Rats: Shai's Story

Job Hunting

Author's Note: Vote and comment please :)

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The bell ringing for Curfew was clearly audible from Brodhi's room. He was spread out across his bed. Lynn and him had taken care of the children and stuck to the excuse that Darla was sick if anyone asked where she was.

Last night he had scrubbed the dirt off himself roughly. It had caked onto his skin and he still felt like it was on him. Whenever he was in the backyard he tried to avoid looking at the back corner where his mother was buried. He caught three boys playing in the upturned soil and made everyone go inside. It annoyed Lynn because the kids were running around the house and she had nowhere to escape the noise. It ended her day with a headache.

Normally, Lynn would already be in bed by now, so it surprised Brodhi not to hear her walking around upstairs. He groaned as he threw himself off the bed and started walking down the stairs. Lynn's sobs were easy to hear as he left his room.

She was sitting at the kitchen table and her face was in her hands. Her red hair had fallen down like a curtain, blocking her face from the world. Brodhi pulled out a chair and sat beside her. He threw his arm over her shoulders and she continued to cry.

"I...I...I," Lynn tried to say but she was breathing too heavily. She kept her head down in her hands. Brodhi watched her as she dug her palms into her eyes.

"I can't do it," she finally got out.

"Do what?" Brodhi asked. He moved his hand so he was rubbing her back to try and comfort her. She continued to cry.

"I can't give birth. Darla was suppose to help me with that. But she ain't here anymore and I'm not goin' to know what to do," she sobbed.

"It's goin' to be-" Brodhi began to say.

"No!" she cut him off. She took her head out of her hands and stared at him. Her eyes were as red as her hair. "Don't tell me it's alright cause it ain't. You don't know what this is like. You're not carrying another person inside your body. It's got to get out somehow and I don't know how that's goin' to happen. Brighties go to hospitals. They don't feel nothing. I could die, Brodhi. I don't want this to be how I die."

Brodhi didn't know what to say. He knew she was right. So many women had died from childbirth in the Slums. No Brighty has ever died because of that. When time came from Lynn to give birth he'd help her, but he didn't know what to do.

"What if I get someone to help you?" he asked. "I could ask one of the mom's when they drop off their kids what you're suppose to do."

"What if it happens at night? No one is goin' to come out during Curfew to help me."

"Lynn, I promise you that I'm goin' to find someone to help."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The smell of the barn wasn't any easier to deal with after the first day. Ren couldn't carry the bodies up the stairs by herself, so Todd continued to help her. It was rare that an Officer would come into the barn, so none of them said anything about it. Samson was still in the barn, unlike the larger Rats that were there yesterday. Another couple Rats who were as equally big had replaced them. The pile of bodies was much smaller too. This meant Todd and Ren were in charge of bringing up the bodies and Samson was cleaning out the bottom of the grinder.