6

Earth before Awakening

The night was a very strange time. It could be desired, for the rest it brought, for the family moments that reminded us why it was important to live and get up the next day. The night was also passion, kisses exchanged, antics and shouted pleasures where the only clothes worn are one skin against another skin. But she could have a dark side that drove the bravest of men to flee. She could be the monster under the bed, the inevitable nightmare of the wounded soul. The night is sometimes death waiting. It then becomes a prison.

These thoughts made the wait more bearable for Rayne, when she hadn't moved for almost half an hour, barely breathing, crouched in the shadows and ironically protected by a dumpster behind which she had hidden in extremis. They had been chasing her for over an hour. She had miscalculated her route. She had been certain that team 1 only came once a month, but she had forgotten that their inspections were more regular at the end of the month, after all the best of them received a significant bonus with their salary. Now she had to show patience and finesse, even if the panic began to be felt, she should not make noise in any way.

She periodically saw their garbage truck and motorcycles crossing the street. Hunting was for them a ritual accompanied by music.

When she was little, her father made her listen to pieces by Bach or Mozart. She had enjoyed those moments between father and daughter. They used to find themselves sitting on the stairs at the entrance of their building before dinner. He passed her an earphone so that she could enjoy her favorite music. But those cherished memories had become tools of terror.

Her pulse quickened when she saw a group of two enter the alley that served as her refuge. The white of their uniform shone in the dark. Ghosts seemed to approach her.

Their faces were concealed by a mask. Some thought their souls disappeared when they wore it, others imagined inhuman faces disfigured by their acts of cruelty. It was nothing.

It was just not well regarded to be on the night shift, so the masks ensured anonymity.

If they were unmasked, businesses tended to close the door in their face, their families to disinherit them. Rayne had even heard of public lynching.

Their white outfits never stayed clean for long, and the one she was looking at was already smeared with blood.

As they approached, his grip tightened on his knife. They were now in front of the dumpster which served as his hiding place. He didn't have much time left.

Why hadn't she listened to her brother for once? But he had warned her. She was not a smuggler. What was she playing?

"We finish with this street and we change neighborhood man. We are bored here." said one of the crew, making his companion laugh.

"Stop with your excuses, you just want to finish early to go to Allie's... What is your landlord's daughter's name already?"

"It's Lily, dumbass.

"Oh yes Lily. You still haven't told her father that you're banging her daughter?"

"He knows that I work at night, this idiot, I need to keep the apartment. And I'm not going to marry this girl. But she has a beautiful little…"

An alarm on their communication bracelet caught their attention.

"Guys! Let's get out, team 3 has caught a group of teenagers who wanted to hide. They invite us to the party. I bet the girls won't be too ugly, maybe we can have fun with them they quickly before putting them in the dumpster and going home."

Rayne heard the voice and held back a sigh of relief. She felt pity for those teenagers and their parents who would find their room empty the next day and not be able to retrieve their child's body. Many rumors circulated about the night shift. According to some, they followed a code, if you struggled they tortured you then threw you into their grinder, still alive, but if you looked upon death with honor it was quick and painless. So much so that the most desperate went to them if they wanted to end their lives. She really didn't want to know if these rumors were true.

As the footsteps receded, Rayne felt her heart return to normal. When their convoy had disappeared, she finally dared to get up.

She resumed her journey without further delay, taking care this time to stay in the dark alleys, so as not to be spotted by the few drones patrolling the neighborhood.

She stopped a few minutes later near a manhole. She lifted it slowly before putting her feet on the ladder, then closed it and began her descent. The silence was heavy, as she made sure not to miss any steps. The smell burned his nostrils and his dive into the depths of the city was groping in the dark. Since the food riots, much of the sewers had been sealed off by the wealthy neighborhood. They did not want any infiltration into their walls. Sealed was a big word when they had either flooded the tunnels or filled them with gas. Today, only a few portions remained passable. She walked for twenty minutes and then stopped in front of a barricaded path. Four blows if she was alone, two blows if she had been followed. She hit four.

A few seconds later, the barricade lifted. A young man peered at her. He wore a black coat and his movements suggested a gun and a row of knives beneath it. At the end of the corridor, two similarly equipped men were guarding an armored door. Their hands were hidden under their jackets and they were just waiting for a signal to draw their weapons. "You're late. And you know he hates being late" the young man reminded.

"I know, but I had to lose a team. It's the end of the month and these idiots wanted to inflate their pay."

Immediately, alerted by these words, the young man blocked his way and his hand was already approaching one of his blades.

No, I didn't bring them back here, breathe, they found other prey to hunt, she said impatiently.

" Kids, fucking kids. she growled.

