Project ELE

by Rebecca Gober & Courtney Nuckels

  ****

  I spend the rest of the afternoon helping Connor, and mainly Claire, finish up their assignments. It doesn’t take too long because conveniently, Connor and Claire’s routes correlate with each other. Surprisingly, they don’t ask me how I can get from point A to point B without looking at the map.

  We get done around 5:30; thirty minutes before our tablets say that supper is to be served. We go together to pick up Connor's little sister Lillie from class, then head over to the cafeteria to secure our places in line.

  We sit together at dinner eating our mush. I look around for my dad but don't see him so I assume he got a different dinner shift tonight. I do get to meet Connor's guardian, Sarah, whom I soon realize is only responsible for Lillie. Apparently Connor was allowed to sleep on a cot in their room last night however, effective tonight he will be moved to his permanent room. Apparently teens who don't have parents bunk up together in a mass dorm style room. Connor’s body language tells me that he is very much not happy about this arrangement. I don't blame him because with his new schedule and separate room, he will rarely see his little sister. Sarah assures him though that she is in good hands.

  I also find out during dinner that Claire stays in one of those dorm rooms for female teens. Each dorms hold up to ten same sex teens. Claire has seven roommates in hers. Most of them are from the orphanage she grew up in. None of them really talk to her though. They all think she's strange. She doesn't mention how she ended up in an orphanage but we can pretty much assume that she lost her parents to the virus.

  After dinner we part ways for the night. I head back to my room to wait for my dad. I pass the time by taking a nice hot shower, which apparently I can only do three times a week per water and energy conservation restrictions. It feels good though to get clean. I hop into bed afterwards. I hadn't realized just how tiring today was and I find myself falling asleep soon enough.

  "Hey honey." My dad kisses me on the forehead.

  I awake from a dreamless sleep and look at my tablet to see that it's only 10:00 pm. I haven't been asleep for very long. "Hey dad. Are you just now getting home?" I ask, stretching my arms above my head.

  My dad looks exhausted and really, really filthy. I don't even want to ponder the dirt he's covered in. "Yeah. I didn't get to eat until nine. It's been a long day." He runs his hand through his greying hair. "How was your day?"

  "It was good. Why are they making you work such long shifts?" I ask. We had started at nine this morning. That means he worked for at least twelve hours today. That seems rather long to me.

  "The work has to get done." He studies me as if trying to figure out if he should tell me something. Instead of telling me what was on his mind he says, "Try to get some sleep honey."

  I don't let him get away that easily. "Dad, what's up?" I rub the small amount of sleep out of my eyes that had formed during my nap.

  He brushes back the hair from my forehead and steps back a little. I have to sit up to see him better since the safety railing is now partially blocking my view. He paces the room for a second then starts. "You know honey that your mother and I tried to keep you kids sheltered from the mess that's been going on in our country over the past few years."

  I nod.

  "I figure that you are old enough and mature enough now to know what's going on." He smiles at me and has a proud look in his eye. "You know that we have never had that much money."

  I know that much. We learned in school about economics. There used to be a middle class in our country but for the past decade, or longer even, there has only been two classes: the rich and the poor.

  "The government knew that this virus was getting out of hand a few years ago. At that time the plans for a way to stop it began. We were warned that we would eventually have to go into these shelters. Everyone was allowed the opportunity to pay for their space in advance. The prices were outrageous and completely unattainable for anyone other than the wealthiest families." A pent up look of frustrated anger shows on his face. "They told us that those who could not afford to pay for their spaces would still be admitted in, however, they would have to earn their keep. Most of us have no problem with that. We've been working hard just to stay afloat all of our lives, but Willow, I didn't know that they were going to make the children work for their spaces too!" His face turns red with his frustration. "They didn't tell us that! Did they treat you bad?" He comes up closer to the bed again and studies me to make sure he can't see any physical sign of damage.

  I shake my head confused, "No Dad, they didn't. It was fine."

  He looks at me intensely, "You can tell me the truth honey. Were they mean? How long did you have to work today?"

  "I only worked five hours and it was easy work doing deliveries. Nobody was mean...Well, that's not exactly true." My dad's eyes started to show the beginning signs of rage so I quickly continued to settle his fears. "The people at work are nice. We just ran into some spoiled brats who were trying to cause trouble." He calms down at this but still remains interested. "You know it makes sense though now. They have a much nicer place than ours. They are the same age too but they didn't have to work."

