Gone With the Wind

In the spring of 2198, it was just the 4 of us sitting in a room, under the pleasant pink afterglow, lying about. Elizabeth in the Autumn of that year decided to quit school, and instead pursue business, so our lively dorm room, where we spent hours after lights out girl talking, became rather lonely. Gone was also the huge piles of fashion magazines that were littered throughout our room, making it seem empty. Her life sized poster of a blonde woman in a bikini, on our bedroom wall, was an ongoing joke among all the girls in our grade.

"I wonder what you do, when you're alone in the room?" I smirked at her.

"It's not what you think." She stuttered embarrassed. "She's my inspiration for my clothing designs."

"Oh really?" I wriggled my eyebrows, mockingly.

"Yes." She puffed out her chest a little and pouted.

Without her, the atmosphere grew just a little colder.

Our half yearly exam results finally came out, and we were just lounging about our spacious room, relieved, with nothing to do. Even Kim was with us today which was highly unusual, considering her usual schedule of wandering about in the woods. All of us had passed the half yearly exams, with some of us doing better than others.

As usual Kim scored perfect 100's in maths, english, science, art and economics. Felicity came close with a mere 3 point difference in all five subjects respectively, and Hannah and I passed with scores in the 80's and 90's. Kim's grades did not change from three years ago, or even from the time she started at Cransfield. In fact most of our grades did not fluctuate much, the only grade that did, was our Health and Personal Development result.

It was ironic that Health and Personal Development was the class that I enjoyed the most, because it was the cruelest. My reason for liking Health and Personal Development classes was because it required no effort, so I didn't have to study for them at all. This term our lessons were centred around the idea of maintaining and managing a healthy lifestyle in spite of our hectic schedules. Our exam was simply an Inspection within the inky fluids of the Bubble.

If we were being truthful about our routine, our bodies should react in some way or the other, and the Bubble will be able to detect that change. In other words, as long as you didn't skip meals, or pick out the vegetables, you would be fine. But being the worrywart I was known for being and afraid that my results would be overtaken, I further implemented a 20 minute run into my routine. Every morning at 6 am, I would get up and run around the campus, the claret coloured rising sun almost blinding me, but pleasantly brushing my shoulders, and hair at the same time.

Not surprisingly my scores were high. In fact, this time around I broke the record for the top score. 99 points, which was by the way an entire 19 points ahead of the second place of our grade. Kim looked dejected as she read out her mark for Health and Personal Development. She had scored a mere 12 points. A confused look flooded my face when I saw her results, Kim had been taking long walks everyday, along that dusty trail in the forest, and she wasn't the type to avoid eating vegetables. Later on I realised Kim had rejected the system, and in turn the system had forsaken her and sentenced her to death.

Though it all, little did I pay attention to the disappearance of a certain person. Or even notice the disparities and gaps in my memory. Reina had simply melted away like the winter snow, when the time came for spring. Without a single trace remaining of her and no evidence to claim that she ever existed. The purging had already began, and I, currently unaware of everything, was soon to be caught in the middle of it.

"Don't worry about me. It probably was an error in the system." Kim muttered placing her fingers on her forehead, hiding her hollow eyes, and heavy eye bags. "Shall we go on a walk together, Layla?"

At first it unsettled me slightly. She always had this way of slyly refusing me, so I was left without words when she invited me.

"Sure, anything."

Her thin legs delicately weaved through the thick underbrush of the forest, avoiding the pointed edges of the ferns and the pink lady's slippers. I was not so dexterous, and clumsily brushed past them, scratching my shins. My leather boots were covered in dirt and dust from the small trail that Kim had made from frequenting the place. Halfway through the journey I grew weary, and we sat and rested on a charcoal rock, sipping bottled water. My exhaustion washed away, as the slightly sweet water fell onto my tongue. The gentle breeze, blowing lightly around the woods carried the fresh smell of dirt to my nose. Inhaling the scent cleared my mind and probably Kim's too. Throughout our entire journey thus far, Kim had not spoken a single word to me. She pointed towards the tallest tree in the distance, and gazed into my eyes. I immediately understood what she wanted, and I replied by nodding.

We set off again, this time alongside a small brook. The water, as clear as crystals flowed effortlessly over alabaster pebbles, guiding the many rainbow trouts downstream. Teal weeds and grass grew in rows beside the brook. The large pine and oak trees in the forest provided shelter and shade, for all the squirrels, with their scruffy, tawny fur and oversized buck teeth. It also hid the leadening sky above as we walked.

We followed the little stream. Kim walking in front of me, her cinnamon hair, tossed around, like a flag at every little motion she made. Finally we reached the place under the large pine tree. It was a large pool, where the water from the stream flowed into, and a waterfall beneath. The jets of white water cascaded onto the rocks below. I lay down onto my stomach, on a bed of pine needles and peered into the abyss, into an infinite void, the pitch black depth below. I stood back and carefully inspected the background. Compared to the forest I had just hiked through, it seemed less realistic, one dimensional even.

"We're at the edge of the world now, Layla."

It was the first time Kim spoke to me on this journey. It seemed that she had more to add, so I nodded, without interrupting her.

"This is what the edge of the dome looks like." She scoffed. "Laughable isn't it, this fence?"

"Kim, this isn't a fence. It's a shield to protect us from the dangers outside." I explained calmly, facing towards the fake background.