The young man's face tensed for a few seconds when he understood what she had just said. He stepped aside to finally let her pass without another word.

She walked over and nodded to the two guards before opening the door.

Rayne met Sam's gaze then, the young woman seemed exhausted and angry. The tray she carried in her hand, filled with dirty glasses, told her right away that she was going to have a lot of work. The room was packed and the music barely concealed the noise of the crowd that had gathered in the only clandestine bar in town.

She had worked there for three months already, but she was still amazed at how many people were willing to risk their lives for a drink of poor quality alcohol. The bar was certainly the strongest form of resistance to the system. Secrecy was the first rule and the decor of the room reflected this desire. The walls were painted black, the round tables and sofas were screened off by curtains. Only a few lamps placed here and there made it possible to see the faces of the customers. This nocturnal population sought anonymity above all and wore glasses, masks, hoods, so that if you did not work in the bar you could almost never know who you were dealing with. Office workers rubbed shoulders with smugglers and dealers in the neighborhood. The servers paid little attention to the illicit exchanges that were taking place before their eyes.

Rayne hurried to take her first order of the night. Godric, the owner did not like delays. He had hesitated to recruit her when he learned his job as a garbage collector, but when she had spoken to him about his brother, he had changed his mind: " One week, and if you mess up, I'll make sure you forget that this place exists," he warned her.

She had been working in the bar for several months now. The regulars had initially looked at her suspiciously, she had been insulted the first time she had tried to serve a customer, but Godric had quickly intervened. As he had said many times since he hired her, "His bar, his law". Disappearing in Godric's bar was a fairly common thing.

"What would you like ?" she asked the group of men slumped on a couch. The drug they had ingested already seemed to have its effect, since only one of them stood up to speak to him.

"If you knew what I wanted my beautiful, you would already be on your knees in front of me!" said the latter before placing a sticky hand on Rayne's hip

Laughter followed this statement.

"I see you don't know the house rules," the young woman replied, trying to move the wandering hand away.

“The only thing I know, sweetie, is that I have money, and I want to spend it. Maybe I've had enough for you too, if you're nice to me" the man continued in a sweet voice, this time bringing his other hand to Rayne's face.

"The lady has spoken!"

At these words, the conversation stopped abruptly.

The man dropped his hands in a hurry as if his fingers had just been burned. His face visibly paled as his companions looked away.

"Godric, I…I didn't do anything…it's just a misunderstanding," he stammered, as the barrel of a gun caressed his forehead.

Godric was an elderly man and wrinkles dotted his face, but the hand that held the rifle did not shake. There was an ease in this gesture that seemed to have been repeated hundreds of times. Despite the darkness, he wore dark glasses that hid the expression on his face. But you could see his jaw tighten with each sentence.

“I don’t like having to repeat the rules. You know how it works. Don't come to my bar to mess things up, and leave my girls alone.

You just disrespected one of them, you disrespected me. Now you have a choice to make. I can shoot you in the face and let your friends clean up the remains of your little brains that will dirty my sofa, or you kneel in front of the lady and ask her to forgive you for being a perverted little prick, your choice. …, you have 3 seconds.

1… 2…"

The man rose without hesitation and knelt at Rayne's feet. Tears ran down his cheeks, he stammered:

"Excuse me ma'am, I... I'm just a perverted little prick, forgive me." Rayne nodded in response. She hated that kind of attention, but Godric was leading the charge in this bar.

"Well, you see it wasn't that complicated," Godric said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Good, now that it's settled she will take your order, don't forget to give her a good tip" he concludes, a big smile on his lips. This sentence seemed to revive the room and the conversations resumed as if nothing had happened.

Usually Rayne would continue her shift until dawn and come home to get ready to go to work, but that night she had to see Ivan. It had been several weeks since she had started talking to him and tonight she was hoping that he would propose something to her.

At the end of her service, she approached the last table at the back of the room. Ivan was always talking business while playing poker.

“Dorian… Dorian… do you really think you're going to be able to bluff me… me? Ivan was addressing the man sitting across from him.

“Ivan…” Rayne whispered, trying to get his attention.

The man with an afro wore a comb in his hair which was certainly to allow him to control his thick hair. His eyes were fixed on the cards in his hand.

Ivan casually watched his game. He used to hum when he played, which seemed to unsettle his opponents. His attitude almost made you forget the exorbitant sums exchanged during these games. Ivan was after all the richest man on this side of the fence.

"I know... you want a job, and I told you I'll find you one, sweetie. But you see that idiot… he said pointing to another player,

every day, every day that God makes, he comes to this bar…” he continued with an exasperated look,

"Do you see the watch on the table?"

