Freeing Mareign

Chapter 1
         The dawn started to creep through raggedy curtains, streaming in rays of sunshine. The warmth of the air, stale and dirty, in the tiny room would make almost anyone feel claustrophobic. With this as my space, I couldn’t be more grateful for anything else. The paltry room with it's bare walls, and one makeshift table shoved into the corner don't seem like much. To me, it's everything. Pulling back the curtains of the window illuminated the room with the beams of early dawn. The dirt floors, compacted over the years, felt smooth under my bare feet.
         “Ellie!” a high pitched voice bellowed.
         “Coming!” I called back to my little sister, Kelsey. She was always up early in the mornings. Granted we get up when the sun rises and sleep when the sun goes down, Kelsey always had so much energy in the mornings. Sometimes I wanted to ask her if she had come across the coveted coffee beans that only the people of Galia are permitted to have. We live in the faction called Mareign, one of the many lower classes that surround Galia. Galia is the heart of our community. Galia is for the rich and the privileged.
         The older people of Galia also had to survive the attacks of the old world, just like the elders of our faction, but somehow they made out of the devastation on top. They brought the new world goods that should have disappeared when the old world was demolished over twenty five years ago. 
         Kelsey peeked into my open doorway making sure that I was actually up and ready for the day. Kelsey is only six years old. She was born in the warmer months, shortly after the dogwoods bloomed that year. Kelsey sports uneven short hair that just barely reaches her chin. The muddy brown hair compliments the freckles that scatter over her cheeks and nose. The darkness of her skin and light brown hair make her green eyes pop and glimmer. Such an adorable girl to live in such a wretched world.
         We don't live in the most horrible of standards by any means. Then again this is only in comparison to the mundane's and raiders that live outside our community walls. My mother use to tell me stories of the people outside the safety of our society. Out of every twenty people, you were lucky to find one person that wouldn't murder, rape, and steal from you... and in that order.
         "Don't be late again, it'll be hard to find another job this time of year!" she giggled as she scooted away from my door. The concerns and worries that she has as a six year old, is concerning in itself.
         For the safety the community offers, comes a hefty price. We live for the higher classes. Our jobs are government assigned based on the skills the officials believe we may possess. My father used to pick tobacco in the fields, while I work as a housekeeper to those in Laurence. Laurence is considered middle class. Their jobs are less tedious and gruesome. They deliver items and run the simpler errands for the people of Galia.
         Galia's only work consists of trading with the government. They have the most fertile land and produce the healthiest vegetables and fruit. The lower class gardens for them, of course. The people of Galia obtained power and wealth by stowing away possessions left over from the old world. Things such as cigarettes, gasoline, silver, and other delicacies are just a few things that they have hoarded away.
         Our living wasn't bad up until two years ago. Kelsey has a hard time remembering our losses. She never got to meet mother, having passed away giving birth to her. Although she does remember Henry, my junior and her senior. Mother's death was a tough loss for me and Pa, but we were both pushed through by providing for our family. Pa worked extra hard in the fields, while I took care of Kelsey, and Henry. Henry was only eight when we lost mother. Even at eleven, I knew I had to stay strong for the three of them being the eldest to care for my younger siblings. Pa wasn't around much trying to earn our meal shares.
         We were making ends meet, until the fields started to shrivel up from a summer drought. Work was scarce for Pa so we were nibbling on stale bread and sipping murky water for weeks. Henry was twelve winters old when the drought occurred. Pa and I had started cutting back on our minute rations so that Henry and Kelsey could have an extra piece of bread a day. We were only given six pieces of bread a day, and a large bowl of water from the government. Since work had grown scarce, they saw no need to pay us our normal rations.
         Since I was fifteen winters old I was able to join the work force. The officials decided that I should become a housekeeper. When they made this decision, Pa was outraged, since most women who were hired on as housekeepers were either physically or sexually abused while outside their faction. At the time, I was able to take the beatings with little care and avoided being sexually assaulted. The beatings were gruesome but I had to help Pa provide for the family. Since Henry was only twelve winters old, he was not hirable, and it probably didn't help that he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet and looked to be only seven or eight. That left me mostly working, and Pa sulking around home waiting on work to pick back up again.
