Lilac looked up as she saw a dark-haired and scrawny girl faintly smile at her. Opening her mouth, the dark-haired girl’s eyes widened, looked up and snapped it shut. A drone flew over, joining the crowd of flies that buzzed between the two.

Lilac glared at the abhorrent technological menace and looked away. Picking up a tangled piece of dirty-white plastic, she dropped it into the box, hearing the thunk it made. The girl stopped as she saw the dark-haired girl crawl towards her. Lilac saw the sadness in the girl’s eyes and gasped at the gentle embrace of her arms. Though the bony rib cage dug into her stomach, tears ran down her face. Lilac gritted her teeth as her chest tightened.

The girl pulled back and flashed a wobbly smile before crawling back up the heap. Lilac blinked, watching as Chickadee smiled and joined the girl. Glancing back at the rotting hand, she closed her eyes.

Death was the only constant here. Death by drone, death by infection or death by humanity. The only way to hold onto sanity, to hold onto hope was by kindness and empathy; something she only experienced here.

Lilac gazed at the grey, smoke-filled sky. It was strange how animals were more compassionate than humans.

…

Lilac watched as the skies rapidly darkened. The cool breeze now became cold, making goosebumps break out along the arms. Turning to the half-filled box, she stood up. It was best she stopped for the day. Chickadee already went back a few hours ago with her back hunched and exhausted.

Lilac grinned wryly. So young, yet so frail.

Her eyes narrowed at the red, blinking lights the drones emitted. Strange, the night was approaching, so why haven’t they dispersed? Why- she shook her head. Go to the processor and clean up. Questions lead to pain.

Walking down the incline, the girl headed towards the building on top of the tallest rubbish heap. Even then, the stained air still obscured the seemingly pristine facility. A long line of people snaked from bottom to top, drenched in shadow. Lilac looked down and joined the queue. Exhaustion clung to her skinny frame. Though her body, she still shuffled forward, running on empty.

Her stomach rumbled. Lilac started, suddenly awake. She squinted at the blinding, white glow of the silver cube in front of her. With trembling, numb arms, she stepped forward. She watched as the cube disintegrated the sorted rubbish and the tray with a beam of light from an edge.

The girl blinked as she watched two pieces of stale bread materialise as well as a few coloured tablets within a small packet – vitamin supplements. She watched as they slipped through her numb, freezing hands with a soft thump.

Picking up the rough bread and the plastic packet, Lilac shuffled from the cube. Turning around, she blinked. It always struck her how dark everything was. After all these years, she still expected some kind of illumination.

Who was she kidding?

Lilac shambled down the slope and headed towards her dwelling within a very familiar heap. Though her mind numbed with fatigue and the bitterly cold wind leeched off whatever heat trapped within thin, ragged clothes, she still remembered how to get back. That was at least something she found herself accustomed to.

Looking back up, Lilac smiled as moonlight gradually got obscured by the rubbish. Climbing with aching legs, she stopped. Dim light streamed from the edges of the curtain, demystifying the shadowy bumps that were the discarded plastic cups, crushed and rusting cans. Looking around, she narrowed her eyes as a drone buzzed by, red lights flashing.

Those damned pests were still here?

Lilac shook her head as her stomach protested once more. Lifting the thick blanket, she entered and frowned. The stale bread laid scattered beside the tray, and the vitamin supplements laid untouched in a pile. She turned her attention to the snoring girl, half-covered in plastic beside the back wall and smiled. Walking to a pile of plastic bags, the girl grabbed a few and threw them on the snoring Chickadee.

The girl sighed and sat down, pulling the stale bread from the tub. Chewing on it, she closed her eyes and then coughed. Turning around, Lilac reached towards a group of plastic bag-covered tins. Tipping the slightly acidic water down her throat, she grimaced at the taste of filth and rust. At least the acidity in the rainwater made it safe to drink. That was perhaps one benefit of the smoke-polluted skies.

Reaching to the packet, Lilac ripped it open, chewing on the hard bitter and artificially flavoured supplements. Taking another sip from the can, she frowned as the brown-reddish water pooled at the dents.

Another can of water finished. Glancing back at the cans, the girl frowned. It would be around two days before she had to refill at the tap.

Turning her attention to the sleeping girl, Lilac crawled over to the light bulb hanging from the side. She disconnected the lightly rusted metal clips before plunging them into sponges embedded in the wall. The room descended into darkness.

Blindly reaching for the pile of plastic bags, she covered herself and closed her eyes.

…

“Our business sank. We can’t afford the rent anymore.”

A young girl of five totted from the dark hallway, peeking into the lounge room. Her father held his head in his hands, kicking away the crumpled paper that surrounded him. Her mother buried her wiped tears off her face with a tissue, creating large, ugly smears.

“What’s wrong?”

The two turned around. Her father gave her a strained smile that crinkled unnaturally across his face. “Sweety, why don’t you go to bed?”

The girl nodded and walked back. As the shadows of the corridors swallowed her up, she vaguely heard murmurs that escalated to shouts.

She sighed.

They’ve been doing that a lot lately

...

Lilac opened her eyes with a start. She looked around, seeing nothing but pure darkness. However, uneasiness stirred in from the pit of her stomach. Getting up, she crawled out of the plastic bags and fumbled for the wires. Yanking them from the wall, the girl slotted the metal plates together, basking the room in bright light.

Scanning the room, a shiver went down her spine as her attention turned towards the sleeping figure of Chickadee. Her eyes landed on a deep jagged gash in which a trickle of blood slowly seeped out. Blinking at the dark pool of blood, she swallowed down her fear.

Why didn’t she notice this before? Why didn’t Chickadee complain of the pain?

Crawling towards the girl, Lilac frowned. She gasped as she saw red-black veins spreading from the wound. It crawled from the heel to the ankles, causing the surroundings to be a deep, angry red.

What kind of infection was this? What kind of infection spreads to that extent without a person complaining? Did the bacteria eat away the nerves first? Wouldn’t that make it much more painful? How did Chickadee get a cut like that in the first place? She didn’t have anything like that yesterday; she knew that much. Which meant that she got it today – somehow. Yet, the speed of the infection was abnormally fast. Normally, even in these conditions, it would take at least a day for an infection to set in.

Breathing out a shaky sigh, Lilac frowned. She looked back at the wound and grimaced. There was no way to clean it, not in this place, not when the infection had spread so deep. The girl clenched her fist. If she was the one cut, she would survive; her parents made sure of that. However, Chickadee was born Trash. She didn’t have the gene alterations that Lilac had.

Chickadee would die with her body being eaten from the inside out – a common demise of the Trash.

Lilac covered her mouth. Chickadee would be like the skeleton buried beneath the rubbish in which her existence would only be known from the bones and rotting flesh poking from the side. She would become another nameless corpse.

Lilac clenched her jaw. What were her options? Her stomach flipped as her mind contemplated the thought of being alone once more. Her hands shook and her heart pounded. What could she do?

The girl glanced back at the abnormally still figure. Her heart leapt in her throat. Her legs wobbled as she clasped the warm, clammy hand of the little girl. Tears trickled slowly down her face. Her chest tightened and her heart ached. Finally, a plea forced its way out.

“Don’t leave me alone.”