Afflicted

I doubted I'd be able to sleep well within these walls but I had to try.

As I closed my eyes, wishing sleep to manifest, I found myself thinking about the girl next door again. And whether I owed her an explanation or not.

Chapter Six

Kaitlyn

Sleep didn't come easily that night. I lay awake worrying about what I would say to Linc if I saw him again. Or what I should have said the night before in case he repeated his disappearing act. I needed him to know how sorry I was, I’d been afraid and stupid and it had seemed like the right choice at the time.

When I woke up, his truck was gone. I wasn't sure if I was disappointed or relieved.

I hurried to get ready for school and only noticed Mom and Dad hadn't come home when I reached the kitchen. Their keys weren't on the hook and there was no sign of them. I checked my cel

lphone and found three missed calls and two texts.

Dad 21:37 - Hey, I hope you had fun at the game tonight, sorry I missed another one. They've asked me to work late again due to another terrorist scare but I promise I'll make it up to you when I see you. X

Mom 22:09 - Hey Sweetheart, how was the game? I'm going to stay in the city and have dinner with your dad tonight. I've put some money in your account for a takeaway. Be nice to your brother and don't have any parties x x x and let me know you got home safe x x x

Since they'd finished construction on The Wall and sealed off all entrances apart from the cable cars, the commute into Harbour City had become a nightmare. Dad was working in the city more and more often recently and he stayed there regularly too.

The anti-population terrorists had made his work on the city even more essential with their increased activity in the last few years. Their aim was to undo the damage caused to the Earth by the massive human population. The sad thing was that they had a point. Once the world’s population exceeded ten billion it had become near impossible to feed everyone. Huge areas of rainforest had been stripped for farmland and factory farming had gone into overdrive. Scientists were continually developing new pesticides and genetically modifying crops to combat the problem. But still there were people starving and the solutions developed by the governments were always based on finding ways to feed everyone.

The Anti-Pop had other ideas. They released diseases with no known cures to thin the population, planted bombs in crowded areas or assassinated politicians who approved plans that would damage the environment.

Their goal was simple and not one that any government could help them achieve. They wanted the human race to stop destroying the planet. And the only way to achieve that was to massively reduce their numbers.

I flicked on the TV in the front room to check out what the scare had been but I was too late to catch most of the news. The piece that was playing was about the city though and the newscaster was standing outside the towering Wall as she spoke. It completely surrounded the city, cutting it off from the outside entirely. She looked like a grain of sand standing before it. Utterly insignificant.

I turned the volume up so that I could hear what she had to say.

"I'm here, standing just outside Harbour City as they prepare for the first ever 'sanctuary protocol rehearsal'. In just two short weeks, the city will cut itself off from the outside world and trial their survival technology for the first time.

All food will be grown in the hydroponics buildings and distributed to the citizens taking part in the trial. The air locks will be sealed and the purification system will remove all contaminants from the atmosphere. In short, nothing from the outside will be able to get in and no one on the inside will be able to get out." The newscaster smiled excitedly while I suppressed a shudder.

I just hoped that there would never be such a serious chemical attack on our country to make it necessary for us to all seek shelter in the walled cities. It sounded too much like a cage for my liking.

My cellphone buzzed as I started to make my way upstairs again and I answered it without checking who was calling.

"You're getting ready for school aren't you?" Lacey asked as I made it into my room and began the hunt for my bag.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's closed. They've sent out emails..." I never checked my email and she knew it.

"Thanks," I sighed with relief as I sank down onto my bed. If Lacey hadn't called I'd have walked all the way in for nothing. "Why's it shut?"

"I’m guessing you didn't have time for a shower this morning either?"

"I was running late-"

"Or brushed your teeth..." Lacey laughed.

"I was just about to!"

"Well you can't. There's no water."

"What?" I stood up and headed down the hall to the bathroom.