         One day, our world was shattered when there was a commotion in the streets of Mareign. The officers had caught someone sneaking out past the fences searching for game. Only men with clearance from the council were permitted to leave the community's walls, and no one was permitted to hunt. This was because if the lower factions could provide for themselves, they would not need the government to sustain life. The government has most convinced that if they sneak out of the community that they are endangering our society by weakening our fences, so this is the excuse they have for not permitting us to leave. In all realty, I believe it is because the people of Galia depend on our services to much.
         That day, when the commotion started, Pa and I left Kelsey in our shabby home telling her to stay put. When Pa and I wandered into the streets, we could not comprehend what was actually happening. When people saw us, they started parting in the crowd so that we could move forward. The looks on their faces were of pure horror. Once we reached the front of the crowd, we found Henry on his knees being held down by an officer who had a hold of him by his hair. The officer was not one that we had seen before in our faction. The badges on his right arm showed that he was not a normal officer, but one of high standing.
         Pa froze in horror, and then dropped to his knees as well, with tears streaming down his face. He let out a wail that had the people surrounding us backing away slowly. I was frozen in place, to shocked to understand that they had Henry pinned to the ground. Seeing Pa fall to his knees broke my attention, and I darted forward towards Henry. At the same time, an officer stepped in front of me and shoved the butt of rifle into my stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs. I immediately caved and fell into the fetal position in the dirt. I heard muffled voices, and caught my breath in enough time to look up and see the new officer, the sergeant, standing three feet away from my brother. Henry and I locked eyes, as the world seemed to freeze in time. One tear slowly fell from his face, at the same time as a loud cracking boom sounded through the town. My brother slumped forward, and the remaining officers backed away.
         They had shot my brother in the back of the head as an example of those leaving the community. If you leave the community, you are not permitted back in. My brother's death left Pa, Kelsey, and I as the survivors of our family. Since then, two winters have passed and I still cringe every time I pass the corner where my brother was executed. He was only twelve years old, and had decided to sneak out of the community in hopes of finding game for our family. He had seen other boys older than him hunting at night, and decided to try to help provide for us. He made a grave mistake of returning once dawn started to illuminate the grounds. The officers on fence duty could see him crawling through the makeshift hole that the older boys had created. Pa and I learned this information when the sergeant threw the empty knapsack and wooden bow at our feet the following day. Henry had always talked about trying to hunt or fish for food, and every time Pa and I told him no. That day he didn't ask.
         I snapped back into reality when Kelsey walked quietly into my room.
         "Ellie?" Kelsey whispered behind me.
         "Yes, sweetie?" I replied looking at the scary resemblance to my mother in her face.
         "Can I stay with you for awhile? Pa is having nightmares again." she quietly said looking down at her bare feet covered in dirt.
         "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I think it's about time you permanently move back in with me again. You’re getting to old to be staying in Pa's room." I told her carefully. The last time I tried to  get her to share my room with me so Pa could have his privacy, she nearly broke down. Pa and Henry used to share a room together, and Kelsey and I shared the room we are standing in now. After Henry's death, Kelsey moved into Pa and Henry's room so she could be closer to his things and could still smell faint traces of him.
         I enjoyed having my own room, but I missed Kelsey. After Henry's death, she became very close with Pa and we stopped playing together in my off time. Henry was the link between Kelsey and I. He was old enough to understand responsibility, yet still young enough to make believe and play games.
         "I think that's a good idea too. Pa doesn't seem to enjoy my company much lately, and he's not home as often as you are," she granted my request without any protest. This surprised me. It was just another little sign of Kelsey having to grow up to fast. Only six years old, and she was already staying home buy herself and cleaning out our two roomed home while Pa and I worked for our food.
         Kelsey walked out of the room, and dragged Henry's bed pallet into the room. When she was younger we used to share the same sleeping pallet, and once Henry passed she took over his. She pulled it into the opposite corner of mine. This added a little bit of dimension to our room, now with two bed pallets and one rickety table in the other corner. As Kelsey placed her bed in the corner, I looked out the window. It was nearing seven in the morning based off of where the sun was located in the sky. Pa taught each of us how to tell around what time of day it was starting at the age of three.