"You honestly believe that bullshit?" She continued bitterly and sighed. "Well I expected this response from you anyway." Her resigned eyes trailed off into the background. "Layla, come with me, I have something I want to show you."

She nimbly lead me down some jagged rocks at the edge of the waterfall, descending into a cave full of glowing Zircons. A seemingly vertical slope caused me to hesitate, before Kim pulled my hand and guided me down. The further we descended the darker the cave became, and the more weary I grew of the ragged rocks beside my feet, until the cave became tar black. Visibly panicking, the only thing that stopped me from losing my mind was Kim's firm yet warm grip. Finally, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a beam of light. We were close to the exit.

When we left the cave, I realised that we were now directly underneath the waterfall, and standing next to the pool. We were standing face to face with the fake trees. Instinctively I reached out my hands to touch the polymer in front of me. Smooth, yet incredibly cold.

Kim then began to remove her clothes, and before long she was stark naked. Her curves were highlighted by the constant refraction of the water.

"What are you waiting for? Strip. You're not going to swim with those heavy clothes, aren't you?" She said nonchalantly stuffing her top into her backpack.

"Alright." I exhaled, forcing myself under control.

On cue droplets of rain began to fall from the coal sky, gradually growing larger and heavier, until it drenched my body completely. Kim pulled out a bright red raincoat from her bag and placed it on top of her backpack in order to keep it dry. The surface of the water rippled, blurring the once clear contents of the pool.

Without wasting even a moment Kim made the dive into the murky depths of the substance. I followed, afraid of being abandoned. Bubbles of air escaped my lips, when the freezing temperature rang throughout my body, like an electric shock. My fingers and toes were numb, and my eyes stung from the icy water. I focused on Kim's pale feet in front of me, hoping that it would relieve my fear. As we dove deeper and deeper into the aquamarine depths, we slowly approached the edge of the polymer dome, well the part of it that was underwater anyways. Sure enough there was a small gap between the rocks and the dome, spacious, tailored to fit a single person's body.

When we emerged from our dive, we were greeted by not a vermillion sky, or the peachy afterglow with blotches of yellow, but by a daunting blood red sunset. It was already late in the afternoon. In the outside world there was no rain, in fact it was humid. I could feel the sweltering heat, even though we had already reached a cool time of day.

Kim paddled out of the slightly warm water, gasping for breath, and I followed suit. We were both lying on the sandy river bank, naked. In an effort to distract my eyes from her body I surveyed my surroundings. It was nothing like what Beth told me. There were no towers of smoke rising from vents in the ground, no decayed carcasses rotting away, and none of the radioactive dust particles. It was the same as our world. The same oak and pine trees, and clear river, panning out forever. The same forget-me-nots that trademarked District 4 was also present. Perhaps it's accurate to say that our world was a tiny microcosm of this.

"You get it now don't you?" Kim began softly. "The adults lied to us. Whatever the reason we had to retreat into this dome, has disappeared a long time ago. There is no toxic air. Nothing. Even the flora and fauna are the same."

"Kim." I grimaced. "Why does the dome still exist if it serves no function?"

The tone of the ambiance grew darker, as she said the next words. "It's a fence."

"Fence?" I thought about the meaning behind her words.

"In farming, a fence protects livestock from predators, but also serves to prevent the livestock from escaping."Her voice was strict and yet at the same time brittle.

Wretched thoughts emerged from my brain. We weren't livestock. I was going to respond to her when I saw Kim crying. It was the first time that I had ever seen Kim sobbing, wailing, lamenting. She was sprawled on her side, clutching my arm, tears streaming down the side of her face.

"Layla... Layla..." She wept, her voice cracking under pressure. "What do I do? What should I do?"

"Calm down, Kim." I ushered, embracing her warm body. "Everything will be fine." I reassured her, although I was convinced otherwise. Kim rarely showed weakness, not to me or to anyone. I felt relieved in a way to be chosen by Kim, but my heart ached when I saw the woman I loved desperately bawling.

"Let's run away, Layla. To a place far away. To a place no one can find us." She sniffled before once again sobbing. "No, I can't do that. It's too cruel. To unfair to Finn and Darren and Hannah and Felicity and..." Her voice broke.

Eventually I was able to calm Kim down. She looked at me with her puffy red eyes, and smiled. "Layla, you know, being around you, I can't exactly describe it. It's pleasant. I've always loved that part of you."

I opened my mouth, but before I was able to speak Kim interrupted me.

"Shh. Let me talk today." She smiled even meeker than before. "Layla, you are my very best friend, no one in the world can replace you. If you were to disappear from my life, along with Finn, I don't know what I'll do. So I must tell you this before I leave. I love you Layla." She giggled a little. "Not in a romantic way of course, but I love you. That's why I want to ask you a favor. Please always remember me. I'm begging you, please never forget me." She sat up and pointed towards the bright blue forget-me-nots growing by the side of the forest. "Just like those flowers, will you remember me, and forget me not?" The last of her tears slid down her cheeks, as she beamed at me.

"Yes." I replied, certain about myself. There was no way I was ever forgetting, no way. However the nasty feeling of foreboding crept ever so silently up my neck.

"That's good."

That was the last time I had ever seen Kim. The next day she had disappeared like the wind, leaving behind nothing to remember her by. Not even a name and face. During the following day, I couldn't help but to consider her parting words. Did her words hold any significant meaning? What did she want me to do? Why was it that she warned me about the dome?

And just like that, she was gone with the wind.