The cold breeze blew on our faces gently as we made our way down the hill. The temperature wasn't too warm as I noticed that the sky was dotted with grey clouds that were threatening to rain. Thankfully, I was still wearing my coat when the plane came down, so I was still able to keep warm, yet Carmen and Peter were not so lucky.
Carmen was wearing short denim shorts that were frayed at the edges, showing off her slim tanned legs. As a top, she was wearing a short sleeved Crimson Wave T shirt that clung to her figure. That was all. No cardigan or jumper or coat to protect her from the breeze that would blow past us every few seconds.
Peter on the other hand wore a red floral Hawaiian shirt that left his arms vulnerable to the breeze. He also wore black shorts that just stopped above his knee. I noticed that he didn't have much hair on his legs like a lot of guys do. Not that it was bad, it was actually refreshing to see a guy with sleek legs.
Another cold breeze blew past us which made Peter rub his arms as the skin on his arms developed goosebumps. Carmen crossed her arms and cursed under her breath as her teeth started to chatter. Terrence side eyed them before he unzipped his black waterproof coat and handed it to Peter, who took it gratefully.
I guess I felt bad as I unbuttoned my beige coat that just covered my mid-thigh and handed it to Carmen, leaving me just that little bit colder. I was wearing an oversized navy jumper with a black bod con skirt that reached just above my knee. Thankfully, I was also wearing black woolly tights and brown ankle boots with a grey tartan scarf around my neck as the winter months in China are freezing.
"Oh, thank you!" Carmen said before pulling the coat around her.
The only thing we could see were more hills and a great big white wall that towered maybe sixty odd metres above the ground. There was an opening not too far from where we were that led into a city or a town? There were people on horseback riding into the city with a cart in tow.
I couldn't hear the roars of engines or the groans of cars on a motorway. Not even a train could be heard.
"Are we in one of those Amish communities?" Terrence asked as he gazed at the horse and cart
"Maybe," Peter murmured
"Oh fuck me sideways. You know they don't have electricity, right? I've been dying to get my hands on WiFi for weeks. If this is a bloody Amish community, I may have to chop one of my bollocks off," Terrence whined
The image of Terrence holding one of his testicles in one hand and a butchers knife in the other made me splutter. I've seen some pretty disgusting things but self-mutilation, let alone giving himself a vasectomy was pretty fucking vile.
"That's grim," I replied
"Not as grim as living without WiFi,"
Maybe no WiFi could be a good thing. I mean I can go without WiFi for a pretty long amount of time, so I might not struggle too much with this, but I didn't know how my companions were going to cope. From Terrence's reaction, maybe not too well, but we'll see.
Once we got to the bottom of the hill, we walked passed a few stragglers on horseback. Maybe they could tell us where we were?
"Who's going to be our spokesperson?" Peter asked
"Spokesperson?" Carmen repeated
Peter rolled his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"If we're going to approach different people, maybe we need someone to speak for us. Someone who can speak for us as a group,"
Carmen shrugged.
"Charlotte should do it," Terrence said bluntly
My eyes widened.
"Why me?"
Peter nodded in agreement.
"You're the best-spoken one out of all of us," he stated
I didn't mind approaching new people or asking for directions or anything, but I guess I was out of my comfort zone and I didn't really want to be the first to have to interact with someone of this universe (or whatever time paradox thing we had been thrown into).
"Fine," I mumbled
The closest person I saw was a man who was sitting up in a rickety wooden cart being pulled by a horse that had the tall broad features of a Suffolk Punch: a horse bred for labour.
This told us something new about our surroundings.
Suffolk punches fell out of favour after labour became mechanised. From what I remember, the breed was in such decline that it was considered a rare breed. The fact that a horse bred for menial tasks was being used for something other than for show told me that we were probably going to go without machinery for a while.
As we came closer to the man, I cleared my throat and took a deep breath.
"Excuse me?" I said as I was a few metres from the man
He looked at me and his eyes widened. He had a brown scruffy beard and scruffy brown hair that was only partly hidden by a flat cap on his head. He wore dark trousers and a dark jacket with a dark blue shirt underneath.