         Our home is not large. We have two sleeping rooms and one main room that serves as our place to eat and spend time together. I swiftly walked into the main room grabbing the empty pale by the front door and heading out to the community well that we share with three other families. I'm cleaning the Madison's home today in Laurence, and they have a weaved rug made of straw going throughout the house. Mrs. Madison weaved the rug herself, and scolds anyone who brings in dirt or mud onto it since it’s such a hassle to keep clean.
         I placed two heavy rocks into the bottom of the pale, and tied it to the end of the rope attached to the well, and began to lower it. Once I heard the splashing of the pale hitting the water I let it submerge into the water to fill it. Mother taught me the trick of putting weight in the pale before trying to fill it, or else I'd hassle with it trying to get it to submerge fully into the water. I pulled the pale back up from the well and steadied it on the side of the well while untying the knot.
         I carried the pale back into our home and placed it next to the door. The water from the well is stagnant, and not safe to drink. When rations have become to low, we have had to drink from it. I have fallen sick from drinking the water many times, but we need water to survive. I walked back into my room, and found Kelsey sitting on her bed pallet playing with a doll mother gave to me when I was younger. I gave it to Kelsey when Henry passed away. The doll is made of some sort of cloth, and has bright red yarn as hair. The doll is dressed in a dark blue dress. Mother used to call her Anne.
         "I probably won't be home until sun down since I'm working at Madison's. Will you be okay until Pa get's home?" I asked Kelsey.
         "Yeah, me and Anne might play outside for a little bit before we start on our chores," she replied to me.
         "That's fine; just make sure everything is done before Pa comes home."
         I changed out of the dirty pair of shorts and t-shirt that I had slept in. Other than the outfit that I wear to do my housekeeping, those are the only clothes that still fit me. I haven't received any new clothes from the government in almost three years. The shorts are dangerously short, and the shirt is way to tight. Pa lets me borrow clothes from him when I go out into the faction for anything other than work. I carried my sandals outside with me grabbing the pale of water. Since only Galia has running water, we have to wash up with the water from the well.
         I gingerly pored the water over my blistered feet. The only shoes that Pa could afford at our market were a pair of cheap jelly sandals that kill to walk in, but they stay relatively clean which is what I need when cleaning the Madison's home. The dirt poured away from my toes and I dried them in the grass surrounding our home. I slipped the sandals on, and placed the now half full pale back inside the doorway to our home. Kelsey would need it when rinsing out three plates and eating tools.
         I absolutely dread cleaning the Madison's home. Mr. Madison is rarely home, but when he is, he is usually in a foul mood and takes his anger out on any of the service people, me included. Mrs. Madison usually stays in her and Mr. Madison's room and doesn't bother speaking with me unless her precious rug is dirty. Their son Peter, constantly stares at me while I work. In the beginning it creeped me out, but so far no harm has come from him. I have been cleaning the Madison's home since before this last winter.
         I continued away from my home, the only place I consider to be relatively safe in this gloomy place, and headed towards the border of Mareign. Our faction is fairly small, and it only takes a short time to walk from one place or another. Walking to where Mareign is connected to Laurence usually only takes about five minutes.
         I end up being the fifth person in line waiting to cross the Mareign/Laurence border. The government, which is ruled by seven older men called the council, do not allow any goods to be transported between factions unless approved by them. The council wants to prevent any trading done between factions, so because of this each person is extensively searched before being permitted to pass through. Each person must also be permitted, either by a working pass or in a written notice from the council, to move across the factions. My working pass only allows me to travel into Laurence six days consecutively, with one day of no travel allowed. Pa once explained to me that this meant I work six days a week, with one day off to recoup. I just see it as one day where I am not allowed to work for meal rations.
         After each working shift, whether it be in the fields as a tobacco or cotton picker, making clothes in the factory, gardening, cleaning homes of the classes above you, or delivering items between factions your supervisor must sign off on a workers log that is attached to the workers pass that you use to move between factions. At the end of each day, you show the local food bank in your faction your workers log, and if the supervisor signed off that you worked for the day, you were given meal rations based on what working class you are. Mrs. Madison is considered my supervisor, and as long as I do a good enough job cleaning their home she'll sign off on my workers log.