A pocket watch was actually placed on the table in place of the chips. Ivan never brought any money. The sums were directly transferred between the accounts of the players by a simple contact with their communication bracelets. She wished she had one, but they were way too expensive. She was therefore very surprised to see the object placed in the center of the table among the chips.

The watch looked old and in places the gilding had faded.

"Every day, he asks me to put it in play. I won it, and for a year, he wants to get it back. Why do Dorian again?" he asked amusedly,

"It's my grandfather's watch," replied the man, looking at the object wistfully.

"Yes, that's it, grandpa's watch! Unfortunately... it won't be for today" says Ivan showing his cards.

A cry of frustration rose from the table. Dorian punched her with his fists before heading for the bar.

"See you tomorrow Dorian!" Ivan shouted with a smile before turning to Rayne.

“Tomorrow at 2 a.m., Yann will give you a package. You won't have more than 30 minutes. If you make it through your delivery without getting arrested, I'll give you enough money to get your pass. But first, I want my money. If you don't, the deal falls through, he informed her before turning to the other players.

A new game?"

Rayne quickly completed her shift before returning home. When she left the sewers, the first rays of the sun were beginning to appear. She could walk to her accommodation without hiding, the night garbage collectors had given way to the day service.

When she arrived at her apartment, she saw a few meters away, workers starting their demolition work on another building. The cranes were getting closer and closer to his home. They only had a few weeks left at most and they would have to move.

Rayne quietly entered the studio. Ryan always took a long time to fall asleep if she wasn't there and she didn't want to wake him up. His labored breathing gave him a twinge in his heart. He was still thinner and rarely had the strength to get out of bed. She tried not to look away from the hollow in her stomach. Sometimes she heard him moan in his sleep, he would call their dead mother when the pain became unbearable. Rayne hated to read the pain on her face. Still, knowing that he was breathing brought him some comfort. It was one more chance to be able to save him.

The more Ryan's condition worsened, the more she caught Karl's worried gaze in the warehouse.

"What did the doctor tell you on his last visit?" he asked her as she tried to stay focused on her task.

"The drugs don't slow the disease down anymore. He gave him pain relief, but that's all he can do. Without treatment… he'll be dead in a month," she said, her voice empty of emotion. . She no longer had the right to fail. The doctor had assured him that with a pass, a hospital could easily take care of him and that the treatment was not very expensive. Crossing the barrier would cost him more.

The more she thought about this injustice, the more she felt anger towards these privileged people. She pulled herself together, remembering that she would have the opportunity to win a pass tonight. But for that, she would have to overcome one last obstacle.

It was 2 a.m. when she found Yann in a deserted alley. Ivan knew the routes of the garbage collectors and his smugglers almost never got caught.

The girl didn't look older than Ryan, but her eyes showed that their lives hadn't been the same. She hadn't bothered to hide the rifle she was carrying slung over her shoulder and which seemed to crush her because of its small size.

“You have 5 minutes to get to the fifth eastern portion of the barrier, at 2:08 a.m. this portion will be deactivated for approximately 30 seconds by one of the technicians. The breach will open again at 2:30 a.m. sharp.

She then handed Rayne a small box. When Rayne lifted the lid, she saw a patch.

This patch is your passport. You must place it on your palate. It will allow you to sneak into Etlas without alerting the drones. When they scan you, you will be assigned a fake profile.

You can only fool the drones once. Once used, the patch will melt like sugar.

You will also find in the box, the address and the package.

One last thing…

If for some reason you are on the wrong side of the barrier when the timer expires, you will be on your own.

Good luck light rain. »

Rayne wasted no time and started running at full speed towards the barrier. The streets were deserted, she heard only the sound of his breathing, but his thoughts echoed heavily. She had to hurry, she couldn't lose this chance, Ryan was counting on her. Fortunately, she was only a hundred meters from the barrier. Now she had to find the flaw. The barrier spanned at least ten stories, but there was no wall, only a few lined pylons marked the boundary between paradise and a more humble life. The two worlds were separated by a constant electric field. The power of it was such that the unfortunates who tried to cross ended up charred. Guards were nested on top of the pylons and watched the surroundings. All were equipped with thermal vision lenses.

The slightest suspicious movement made you spotted and that's where the mobile brigade on the other side came in. She could chase you all over town, just to make an example of you.

But the system could be circumvented. It was enough to have money and contacts. The garbage collectors were better paid than the guards who, despite their work, were not allowed to reside in Etlas. They were to return to Bresse directly at the end of their service.

