A World Divided

Chapter 2

Year 2292 

The United Bunker

Johnson Davis (JD)

      "Are you gonna pass the lighter, or are you just gonna leave me hanging?" I asked Maliyah. She jumped and started checking her pockets and looked at me confused.

     "I don't have it." She stated, we both simultaneously looked over to Shane and he just looked dumbfounded. 

     He stood up and looked at his chair, "What do ya know? I was sitting on it." He laughed. "I didn't think I was that high."

     "How much did you smoke before you got here?" Maliyah asked. 

     "Well lets see. I went over to Level 2s west wing and traded the food I grew myself and smoked in my quarters. Then again while I was down in the apprentice hall on level 5." Shane joked. 

     "Wait, wait, wait, wait. How in the hell did you get into collage hall, or in general level 5. You have to be going through some sort education to even be allowed on that level." Maliyah argues. She was right, if you weren't a kid in school or an adult training you were just suppose to ignore level 5. 

     "While that might be true. You can also get on if you pretend to date someone to get into their housing quarters." He started busting out laughed, "Let me tell you, the amount of shit that goes on in that level when no one is around to watch them."

     "So what I'm hearing is, you went to a party without us?" Maliyah joked. She smiled as I passed the bowl over to her. She gently pressed her finger on the power hitter, inhaled as the red in the bowl started growing. She took her finger off and inhaled the fumes and slowly breathed out. "Shit, what did they put in this batch." She said through repeated coughs.

     "I don't know but they need to keep it going. It actually taste like it suppose to now" Shane answered. The herbs usually taste like a weird fruit strain, they try flavoring it to make it better, and more suitable for the people. I guess they realize that the true stoners like the original herbs. We continued to pass it around until everything inside was turned to ash and we put it out in a small glass bowl. 

     As time passed and we continued talking I looked at the clock and realized I was about to be late to my shift. "Shit, I have to go. You guys can keep smoking just lock the door on your way out, and don't use up all my water."

     "Oh, it'll be fine. We'll just put it out and leave so you don't have to worry about it." They continued to smash the joint into the little glass bowl until the flame went out. They both followed me outside of my quarters. I lived on level fours housing hall in the south wing. They both left and went to their own quarters as I headed to the north wing for tech repairs and recycling. 

      It was my job to try and figure out the islands dome mechanics. Too see if the island has a weak spot. I usually go and help other stations because I don't have a lot to do since we don't have a lot of information. As I made it to north wing I walked over to Dempsey's station and saw he was working on a new project. "What the hell are you working on?" I joked around. 

     "Well, one of the informants told the congress about how their water supply works and how to access it. So if one day the drones that the island sent down were to shut off. We would be ready to phase into war, I guess. It was kind of grim when Marcia explained it to me." Dempsey said. I didn't think we were actually planning attacks like this. 

     Every year we get at least a dozen informants from the island. Usually its people who didn't pass some evaluation, or people who broke a simple law and chose to flee. Every informant goes through the congress and each time they think we are closer and closer to turning off the drones, but we can't from down here. "Any luck on the dome project?" Dempsey asked.

     "Not really, it's not like we have any information. I'm the last person on the team. So hopefully we don't need to go to the island." I laughed. I sat down across from him and started helping with the bioweapon, its in the theoretical phase right now. We have to figure out what materials on the bunker can be combined and used to poison water. After a while we got bored and went to the scrap room and started looking through the piles of metal, and wires.

     We found old radios, broken oxygen filters, and old coolant systems that were put here for repairs but then later replaced and forgotten. "I don't think we're going to be able to use anything here." I yelled as the sound echoes around me. 

     "I think this whole thing is just a giant waist of-." Dempsey was cut off by a loud siren going throughout the entire level, signaling to someone that there is a survivor on the ground waiting on the outside to get in. People in the halls started running to the radio stations to communicate with whoever is outside. "Who do you think it'll be this time."Dempsey asked.

     "I don't know but hopefully it's a blonde this time." Dempsey laughed at my comment and we left the scrap room.