  "Yes, their parents probably paid for their spot. I heard rumors that the paid rooms were very nice. Just because they don't work doesn't mean they have any right to treat you badly. Do I need to go talk to them?"

  I give my dad a sincere smile. His love shows through in his offer to stick up for me. "No, I already spoke to them. They weren't really being mean to me but they were picking on another girl. I went in there and confronted them. I don't think it did much good but they had no right to bully someone just because they were bored."

  That look of pride flashes across my dad's face again. "You did the right thing honey. I'm proud of you for standing up to those bullies. Most people wouldn't, especially when it's not their fight."

  "Well you didn't teach me to be most people." I sit up taller and grin.

  "No I didn't. I love you honey. You let me know if you ever need me to go beat down any snobs for you. Not that I don't think you can't handle your own. It's sometimes good to have reinforcements."

  "Yeah, I've got those. I made two friends today." My dad looks interested so I continue. "Connor and Claire. They are both in my class and they are runners too."

  "That's awesome. You stick close to each other. It's important for you to have someone that has your back in here. I’ve heard some uproar from some of the other adult workers. They aren't too happy at the way they're being treated, especially with some of their children being forced to work. Also, I think a lot of it has to do with many lower class families getting declined entry. The wounds are wide open right now, so it might come to nothing after some time passes. I just want you to know ahead of time how some people are feeling so that you don't get surprised by any disgruntled behavior around here. Continue to stay close to your friends and make sure to report to me if anything odd comes up or if you feel mistreated in any way. Will you do that for me honey?"

  "Of course." I wonder to myself what he means by disgruntled behavior but I don't continue to ponder it too much because I can tell that the day is catching up to my dad. His eyes look tired and his posture went slack. "Hey dad, why don't you go take a shower and get some rest."

  He nods his head. "What? I stink that bad?"

  "Yep!" I say pinching my nose with my fingers and waving the 'odor' away with my other hand.

  My dad gets me in that one tickle spot right under my arm, my Achilles heel. I break out in giggles. He leans in like he wants to give me a hug but then remembers he's filthy and pats my head instead. "I love you. Get some sleep."

  "You too dad." I reply and lie back down on my bed.

  "Night." My dad turns and starts to head to the bathroom but I grab his arm before he leaves my bedside.

  "Wait dad?" I ask nervously.

  He turns back, "Yes?"

  "Can I ask you a question?" I chew on my nails waiting for his response.
/>   "Shoot." He says while making a fake gun sign with his thumb and index finger. My dad can be a big dork when he wants to.

  "Who is ELE?" I don't know why it's been on my brain tonight but I feel like I need to know more about what's going on out there in the world.

  He studies me for a long second then says, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before. I wanted to protect you but I can see that now you’re becoming a mature and strong woman, just like your mother." His voice catches but he carries on. "You can handle the truth. ELE stands for Extinction Level Event."

  I let out a loud breath. I really don't like the sound of that.

  He continues, "An Extinction Level Event is exactly what it sounds like. This is where our planet was headed with the rapid speed that the virus was killing off the human race at." He stares at me as if trying to gauge my reaction.

  I nod and say, "I understand."

  He gives me a slight smile and then says, "I've known about Project ELE for a while and while I hate that it tore our family in half, I do understand why it was necessary." His face turns grim.

  I blink away the tears that start forming in my eyes as I think of all of the people that have died and all of the people outside the safety of our shelters. "Thank you dad." I say sincerely. He looks at me confused and then I continue. "Thank you for protecting me as long as you could. I mean protecting my innocence. I don't think I could have handled that news before all of this."

  He looks surprised that I would make such a mature statement. "I love you so much." Is all he says.

  "I love you too dad." I sit up and give him a hug despite his apparent stink. "Night."

  "Good night." He says and then turns to head once again to the bathroom. This time I don't stop him.

  A minute later I hear the shower running. I think to myself about how much my life has changed in such a short period of time. It has only been eight days since my family left our house and headed towards the shelter lines and it has been two days since my family was torn apart. So much happened so fast that I can't help but wonder what changes life will bring me in the future. I don't get a chance to think about it for long because the running water lulls me into a dreamless sleep.