"I'm sorry, I don't want any business from you today," he said in an American sounding accent
I think my guess of this being an Amish community was becoming more likely.
"Business?" I inquired
The man gulped.
"What would a woman of youth want with me other than my money? Maybe some other time," he gulped as he eyed my legs nervously.
Oh God, he thought I was a prostitute.
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I was actually going to ask you where I was and if there was anywhere for my friends and I to get a drink?" I asked
The man narrowed his eyes and looked at me thoughtfully.
"You're telling me you don't know where you are?" he asked
'No,' I thought sarcastically to myself.
I nodded meekly.
The man huffed.
"You're outside the city of Trost. There's loads of places to get a drink and buy clothes to cover up your legs with. I don't know what village you're from, but I would suggest covering up before the military police see what you're wearing and throw you in jail!"
I tried to make sense of his words. He was telling me that I was just outside a city called Trost, there's food and clothes. I look out of place because my legs are on show, and I could be thrown into jail for indecent exposure. Great, just brilliant.
"Oh, thank you for your help!" I replied warmly
"Moron," he muttered under his breath as he started his horse back en-route.
Behind me, I heard soft chuckling of the group. Perhaps it was my inability to communicate properly or maybe it was the fact that I was called a prostitute. Either way, at least I tried. I didn't see them attempt to help me. Carmen, Terrence, and Peter patted me on the back.
"Well done, Charlie," said Terrence
"Piss off, he called me a prostitute and a moron," I said sourly
Terrence spluttered.
"Because of your clothes?" Peter asked
I narrowed my eyes.
"Maybe we need to buy new clothes," Carmen said thoughtfully
"But where from?" Peter asked
"Old McDonald over there said that we should be able to find a place to buy clothes within the city of 'Trost', we could also try and find somewhere to stay for a while?" I suggested
"Sounds like a plan," Carmen sighed
We walked through the opening in the wall and past a few people who looked at us once and turned their heads to look at us again before scampering quickly away from us with this look on their faces as if they had found out we were carrying disease. If old McDonald looked at me strangely, initiative told me that his values would be in this city full of people.
"We stick out like sore thumbs." I murmured
Terrence nodded nervously, I didn't notice until now how fucking tall he was. He was definitely over a foot taller than me and I could see under his fleece that he was pretty muscular as I could just about see the outline of his biceps, plus his build was pretty athletic, making him look imposing.
Well, he would look imposing if it wasn't for the bun on top of his head, which made him look like a hipster.
I didn't look any better. I admit to having similar characteristics to a stereotypical hipster like the occasional puff of weed, meditation, music festivals, and enjoying indie bands. So once the mission in Shanghai was over, I went into the SOSO HQ in Shanghai and with the help of another member of SOSO named Xiu, dyed my hair peroxide blonde and giving the tips of my hair a spritz of colour and dyed them pink.
SOSO's main branch is in Oxford, UK but there are other branches around the world that have fewer members. The UK branch has around 200 agents in total, making it the biggest branch. Other branches are located in: Iceland, Spain, France, America, and Norway. In total, there are 750 agents worldwide (not including training staff, teachers, medics, gardeners, electricians, and anyone else who works onsite).
Once we were through the gate, it felt like all eyes were on our group. We weren't able to walk a step without getting stared at or hearing gasps ripple among the crowd.
"We really must look dreadful," Peter remarked
I don't think that it was that we were badly dressed, it was more that our taste in style had devolved into the… I couldn't give an exact time period of the garments. They looked like they were from the Middle Ages but they looked more modern but the garments were too simplistic to be as late as the Edwardian period.
The garments ranged in styles. Some women wore skirts that were straight, and others wore floor length pinafores over plain blouses. Some even wore trousers, which made me think that this wasn't the Middle Ages and closer to the Edwardian era, but even then, women rarely wore trousers. I noticed that some women were also wearing shawls or waistcoats and even bonnets.
'We certainly do stick out, that's for sure," I said as I noticed a pair of eyes ogle at my nylon covered legs making me feel slightly more self-conscious than before.
