Blood, Smiles and Tears

Hunks of meat flickered off the wall as Drew lost their footing. The blood dripped from the wet tendrils of the mop onto their impeccably shaved head. Drew focused on the amber glow of the tiny screen on their carbon grey bracelet, inspecting it for damage. They sighed with relief as it was unscathed. Drew continued mopping blood, bone, and flesh off the white walls, along the white floors and into the small open shoot in the centre of the room. After another hour of sweeping, polishing, and inspecting the area for any crimson imperfections, the task was complete. Swiping their finger along the bracelet transformed the faint amber hue to green. An unfamiliar sensation curled Drew’s lips. It was a smile.

A soft vibration from the bracelet rattled their bloodstained wrist. They swiped the screen to answer the call, which transmitted to a small device lodged inside the right ear.

“Congratulations. You have earned enough credits for a panel interview. Head towards the chambers. It’s time you got to the surface.”

***

Drew walked down the familiar white hallways; stuck inside a slideshow of the life they were leaving behind. The Jumpsuits with shaved heads, looking at their bracelets after every monotonous task. Hoping it was the final one that granted the panel interview each worker had been conditioned to crave. It was the only escape.

The workers polished the screens that cycled through the same loop of images that reminded them of the rules and the rewards for following them.

Working for the corporation equals the three S’s. Surface, Sun, and Self.

The rules: No Questions. No Gender. No removal of bracelets. No talking.

Work equals credits. Credits equal interview. Interviews equal the three S’s.

The final image was the poster that led Drew to this job. It contained a cartoon caricature of an underground person with the standard shaved head, wearing the standard black jumpsuit, smiling as if blessed with a perfect life. The sun shining in the background. Captioned underneath with the words “It’s just that easy!”

Suddenly Drew found themselves dragged into the office of their Panellist.

“We don’t have much time.” The Panellist was a tall figure, wearing a green suit and red tie. Their head as hairless as any of the jumpsuits. This suit had been helping Drew in secret to obtain credits sooner.

“Time for what?” Drew asked.

“No questions. You know the rules. Just listen.”

The suit pulled a silver locket attached to a gold chain from their jacket and thrust it around Drew's neck. Drew took in the lockets’ intricate pattern before it was hidden away under their black collar. In that brief glance, it had been the most beautiful object seen in their entire life. Far more glamourous than anything in the underground slums and containing far more detail than anything in the halls of the corporation.

“This is a good luck charm, and aid, if you get lost in the test.” The suit coughed. “I mean interview. Just aim it forward and the little light on the back will glow green when pointed in the correct direction.”

“Test?” Drew asked.

“No questions. You have to go; you know I’m on the panel and I’m late. All you need to do is finish. First, last, it doesn’t matter. Just finish. Got that?”

“Finish what?”

“No questions.”

The suit ushered Drew back out into the hallway. Before they could say thank you for the help and advice over the past few months the door slid shut. Drew noticed a sign pointing to the interview room. Drew took a deep breath and set forward on the walk they had been dreaming about for many years.

***

The sterile panel room was rife with the familiar stench of disinfectant and bleach. Drew stood alongside three people as identical in appearance they could have been a set of quadruplets. The same shaved head. The same chemical-stained black jumpsuit. The same vacant look, void of any emotion.

Drew fixated on the three green suited figures situated on tall, slender chairs behind a thick pane of protective glass. Drew’s recognised their contact with the red tie sitting on the left side. The centre panellist had a yellow tie, the one on the right a blue one. It was their only distinguishing feature.

“Your panel interview begins now. Your task is to make it through the maze without taking your bracelets off.” Yellow tie said.

The jumpsuit next to Drew arched forward to speak but was silenced before they could make a sound.

“No questions. The interview starts now. Enter the door with the number correlated on your bracelets.”

Drew’s bracelet flashed the number four. The line of jumpsuits spun around and walked towards their numbered door. Drew dared not glance or speak, focusing all attention on the door and the freedom it represented. This was it. No more mopping up blood. Cleaning toilets. Polishing the same white polished walls. The same disgusting stew every night.

Drew ascended the stairs beyond door number four. Three steps up and the entrance snapped shut. It was just Drew and a faint sound of air being sucked from the darkened stairwell. Suddenly the door at the top of the stairs snapped open and revealed something Drew had only seen in pictures.

The sky.

The vast open space just above the maze walls fluttered with faint fluorescent orange particles. Drew hesitated to take a breath, in awe of this moment and fearful of the tainted air. Taking in a deep breath anyway, Drew relished the fresh relief of unfiltered air. The door swiftly snapped shut and broke Drew from their trance.

It was time to go.

The maze walls were as white and polished as the walls down below. Each step around another corner mirroring the last. The lack of split pathways disorientated Drew. They had been expecting a maze, not a winding hallway. But before confusion set in - they heard the rushing footsteps from the other side of the wall.

