PATRIARCHY

sixteen

chapter 16

the twenty-first of june, 2155

I am led out of the room, to a slightly brighter lit hallway. It's narrow, and along the left wall are three other closed doors, all dark green. They have small barred openings at the height of Xander's eyes, and I can't reach them, but I still try to look through them as we walk past. I wonder for a second if I'm the only one they took from the arena.

At the end, is a steep spiraled staircase. I walk behind Xander, gripping the rusty handrail to help me climb it with my tired legs. The walls are patched with thin, strangely-colored moss, and behind it is dusty cement. A sound grows stronger as we ascend, and I can't quite figure out what it is. It's sporadic and rumbles heavily.

There are no lights leading up the stairs, so I walk in darkness for a moment. When we reach the end, the sound clears, and I am able to make it out. It's people. A lot of people talking, some of them shouting, even singing!

I walk into the light with the final step, and I cast my eyes towards the sound, but yet another door separates me from it. Two guards--a female and a Male--stand on either side of it, with their feet apart and their hands behind them. Xander nods at them and turns to me.

"This is Reagan and Jay, they guard the isolation cells," he says, pointing behind him. Isolations cells? The girl--a broad-shouldered and muscly brunette--steps forward and reaches out her hand. I look at it, pausing when I realize that I'm holding a knife in my right hand. I put it in my left hand instead.

"Hello Amelia, it's nice to finally meet you, I'm Reagan," she says, shaking my hand. She smiles widely with a pair of plump lips, and I regard her from head to toe. Her clothes are all black; a hoodie, sneakers and loose-fitting cargo pants. Her hair is just a shade lighter than them. Jay reaches out his hand when Reagan releases mine, and I bob my head down, laying out a flat palm.

"Please, don't," he mumbles shyly. I look up at him and he takes my hand, turns it sideways and shakes it like just like Reagan did. I freeze. That's not how we're supposed to greet each other.

I don't think I've ever shook a Man's hand.

I stare at him. He has a slim build, and I would say he's only a few inches taller than me. At first glance, I thought he was completely bald, but now that I'm close, I can see blonde stubbles. He wears the same clothes as Reagan, but rather than black, they are a deep blue. He lets go of my hand, and he steps back to his position with a friendly smile, and I question why he greeted me as if I was a Man.

"We don't greet women differently here," Xander says, stepping towards the door. My eyebrow raises. Why not? As my thoughts multiply and tangle in my head, he puts his hand on the handle of the door.

"Behind this door, is the root!" he says loudly, eclipsing the rumbling sound of people. I step forward. There must be hundreds of people in there.

"It's way past midnight, but tonight we're celebrating!" Xander shouts. His eyes flare with excitement when I approach him, and he pushes the door open. The noise, now deafening, fills my head. There are so many people talking that no one voice is discernible, they all blur together into a boisterous roar. My eyes adjust to the room.

No--the word 'room' doesn't do it justice.

It is a huge, domed rotunda. It's several stories tall, divided by thick, precise slabs of concrete. They are secured by steel grate fences, going all the way around each floor. At the other side from where I stand, are a total of seven staircases connecting them. Branched along the curved walls, are hundreds of numbered doors--some of them missing. Inside is nothing more than a bed and a toilet.