         I made my way to the front of the line slowly but surely. Being searched almost daily by the officials still did not ease my nerves as I approached them. The officers were handsy and their fingers lingered on my body in places where they shouldn't have frequently. This is an often occurrence, and saying anything to them about it would end in a busted lip when no one was watching, or at least was pretending not to. It’s hard to stand up to men who were holding guns at almost all times. The officers are labeled differently when it comes to classes. Officers are in between middle and high class. In a limbo in between the two, not wealthy enough to be considered a Galia citizen, and not poor enough to be kept out of Galia. Officers are their own breed. They do what the council considers to be a dangerous job. They watch over the fences in patrols for raiders and criminals, they protect the citizens of Galia, and they put any one in Laurence and Mareign in their place when we step out of line. In return for their diligent work, the officers have their pick of women and homes in whichever faction they choose. If they choose to live in Galia, their homes are still based on their working class, and they do not live as luxuriously as Galia citizens, but they have the added safety of being in the heart of our community.
         I hope they hurry, Mrs. Madison will be upset if I am late again. The officers surrounding me cleared me to cross into Laurence. I walked forward to the gate leaving behind the line of Moreign’s citizens trying to gain access to Laurence. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the sergeant who executed my brother smirking at me. He was standing against the chain link fence separating Mareign and Laurence. The day that he killed Henry was his first day as a sergeant, and he has been stationed in Mareign ever since. Sergeant’s live in Galia, and are extremely wealthy people. They handle most punishments over whichever faction they have been assigned.
         I still haven’t learned the sergeant’s name even though he has been working in Mareign for the last two years. I have chosen not to learn his name; I don’t need to have a name to go with the face haunting me about my brother’s death. Since that day it has been relatively easy to avoid him. He’s generally a quiet man unless his rage strikes. His face rarely shows emotion, and when it does it is in pure hatred and I’ve seen him lash out at whoever is closest to him. I’ve seen him knock down his own officers, as well as a few unlucky citizens who stood to close to him.
         I crossed through the chain link door way without incident. I continued further into Laurence as the ground turned from splotches of dirt and grass to broken up asphalt and cement. Laurence is a bit cleaner, and only a bit bigger. With Galia in the center of our community, Laurence is situated between Mareign and Galia. The Madison’s home was closer to Galia than to Mareign, so the walk takes about fifteen minutes. Walking through the alleys and roadways of Laurence really show the differences in between it and Mareign. I’ve never stepped foot in Galia, and it will more than likely never happen unless I get hired in to work there. Laurence is a beautiful place compared to Mareign.
         After roughly fifteen minutes I stepped in front of the Madison’s home. I marched up to the front door and knocked on the splintered wood three times and waited. Peter cracked the door open looking at me sheepishly. Something was wrong. He looked at me with fear, and I slowly took a step back. His eyes were telling me to run, but from what I couldn’t tell. The door swung open as Peter was shoved to the side. His mother stared at me with a look of rage. I had never seen her so angry, and it seemed that the hatred was directed straight at me.
         Peter grabbed for his mother’s arm, shedding light on his face when he stepped from the shadows. He had a cut across his eyebrow dripping blood down the right side of his face. A bruise was starting to form around the cut.
         “No mother!” he yelled trying to restrain her as she lunged for me. I stumbled backwards and landed on my back tripping over my feet.
         “Go! Go!” he yelled at me. I immediately found my feet and hauled tail back towards the gates. I could see the entrance to Mareign in site, and I had been running for about five or so minutes. I hadn't even realized how far I had run. I slowed to a walk as I neared the gate, no reason to attract attention to myself. As I neared the gates, there was no line waiting to enter Mareign. There’s only a line at the end of the work day. The officials looked at me crossly and with suspicion. An officer met me about ten feet away from the gate, and requested for my workers pass. I showed him the pass, as he eyed me and my schedule.
         “Wait here,” he said with a gruff voice. My palms started to sweat and I felt like my legs were shaking. When I looked myself over, my legs were as stiff as a bored. The officer took my working pass and showed it to the sergeant who worked on Laurence’s side. The sergeant looked the pass over, and glanced over at me. He signaled to two other officers, and they all started towards me. I tried to take a step back from them, but someone wrapped their arms around my waist from behind me. As I struggled to free myself, the sergeant slapped me across the face forcing me to my knees.
