over to the other two bobbies, I would quickly move out of the doorway off to the side. He is granted the standard two finger salute before he starts speaking. "Waste of fucking time this one. Feral dogs like that aren't even worth due process, Just finish it quickly." He would sternly look over to me, seeing my pin on my jacketThe bobbie with silver hair would look to their higher up and, as if contemplating his words for a moment. Then he would grin and raise his truncheon, the other bobbie with brown hair moving backwards quickly before the truncheon slammed into the woman's back. She would be gritting her teeth in pain, letting out a small suppressed yelp before He would slam down a second time in the same spot. She would yelp in pain, still gritting her teeth and looking down with clear resentment in her eyes. The man would slam down a third time, this time hitting the woman in the back of the head, she would slump against the wall and fall down. A bit of crimson blood ran from her head as the superior would yell "Halt!" He would bend down to look at the woman's condition before looking up to the other two bobbies and simply saying "Were done educating the feral dog, We got better shit to do." They would say motioning towards the door he came in from.
The entourage walks past me, The superior glaring down with authority in their eyes as if daring me to do something about it before simply leaving. I walk over to the woman, who would already be sitting up and leaning against the wall grasping their head in pain. She would look up, hearing my unmuffled footsteps get closer before glaring at me and asking in a harsh tone "What do you want?" I simply answer back in tone laced with a thread of concern "You should stop the bleeding before it gets worse." I set down and started to reach into backpack to find no medical supplies in it as I already emptied them out before leaving earlier. I look up at the woman still holding her head and looking at me with a feral gaze. I state in a normal but rushed tone "Damn, Hold on. I got a few bandages in my apartment." I sling my backpack back onto my back and start to walk up the stairs, down the hall past the other apartments.("It's quiet.") I walk into my apartment, put the bag beside the door and proceed over to my table to grab my small medkit into my hand. I proceed to close and lock the door behind me and walk quickly down the stairs towards where the woman was. I get down the stairs, she looks up to meet my gaze for a second with confusion in her eyes, as if she thought I would come back to help. (Which is honestly the case for most people.) I proceed to slowly and gently crouch down in front of the woman before asking her with blunt frankness. "Can I apply this bandage to your head?"
She would simply exhale and lower he head forward to expose the bleeding wound. I start to wrap the bandage around her head the best as I try to start the conversation back up. "Dont take this the wrong way" I say in a hesitant voice at first "But uhh.. What did you do to piss them off?"
She would wait until I was finished, leaning back onto the wall, bluntly and quickly answering my question with "I forgot my papers." I try to look at her face but she would look down to clearly avoid my gaze. I close my eyes and smile to myself before exhaling from my nose and state simply "Alright, Well can you tell me your name? I'm Kenny by the way." I stick my hand out slowly for a hand shake but she gently but firmly pushes it away. "Nobody important." She then gets up from the wall, using it to help her get up and walks past me towards the door outside. She would stop before opening the door saying, looking down for a moment and then look back at me with her cold gaze. "Thanks" She says simply and proceeds to open the door and leave.
I smile to myself internally as I'm the type of person that simply enjoys doing good deeds when I can afford it. I grip the medkit in my hand and proceed to walk back up towards my apartment, unlock the door and slip inside. I put the medkit on the table and proceed to grab my backpack that I set beside the door. I put my rations away in their set spots and look over at the fridge. ("This weeks workshifts start in two days, I need to sign up for them tomorrow.") The night goes the same as normal and I proceed to hit my mattress for the night as usual.
Something changes in the deep, but this goes unheard for the moment.