Walk a straight line. As if nothing is below you but that line. Do not cower over fear. Do not give in to anxiety. Be at peace. Walking this line is a privilege.
I open my eyes to look behind me. The metal bar that held my two worlds together was no longer beneath my feet. That one bar is the only way to go from the Crossing Fields to the Restricted Zone. Even the Crossing Fields were restricted to anyone without a permit to leave Zone 7, and those weren't cheap.
Zone 7 is what used to be the unmarked territory of Canada and the US former known as the Peace Gardens. Ironically, it is now a military base.
I push the board covering the hole of the wall that surrounds Zone 7. With a lot of effort, it finally budges out of place leaving just a big enough gap for me to squeeze through. I pull it back into place and cover it up with a piece of thin plywood.
The city is quiet today. It's been awhile since anything interesting happened. I guess we're all just waiting.
I live in a bunker underneath the ground. There's no point in living above ground unless you have a death wish. The war with Russia has made things too risky to even think about having a house up there. It's better just to stay inside.
I tap my little brother's head as a greeting as I hop on the couch. He smiles at me to let me know he's acknowledged my presence. I sign to him to ask if he's eaten yet. After he shakes his head I sigh and stand up again. It was my older brother's turn to make dinner tonight and he had failed the task. I march over to his room and knock on the door angrily. When there's no answer I bust it open and see that books have been scattered around the room. He's at it again with his stupid war theories. I shouldn't say that, though. He might actually save the world someday.
I grab my phone and dial his number impatiently. On the third ring he answers.
"Kleff!" I yell into the phone. "Where the hell are you?"
"I'm at work, why?" He asks as though nothing was wrong.
"Why do you think."
"Oh, shit. Was it my turn to cook tonight?" He asks. I can hear him shuffling things around as he packs up.
"No need, I'll take care of it." I say. It is a privilege to be able to do his work.
"Thanks Germ." He says with a smile in his voice.
"Yeah, sure. Be safe I'll see you tonight." I say and hang up the phone. I go back to the kitchen to see Italy trying to pull some goldfish crackers out of the cupboard. He was standing on a chair that was swaying dangerously under his light weight. I pick him up and catch the falling box of goldfish, rescuing both before it was too late. I tickle him a little and he giggles. I set him down and give him a concerned look. "What were you doing?" I sign
He gives me the sign for snack. I nod and hand him the box of goldfish.
"Why didn't you ask for help?"
"Wanted to do something on my own." He pouts. I shake my head and hug him. He's four years old and worrying about being independent already. I tell him to go watch Spongebob while I make dinner and he nods and runs happily into the living room.
Most of the food we own is high in preservatives since there aren't many places in this city to buy fresh food.
It's not like this place is a total dump, if you've gotten that impression so far than throw it away or shove it down the toilet because that's wrong. Although we struggle with healthy foods and fresh air we are in no way a poor city. Our bunkers are modern and actually quite nice. We aren't limited on space and even our underground tunnels are kept up to date by the city. Unfortunately we still have issues with freedom. Canada mainly owns Zone 7. It's only been ten years since they took over the US and lately there has been some rebellions in the other zones. Canada is allied with Sweden and Australia as well as a few other countries.
The water for the macaroni and cheese starts to boil and I dump the noodles in. This was about the time that the world cup would be on. That ended soon after Canada took over. I was only six years old but I remember a lot of it.
The world has really changed over the past years. But thankfully it's been twenty years since the last apocalypse. It was an outbreak of a disease that spread through most of the world. Much like mad cow disease, it turned humans into brainless monsters that had cannibalistic manners.
I finish making dinner and scoop the macaroni and cheese into two bowls. I take it out to the living room, handing one to Italy. I sit beside him and think as I subconsciously eat.
Italy was born four years ago. My mom died on the morning he was born, leaving my brother and I to basically fend for ourselves while my dad works all day in a different city, but he sends us money when he can. When Kleff became old enough to work it was my job to take care of Italy.
When Italy turned four I found he was mature enough to be home alone while I went out. That was around the time I met Elias. He was the one who showed me the hole in the city walls. He was drafted into the war last month, and I haven't seen him since.
Italy finished his food and took the bowl out to the kitchen. I follow him and help him reach the garbage. We used mostly paper plates since our city was so into recycling.
After I put Italy to bed I go and lie down on the couch, changing the channel to the history channel. Some old reruns of Ghost Adventures were on. I didn't mind watching these old American shows, they were kind of intriguing how they were so worried about something with such little importance. And how bad the effects were.
The door opens and shuts in the foyer. Kleff walks in and grabs a bowl of his cold dinner before sitting on the couch next to me.
My mom named me Germany before the war started. Countries as names had been a trend at the time and she thought that my name would mean I was going to be brave and fearless. My brother's name is Italy because of his innocence and because she wanted him to be happy.
I have no idea why my brother's name is Kleff.
"They think that the Russians have been working on recreating that mad cow disease from a couple years back." Kleff says to start conversation.
"The one where everyone tried to eat each other? Sounds interesting." I shrug.
"Germany." He says sternly.
"What?"
"They're going to end the world." He looks at me with cold eyes. I shift uncomfortably in my chair. "They aren't that stupid are they?"
"Who knows?" Kleff says distantly. I sigh and stand up.
"I'm going to bed."
"See ya in the morning." He waves slightly.
"Sure hope so." I say with a sort of humorous, dark tone.
Today was like any other. The same events as many other days before. No interesting thing happened while I was outside the wall. There was no interesting news. No word from dad. It was just a normal day. And that should make the next day just the same? And the one after that, too. If I keep doing the same things over and over again, then nothing should change. We should be safe. Or at least that's what I thought.