Population Control

Camille

It was a nice, normal house. A nice two bedroom house with a bathroom where none of it works and a living room without the TV. On the roof were solar panels that were connected to the house so the kitchen worked. "We have made up a sofa bed for you to sleep on, too." She directed that at Dylan. So they must have been watching us. What... did they see? My cheeks flushed at the thought.

"At six we meet in the Town Hall for dinner, you are welcome to join us. I'll let you get settled in." When we were left alone, I immediately went to the bedroom. Now the situation has sunk in, I can focus on other things. Like the incident.

Wait, no, I shouldn't. I should just forget it. I've done a good job on forgetting it since I woke up. Not that it was a bad incident, just... we haven't brought it up yet.

The bedroom was lovely. It was like how Mom and Dad's used to look, like a normal parent bedroom. That was before they split and Mom's term of decor changed to cool. I let all the stress wash away as I collapsed onto the mattress, a mattress that was now mine.

Kicking off my shoes, I hopped onto the bed and began jumping like I was waking up parents on Christmas. When my back was to the door, it opened. There was Jason, standing with a weak, shifting smile and his bag on his shoulder.

"Er-" He wouldn't look me in the eye, "Dylan snores..." oh and didn't I know it. For my twelfth birthday I had Anya and Dylan over, and we had to drag Dylan to sleep in the living room so we could close our eyes. "Don't worry, I'll sleep on the floor."

Dylan asked me about it later, the tension between Jason and I as we looked around. I nosed at the houses around us, seeing them empty. Everyone else must be working. "Nothing." I didn't mean to snap.

He smirked, "Manners cost nothing, you know."

"How much does it cost to be a nosy dick?" Pointedly, I replied.

He gasped, hand on his heart and faked a proud face, "I'm finally rubbing off on you!" Effectively, I evaded the question. Smugly, I smiled as we continued to look around. There was a jewellery shop that said 'No Entry' in read and a ruby next to it. What was with rubies in this town?

At dinner, we were introduced to everyone and that's when I got a look at their gemstones: ruby, opal, a reddish brown one, amethyst and quartz like us. At the end of dinner - it was double what we got at primary school: rations, but still enough. Although I debated going tomorrow, I needed to stay. Because of the thing. The reason we were at the Service Station in the first place.

"YOU CANNOT KICK ME OUT!" The woman's shout made everyone's head turn. Her hair was shoulder length, and she wore a basic beige blouse.

"Evelyn, if you are going to cause a scene I shall ask you to be removed." Mary smiled, hands by her side. Like the woman in front of her wasn't a raging Pitbull.

"Like Hell you will! Everyone deserves to-" A broad guy with long ginger hair and a beard shot a dart in her back while a woman with a long, sleek-back ponytail grabbed her before she fell.

Mary stood at the front, explaining what was wrong with the woman. We didn't like it.