Burned by G.K. Lamb

Author:G.K. Lamb
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: wear your mask, young adult fiction, young adult speculative fiction, young adult dystopian fiction, Dystopia, speculative fiction, gas mask, fight the system, science fiction, female protagonist
Publisher: G.K. Lamb
Published: 2019-11-24T00:00:00+00:00

MARTHA’S IS PACKED. Mary-Anne is handling the customers and their orders while two older women—who appear almost like clones of Mary-Anne twenty and forty years apart—bring trays of bread and stacks of pies in white boxes out from the back. We press ourselves against the far wall letting the smell of the bakery wash over us as we stalk the table we sat in last week waiting for an opening. A middle-aged man in work overalls is sitting with a woman ten years his junior in an orange and white dress. With them are two small boys and a girl nearly my age. Empty plates covered with pie crumbs ring the table. The man is still drinking his coffee, but the rest of the family is itching to leave. The woman takes one look at us hovering near the table and goes white.

“Herald,” she says in a whisper meant to be overheard. “Those rats want our table. I bet they’re foreigners Herald. Laura says the plantation is full of them.”

Herald sets his coffee down. His wife and kids follow his gaze and land on me—their little freckled faces scrunch up. The littlest one—a boy of six nearly Gette’s age—brings his hands to his puckered mouth pantomiming rat-like teeth and sucks his tongue against his three twisted front teeth. The mocking slurping sound hits me like a slap. His father shoots him a disapproving look but doesn’t stop him.

“Come on kids. Let’s go pick out your new masks.” The family scoots back and jumps up in a chorus of screeching wood on wood.

“I want a Lux daddy,” says the mocking little snot.

The mother sweeps her arms out corralling the kids toward the exit and putting herself between us. I catch the eye of the older girl as she’s putting her mask on. She stops, mouths ‘sorry,’ then follows her family out through the malfunctioning airlock.

Charles scoffs in disbelief then takes the first chair. I sit next to him and help the others gather up the plates into a stack and wipe the crumbs into a pile.

Mary-Anne notices us over the line of customers at the counter. “Hi folks. I’ll be with you in just a minute.” She ducks back down to the register—the check spindle full to the point.

“Can you believe that crap?” Charles says jabbing a thumb toward the airlock.

“No,” Victor says shaking his head, “I really can’t. We’re not that different—them and us. Can’t they see that?”

“We need to remember that,” says Cornelia. “It’s easy to forget our shared humanity when we’re scared.”

“Why’d they call us rats, mommy?”

Charles and Cornelia share an uncomfortable look. Victor leans over and takes Gette’s hands in his. “That’s a thing people say when they don’t know who you are. People are scared right now. But don’t let it bother you, kiddo.”

Gette smiles and seems reassured enough. I feel unsatisfied with the answer and I think Charles and Cornelia feel the same by the way they’re both wringing their hands under the table. I

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.