Permanant Detainment

Just a short-story of a dream I had.

             Loe’s clock read 5:27AM when the first alarm bell rang through the district. Rubbing at her eyes she groaned quietly, sitting up and throwing the heavy flower-printed comforter back off of her small form; the girl was covered head-to-toe in a baggy night fleece, the sleeves hanging over her pale hands, illuminated in the dim morning light as she shook them free. As her mind cleared from the fog of sleep, she realized that it was indeed the alarm bell that had woken her; it was only rung for top-class emergencies. Awakened fully by the newfound information, she quickly shed her night clothes and dug through the closet of hers, tugging on dark blue jeans and a oversized gray hunting sweater, cinched tight at the sleeves, just barely having pulled it on before she was down the hallway and to the front door. In the process of opening the door with her elbow, she was tugging on her size 9 mud boots, rimmed with dark gray fur. Standing straight up, she nearly smashed into Dehv, whom was already waiting outside of her door with big eyes. Her heart jumped a bit in her chest and she reached out, lacing her fingers with his as he smiled the slightly-crooked smile of his. Hand in hand, they made their way down the snow-rimmed walkway and onto the street, elucidated by the dim, flickering street lamps on either side of the street. Others walked, most of which still in night gowns and suits, beside them and all along the street, headed toward the intersection that led to the town or the other two districts. As she observed the people, Loe’s mouth twisted up, and she leaned into her partner, murmuring quietly so as the two young boys in front of them wouldn’t hear. “Dehv, where are all the parents?” she asked, her eyes scanning for any figure that could resemble one. To her it looked as if there were a few around Dehv’s age, just barely brushing their early twenties, but most of the kids were small, hobbling on slippered feet, decked in Princess clothing and Spiderman pants. Before he had a chance to answer, all of the street lights blazed up, lighting the street in a factory light, all the kids around her frozen under the brilliant heat of them, the snowflakes that had been lightly falling melting whenever they fell before the suddenly harsh lights. Instinctively she turned, hiding her eyes in the soft fabric of Dehv’s long coat, squinting up against the brightness just in time to see a large truck pull round each corner of the intersection they had nearly made it to; the huge vehicles skidded to a stop, turning and reversing its back end into each long road. A burly man climbed out of each front door, moving to the back and pulling on the string which sent the back door tumbling down; it landed with a resounding crash just as the loudspeakers sounded with a screeching sound as they had not been used in years. A silky female voice came over the speaker, which she realized was their President. Tuning her ears in over the frightened cry of the children around her, she strained to hear the announcement, Dehv’s arms protectively locked around her middle now. “Goodmorning! I have some news for you all. Unfortunately, the children of the Three Districts have been chosen for a particular… Assignment. Please continue into the trucks, and prepare yourself for… Permanent detainment.” A loud cackling sound emanated from the speakers just as they clicked off. A horrible wail rose up from the younger children, and they began to flee in several directions, as if they could sprint back to their parents. Loe raised her voice to stop a young boy in front of her as he sprinted for the woods, and watched in open-mouthed horror as he crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from the back of his shirt. A shrill scream came from a girl about her age nearby, and Loe turned her face into Dehv, who was white-faced and looking rather torn as to what to do. Just as she was about to frantically make a run for the woods herself, he spun her in his arms, his chilled hands cupping either side of her jaw. Her eyes dilated, and he shook his head, crushing her lips to his in a sudden movement. All but melting into his touch, Loe let her eyes close, her fingers gripping onto the collar of his shirt. He pulled back quickly, nodding his head with a somewhat fierce look. “I love you,” he said, his voice rough as if he were about to cry. She nodded, feeling as if she were about to bite through her lower lip as his hand locked with hers once more, both of them striding through the snowy streets, their boots making gray tracks in the thin layer on the ground. Whenever she could, Loe reached out, herding children with her, knowing by now that getting onto the truck was their only real option. A small darker skinned boy huddled behind a snow drift, and she smiled at him, scooping him up into her arms and resting him on her hips, feeling Dehv’s hand circling her hip as they approached the truck. The burly white man glared down at them, and she twisted up her mouth, already having developed a dark hatred for the man. The back opening of the semi-truck was gaping, layered with different open-mouthed cages, each row squared with about enough height for someone of her size to fit in it just barely, without comfort. Dehv, much larger than she, groaned quietly and squeezed in, both of them working to the back innermost section of the truck so they could watch what happened without having to be a part of it first. The younger boy was tucked against her side as she settled down, her temple pressed into the fenced cage, Dehv twisting a finger through one of the holes with a small smile. She flashed one back at him, her eyes big as she let out a small whine, despite her hard exterior as the back of the truck clanged shut, engulfing them all in darkness. As the blackness settled in, there was an eerie silence, broken only by the sound of the small boy near her setting up a loud, piercing wail, soon joined in by every young child on the truck. Loe winced at the horrid sound, and cried out quietly as the truck turned, bashing the side of her head into the hard cage; she briefly heard Dehv calling her name as she slumped against the metal, and remember no more of the truck ride.