"Mari." He spoke, shaking my shoulder. "Wake up." He said, shaking me harder.
"I'm up... I'm up." I said, sitting up and trying to comb my hair with my hand.
I got up and began cleaning myself up. I went to the center of town. I looked at the nearby fence, Pathogens waited outside for me to step closer... to tear me apart.
"Hey Mari." An older man said, putting his hand on my back. "How're you today?"
I felt... tired around him. More than usual. It's almost like his aura brought me my tiredness.
"Just... tired." I said, yawning. "Mr... C. What are you doing outside of school?" I asked once again, putting my hand on the back of my neck.
"Oh, just running some errands, this and that, you know." He said, standing up straight from his bent state previously. "You better run along now. Get to school. I'll be back in class very soon."
I did as he told, I knew better than to disobey him.
***
In my classroom, I saw my annoying twin brother, my best friend, and my enemy.
Having them all in one class was... interesting.
"Mari~" Romi whispered ghostly, as if to scare me. "Ahem. Come here." She said in a normal voice, probably noticing my fake glare.
I went over as she beckoned and saw she had a toad in her backpack. I almost screamed in delight. It'd been a long time since I'd seen one inside the fences that it almost felt and looked fake. I held the toad and rubbed it's bumpy back, feeling it's flesh and listening to it calmly breathe.
I put it on the desk and put down a small piece of strawberry, to which it surprisingly ate it.
"Ain't he cute?" She asked, pointing to him multiple times, almost poking him.
"Of course he is." I said, more focused on the toad than her messing around.
Suddenly, to our dismay and fear, the alarm went off outside, meaning the gate was opening.
We looked through the classroom window and in the far distance past the cornfield, we could see the main gate. We were on the third floor, so that helped.
The gate opened, and we could all see... Kai! He walked inside and Romi began chanting, bringing the whole class to join her.
Kai had been on an important mission to kill a group of scavengers. They would kill us otherwise. He was sent of to infiltrate and kill them. We weren't told the exact details, but we knew that he was looking for someone for some reason.
Things only got more complicated when more settlements sent out people too. They, too, would infiltrate the traitor's base and kill them one by one.
A part of me wanted to feel bad because we had no clue what the "traitors" did to deserve this. We were never told. All we knew was Mr. C's word, his way of the story.
Recently, I found a book outside the fence, in the forest. It was a diary of someone from that side, describing their life and how their life seemed so similar to ours. I realized soon after that the book belonged to one of the people who were executed by the Mayor's right-hand man.
I kept the book, and... I honestly felt bad for them. They were just like us, and they couldn't have done much wrong... right?
Mr. C knew a lot more than he let on. I know that because of the diary. He, too, was a traitor. So who was he to walk here and act like he's the boss? I have no clue who he really is... and why this is all happening. I heard of a war beginning not too far away, and he has had his eyes on that war since he found out someone named Calibrum was getting involved.
His obsession with that guy is... strange.
Kai was injured when he came back. No surprise since apparently the "traitors" were dangerous, especially with Calibrum.
***
Days after that, Kai would emerge from his house, he was healed and greeted us as he passed, seemingly still angry or determined.
"Curfew now begins at 7:00 PM. Your homes will be searched and your possessions will be rummaged. Do not interfere with these interactions." The loud speaker yelled at us.
"Huh?" Romi questioned. "They can do that?! No way!" she said.
At first, I thought it wouldn't be much of a problem... but I had the diary. Owning something from the outside, specifically the traitors, was strictly forbidden.
I devised a plan, but I needed to think quick if I wanted to save My brother's, Romi, and I's lives.