One

BEEP BEEP BEEP. I stare blankly at the black metal ceiling.The air sends chills up my spine. BEEP BEEP BEEP. My watch buzzes as I look at it. 7:30 AM. I sigh and rub my face as I step out of my bed. Making my way through the dark room I flinch at the cold tile. I come up to the window and pull apart the cloth covering it. The light nearly blinds me as I cover my face. Note to self  When my eyes recover I make my way to the bathroom across the room. I flip the light on and yawn while looking at myself in the mirror.

“Resident 352478 ready for apparel Appliance,” I say with another yawn. A blue light shines from out of my mirror and an empty shelf opens. There was a gust of air and a grey skirt and jacket along with a white satchel falls onto the shelf. I take them, close the wooden door and put them on. Afterwards I brush my brown hair and throw it up into a ponytail. I step out of the bathroom and head downstairs. My feet pound against the metal. Dad sits at the table in the tiled kitchen dressed and ready for work. The room smells of coffee and toast.

“Good morning Emily,” he says with a smile.

I walk over and give him a hug “Where's mom?” I ask.

“She’s still sleeping. She had to take the night shift last night,” he says as he drinks his coffee. Not again, this is the 3rd night in the row. Why do they need her working late anyways? There's not very many patients.

“So are you ready for work Em? Want me to walk with you?” he asks.

“No. It's ok love you dad,” I say as I kiss him and run out the door. I walk down the gravel street. The sky is blue and a flock of bird are heard overhead. The houses around me look like metal boxes similar to mine. On them are small rectangular windows. Some have smaller boxes under them for flowers. I look to my left and see a group of old men sitting on a bench under a tree talking as I walk by.

“...I know first there was the light then there was an explosion..What do you think of it Herb?” an elder said.

“Probably just a storm,” the second one said.

I make my way through the crowded street. There are officers patrolling the area. More than usual. They seem to be agitated and frantic.

“HEY EMILY!!” I look around and see Jake as he runs up next to me. An officer eyes him, but Jake doesn't notice.

“Oh hey Jake,” I smile.

“So Em me, you? field tonight?” He asks smiling.

I frown “Me, you? Fat chance” I laugh.

“Wow..That was uncalled for,” He teases. Jake and I have been best friends since forever. We did everything together, but when you turn 16 you don't have much free time because of work. He knows that, but from time to time. He would ask me what I'm doing that day or If I could hangout. Don't get me wrong we do, but not as often as we used to. He makes it seem like he's in a fantasy and I guess I'm supposed to snap him back to reality. Doing so makes me feel joy that I have a friend like him. Now that I think about it I guess I have always had a crush on him. I even remember how we met too.

It was the first day of kindergarten when he came up behind me as I was coloring a picture of an elephant. Even though they're extinct I loved drawing them.

“What are you drawing?” He asked me with a curious face.

I looked at him and said in a small voice “An...elephant..” I was always a shy kid but he didn't seem to mind. He just smiled and said, “I like it! Hey do you want to be my friend?” Then he smiled again. I just stood there and stared at his face. Something about his face. The loving and kind part of it took me away and made me feel brave “Ok..” I said as I smiled. Then he smiled even bigger then yelled.

“I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!!” at that time I didn't know what that meant, but I didn't care. We hung out all of the time after that. He was my first friend I guess.

“Sorry Jake,” I look ahead at the crowd snapping back to reality. Haha I guess I do it to.

“It’s ok it was just going to be me and a couple of guys anyway,” He notes.

changing the subject I ask quickly, “Hey did you hear that explosion last night?”

“No why?” He looks at me.

“People have been talking about it,” I say as we turn the corner.

“Well it’s not a big deal if it hasn't been addressed by the FC,” he says as he moves his blond hair out of his face.

I look down and blush as he elbows me “Ok whatever you say...but don't get mad when you decide to come and we're having fun" he puts his hands on his hips and in a girly voice says "Cuz i'm to cool to hang with you” I roll my eyes and smile.

“Hey I have to go but I will talk to you later Em,” he motions to go.

“Ok see you Jay,” I smile as he walks into a building. I walk into the bakery and the familiar smell of bread runs through my mind along with the warm air. People around me are sitting in rectangular tables with little cups and plates. I walk to the counter which is cased in glass with little slots to put the food through like a bank counter. To prevent break ins. I open the door next to it. Inside there is a little white room with a gray box. I walk up to it and take my blue work card out of my satchel. I insert the card in the slot and one of the walls pulls up. I walk into the kitchen as my boss walks past me to go to the counter. I jump as I hear a loud noise of glass breaking behind me.

“Sorry!” I hear as I walk to the hooks hanging on the wall. I put my jacket and satchel on it. They always seem to be dropping things. I grab my apron off the table near the stove, and walked up to the counter next to the cash register. A couple of minutes later my sister walks in.

“Hey Kylie!” I almost shout. She hasn’t come to see me at work in a while.

“Hey Em,” she walked up the the counter smiles,

“I didn't plan to see you here!” I laugh.

“I know sorry I just wanted to ask you about dinner..”

“Broccoli cheddar soup,” I reassure her.

She laughs “Thanks sis…oh here” She hands me a old pair of hunter boots.

“I found these in the attic..pretty cool right,” she grins.

I look at them. They were old but I liked them, maybe it is the brown leather or the black laces.

“They’re great,” I smile

“Well I have to go I will see you at home,” she starts to leave

“Thanks kylie,” I yell.

A couple of hours pass and I am still at the counter waiting for my shift to be done.

“Hey Emily! it’s your day to take the trash out,” a coworker calls from the kitchen. UGH. I walk into the kitchen and take the top off of the trash. I gag at the stench of the food as I pick it up. I walk out to the back door and open it. I get outside and finally breathe as I throw it into the trash bin. I walk back into the store and go past my boss's door when I see his trash full. UGHHH. I walk in and start cleaning then I go into the bathroom next the desk. I grab the trash from the side of the toilet. I look at myself in the mirror and fix my hair. The light shuts off. I jump. Startled and then wave my hands frantically. They turn on and I start to walk out when I hear my boss.

“We can go in here,” he whispers to a man behind him as he shuts the door. I peek from behind the door. He is a tall man with brown hair and a matching vest and pants. There is a silver medal on his left shoulder. Probably early in his early 30s. He has dark brown eyes and pail skin

“I have orders to keep this confidential."

He sits “I assure your this is a safe space,” The lights shuts off this time I don’t move.

The tall man stands “Im sure you are aware about the happenings last night ”

“Yes and what does that have to do with my store?“ he asks

“Well you have some fast workers and you make a good amount of food a day..” the man clears his throat “If a situation broke that we would need food to our soldiers-”

“You mean go to war?’ his eyes widen

The man nods “Yes”. There was a moment of silence and I could feel my hair standing on my neck. War? What about war? There's no one to go to war with. There's not even anything beyond our fence except for wasteland. Are there others? Others like me? I feel my mind start to wonder. Others I only see in pictures from long ago when people had brown pigment? Or others that had some whiter than ours, or.....even some with the perfect mixture between. What are people not telling me about our world? They sat there for what seemed like forever. Then my boss stands up.

“Was that the explosion we heard last night?” he asks

“Yes” he says pressing his thin lips together

My boss motions for him to leave “Thank you John that will be all, and ill see what I can do” they both walk out and close the door and sit there in silence. I finally get up and look out. When I hear a sound coming from the ceiling. I look up as the automatic light turns on. CRACK CRACK BANG. I jump at the sound as I fall to the floor. I wake up and look up as the light flickers on and off. Half of the ceiling is on the ground along with a brown skinny body.