Chapter Text
It was later than it should’ve been. I let my little tour of the maintenance hatch take up too much of my time, now the curfew was beginning to set in and I was much more than 3 blocks away from my house. Surely the bobbies would be understanding, right?
The streets slowly got more deserted and darker. I got more and more nervous. Normally there weren’t doctors in this part of town, but what if that changed suddenly? I’d be defenceless. Is this what that Arthur guy always dealt with? This sucks.
I started to pass by a street when I heard whispering. I looked down the road to see two bobbies at the door of a house. I quickly looked around for witnesses before crouching down and sneaking closer to them. I’m not sure what possessed me to eavesdrop, but that’s what I did.
“Mrs. McCalister, we know you have some meat rations! You shouldn’t be hogging them all to yourself, should you?” One of the bobbies said.
“I don’t have any! I’m not sure where you heard this, but they’re lying!”
“Hm… that sounds like downer talk to me, don’t you think so, constable?”
The other bobby nods, “Suspiciously so. When have you last taken your joy? We might have to come in for a wellness check!”
“I’ve taken my joy! You don’t need to make a wellness check!”
“Just open the door, McCalister! It’ll be quick! Or will we have to force this door open ourselves?”
“This is unnecessary! I don’t need a wellness check!”
“You have till we get to one. 5… 4….” The bobby started counting down. I watched anxiously.
“0!” A bobby started kicking the door down. I think they skipped a few numbers. The door broke down quickly, and the bobbies filed in just as quickly. I heard the scream of the woman who was at the door, and the crash of multiple fragile things.
I stopped watching the door, curling up next to the bench I was hiding behind. Not looking didn’t erase the sound of screams from the house. In fact, it made it worse. I waited, curled into myself listening to the horrible noises until the woman was eventually silenced. I thought about how the bobbies caused that. How that wouldn’t have happened if they did what they were supposed to. How every neighbour would just pop a joy and go back to sleep, forgetting about the huge misuse of power. How I will be the only one to remember her, even though I didn’t know her that well. Was that really the fate of these people? To be forgotten the moment they died? How could they? How could we ? Is this really the sacrifice for happiness? If that’s true, I don’t think we deserve it! Not at all. But what can I do? I’m just some guy.
Then I remembered the reason why I’m having these thoughts. Arthur is making an impact, and it doesn’t even seem like he’s trying to save the people. He’s trying to save himself. So what if I try? What difference would that make? Surely something, right? Anything to get more people off joy. If I can do that… I can start a movement. Yeah… I can, can’t I?
I stood up. Checking that the two other bobbies were still looting that house before running off and getting back on the track to my house.
I need a plan. I need supplies. I need knowledge. I need to meet up with Arthur again, but who knows when he’ll be back? I need to prepare some things on my own. I can't rely only on Arthur. I can’t be helpless. First, I should figure out my plan of action. Then I can figure out what I need.
I made it back to my home without running into any of the authorities, luckily, and made a beeline to the kitchen. I looked through all of my cabinets and pulled out all the food I had, which was not much. A few good pieces of bread, a few not so good pieces, rotting fruits, some healthy, but not a bit of meat. Did I survive off of this amount before? How am I supposed to survive on this now?
I put everything back into their places and grab a notepad from my dining table. I write down “get more food.”
I walk back into my living room and start brainstorming. What would I need? Weapons, obviously. But what else? Do I need to keep my joy on me? Or do I need to make sure I don’t take my joy?
I pause and reach into my pocket, pulling out a few circular pills. “Sunshine” Arthur said they were called. They helped him get past machines. He didn’t mention anything about doctors though, so it might only be useful for machines. I should keep that in mind. I put the pills back into my pocket.
I also need to figure out where to go. I barely remember where my own house is, how am I supposed to figure out where to go to start something? Arthur had a weird book, maybe he has a map on him too? I made another note to ask Arthur for a map. I hesitated before adding “Ask for more Sunshine”
“Ask for Arthur’s plan”
“Ask about what would hurt the joy production”
“Where to find weapons?”