"What are they wearing?" whispered one woman to another
"Bunch of village freaks if you ask me," replied her friend as they made their way around our group in an attempt to get away from us
"Terrence, I'm scared!" whispered Carmen anxiously
I guess as Terrence was the biggest and probably the strongest out of all of us, he was going to be our source of comfort in the crowds. If anyone approached us, Terrence would immediately intimidate them, giving us no trouble. Ironically, Terrence was eying the crowd nervously and gulped before patting Carmen on the back in an attempt to reassure her.
"Just keep going until we find a market stall," Terrence declared
Just as the words tumbled out of Terrence's mouth, luck hit us.
There was a market straight ahead. Busy and full of people, but a place where we could learn how to fit into whatever this vivid dream was.
Clusters of stalls with white canvas roofs caught our eyes as we packed tightly together so that we didn't lose each other. Terrence put his hand on mine and Carmen's shoulder and Peter clasped my hand and walked behind me. It was slightly uncomfortable but I wasn't going to think about that. I couldn't. If I wanted to get through this day without getting lost, I would have to stick with these people.
"There, a clothes stall!" Carmen cried excitedly
We walked hastily in the direction that Carmen was pointing in whilst barging into people (accidently of course) which earned us a few more nasty glares and even a few curses tossed at us. Oh the joys of being absolutely clueless on social norms.
Once we made our way down the cobbled street to the market, we bunched up even closer together in order to take up less space.
"Fresh fruit and vegetables all the way from wall Maria!"
"Get you're fresh fish here!"
"Bunch of five roses all for just under seven bronze 'uns!"
Once we had made our way to the stall, we were greeted by an elderly woman with a brown shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She wore a dull green shirt, accompanied by a floor length darker green skirt. She was old and wrinkled and seemed to be blind in one eye. Her lips were thin and the area around her lips had a red ring around it from her constantly licking her lips. Her grey hair had been pulled back into a tight bun causing the skin around her eyes to tighten and make her look slightly mad.
She seemed to be murmuring under her breath. Either constant reminders to herself or she was slagging us off as I noticed that she was eyeing our clothing in a distasteful manner.
Terrence lent over and put his lips to my ear which made me shiver as his warm breath danced across the shell of my ear.
"You're the spokesperson," was all he murmured
I coughed to clear my throat which drew her attention to me.
"What can I do for ya, pet?" she croaked
Although her words seemed sincere, the tone she used was sly, sinister, and a touch sarcastic.
"My friends and I wish to purchase some clothes. Would you know which might suit and fit us?" I asked in the politest voice I could muster
The woman stared at me with her mouth slightly agape before chuckling and pointing a withered finger at me. Her open mouth displayed only a few yellowing teeth pegged onto her gums.
"From the Capitol are we? Such a prim and proper accent ya got there. These ain't clothes for primmers like yaself. Ya comin' to the wrong person if ya want Capitol styled clothes," she said befoe chuckling to herself
I straightened my back and let go of Terrence's hand.
"Look, my friends and I are from out of town and we need clothes that will keep us warm, please?" I replied
The woman tutted and started picking up multiple clothes and separating them into four piles and would occasionally cast a glance at us as she tried to work out our size without measuring us. She folded the clothes and wandered to the back of her stall to get something.
"Peter, where's your money?" I asked
Peter shuffled before handing me a small dark brown leather pouch that was full of coins. No notes, just coins.
The woman came back with woven sacks for our clothes and put a different pile of clothes into a different sack before doing a calculation in her head.
"3 silver 'uns,"
I reached into the pouch and saw bronze, silver, and gold coins inside. I took out three silver coins and handed them into her wrinkled palm. She grinned at the money in her hand.
"Thank you," I said sincerely
"Come again soon," she said as we linked up again and started walking past the different stalls in the market.
"So I guess we need to find a place to stay, like a hotel or inn or whatever they have here?" Peter asked
"Yeah, we can change there and hopefully shift the gaze off us a bit more," said Terence
As we walked out of the marketplace, I saw the high street lined with houses and shop fronts. Bakery shop windows stacked with freshly made bread and pastries. The aroma was mouth-watering and I started to crave a warm loaf of bread.
