Winston stood by the stove, cooking the expired eggs provided to him by the Organization. He tried to make them as quietly as possible. More than one meal a week was forbidden by the Magistrautus, and breaking that rule was a crime punishable by eternity in the Void. So was having any connection to the Organization, which was a rebellion group—and the largest in all of North America.
The silence was broken by his daughter, Emma, walking down the stairs with a big smile on her face.
This absolutely terrified Winston. He dropped the eggs and lunged at her, grabbing her face and roughly pulling her smile into a frown.
"Don't ever smile! Or they'll take us to the Void!" Winston howled.
Emma nodded instantly, tears streaming down her face.
Winston's expression softened. He let go of her and sat her down on the couch.
"Listen, sweetie… I'm sorry," he said gently. "It just scares me when you smile, because the bad guys don't like it when we're happy—and they'll punish us for it. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Emma replied. "I understand."
Winston sighed. "Go back to sleep now. There's really nothing to do. I dropped the eggs."
He stood there and watched her walk back up the stairs, his mind consumed with guilt. He followed her and went back to his room. Since the Sandeth invaded, there was nothing left to do—except sleep, and try to escape the horror of the world through dreams.