I pause and look back at my sink. I walk over to the faucet and turn it on. Once I pour some of the tap water into a cup I notice that it has a slightly pink tint. I’m unsure if it’d be worth it to check.
I take a small sip of the water and immediately feel the affects of joy. I pour the rest of the cup out and quickly write down “Ask how to get clean water”
The effects quickly wear off, and deflate at the loss of happiness. But I quickly kick myself back into shape. That’s how we all got addicted, after all.
I double check my list one last time before deciding that was enough for now. I put my notebook and head upstairs. It would be best if I went to sleep before putting any of my plans into motion. Not only due to sleep deprivation, but also because of the curfew.
I woke up with a start. There were no dreams that scared me out of my sleep, I just felt... strangely late. I sat up, got dressed, and left my house as usual. I had a pretty good fake smile on my face as I started walking. I don’t exactly have a destination, not yet, but I’ll work on it.
I zone out while walking, spouting empty greetings while my feet lead me somewhere. While I walk mindlessly I try to remember what was on the list that I needed. Food was the first thing on the list, Right? Right. I blink and take a quick glance around and conveniently find myself in front of one of the shops. “Odds & Ends Shop”, I think it’s called.
I walk inside and am greeted by the person at the counter.
“Hey! Uh, do you happen to have any food items?” I ask, trying to mask my nervousness.
“Food items? What do I look like? A Grocery store?” He laughs.
I also decided to laugh. “Hahaha... right. Uhm...” I look behind him at the items I assume are for sale. I also briefly noted a red bobby standing on the right that I hadn’t noticed before.
“Let’s see... Can I get that suit? And that torch over there?” I point at the two items, reaching to grab my wallet in the process. The storekeep goes over and grabs the items I wanted, putting them into a bag. I pay him and turn to leave.
“Come again soon!” The storekeep says. I quickly say some sort of phrase before continuing to walk out the door.
Where do I keep these things? I bought them since I thought I would need the supplies, but where do I put them now?
I look down at my bag for a moment. In the safehouse, maybe? And this is a pretty big bag... maybe I can go shopping for the rest of my things as well. I nod to myself.
I faintly remember a pub somewhere. It’ll be in my best interests to head there to maybe find some food.
I finally make my way over to a safehouse. People were giving me weird looks, but a greeting usually made them ignore me. I put the bag on my shoulder and open the valve, climbing down the ladder.
I come down to a dead body once again. Unfortunately Arthur isn’t here, so I’ll have to wait before bombarding him with questions. I walk over to the bunkbeds and throw the bag down on the first one. I then sit down by the bag.
All that walking was tiring. All that acting too... I’ll have to really get used to this before I can make too much progress. I roll up my sleeve to look at the time. It isn’t that late. I have quite a bit of time before curfew. I should probably use this time to do something more productive. I get up from the bed and start to leave, passing by the unsettling bodies again.
After getting out, I check my watch again. My shift wouldn’t be over by now, I don’t think. I could pay my job a visit. Maybe some of my colleagues have useful items? Yeah. That’s a good idea.
I make my way back to my job, it wasn’t that long of a trip now that I actually know where things are. I wave to the bobby at the door and walk into the office. I assume everyone’s at lunch, since they’re all gone.
I walk up to the closest desk and start rummaging through the drawers. There are sometimes a few useful nicknacks, some boring “paperwork” or some personal letters, nothing big.
I managed to get through all the desks before anyone came back, but I didn’t get any good equipment, at least, in my eyes. So I leave the office and look down the hall.
Higher-ups get their own rooms, and they don’t seem to lock their doors. I open the door to the first one and walk inside. Empty. And there’s a fruit basket! With fresh fruit! I walk over to the basket and start to take the fruits out before realising I have nowhere to put them. So I put the fruit back and grab the entire basket instead. They won’t miss it.
The first room was good enough, maybe the next one will be just as useful.