As I was glancing at the different shop windows, I felt Terrence tense up.
"Hey, guys. There's an inn over there." He said while pointing at the building on the other side of the pavement.
I turned my head and saw the inn across the road. There was a sign hanging from the wall with a white horse standing on its hind legs with the words 'The White Horse Inn' written in blue underneath. Outside were a few horses tied up with a bit of hay for them to graze on.
We crossed the road and walked into the inn.
As soon as we stepped inside, I was hit with waves of nausea as I inhaled the heavy stench of damp, piss and ale all mixed together. Carmen and Peter looked equally disgusted whereas Terrence seemed unaffected by the heavy atmosphere but I noticed that he wrinkled his nose a few times.
The inn wasn't too heavily crowded. It was mostly men in there talking loudly with their friends. The women that I did see, wore low cut blouses with a colourful corset underneath that pushed their breasts up along with a matching skirt, or was the corset attached to the skirt? The women were entertaining the men and were cackling at whatever jokes the men had just seemingly told them. Possibly prostitutes.
"God, this place stinks." Carmen murmured in my ear.
I grunted in agreement as I wrinkled my nose.
As we passed a certain table, there was a low whistle given by one of the men. I turned around and saw a table full of wasted guys in their mid to late thirties eying up Carmen and I.
"Hey, love, how about a drink?" one of them shouted from one of the tables.
I gave him a sneer and hurried in the direction of the bar. We ignored him as we clung to each other to stop us from being separated.
Once we made it to the front desk, we were greeted by a large guy with black shaggy hair, a bushy beard and mating caterpillars for eyebrows. He looked like Hagrid on steroids as his sleeves were rolled up and I noticed that his arms were muscular rather than flabby.
"Ho' can I 'elp?" he asked as he glanced up at Terrence from behind the desk.
He had a deep growl for a voice. It definitely suited his look.
Terrence coughed.
I guess Terence decided to be the spokesman in this environment as he gave me a pat on the shoulder as if to say 'I got this'.
"Do you have any rooms? It's just my friends and I have been travelling and we need a place to stay." Terrence replied
The man turned around and grabbed a key from a peg and handed it to Terrence.
"Upstairs. 'T's the one on the far lef'. Can't miss it." He said
"Thank you."
We turned around and made our way towards the stairs that were to our right.
We climbed the stairs. The creaking sound that was emitted after each step made me cringe as the stairs sounded worn and like they'd collapse if we stepped too heavily onto one of the steps.
Once we got onto the landing of the second floor, we made a left and walked to the end of the corridor. Terrence put the key into the door and unlocked it.
We stepped into the room. It had two double beds, a desk and a questionable pile of straw in the corner of the room.
The beds were pretty firm looking and looked relatively clean, but there was something about the smell in the room that made me wrinkle my nose again in disgust. The room smelt like sewage that had been baked in the sun and left to dry along with the distinguishable smell of rotting wood caused by damp.
"Home, sweet home." Peter said before closing the door behind him.
I lay my sac on the bed and pulled out each item of clothing I had:
-A white blouse
-A crimson tunic
-A black tunic
-A pair of mustard yellow trousers
-A pair of white trousers
-A pleated ankle length black skirt
-An olive green calf length dress with a collar
-A black waist length jacket
'Not bad' I thought to myself. The material wasn't itchy and the stitching wasn't badly done at all, so my clothes weren't going to suddenly fall off me which was a plus.
After laying my clothes on the bed, I investigated the room a bit more while the others lifted their clothes in order to try and see them in another light.
"They have no sense of style." said Peter as he held up a mossy green shirt in disgust.
As I was wondering around the room, I spotted a mass of hay in the corner of the room.
"What the hell?" I murmured to myself
I squatted down to inspect it closer, only to find that the rancid smell of sewage and rot was coming from the pile and saw a dark mass. A rat? Was there poison in the hay that was used to kill the rats and they used the rancid smell in order to draw the rats in?
Curiosity made me lean in to get a closer look. I reluctantly poked the straw and felt that the straw was damp.
