Tyler Alvarado - Life in City 45

[Scratchie]

* A bit of scratching of the writing utensil can be seen at the top of the piece of paper.

Day 1.

Well, today was an interesting day.  Got off the train, those Razor trains are pretty fast for being so big.  I digress though.  I got off the train, took my suitcase with my spare clothes, and walked towards the processing center.  The train station here looks pretty nice, but for some reason it seems out of place in the city.  The processing center was like any other, they searched my suitcase, searched me, and handed me a new ID card.

Walking into the city, it was dark.  And not just because it was night.  The city gives this kind of feeling that seems depressing most of the time.  The plaza is giant compared to most that I have seen, and there are two combine blocks at the street, one to the north of the train station, and one to the east.  I have no idea where either lead.  I have no idea where most of the city is.  I took a slow walk around the plaza, getting to know where basic things are.  The ration terminal looks like all the others, at least from the outside.

I looked at my ID card, and noticed that there was no assigned apartment.  I went inside the Union Civil Housing to see if there was some way to tell, and it seems that apartments are assigned on a day to day basis on a screen in the lobby.  Today I was assigned apartment D-2.  There is literally nothing in it, all the walls are broken down, and it seems that there are three apartments together in one.  I know I shouldn't get used to the space but it is kind of nice when you need to sit down, relax, and knock on the sky.  It is a big hindrance to listen to the sound when the walls are practically held together with two pieces of paper covering the numerous holes, so the space is a welcome change.

Anyway, after getting myself set up in my apartment for the day, I set out to walk around a bit more and get a little exercise to try to keep at least a little bit of muscle.  I got a nice mental map put together of the plaza and the different shops surrounding it, but still don't know anything past the plaza.  I saw a few people standing and sitting around, but didn't talk to them too much, just the passing nod of a greeting or something.

After walking around in the plaza, I went back to my apartment and meditated for a bit, processing the information that I have gained today.  Hopefully tomorrow I will learn a bit more about the other areas of the city and possibly even figure out the way that rations are set up in this somewhat strange city.

All in all, it was a decent day, just a lot of confusion and processing.  Now, it is time to sleep.

* A scratchy thing that could resemble a signature or initials is at the bottom of the paper.

[Scratchie]

* A bit of scratching of the writing utensil can be seen at the top of the piece of paper.

Day 2.

Today was another interesting one.  Woke up to no sounds at all, and for a minute I forgot where I was and what was going on.  After getting up and doing my morning routine, situps and pushups, I went out of the apartment and down the stairs hoping for a view into the plaza.  Unfortunately the windows are either boarded up or  replaced with more wall, so that was not possible.  And when I looked around in the apartment lobby there seemed to be no clocks anywhere.  I had no idea of what time of day it was, and the fact that no one was wandering the halls or even in the lobby did not help in any way.

Going back upstairs, I went back into my apartment and put my stuff together and repacked my suitcase as I always do, then headed into the plaza.  Looking around once I got outside, I knew two things right off the bat.  One: this is still a depressing city.  And two: there was still no indication of what time it was.  It was dark out, but I don't even know if it is possible to be light out or if it was very early or very late.  Lets hope that the city does not stay dark as that would add to the depressing factor.  Not much I can do about that though.

* A note is scribbled on the side: Get flashlight and batteries.

I went and sat down on the benches that are scattered around the plaza, this time specifically the one by the statue in the center of the plaza that faces the northern barrier.  Once again I found myself wondering what was past that area.  From what I have seen so far, it is always guarded, so no one is allowed back I guess, which means exploring is out of the question.  After sitting there for what felt like hours, but was probably fifteen to twenty minutes, I started noticing a few people making their way out of the Union Civil Housing towards the plaza.

Standing up and stretching slightly, I began a loop around the plaza seeing if anything was open or seeing if I missed anything, even though I know I didn't.  Partway into my walk, not even rounding in front of the train station, I began to notice something so I stood to the side and leaned against the Souvenir shop's boarded windows and watched.  Through the eastern barrier, which doesn't appear to be guarded, I saw a group of citizens coming out.  It being odd enough for a group to walk like they did, it made it even odder that the majority of them were wearing odd clothes.  They were either wearing these big coats with flashlights hanging on them, white shirts, or both.

One of the people in the group noticed me watching them and I watched as he approached one of the others who appeared to be a leader of some sort.  I think he was a leader because he was the only one in the group with a clipboard.  But after the one that noticed me finish talking to him, the leader started towards me.  I started walking back towards the Union Civil Housing and after a little bit looked over my shoulder.  The leader had rejoined his group and I went back to the benches and sat on the one that faces the big metal door.

Now, I am unsure if it is a good thing or not, assuming not, but while sitting there I was looking around the plaza.  More citizens were in the plaza now, and my wandering eyes took my gaze to the top balcony of the building with the metal door that I was sitting in front of.  While I was looking up there, the Sectoral Commander walked out and was surveying the plaza.  I quickly averted my gaze but I don't think I was fast enough because I started to feel a piercing gaze on my head.  It felt as if my mind was being read and I could do nothing about it.  As soon as the gaze left, there was a slight silence that fell and then I heard one of the loudest voices ever.  It was the dispatcher announcing rations, so I began to move myself towards the rations terminal.

As soon as the doors opened for the terminal, I got a look inside as the line moved.  It was unlike any other.  The room itself gave an eerie feeling, mostly due to the room that the queue lead into.  The room itself had no way in except the metal door, and who knows what is inside.  I kept my gaze down, stayed quiet, and kept moving with the line.  It was a good thing I stayed quiet as numerous people got pulled out of the line for saying hi.  The lined moved slowly, and after who knows how long I was finally in the front of the line and in front of the metal door.

The door opened slowly, giving an eerie screech of metal on metal and I walked in, the door slamming close behind me causing me to slightly jump.  The process, once inside the room, was familiar enough.  I applied, was given a ration packet, put it in my suitcase, and left.  I headed to my apartment and opened the ration packet.  I placed the token slips inside the special pocket in the suitcase, and placed the citizen supplements and the water on the table.  I sat down, opened one of the cans, and stared at the wall.

I'm not sure how long I was staring at the wall before I returned to reality and began to eat the supplements but I came back and finished off half of my supplements and one of the waters.  I put the remaining supplements and the water in my suitcase for later as I did not know when the next ration cycle would be.  I made sure nothing was missing and then I headed back outside into the plaza and once again sat on the benches.

I had closed my eyes for some time, sitting there letting the mind wander and knocking on the sky a bit.  After a while I felt someone sit next to me so I opened my eyes and noticed a girl on the bench next to me.  She noticed that I was looking at her and started apologizing for waking me up.  I explained to her that I was just meditating and was not asleep.  She then began on about being sorry for breaking my meditation.  I stopped her telling her not to worry.  I then had an idea, and asked her about the barrier at the northern end of the road and what the deal was with it.

She explained to me about Sector Six, how it used to be an industrial area, and how that the resistance took over a while back.  The resistance didn't last long though, but for a time no one was allowed back there.  Security to the sector is still tight and only people  with no criminal history on record are allowed back she said.

I thanked her for the information, got up, and headed back to my apartment.  Once I was there I sat down and processed this new bit of information, and decided that one day I would explore it a bit.  But for now I needed to meditate some more, and at this point I realized that I was tired.  So I meditated a while, and now it is time for sleep.

* A scratchy thing that could resemble a signature or initials is at the bottom of the paper.

[Would you like some 3.14159265?]

Out of Character for OOC:

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