         "Your gonna have to come with us little miss," he whispered to me as he bent over to meet me eye to eye. Two of the officers force me to my feet, and flanked themselves at both of my sides. Each had a firm grip on my arms and drug me towards the small office attached to the entrance into Mareign. I looked through the fence towards Mareign, and could see my little sister frozen in terror. She immediately turned around and ran away.
         Why is this happening to me? I thought to myself. They locked me in the small bare office that had only one chair and a table. I sat there for what seemed to be hours. I could see the sun had moved across the horizon through the one small window in the room. After waiting and waiting, the sergeant of Laurence waltzed back in and stopped directly in front of me.
         "You have been charged with theft, and will now receive the standard punishment in front of your citizens," he barked at me. The sergeant of Laurence was a mean man, and I had a couple of run in's with him since he was assigned to Laurence after this last winter. The most brutal punishment I had ever received from him was being hit in the face with a wooden paddle, being forced to stand back up, and have three more tally's. Tally's were the counts of punishment a person would received when they were caught doing something wrong.
         My jaw dropped as he walked around the table and gripped my arm, forcing me out of the chair. I stumbled after him, trying to get my footing. I haven't stolen anything! I felt nausious and light-headed as the room started to spin. I was being dragged out of the office back into the daylight. He shoved me through the fenced gate into Moreign, where the sergeant of Mareign was standing their waiting for me. I fell to the ground at his feet, and looked up into his face. He had the cold stare that he has when he is about to unleash his anger on someone. I whimpered and cringed away from him when he took a step forward.
         "Get up!" he growled at me. I struggled to my feet and tried to back away from him, but I bumped into two officers who were standing directly behind me. One of them pushed me forward, almost slamming me into the sergeant.
         "Follow me," he ordered.
         I followed him as he led the three of us through Mareign to the center of our tiny faction. He was leading me to where Mareign usually has social gatherings. This place also serves as the public punishing center. He walked up onto the miny stage that had been built ages ago. I stopped at the three stairs that lead up to the stage. I knew if I followed him, that there was no way out of the punishment from my accused stealing.
         "I- I- I'm in-in-innocent," I stuttered through my hiccups. I hadn't even realized that I started crying up until now.
         "You know how this works... guilty until proven innocent," he simply stated. His glared showed no kindness and no sypmathy. Then again, I never expected any from the man who killed my brother in cold blood.
         It felt like all of the blood in my body and rushed to my feet, and I was unable to move, frozen in place.
         "Move!" one of the officers behind me bellowed. The stench of his breath on the back of my kneck, made my skin crawl. I didn't move fast enough for the officer, so he tried to shove me up the stairs. Instead I fell, and banged both of my shins on the stairs. I didn't move my hands up fast enough to break my fall, and ended up face first onto the stage. The other officer grabbed me by the back of my shirt, jerking me upright again and pushed me further up onto the stage.
         "Quick struggling, you'll only make it worse," the officer who grabbed me by the back of the shirt whispered as he continued to move me forward. The compassion in his dark eyes were of no help to me. He was much younger than the sergeant and most of the officers. Cute even, with his black short hair, but still an officer. He hadn't been an officer long enough for their cruel ways to harden him. I had heard his name was Damon, and I had never seen him rough house anybody before. He offered me a weak smile before stepping back into his place next to the other officer.
         I swiveled around to face Sergeant Mareign. That is what I had heard other people in our faction calling him. The middle and lower class factions were considered to be beneath the sergeants who worked over them, so most sergeants were called by that faction's name. He was no longer facing me, but looking out at the small croud of people that had started to gather. The commotion of dragging me through the faction must have grabbed their attention. Not to many people were there, since those who could work were already away for the day.
         "On your knees," Sergeant Mareign demanded. I did as he said, and lowered myself to my knees facing the croud. Sergeant Mareign walked over to stand behind me.
