Production

I stumbled into my simple room. Bare furniture scavenged over the years and heavily damaged walls, patch repaired until I have the money to fix it greet me. My eyelids weighed me down. I stifled a sob. I don't want to live like this. Forever. Rolling a knot out of my back, I knock loose acorns that come crackling down my spine. Bones settling back into place. My gloves knocked the smith's ash into a neat pile on the floor. Exhausted, I hammered myself into bed. The noises that every person avoids to keep sleepers at peace, prying my eyes wide awake. I sighed and looked for More. Feeling around the cardboard box I used to keep the cat litter in another box, I searched for my wallet. I had started resting it there. A slick black leather wallet that my friend found me on the side of a road. My thick brown leather wallet was too big while holding little he said. I found it flat against the box. More pills spilled out. I grabbed one and turned it over in my hand. Studying it. Who doesn't want More? I swallow. I felt its unnatural shape as it lowered.

I felt myself lighten. I took my cup half full on my table and I washed down the soot like a chimney sweep. I needed something to hold my larger items down at the market. It's dusty there. Small flakes rest on my gloves. I stopped by a mostly concrete building with a tattered canvas overhang. I saw some accessories that sparkled and would lighten up my face. Most were too flashy and pricey for my dwindling wallet, but my eyes settled on a small heart shaped locket. Red tinted metal reforged into a nice, round shape. A few hinges melted on. Something a simple smithy could make, but beautiful. I pulled out my slim black leather wallet and turned my coins over in my hand. Three shiny metals glinted back at me. Not enough to buy the locket and something to hold my pills. "Does it still open?" The store owner shook his head once and glared at the door. I put my hand on the locket remorsefully. Only another day at the forge. I looked at the owner waiting for me to go where his eyes said. I looked at the locket in my hand. Glinting up at me from under my brown leather coat. The door glinted back at the owner. I put my glove to my lips to stifle a laugh and pretended to cough from the dust. I walked through the door.

Rainbows danced off the oil lanterns down the street. People brushed by me. They were too busy to be bothered by me or the guards that the shop owner was talking to. They yelled at me, and gave chase with their reforged guns drawn. Quickly weaving in and out of the civilians they would not damage, I bounded up rickety stairs down a nearby alleyway. Up and down the streets, past the towers of houses I ran. Every dusty, overworked person I bumped into sent a warm fuzzy feeling throughout my entire body. I giggled madly in between sneezes. The pills were working their magic. All my stress faded and I found myself slowing to see the sights. Crooked trees waving to me as I passed, holding up a rickety rope bridge that grunted with my every step, and two hissing serpents, slithering through a crowd of funny looking bipedal creatures. I sped up again. Right into a massive wall. Moaning faces of those who died making it struggled to escape their tomb. Even in my heightened state, I knew it was the wall built to keep the creatures of the irradiated outside away. The serpents appeared at the other end of the rope bridge. They slapped me with their plastic tails. I blacked out.

My head swam and danced as I opened my eyes to a dazzling sun. I felt wind rushing against my face, and my body being leaned back. My eyes focused on the two serpents. But there was another creature there. A golden dragon glared and breathed his soot on me. “So this is the girl stealing my property. Tell me, why would you take what is rightfully mine?” I processed each word individually, turning them over in my head. I had to answer properly or they would know I had More pills from work. People kill for scraps. I remembered that I had to answer the dragon. He asked me something. I thought about my last thoughts carefully, turning them over in my head. I couldn’t remember. Why couldn’t I ask the dragon to repeat again?

“What?” I asked slowly. The dragon whipped me with his gem encrusted tail and spoke to the serpents. My ears were warm and fuzzy so I couldn’t hear. But the serpents slithered forward and pulled out my slim black leather wallet. More pills spilled out. A glittering tail held one up to the dragon’s face.

“Ah, her work offers benefits I see.” The golden tail slid out a card from my slim black leather wallet. “Well, well, well. One of my smithies I see. A shiny metal tail went into my shoulder and let free sparkling soda. I looked at it wide eyed and confused, then back at the dragon. The soda was ruining my brown leather coat.

“Hey, stop that!” I demanded. The dragon huffed soot in anger.

“Watch who you are speaking to! I will tell you what to do! I own you!” The dragon’s face grew more plump and red. I tried to retreat into my chair, but I felt myself start to fall. The serpents struggled to hold it. A guard hat fell off of one. I looked down at the dazzling lamp lights below me. I turned back to two guards and the forge owner before me. He cleaned blood off an ornate knife with a fine red handkerchief. At least I hope it was red. He dangled a rusty heart shaped locket in front of me. “Imagine, all this trouble for a shitty locket. There were a million nicer things in there and you chose this. Why?”

“I didn’t want to steal something valuable from a store owner.” The forge owner laughed.

“Honey, he works for me.” He held his hands out in a grand gesture. “This whole city works for me. Except,” He motioned the guards to stand by his side and placed a foot on my chair. “ for you.” He gave a hearty shove. I spiraled off the housing tower. My blood made a trail behind me as the air brushed by me. The serpents and the dragon watched.