Human Untouched

3

She tapped a button on her desk, opening the small gate beside her desk, one I could've easily hopped over. Through the other door was another Peacekeeper, he pushed a pile of blankets towards me and jerked his head towards the door. I gathered the rough, scratchy material in my hands and moved on to join yet another line.

There was a loud buzz, the red light above the door flashing as the door slowly opened with a hiss and a scattering of mist. Through the door we entered the facility where I would be spending my next two years... where my brother had spent his last three years, taken his last breath, maybe even his last laugh if the absolute unoriginality of this place hadn't taken a toll on him first.

More institutional white to the left and right, only broken by unpainted steel doors on either side of the wall at equal intervals. But these weren't our accomodations. We were led through corridor after corridor, upstairs, and then down till we reached an open space.

I glanced over the railings, we were on the fourth floor. There was a rectangular area bounded by the rails on our floor looking out over tables and chairs, possibly the cafeteria. That's when we were given rooms.

The door was opened for me. I was the first one to be given a room. I walked in without another thought and tried to ignore the roiling in my gut as the door closed behind me.

It was bigger than my room back at home but not by much. There was one single bed shoved against the corner wall. Most of the space back in my room was taken up by the double bed. It had been two single beds till Tristan stayed there. The wall directly opposite the door had a sink right in the middle, and to the right of it was a rectangle cordoned off with flimsy sheet wall, open doors confirming it as the shower and the toilet. There was a trash can and a basket, probably for laundry. To the left of the entrance was a rod stuck in the wall, diagonal to the corner. From it hung three more pairs of the same clothes I was wearing.

Everything was bolted to the floor. There were toiletries in a cup molded from the sink's metal. A metal cup was chained to the bottom of the sink. The reflective metal above the sink was a poor excuse of a mirror.

My light green hair, dark with water, dangled limply till my chest. There were bags under my eyes from last night's work. A heavy exhaustion brought on by the cold water and wetness of my clothes made me shuffle over to the bed and collapse into a deep nap. I barely pulled the blanket over me before my head hit flat, shapeless pillow and I drifted off.

I woke with a start, turning my head to see that the constant banging in my head for the past five minutes was real. Seeing that I was awake, the Peacekeeper let his fist drop and stepped away from the door as he spoke. "Get your ass down to the cafeteria or the food will get over."

My stomach gave a loud growl as I blearily sat up. The corridor was in a state of confusion as people exited their rooms to head downstairs. I just followed the crowd till four floors down- we emerged into the cafeteria. The tables were all long slabs of metal with uncomfortable round stools to sit on. Those were also bolted to the table, which was bolted to the floor.

Four rows of tables like this spanning the vast open area. I looked up. There was artificial light pouring through an artificial skylight eight floors above us. How many people were here? Was it only Section D or were these people sick enough to head to Section E? Section C had too many families who were catered for by the State. They wouldn't touch anyone from there. But it wouldn't surprise me.

I let myself be pushed with the people into some form of a line. Picking up a tray only to be almost immediately pushed to the end of the line with a full one. I glanced down at it as I turned away. Mashed potatoes, a chunk of chicken, a cup of warm milk, a piece of chocolate and a small square of butter. All things that were rare to come by, or never did, on our household table.