Pure - The Broken Society

CHAPTER EIGHT

The people in the stands continue their cheers, as they run down the stairs. They run right past us, shouting congratulations and welcome constantly. They run out of the chamber like free birds moving south for the winter.

I watch in amazement as the hall becomes vacant, their shouts becoming more distant as they return to wherever they came from.

"You will be taken to your bunks where you will find new sets of clothes. You will be expected to be in the Dining Hall in Sector three by six thirty, you will be led by a guide." The woman informs.

"Thank you, thank you so much," Quinn says, finally breaking out of his trance.

"Don't thank me, thank yourself. Your speech must've really turned them over," she says, "And, I, I'm sorry about your mother," she adds. "Maybe she's just forgotten her past life completely. Staying here for too long can really do that to a person, I guess you all will see soon."

Quinn weakly smiles through gritted teeth.

"Your guides are waiting for you outside," she points towards the large jagged opening behind us.

Our restraints are taken off our wrists, as we are allowed to stand. I rub my forearms, stinging pain ringing from them because of the guard's harsh grip on me.

I begin to walk towards the exit, following behind everyone else. Becca finds my hand and attaches to it, grasping it tightly.

"Who was that lady that looked at me?" She asks me innocently, and my chest clenches.

"No one, she's no one," I say in a bitter tone.

A small frown etches itself on her cherry red lips, her face sagging with sadness.

As soon as I step out of the building, my eyes become overwhelmed with green. Leaves and vines grow everywhere, the wall in front of me covered with vegetation, the wall itself completely invisible to the eye. Small daisies grow on the wall, their white petals gleaming under the beating sun.

I turn my head and see the guides the woman told us about. A man kicks himself off of the wall and strides closer to Becca and I, and I'm instantly hit with recognition by one glance at his face.

His tattoos run all the way up his arms and neck, some even going up his head. As he approaches, he grows taller, towering over me like a skyscraper.

"Hello," he says when he finally gets to us, "I'm Gage," he says, holding out his hand for me to shake.

"Hi," is the only word that comes out, my throat sore and dry of all moisture.

"I will be your guide until you know your way around the Sectors," Gage begins to say, "It's not so bad after a while, you'll learn one way or another."

His words don't register in my head, as I follow him I have no idea where we're going. I cannot bring myself to focus on the path we are taking. I can only think about one thing, and one thing only. The feeling of betrayal deep within my heart apparently shines through on my face, too.

"Hey, um...I'm sorry about what happened," Gage states after a while, but I don't acknowledge him. My eyes are glued to the sandstone floor, taking in each crack and how life flourishes between them.

"I used to work with her out in the fields," He says, "You know, the uh, the farming fields, she never did seem like a person that wanted a family."

"But she did," I mutter under my breath. She did want one.

I wipe a strained tear from my cheek, my face burning red and my irises glassy with fiery pain. I finally bring myself to look back up from the ground, Becca still trailing silently behind us. I scrutinize the tall walls on each side, creating the wide pathway we walk through.

Large, breathtaking trees grow over the side of the chasm, their leaves vibrant shades of yellow, green, and some magenta. They act like crystal prisms under the sun, their bright pigments creating a lovely colored horizon like stained glass in a cathedral.

People stride by, baskets and objects filling their hands. They stand and stare for a while, as if studying every single inch of my foreign presence, Becca's too. We turn a corner, and I immediately lock eyes onto a face I've seen displaced in society, the boy I saw stealing from the warehouse with Gage. I quickly look away, not wanting to stare at his bruised face. A small wave of relief washes over my mind as I realize the fact that the Governor didn't kill him...and that he's still alive. Gage and the boy make subtle eye contact, and we keep striding.

"We're almost there."

We round another bend, and stop along a row of a thousand doors. They extend farther than what I am able to see, vines and vegetation hiding some of the thresholds. Gage leads us up a flight of stairs, walking down a carved and dug out walkway with skimpy railings. It looked as if it would fall at any moment if suddenly touched by unwanted hands.

"Here is your room," Gage gestures, "Quarter 356, Block 4, Sector 2, Roseden." He hands me a rusted key from his ripped jean jacket pocket. "I will be back in about an hour to show you the way to the dinning hall, in the meantime don't leave your room unless you want to experience the wrath of the people who don't necessarily want you here," he warns.

I nod in understanding.

"Okay, well I will leave you to it," and with that, the man leaves, descending down the stairs and away from sight.

I let out a sigh, sticking the small key through the lock. I push open the metal door with a grunt, and lead Becca inside, the door closing with a loud bang. I take it all in at once, the beauty and aura, a sight I've never seen before. The ungroomed vines flow through the walls, cracks and missing boulders allowing light to flow through like a torrent. There is no artificial light, only natural, and it is enough to light the space. Weeds and little ants grow and walk along the floor, disappearing into the soil that bubbles up from the ground.

I walk into the room a little farther, my eyes drifting to a full size bed pushed against the wall, a thick cotton blanket flung across the mattress, the wrinkles conceiving a comfy appearance. I see Becca wander to a pair of shelves across the room, moss growing on the wood.

"I found clothes," she says, amazement clear in her smile. Wisps of her hair shine in the rays of light that penetrate the fractured stone walls. I stride towards her and take a black T-shirt and ripped denim jeans. It was as if they were preparing for our arrival, for I pulled a child's outfit from under my clothes.

I promptly undress, throwing my ripped and torn clothes from the other place onto the ground. It felt different, it felt...nice. It felt like shedding a skin that has been stuck on my body for too long. I feel fresh, the identity given to me from the Pures gone, a new one in the process of being born.

"I like this place Maddy," Becca divulges, peering down at her new attire. The dress just barely covering her knees.

I kneel down and take her into my arms, patting her hair flat, "Me too, Becca, me too."