My
eyes went to the cupboard door for only the briefest of seconds to make sure it
was still closed. It was.
The keeper’s eyes went there as well.
“Are there more of you?” he asked calmly.
“Of course not,” I breathed. “You’ve seen
my papers.”
He nodded, taking too much time to study
my face. He nodded again and moved toward the cupboard.
Too panicked to be wise, I gripped my
stomach and crumpled to the ground.
He froze, looking down at me. “Are you a
disease bearer?”
I glanced past him to the small eyes
peeking up at me from the open cupboard door. “Yes,” I whispered. “I carry
disease.”
The
man nodded, not quite so unfeeling now. “Disease bearers are not permitted in
the relocation centers or the work camps. They must go directly to be
recycled.”
“Yes,” I said, as I stood up to follow
him to the door. “I know they do.”
Most interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
That certainly reminds me to the movie, "They shoot the horses, don't they?" ... so much possibility now, intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen that one, but it sounds like I need to.
DeleteGood story! I like flash, fun to write and a challenge. Thanks for stopping by! GirlZombieAuthors
ReplyDeletethank you, and thank you also for visiting.
DeleteWow! That's quite the ending. Really enjoyed this!
ReplyDeletethank you, glad you stopped by.
DeleteRecycled sounds awful.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't pretty.
DeleteGreat piece! Very interesting. I'd like to read on.
ReplyDeletethank you.
DeleteThat was a great one. :)
ReplyDeletethanks. It was one of the harder ones to write, mainly because of the subject matter.
DeleteOh no. Recycled? Doesn't sound very healthy.
ReplyDeleteBut on the plus side your organs will find a good home.
DeleteNow I'm wondering how disease bearers get recycled.
ReplyDeleteIn this new society everyone needs to be useful, so if they are not useful alive, they will be with their death.
DeleteI want to know who is in the cupboard!! This person doesn't even have the disease, does she? She's just faking to save a little kid or something. Crap...this definitely intrigued me and now I'm annoyed that it's so short!! :)
ReplyDeleteHere's a hint: Killdeers are birds that feign injury to draw their enemies away from their young.
DeleteI see the beginning of a dystopian story here!
ReplyDeleteMaybe. I love dystopians.
DeleteOh wow. Heavy.
ReplyDeleteand sad.
DeleteThat's a very curious passage. Seems to be a lot going on in that scene.
ReplyDeleteYeah. It's hard to pack in all the details in such a short piece. Every word tells a story in itself.
DeleteSo is this a killdeer bird or a canned food character named Killdeer? I like the personification and I'm intrigued. Just wanna know what these characters are that can be recycled!
ReplyDeleteChontali Kirk
chontalikirk.blogspot.com
I never thought of that! No, it's based on the behavior of a killdeer bird and how they sacrifice themselves to save their young.
DeleteI can definitely see this being expanded into a novel. Poignant, frightening.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Of all my shorts, this one is the most likely that I would expand.
DeleteDang! I don't like how "recycled" sounds.
ReplyDeleteIt aint pretty.
DeleteTense scene!! Nice. :)
ReplyDeleteIs the suggestion that she's now made him a bearer too, by breathing on him?
ReplyDeleteNo. but he is afraid of that. Actually she is completely healthy. She is sacrificing herself to save her children hidden in the cupboard.
DeleteAhhh...killdeers, yes. Well-written scene.
ReplyDeletejust over visiting from http://thecontemplativecat.blogspot.com
Thank you. Those birds have fascinated me for years.
DeleteWow, intriguing! And thanks for the visit to my blog :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for visiting mine.
DeleteDarn, I was going to say "Wow," but Duncan beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteIt still counts. Thank you.
DeleteI so want to know what/who is in the cupboard. :) I will say Wow too!
ReplyDeleteHer daughter and her son; the first four,the second eight.
DeleteVery intriguing! There are days when I think I would volunteer for recycling ;)
ReplyDelete:)
Deletewow, you've packed in so much in this little snippet! I want to know more!
ReplyDeleteI may make this one into a longer short.
DeleteAmazing how you have told such a chilling, sad tale in such a short vignette. This is my favorite on so far!
ReplyDeleteMine, too, probably because it is about one of my worst fears.
DeleteOh no! It's too short to make me feel so bad and yet it does!
ReplyDelete