Don't Worry Darling

Sedate Me

Population Count: 147- 'Sedate Me'

A red plane whizzes through the sky, leaving a trail of black smoke covering the perfectly blue sky in a temporary cloak of darkness. I blink for a few seconds, thinking it was a hallucination, and it disappears behind the dusty hills in the distance. I stand up and walk towards the driver in the shuttle bus, my stilettos tapping gently on the metal grill on the floor. He turns to me and says,

"This is the end of the line ma'am" in a worn-out voice.

"I saw a plane go that way" I protest, pointing behind the mountains "Can you take me there?"

"That's out of bounds, unfortunately, we can't go there."

I sigh and look at him with disappointed eyes. "Ok, that's fine. I'll get off here." I say as I turn around, and hop off the shuttle.

I look around, wisps of sand obscuring my view, and the only thing I hear is the engine sputtering pathetically before the bus departs. I see the glassy dome above the mountains, like it's watching you, looking down on you. The HeadQuarters; Victory. That's where he disappears every day, with a few of his other friends. He plants a soft kiss on my cheek, and then goes for the next 12 hours, where nobody else is allowed to. We are left in hopeless confusion, engulfed in naïvety and innocence.

Just the way they want us.

The shuttle bus has become nothing but a fleck in the distance, and the HeadQuarters just west of the mountains. The desert between us, empty of life, but my only chance. I take a deep breath and reach down to take off my heels, then; I start walking.

It's been about two hours, and I still feel no closer to HQ than when I started. I haven't had any water, and the sun is still glowing; almost artificially. Like it's a lamp. Always burning. My vision becomes blurred and I start losing my balance. I reach to grab something to hold onto, but there's nothing but clammy air. My lungs constrict, and I'm no longer breathing, I'm gasping for air. I collapse onto the hot sand, sweat dripping down my face, my blonde strands sticking to it. I stare out into the open as I see the outline of four men in red boiler suits creeping closer to me. My eyelids become heavy and start to close, like I'm being sedated. Paralysed.

So close, and yet, so far...