         "It seems, we have yet another criminal living in this faction. We are gathered here today to witness the punishment that Ms. Eleanor Thompson shall receive for the crime she has committed. She has been reported as a theif, stealing from a home in Laurence. As you all know, the punishment for plundering is ten tally's with a switch," he announced to the crowd.
         From my position on my knees, I was eye level with the people in the front of the crowd. There were around thirty people gathered in all. They were mostly children who were to young to work, and the elders who had become to frail to work. Luckily, there was no one of my age in the crowd, all out working for the day. Off to the side of the crowd, I could see Kelsey running up to the crowd with Pa not to far behind. She must have had someone fetch him from the feilds. I was hoping that they wouldn't show, not having to witness the atrocity of my punishment.
         I could sense one of the officers walking across the ten by ten stage behind me. He stopped next to Sergeant Mareign, more than likely handing him a switch to whip me with. The switch that is used for punishments is around four feet long, around an inch thick at the base. From the base it dwindled down in thinness. The officer walked off the stage to the left, the opposite of which we can upon it.
         I braced myself as I heard Sergeant Mareign repositioning himself a little more to the left of me. He must be right handed, moving so that he'd be able to get a lashing in. It's funny how I start to notice these little details when I'm about to be physically harmed. I guess this is my coping method, since I have now ay to avoid it.
         The first hit seared across the skin of my back, tightening the air that I held in my lungs. The pain, so immense that my eyes immediately teared up again. One. That leaves nine more to go. Sergeant Mareign paused briefly to let the pain set in, and then continued. By the third strike across my skin, I could feel the numbness starting to settle in. My back was tingly and I could feel my shirt sticking to my skin from where the blood was seaping through it. I gritted my teeth, and refused to show any blatent signs of pain.
         Pa and Kelsey were at the front of the crowd now, and no one paid them any attention. I caught my father's eye and immediately looked down. I didn't want him to see any of the pain in them. Instead I focused all of my attention on a blade of grass that stuck out from beneath his brown work boots. Five. Five done, and five more to go. Sergeant Mareign started to grunt with the extra exertion he was putting into this beating. My quietness must have upset him.
         No weakness. Show them weakness, and they'll know how to destroy you. That's what my mother use to say to me. Eight. Two more to go. All of a sudden Sergeant Mareign stopped. I could hear his heavy breathing behind me. Did I count them wrong? I looked up to Pa with confusion written on my face. He had a look of distraught about him. I turn my head to face Sergeant Mareign. He had a callous look on his face fixed with the tiny quirk of a smile. He swung the whip at me once more, catching me across the back of the head sliding across my face.
         The slash in my in face seared in pain, and began to pour blood as I cried out in pain. A faint chuckle came from behind me, he'd gotten what he wanted. How could I have let them trick me? Nine. I was right all along and had one more lashing to go through. I waited, refusing to turn back and look at him to give him the satisfaction of fooling me twice. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Yet another saying my mother would tell me when me and Henry used to play a simple joke on her. Ten. Finally the end of my punishment came, along with all of Sergeant Mareign's strength. The tenth had been the most painful, as I slumped forward.
         "Go home now. The officers and I will be by later to discuss more of today's event's," he stated as he handed the whip off to another officer and walked off the stage. I held in my choler as Pa helped me to my feet and started back home. I couldn't look either him or Kelsey in the eye. Kelsey immediately fetched the pale and began to fill it with water as Pa assisted me with removing my shirt. I sat down on my bed pallet covering myself with my sheet. Pa found a clothe and began cleaning my wounds and my back of the blood. I was still able to hold my emotions in check until Pa walked out of the room, and Kelsey poked her head back in. Blood makes her squimish. She looked at me with fear and sadness in her eyes. Why did Pa let her witness it? A tear started to fall down her cheek as she walked up to me with Anne still in her arms.
         I could feel the tears start to pool at the brim of my eyes. I wouldn't be able to hold it in much longer. She handed me one of Pa's shirts and helped me put it on. She looked at me one last time, and set Anne in my lap. She silently walked out of the room without saying a word. When she exited the room I immediately balled up the sheet in my hands and began to sob. Why? Why me? Why our family? I kept asking my self over and over again. I curled up on my side clutching the Anne doll in my arms and begin to tremble as I cried myself to sleep.