Vitality In A Wasteland

4

Ace was sitting beside the pool. He gave in to the fact that everyone around him treated him differently. He woke up that morning seeing some kids graffitiing his door. Someone had broken into his room and torn of his robots' arm. No one was catering in the cafeteria. Ace even watched for the first time ever, a hand-to-hand brawl break out between two of his once good friends. Shouting was present whenever anyone from different families seen each other. Only Cait remained unmoved and focused on her work.

Ace remembered walking into the library three days ago and seeing Cait waiting for him with a smile on her face. She gave him coffee and even lunch.

"Why are you being so nice?" Ace asked.

"Because now you and I are the only ones who are sane."

She was never seen by most after work and the only place besides the library she would visit was the cafeteria for some food. She was always alone before but now everyone noticed it.

After an hour of sitting doing nothing Ace got bored. Maybe I can find Marcus and Mary. The thought took over again, they could not see him. They had been in a huge fight about the conflict between their families. Markus broke up with Mary and immediately started going out with a late cousin. Something that became more common in this place.

Ace knocked on his sister's door. She was the only one who was still willing to hang out with him.

"Hey brother," she said gloomily.

"What's wrong?" Ace asked.

"School has been cancelled for a week."

Ace's eyebrows raised and he asked, "What? Why would school be closed?"

Ace's sister started crying as she shrugged. Ace hugged her and decided to leave her be. She loved school more than anything. Studying was her gift in life and Ace was sure he never met anyone as willing as her to spend an extra hour doing math for fun. Something was wrong. Education was always the focus of the bunker. When food ran low, the leader would never stop school. Ace had to find out what was wrong.

H walked past a wall with more graffiti strung upon it. Scraps of litter all over the floor and nobody in sight. The bunker was slowly turning into a place Ace heard of called California. Ace past by long halls and up to the second floor. That was usually blocked off from anyone except the leader, but Ace could see no guards. The floor served as the leader's office. Ace noted broken down steel doors and even the alarm system disabled. What happened here? Ace sped past through a doorway and stopped behind a wall. Somebody was shouting in his father's study.

"You fool! Don't you see we need school to continue!" The voice was of Miss Charlene.

"Really man!" Another voice belonging to one of the engineers, "We need to access the generator room! There will be mass power failure if we don't in five hours!"

Ace heard one of the gunroom men say, "We cannot let them in."

"Oh yes we can," Ace's father said calmly, "Cait why don't you explain."

What is happening! Why are there workers in fathers' room? What does the man mean by let them in? What is Cait doing there?

Cait said, "I have made broadcast ranges within the school classroom. The generator power had been reverted away from the rest of the bunker because we need all of it to make the signal go through. This signal will reach the outside world and if anyone can hear it, they will come within twenty-four hours."

"This is madness!" Miss Charlene shouted.

"Leader, I thought you were against the idea," The engineer said.