Being protected by people you didn't respect and pay enough for was a bad combination and many guards could be corrupted. However, the presence of drones made any passage through the barrier temporary. The members of the enclave were, from birth, fitted with an implant that allowed drones to verify their identity.

The patch that Yann had given her was going to create a false profile for her, but this identity could not be validated if she was scanned a second time and the barrier would be automatically reinforced by a mobile and terrestrial brigade.

Rayne spotted the disabled portion easily. A piece of painted glass had been left exactly between two pylons. It was the smugglers' favorite signal. No one would pay attention to a piece of broken glass.

Now she just had to hope that the technician had been able to deactivate the portion as planned and that the two guards watching her were in league with the smugglers.

She placed the patch in her mouth, looked at the time and tried everything, rushed. She didn't stop running until she reached downtown.

The rupture between the two parts of the city was then flagrant. Gone are the dilapidated buildings, the nauseating smell of smoke released by crematoriums, gone are the dull faces and sagging bodies. In addition, the rules were not the same in the beautiful neighborhoods. Nightlife was allowed. Cafes, bars and nightclubs were open and the streets were saturated. It was not the first time she had crossed the barrier, she was only five years old at the time, and it had not yet been erected. Her parents had taken her to a festival, she still remembered the play of light. Ryan had known nothing other than the barrier since a few months after this festival human beings had realized that food was beginning to run out and the privileged populations, fearing looting, had decided to install a permanent barrier, thus separating Bresse from Etlas.

Rayne couldn't help but stare longingly at the laughing little boy who held his father's hand and a cone full of candy in the other. Overlaid on this image was the emaciated face of his little brother. He was his priority.

The sound of mechanical wings interrupted his thoughts.

A drone was approaching her. The size of a hand, the mechanical grasshopper surveyed its surroundings with the hundreds of cameras that formed its eyeballs. Only a few seconds were needed to scan passers-by who were not paying attention to him.

The young girl pretended not to see him so as not to attract the cameras on her. Despite her efforts, the drone flew towards her.

Rayne tensed as paws landed on his shoulder to scan the implant that should have been behind his ear.

She felt an intense heat signaling the beginning of the decryption.

It was the moment of truth. If the patch didn't work properly, a swarm of drones would appear and follow her until Etlas law enforcement apprehended or executed her. Prisoners tended to disappear quickly after arrest.

When the grasshopper stopped her identification and left her shoulder, Rayne closed her eyes in relief.

But when she opened them again, her blood froze. Where initially there was only one grasshopper, there were now a dozen drones rapidly approaching.

She had only two choices: start running and be chased beyond the barrier or surrender and leave Ryan alone.

Only one choice then...

Rayne took a step back, then another. The grasshoppers were inches from her when they brushed past her and then swept through the crowd.

A young man who couldn't be older than her was surrounded.

"Pass 1132, you are in violation. Please follow the surveillance officers."

She saw him hesitate, then he resignedly followed the drones.

Rayne watched the scene for a moment, relieved, before continuing on her way.

She stopped at the first interactive panel she came across and typed in the address Yann had given her.

"I found you," he whispered.

She weaved through the crowd and headed for the 3-5 story buildings north of downtown. The public there was younger, it was certainly the trendy part of town.

She stopped in front of the building's red door and pressed the bell to activate the screen on the door.

He only had about fifteen minutes left; she had to hurry before another drone detected her.

An Asian man was looking at her. From where she stood, she saw red eyes that indicated drug use. He was a man who could be considered attractive, but the expression on his face cut through any form of beauty with a sharp blow. He glared at her, as if to mark his superiority.

"What do you want, I'm busy." he said distractedly.

The occupation soon became known when a naked woman crossed the room behind him.

"It's for the delivery of the marijuana," she replied, showing him the package.

The drug had become increasingly rare and was appreciated by the wealthy, but completely prohibited for consumption and sale. Consumers and dealers were jailed for 30 years with no chance of being released on parole. Yet because of the illegality and scarcity of the product, prices had exploded. After all, with the advancement of medicine, all they needed was an injection to be completely free of addiction.

"What delivery?" You are ten minutes late! he retorted without even looking at his bracelet.

I will not take this package, he continued as the young woman she had seen in the room had come closer and was devouring his neck.

Next time, be on time!" he exclaimed before abruptly cutting off the communication.

"No! No! open! I need this money! Please!" she cried, pounding on the door

But it didn't open, and the moans from inside confirmed to her that the man would not reconsider his decision.

She couldn't stay here where she would be stuck on this side of the fence until the drones noticed her and sounded the alarm.

The rest of the way to the barrier was a blur, the streets all looked the same, and she didn't know how she had managed to reach the right part of the wall in time. But she was again in Bresse.

What was she going to do now?