“Must be first. Must be first. They only take the first.” The frantic voice disappeared as swift footsteps echoed into the distance. Drew felt a cold burst of panic. The instruction this person had been given conflicted with Drew’s, which made them pick up the pace.

Racing down the linear pathway, Drew paused once more at a guttural scream muffled in the distance. They listened carefully. Then a second scream of a different person. Pulsating thuds vibrated the ground. Then the walls. Then stillness. One of the challengers had been silenced.

Drew bolted. Left, right. Left, right. There was no choice. It was a linear path – until the exit. The first break in the pathway was marked with an unusual exit sign. Under the sign was an arrow pointing left and an arrow pointing right. Drew plucked the heart-shaped locket tucked under their collar and held it up to the left exit. It did nothing. Then to the right. The light on the back flickered green. Without hesitation Drew ran in the right direction. Inside the familiar stepped corridor again, the sense of relief was fleeting. The entrance snapped shut and the stairs retracted into the floor creating a slide. Drew was ushered swiftly back into the panel room on their back. Sweaty and confused.

“Congratulations.” The panellist with the yellow tie announced. “You have completed the interview.”

Drew’s lips once more curled involuntarily into a smile.

***

Drew composed themselves as the Panellist with the red tie gave an approving nod. Then the second person slid into the centre of the room, drenched in sweat, and breathing profusely. Drew saw the disappointment in their sweat-filled eyes as the revelation they were in second place set in. The disappointment turned to befuddlement when the yellow tie stood up once more and announced. “Congratulations. You have completed the interview.”

Neither interviewee had a chance to ponder this. The third and final person slid into the room covered in a thick spattering of blood.

The bloody person rose to their feet, eyes wide with shock. Drew surveyed the panel for their reactions. They looked calm. Like clockwork, the yellow tie rose up out of the chair, looked down at the bloody figure and exclaimed. “Congratulations. You have completed the interview.” The figure with the blue tie then addressed the puzzled jumpsuits.

“You can deposit your bracelets into the receptacle in the centre of the window. Then enter the elevator, which will take you up to the surface.”

Drew shared a sense of confusion with the others, but without hesitation walked over to the window separating them from the panel and placed the bracelet into a small retractable airlock cube. Upon closer inspection, the windows separating them from the panellists were far thicker than first sight.

Drew glanced up at the panellist with the red tie, but the returned look was different. Almost sinister.

Drew followed the jumpsuits to the elevator with transparent glass doors. As the doors slowly shut behind them, Drew turned to the panel. They couldn’t hear the panel but could see them all laughing. Each panellist picked up a bracelet and examined them. Drew suddenly felt a crackling sound inside their ear. They had forgotten the earpiece was still lodged inside. One of the panellists had accidentally called her.

“What did you say to yours?” The red tie asked the others.

“I said you had to kill to pass.” The blue tie replied. “That’s why there was a fourth, more meat for their stew.”

“I told mine you had to be first, or else!” Snickered the yellow tie.

“Did you go with the classic ‘locket as good luck charm’ bit?” The Blue tie asked the red.

“Am I that predictable?” They all burst into another fit of laughter.

Drew’s stomach clenched and hands trembled as rage electrified their veins. But continued to listen.

The giggling panellists snapped from jovial laughter to utter disappointment.

“Drat.” The yellow tie exclaimed. “The surface is still toxic.”

“It’s lower than last time.” Said the blue tie. “If it keeps dropping at these rates, we might be able to return in years, not decades.”

“Shit, mine has been listening.” Drew’s panellist dropped the bracelet, stopped talking and looked directly at the elevator.

The words ‘toxic’ and ‘decades’ mixed with their inhumane laughter echoed through Drew’s mind. The panellist smiled at Drew and spoke one last time.

“Thanks for the data. Oh and the meat for stew.” The earpiece went silent.

Drew turned to the others as a beeping sound erupted from their neck. They grabbed the heart-shaped locket in a panic. It was the most unique thing Drew had ever seen – until the other two pulled identical lockets from around their necks too.

The lockets flashed red faster and faster. The beeping louder and louder.

Tears poured down Drew’s cheeks. But with these revelations, all Drew could muster was one last smile.

Then in a flash, the heart-shaped lockets exploded, sending blood, sweat and tears cascading over the elevator walls.

***

A lone worker with a shaved head noticed their bracelet vibrate.

“Cleaner to the panellists' chambers. One thousand credits.” Echoed into their earpiece.

They swiped the bracelet screen to accept the job before anyone else.

Once the room was spotless, the cleaner did one last check. The walls, ceiling and floors had been mopped clean. The chunks of flesh and bone disposed of down the chute in the centre of the floor. The lone cleaner swiped the amber glow of their bracelet screen, indicating the task was done. The bracelet turned green.

“Congratulations. You have earned enough credits for a panel interview. Head towards the chambers. It’s time you got to the surface.” The voice in their earpiece stated.

The lone worker felt an unfamiliar sensation convulse their lips.

A single, hope-filled smile.