A leaky roof, maybe?
Bad Idea.
I smelt my finger and gagged. It smelt of piss.
Why would it have-?
Oh shit. OH MY FUCKING GOD. It was a toilet. A fucking toilet and I put my finger in it.
That dark mass wasn't a dead rat but a rotting piece of human waste. The reason why it stunk of damp was because people were pissing willy nilly onto the hay, the piss goes onto the rug, and to top it all off, the wood starts to rot.
"Fucking hell!" I yelled as I fell backwards while wiping my finger on my skirt.
"What is it?" Carmen asked
"There's only a breeding ground for AIDS in the corner of the room!" I screamed as I scurried backwards.
"Are you saying...that's...a toilet?" Peter winced
"No, there are infected dildos in the corner," I replied sarcastically whilst still wiping my finger.
"I ain't taking a shit in that!" Terrence said in disgust
"Charming, Terrence." Said Carmen sarcastically
"What? I was just saying that I wouldn't pull down my trousers and-"
"That's enough!" Carmen snapped as she looked slightly green
Carmen looked at the straw pile before looking away in disgust.
"Does anyone have hand sanitizer?" I asked meekly
"I have wet wipes. My friends are messy eaters so I always bring them in my bag." Said Carmen
"Cheers." I said as I stood up and walked over to Carmen who was going through her shoulder bag.
She then pulled out a packet of wet wipes before handing a wipe to me. I started vigorously wiping my hands while still staring at the straw.
"I guess humanity forgot what a toilet and dignity is." Said Peter
"Or maybe people like to get kinky and like to piss in front of their peers?" I jested
Terrence snorted.
"I mean in all honesty, I can't piss without anyone watching me-"I said in a serious tone of voice before being cut off by Terrence
"Don't worry, if someone's pissing, I piss with them. Hey, Charles, we can be piss buddies!" He guffawed
I laughed but Carmen and Peter looked at Terrence with wide eyes and open mouths. They both also looked a bit sick by the idea of watching other people go to the toilet, I noticed the awkwardness in the room and swiftly changed the subject.
"Shall we get changed and go down for a drink?" I asked
"That's a good idea." said Carmen quickly
I've never felt the need to feel embarrassed or self-conscious about being naked in front of others. After seeing multiple body parts whether it be penises, vaginas, or breasts; they all just merge into one. They're just body parts that have been censored. Everyone has a 'nether region' so I don't know why I should feel ashamed in undressing. It wasn't like I was going to undress and suddenly the whole group would turn on me ending in a massive messy orgy. If anything, we'll all be told to look the other direction so we don't catch a glimpse of each other.
I took of my shoes before I stripped off my scarf and jumper and looked at the items of clothing before me and decided to wear the white blouse and black trousers. I stripped off my shirt and put on the blouse before buttoning it. I then shimmied out of my skirt and peeled the tights from my legs before putting the trousers on, which were undeniably comfortable.
I sat down on the bed and put my shoes back on and laced them up before standing up and turning around to see what the group were wearing.
Carmen was wearing a loose fitting cream shirt and ankle length navy skirt and a black cardigan.
Peter was wearing his green shirt and brown trousers with a blue jacket.
Terrence wore a long sleeved blue shirt with black trousers.
Peter looked down at his outfit.
"I look like a fucking elf, I mean whose idea was it to make my colour scheme a fucking woodland?" he said huffily
To be honest, he looked like an imp. I say that as he was slightly shorter than me by maybe an inch or two. I think if I said that out loud, Peter would rip me a new arse hole. Of course, I could fight him off but that would cause tension within the group.
"No Peter, you look great." Carmen reassured him whilst looking away to cover her smirk
"Carmen, you're a terrible liar," Peter
"I'm serious, you look fine,"
Peter furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to send a retort Carmen's way but Terrence interrupted them.
"Stop whining. Peter, stop worrying about how you look and let's go get a drink,"
Peter huffed before nodding his head.
"Fine," was all he had to say before Terrence went over to the door and held it open. We walked outside the room and locked the door before walking down the stairs into the crowded bar area. We found a table by a small window and sat down.
