The boys quietly enter the large hunts room commonly referred to as the 'Winda'. Placed on a wooden table is their hunt, the Zelle. On the other side of the table sat The Deles(quota masters). There were four of them. Each looked scary and dangerous. For Kim, however, he had met them more than once, at least all of them. There was a new person unfamiliar to him. He knew what was next so he kept quiet and waited.
The silence was broken by Kamau, The Deles on Duty (DD) who clears his throat and says, " Care to explain why today was one Zelle only,"? looking at the boys. Thia is about to answer when Kim speaks out first, " I wasn't feeling well today so I slept most of the time sorry". Thia was stunned but he hid it well. " Is this true,"? asked the DD looking at Thia. Thia played along, " Yes sir, he had a stomach ache and complained of feeling dizzy so I let him rest while I hunted. " Kim groaned mentally, Thia had exaggerated a bit too much but still, he felt relieved. The impromptu plan had worked.
The DD looked at the two boys. A low chuckle from his right made him turn. It was Shiru, the Deles Resident Observer. Kim flinched, he hated and feared her. " Well, aren't you lying to the DD... Kim", she said harshly. Kim lowered his head. He could feel her eyes on him. Her gaze throwing daggers at him. Thia stepped up, " No he's not, " he said looking at Shiru, "He really wasn't feeling well... plus his stomach kept making those wierd noises and he kept asking me whether I had enough toilet paper..." Kim gasped and shouted,"Thia"! Awkward and uncomfortable silence fell in the room.
One of the remaining Deles burst out laughing. Kamau let out a slight chuckle, so it was that, a running stomach. After a long tiring and angry day, this was a good way to end the day. He looked at Kim, "Are you feeling better now,"? Already embarrassed, Kim merely nodded slightly. " Alright you'll have to lose a few points and double up your hunts tomorrow dismissed," he concluded. Shiru intervened, " No way. There's no way that can have or be sick there's ...," she stops midsentence. Kamau was looking straight at her angrily. "I believe we are done here right Resident,"? She cowered beneath his gaze. Although she was a Resident Observer, he had more authority down here. This wasn't going her way at all. He glared at her. "Y-yes sir", she replied meekly. "Good, " he continued, " Then shall we all call it a day"? He didn't wait for an answer but simply left through a door on the right side.
After the grown ups had left together with the meat, Kim jumped and playfully grabbed Thia's hair. " Diarrhea, really? That's the best that you could come up with",? he asked. " Ouch ow-ow, " Thia replies, " Let go man let go," Kim let's go and Thia holds his head rubbing his hair. "It was the best I could come up with considering what you said idiot,"! He continues. "Still", Kim says, "Of all the diseases you could come up with that was what popped up in your mind"? Thia was about to answer when the door opened again. A waft of inexplicably strong perfume filled the room.
Thia, who was easily irritated by strong smells began to sneeze uncontrollably. Kim's face hardened. He knew who was behind that door. Mwas, his former 'friend'. With his box-style shaved head and casual clothes, he entered followed closely by two body guards. For a moment, no one spoke. Each side stared hard at the other with the only exception being Thia, whose sneezes kept interrupting the silence.
Mwas came closer. Kim clenched his fists. "Well it seems you're already eager for a fight," Mwas said looking at the clenched fists. Kim hesitated then released his hands, " What do you want,"? he asked. Ignoring him, Mwas headed straight for Thia, who had stopped sneezing but was blowing his nose. " Hi ," he said," My name is Mwangi but you can call me Mwas. Why don't you join my team ,"? Thia cleared out his nose again, looked at Mwas. He was about to answer when he sneezed. Snort, mucus and saliva coated Mwas' face. Everyone was silent. One of the bodyguards let out a little laugh and like a domino effect, everyone else laughed. Mwas ran out of the room. Kim laughed till his sides hurt. He hadn't laughed like this in a long time. Thia looked at Kim and smiled, he had finally made his friend laugh. He had won the bet.
Thia stood up and looked at Kim. " We should probably get out of he-he-herrreeee," a sneeze completed his words. Kim, who had leaned forward due to laughing, straightened up and, unsure of himself, merely nodded. Both boys walked out of the room and headed outside.
Before them the village spread out lit up by the filtered light of the setting sun. The village was divided into four sections each interconnected to the others through roads railways and overhead travelling tubes. These sections include, the Administrative Section(AS) which comprised of old buildings and what people considered ancient technology. The leader of the village lived here as well as all other members. It was the only sections where the overhead travels were banned.
Another section was the Commercial section(CS). This was characterized by the many tall buildings as well as the numerous overhead travel tubes. It was the busiest section in the village and was heavily connected to the Industrial and Technology Section (ITS) Both of these served to keep the village in prosperity as well as advance technologically. The last section is the Residential section (RS). Divided into communities, this place was where everyone else lived, played and shopped. This was also the one place where one could go to entertain themselves, relax and have fun.
This was an oasis of hope in a post apocalyptic world. For the boys, this was home.