and the escape from the weather. He always felt out of place, like he didn't belong. Now it was just depressing.
The place was eerie. The small amount of natural light from filthy opaque skylights turned it into dusk as soon as they entered. He winced at the reminder of the once overtly consumerist society he would give anything to go back too — heck, he'd even happily wander the crowded walkways, smiling sweetly as people bumped into him and then stared at him like it was his fault. The wide cream tiled floor was littered with all manner of useless consumer goods, old food wrappers, cups and general trash, just thrown to the ground after the bins spilled over, people muttering under their breath about the lack of cleanliness yet still making it worse rather than taking their empty wrappers home with them.
Edsel remembered coming to places like this as The Lethargy did its work. Every week it got worse and worse. Fewer stores open, the trash piling up, smoking bans forgotten by those lucky enough to have grabbed a stash of any brand of cigarette they were able to steal without getting killed. Risking an all-out attack by those watching green with envy as they sucked down their nicotine, eyes darting about warily yet unable to stop a vice that let them forget about life for a split-second when the nicotine hit the spot.
Fights and arguments escalated in intensity as confusion mounted. Those open for business didn't want money any longer — what use was it when the banks weren't open and there was nothing to do with the money anyway? Bartering became extreme; traffic in people increased. Many would sell their family or friends for little more than a meal or a pair of new shoes. He'd actually seen two men arguing over a young girl while the mother stood by gulping down a bottle of precious wine they'd given her in exchange for what was obviously acts the girl wanted no part in.
It all got really bad; then society totally collapsed. Store owners couldn't stop the looting any longer, how could they? People took what they wanted, windows were smashed and the stores were ransacked until nothing of use was left. A free-for-all with no meaning, goods stolen that were never taken out of the box once they were taken home, or dropped in the streets as the thieves lost themselves in the haze of Lethargy before they even made it home to their houses — where the fridge was empty, the cupboards were bare and their children starved.
Did we deserve this? Maybe we did.
As they crunched down the open spaces, marching past broken, once state-of-the-art TVs and all kinds of digital equipment now useless, the bodies began to pile up in earnest. People lost to The Lethargy, their final days spent in a fugue until they died, often stripped of their clothes and belongings by those still with their wits about them. They weren't all dead though, they walked right past a few people that had obviously only recently succumbed, just sat on the floor, eyes staring vacantly at nothing as the life slowly seeped out of them. There was nothing they could do about it, there was no hope for them.
Just like there hadn't been any hope for his own family. His mother was lost mercifully quickly, but it took his sister over a year before she finally faded into nothingness — then Edsel was young, alone and scared, but he survived, made it through. It was like going back in time, staring at the young boy by his side. At least he'd been older when things turned bad, he couldn't imagine having coped with any of it at the age of twelve.
Brave boy, and Awoken too.
~~~
"No. Way."
Aiden beamed at Edsel, chewing away on his own sandwich. "You like?" he said, crumbs spitting out of his mouth.
"Oh boy, best sandwich ever. Where'd they come from?" Edsel couldn't believe his eyes when the boy pulled out a container of sandwiches from the backpack he'd brought with him. It was a peanut butter sandwich and the best thing he had tasted in his entire life.
The place was eerie. The small amount of natural light from filthy opaque skylights turned it into dusk as soon as they entered. He winced at the reminder of the once overtly consumerist society he would give anything to go back too — heck, he'd even happily wander the crowded walkways, smiling sweetly as people bumped into him and then stared at him like it was his fault. The wide cream tiled floor was littered with all manner of useless consumer goods, old food wrappers, cups and general trash, just thrown to the ground after the bins spilled over, people muttering under their breath about the lack of cleanliness yet still making it worse rather than taking their empty wrappers home with them.
Edsel remembered coming to places like this as The Lethargy did its work. Every week it got worse and worse. Fewer stores open, the trash piling up, smoking bans forgotten by those lucky enough to have grabbed a stash of any brand of cigarette they were able to steal without getting killed. Risking an all-out attack by those watching green with envy as they sucked down their nicotine, eyes darting about warily yet unable to stop a vice that let them forget about life for a split-second when the nicotine hit the spot.
Fights and arguments escalated in intensity as confusion mounted. Those open for business didn't want money any longer — what use was it when the banks weren't open and there was nothing to do with the money anyway? Bartering became extreme; traffic in people increased. Many would sell their family or friends for little more than a meal or a pair of new shoes. He'd actually seen two men arguing over a young girl while the mother stood by gulping down a bottle of precious wine they'd given her in exchange for what was obviously acts the girl wanted no part in.
It all got really bad; then society totally collapsed. Store owners couldn't stop the looting any longer, how could they? People took what they wanted, windows were smashed and the stores were ransacked until nothing of use was left. A free-for-all with no meaning, goods stolen that were never taken out of the box once they were taken home, or dropped in the streets as the thieves lost themselves in the haze of Lethargy before they even made it home to their houses — where the fridge was empty, the cupboards were bare and their children starved.
Did we deserve this? Maybe we did.
As they crunched down the open spaces, marching past broken, once state-of-the-art TVs and all kinds of digital equipment now useless, the bodies began to pile up in earnest. People lost to The Lethargy, their final days spent in a fugue until they died, often stripped of their clothes and belongings by those still with their wits about them. They weren't all dead though, they walked right past a few people that had obviously only recently succumbed, just sat on the floor, eyes staring vacantly at nothing as the life slowly seeped out of them. There was nothing they could do about it, there was no hope for them.
Just like there hadn't been any hope for his own family. His mother was lost mercifully quickly, but it took his sister over a year before she finally faded into nothingness — then Edsel was young, alone and scared, but he survived, made it through. It was like going back in time, staring at the young boy by his side. At least he'd been older when things turned bad, he couldn't imagine having coped with any of it at the age of twelve.
Brave boy, and Awoken too.
~~~
"No. Way."
Aiden beamed at Edsel, chewing away on his own sandwich. "You like?" he said, crumbs spitting out of his mouth.
"Oh boy, best sandwich ever. Where'd they come from?" Edsel couldn't believe his eyes when the boy pulled out a container of sandwiches from the backpack he'd brought with him. It was a peanut butter sandwich and the best thing he had tasted in his entire life.
Similar Books