"I'll go get some drinks. What do you guys want?" Peter asked
"Anything alcoholic." was Terrence's response
"I'll have the same," I murmured
Peter looked over at Carmen who was glancing around the room curiously.
"And you?" Peter asked
Carmen turned towards him and shrugged:
"Water," was all she replied with
Peter nodded before taking his pouch out of his trousers and started pushing his way through the gaggle of people. Within almost an instant, Peter was swallowed up by the crowd.
"So, now we have a place to stay and a change of clothes, what are we gonna do about jobs and finding more of a permanent place to live?" Carmen asked
Terrence shrugged.
"We haven't seen enough of the area to have come up with job ideas, I mean I guess we could earn our keep sweeping the floors in this inn or something," was all he suggested before wagging his finger as if he had come up with an excellent idea.
"No no no, we could find a brothel and-"
"No," Carmen interrupted
"I mean we technically could," I shrugged
Carmen looked exasperated.
"No I mean I would never sink so low as to sell my body for money," she hissed
I slumped back in my chair and stared down at the table. I knew what Carmen meant, that her body was her body and she could make the choice on her own as to what happened to it. But spending two months in a rundown brothel among girls who had nothing but their will to live and men who paid a dear sum of money just so that they could spend an hour or two to take away that will changes your view on prostitution. Yes, some people work as prostitutes legally and I have nothing against them, but to call people who do this 'whores' is a shitty thing to do.
I looked up and was about to send a retort but Terrence interrupted me,
"Wow, you really have a low view on prostitutes, y'know, not all prostitutes are whores, some do it because they're desperate and have nothing else to live for,"
"What I'm trying to say is that we haven't sunk so low that we need to sell ourselves. Not yet anyway," she muttered
The atmosphere surrounding us suddenly became thick as we sat around the table in complete silence with nothing to say to each other. I was attempting to formulate a sentence in my head but no conversation starters or ice breakers came to mind. All of the questions I had were either too sensitive or just plain stupid, so I kept my mouth shut.
Carmen's eyes were darting around the room in order to find a focus point that wasn't any of us whereas Terrence was just staring down at the table as if he were contemplating something.
Sure enough, I could see Peter wrestling his way through the crowd with all of our drinks cradled in his arms. Once Carmen and Terrence caught sight of Peter, they sat up straight.
Once Peter got to our table, he slammed our drinks down and shook his arms in order to get feeling back into them.
"Ok, so I got you two," he pointed at Terrence and I "Cider. And for you, Carmen, a glass of water,"
Peter then started distributing the drinks before sitting down. He then raised his glass and gestured for all of us to do the same.
"To a new life," he said
"To a new life," Carmen, Terrence, and I said before clinking our glasses together
I took a sip.
It wasn't the best cider I'd tasted. No, I take that back. After I swallowed the sip I had taken, there was this after taste that reminded me of the time that I had to take a sip of my own piss for a bet. A pissy aftertaste that made me gag slightly.
"God, this stuff tastes like piss." Terrence choked
"I agree, you think the barman pissed in it?" I gagged
"Have you two tasted piss before?" Peter asked
Terrence shot him a glare and I remained pokerfaced.
"So you have?" Peter gasped
Terrence shrugged.
"Maybe, maybe not," he replied
"Anyway, should we have a look 'round after this?" Carmen asked quickly in order to get our minds away from the subject of drinking piss.
I nodded.
"Sure, we need to get our bearings and find out more about this place. The sooner we do that, the better life here will be.
Terrence nodded in agreement.
"We can find rooms for hire and maybe somewhere for us to-"
There was a sudden loud chime of what sounded like a church bell that cut Terrence off. I passed it off as maybe a wedding bell or a mass service beginning or ending. But from the reactions from the people in the bar, I was wrong.
They all started flocking out of the bar in bundles mumbling in low voices to each other. Had something really bad happened, a funeral procession or something? Or maybe their leader had died?
The four of us looked around in confusion as if to ask whether or not we should follow. Terrence shrugged before nodding and standing up.
