Pure - The Broken Society

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I find myself staring into the mirror every morning like clockwork. At sunrise, I wake up and stride over the cracked glass, placing a fresh shirt over my head and torn black jeans over my legs, like clockwork.

Everything I find myself doing is like a routine, wake up, go to the mess hall, come back, and do it all over again. Yet I'm still out of a job, and Quinn had worked out a three day deal with Ezra for me to find a place or I would be assigned. Today was the third day, for the second I opened my steel door, a piece of paper ripples in the sudden movement.

I read the printed words, stating:

Dear Madelynn Rivera,

The court hereby orders you to be present in Wyvernpond, Sector 1 in Capital Pier, to be assigned to a job. Your presence is required after breakfast this morning in Magecliff. Directions on how to get there are as follows...

The letter rambles on and on with: take a right at this corner after going left here and so on, sounding like a never ending maze to get through that the letter made so easy.

I shoved the letter into my back pocket, rushing to the dining hall alongside everyone else. The hall was alive with flying birds that glided from one tree branch to another. The roots of trees grew through the steel and into the middle of the hall, a large chandelier covered in old candles dangling from the weighted metal.

Fewer people crowd into the hall, a very select few, seemingly only children and women who are pregnant, to have plates in front of them. And I soon learn the reason why...there is no more food to be had. This was something that I never had to worry about before, the worry of never getting enough to eat has not once crossed my mind until now, and I can't help but feel guilty.

"Madelynn!" Sam bellows, waving at me to join him and the rest of the group. I can't help but feel guilt for distancing myself from them, this being the first moment that I realized I've been so isolated from them.

"Hey guys," I say, and they repeat back, and Mia digs right back into her conversation.

"So anyway, they gave me a notice this morning and now they're moving me to Sector four to be closer to the fields."

"Wait, what happened?" I ask, dumbfounded as I take a seat beside Sam, who glances at me with warm, excited eyes.

"Mia got a job working in the farming fields now they're organizing all of us into proper quarters depending on our job, like I got assigned to maintenance and electric in Sector 3 so I'll be moving there," Logan explains.

"Wait, so you're saying that we won't see each other that much anymore? Because you're all moving out of two?" It's not like you ever went out of your way to visit them anyway, Madelynn, I scold silently.

"Pretty much Mads, they do it for efficiency, but it's not like we're never gonna see each other, we all still come here for meals," Logan says from across the table, a smile forming on his perfectly sized crimson lips.

"What about Becca?" I question.

"I've agreed to take care of her, since her school is in four and so is my work, so I'll be the one watching over her until things change again," Mia says, and I glance over to Quinn who nods in agreement, perfectly content with this arrangement.

"What's your job then, Quinn?"

"Security, same as Sam in one."

I sit back in my chair for a moment, realizing that we're all splitting up...for who knows how long. We're all in a new world, yet it seems as if we've been forced to tackle it alone.

***

I walk slowly through the vegetation. People passing me left and right asking if I was lost, to which I replied "no" and continued on my way. According to the directions, I had one last turn, and sure enough, around one last jagged corner of the chasm walls stood Capital Pier, which now I realize was the place our trial was held in all those days ago. That was the day a small piece of Quinn died, leaving him different ever since.

I shake those thoughts away as I jaunt up the jagged steps of the annihilated building, the missing doors leaving an open gateway to all who pass through. The area is vacant, no one else around besides the casual lone walker striding quietly to their unknown destination.

The court is empty, no one around, and I find myself rereading the letter to make sure I'm in the right place.

"Ah, Miss Madelynn, welcome," Ezra's booming voice echoes through the empty court. "Come, come, we have some business to sort out," she gestures for me to take a seat on the first bleacher of the court as she stands gallantly at the lectern. Her beautiful brunette locks flung over her shoulder and her lovely olive skin free of all wrinkles shines under the natural light.

"Now, Miss Madelynn, do you always have your older brother take care of your messes?" She jokes kindly, yet somehow it still makes me feel awful.

"I-I,"

"It's alright, my dear, I understand that this sudden shift is quite hard for someone, especially for someone who is only seventeen and should be home with their family. You don't need to explain. But," she begins to say, and my insides clench, "I've heard from Mr. Chase," she pauses to the sudden look of confusion painted on my face, "Gage," she clarifies, to which I nod. "Anyway, I've heard from Mr. Chase through his reports yesterday that you have been wandering around at night through the Sectors," she says.

"I know miss, I've been told that it is not the safest of habits," I admit.

"You are certainly correct, especially since you are a new body in such an old place...but I don't blame you, I did the same thing when I was your age," she winks, a warm understanding smile taking hold of her brightly painted lips. I smile and giggle a little in my place.

"Alright, now for a job, you are the only one out of the others whose still out of work, but we're here to change that. I've found a place that would be most beneficial to you and your skills that Quinn has divulged to me, how does work in the kitchen sound?"

"Great! Actually! Thank you!" I say.

"Perfect, then if you will follow me, please."

***

We walk quietly through the Sectors, her statue standing three inches taller than my own. She walks with ease and certain poise that attracts anyone and everyone around her.

We turn a corner, and step back into the dining hall, no one around except the workers behind the smoothed stone counter, cleaning and washing all surfaces with rags and fabrics.

"Alright, this is where you will be working. You will be expected to be present at six every morning till six every night. Clean up and cooking is required, failure to be on time or do expected tasks can result in punishment. Oh! And one more thing, you will also be in charge of helping the three scavengers unload the trucks."

The blood from my face drains, the color from my cheeks noticeably vanishing.

"Are you alright dear?"

I freeze for a moment, contemplating whether or not to say a portion of Gage's report he didn't inform Ezra about...Tate. One of the three scavengers.

My mind bickers back and forth as if two people lived within the walls of my brain. This could be good! Maybe you'll find out more about him! Maybe you'll get more threats, it's all fun and games until something happens. I let out a sigh after a moment.

"I'm fine," I smile at her, trying to hide my sudden episode.

"Okay, well, Madelynn, you start tomorrow."