"What the hell's going on?" Carmen asked as I stood up
"That's what we're going to find out," I replied
We abandoned our drinks and walked out of the empty bar and out into the streets. The clouds had become darker in colour since we had originally got there as it looked like it was threatening to absolutely piss it down. Maybe we should hold back on exploring until tomorrow?
Crowds of people lined the pavement and an angry murmur buzzing around like a swarm of angry bees. There was a certain look on everyone's faces a mix of disappointment, irritation, and a slight look of viciousness.
"There are less of them than before. That's more of our taxes down the gutter," one of them growled
I looked up and saw a procession of horses walk slowly and carefully down the street whilst the crowds hissed and buzzed with low contempt.
Soon, the main part of the procession walked past us. The mutterings seemed to get louder and the jeering became more prominent.
Men and women in green cloaks on horseback rode through the streets with high heads, yet the various leers definitely affected them as some would occasionally twitch and glance nervously in the direction that the voices were coming from. Some of them had bandages wrapped securely around various appendages. Some of them had missing limbs and blood oozing out of the bandages that replaced their limbs. The ones who weren't sporting bandages wore expressions of regret and looked as if they were on the verge of breaking down and others looked completely drained of all emotion. There were men and women in carriages who looked like they had failed at everything.
The most disturbing part of this procession was the cart that were piled with unmoving human figures wrapped in bloodstained sheets. The ones that had made it through were pulling along their burden, yet the crowd took no notice. They were like sharks, they saw blood and they attacked viciously.
"Ha, look, they can't even make eye contact with us!" one member of the crowd yelled
"No wonder, look at the amount of soldiers that haven't come back,"
"The Survey Corps have come back with less soldiers than ever. Bravo!"
Survey Corps? The military? Of course, every dystopian future has to have its military but those books have military personnel who oppress the common folk and do anything for power and money. Most soldiers in dystopian novels are the enforcers of the bourgeoisie in a somewhat Marxist society, yet this military was defeated. They were a lost cause that inflicted no absolute power over everyone. It was more like the people in the crowd that were inflicting the pain and humiliation. It was depressing how they were openly being mocked for having members of their organization killed in action and how little people cared about it.
But with what and against who?
"The titans sure got them this time," sniggered another
"Titans, like the Tennessee Titans?" Peter asked dumbly
Carmen elbowed him.
"Now's not the time for joking," she hissed
Who were these titans?
My eyes widened.
From what the Minute Man said to me, this is what was lurking outside the 'cave'. The 'cave' being the walls that everyone was hiding behind. The philosopher wasn't one man that had been liberated, but a group of men and women that were seeking truth in the world of illusions.
That truth must be what's lurking in the world of these so-called 'titans'.
Were these 'titans' a group of rebels that threatened to disrupt the peace that had been contained within the walls? If that were the case, that would mean that the titans are like the incline before the truer, purer world.
In order to accomplish whatever the hell I had been sent here to do, I would have to join this disgruntled army and fight the 'titans' no matter how scary or threatening they were. I had years of training to add to my weaponry, whatever training they had to offer would be a piece of cake. I was one of the best marksmen in SOSO. I could discover my purpose for being sent here.
"So this is why I'm here," Terrence gasped
My eyes widened in shock as I turned and faced him.
"You came to that conclusion too?" I asked
He nodded quickly.
"The Allegory of the Cave," was all he said
That meant that we were to live in the training barracks (wherever they were) and work as soldiers who killed 'titans' for a living. This had come together perfectly.
Almost too perfectly.
We suddenly appear in a dystopian future with no idea as to where we were, who was with us or what we were really supposed to do. Then suddenly the soldiers come out and now we have our drive. There was something in me that said that this was too good to be true.
But it was my only clue which pointed me in the right direction.
I felt a drop of water fall on my forehead. I looked up and saw the grey clouds had become so much darker than they were before and it was not long until more raindrops started falling from the sky until it started to hammer it down.
"Let's get back inside, quickly!" Terrence yelled
I wasted no time in turning towards the inn and running through the door into the comforting warmth of the inside of the inn.
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Thank you for reading this and putting up with me.
Comments and criticism are always appreciated.
