She’d opted to come and work out in the fields, instead of staying cooped up in the Hive. Three men had been executed for stealing food from the upper tiers. There had been a raid on their rooms. It had been a horrible affair. They’d been shot in the atrium, where all could see. The black clad guards with the yellow belts had carried out the sentencing. Their world was such a nightmare that Megan wondered if it wouldn’t be better on the outside.
They could leave, buses left everyday with people who chose to leave the Hive. Once gone, you could never come back. That was the threat, the hook. Once you go, you’re on your own. And that, was a scary thought. Life was hard in the Hive, but what awaited them out there? Looking around, she watched the guards. There weren’t many. They all had AR15s. The residents had been told the guards were there for their protection. That there were violent people and gangs roaming the areas.
When the bus had brought them here, she’d looked out the window. Topeka had been a ghost town. She’d been so shocked to see all the windows, doors and buildings broken, shattered and destroyed. They were blackened and scorched. Homes burned to the ground. Devastation all around. She’d even seen skeletal remains in yards. She’d cried softly for the lost souls. Yes, life was hard in the Hive, but they were promised an easier time once the first crops started coming in. She didn’t believe it though.
A trading post had opened in the atrium, once a week. Items, such as lotions, deodorants, paper, and other odds and ends were traded. More things became available to buy with their coupons. The residents of the Hive were not given money, but they were given coupons. Two months ago, goods were brought in, and the residents could now purchase items. It wasn’t a lot and the Hive had over thirty thousand residence now. Things went fast at the market. Then, later, items popped up at the trading post. Slowly, things were getting better, but again, they were worked like dogs. Eating was done in shifts, sleeping done in shifts, working done in shifts and they had one day off.
There were no more than four people allowed to gather at one time for any reason. So, there were no church services. Politics and religion were not allowed to be discussed, at least not loudly enough to be heard. Megan, Tilly and Ian lived their lives in whispers. They spoke the propaganda bullshit that the Hive wanted to hear and whispered their true thoughts.
Ian was wanting to leave, but not with the Hive’s permission.
“Something isn’t right. I don’t see them just agreeing to let people leave like that. Not when we’re so fenced in and guarded. If we were truly free, then we should be able to leave the Hive and come back when we want. But we can’t. So why would they let us just leave on a bus? Why won’t they let us just walk?” Ian had said one evening. They were sitting on the living room couch, close together, so they couldn’t be overheard by the monitoring devices that were all over the small apartment.
“What do you think they do? If someone wants to leave, why would the Hive care? Less people they have to feed.” Tilly had asked. Megan smiled and wiped at her face. She was so glad to have Tilly with her. She’d have gone crazy, if it hadn’t been for her friend. She looked over at her, the woman was taller and seemed to manage the tiller easier than herself. As did Ian. He looked over at her at that moment and grinned and winked. She grinned back and got back to task.
Her mind went once more to the conversation. All she had was thinking these days. There wasn’t a lot of free speech at the Hive, so all you could do was think and think and think some more. What Ian said to Tilly’s question, shook her deeply. She wondered if Ian was right?
“I think they take people away, telling them they’ll set them free, but honestly, I think they kill them. I don’t know why, but I don’t think the government wants us roaming free anymore. I think this is just a way to keep us under control. Years ago, the UN proposed Agenda 21. Back when I was a baby. It essentially wanted to limit human expansion, depopulate and regulate usage of land. They wanted to put people in places like the Hive. To contain us, to keep us from breeding, over populating.”
“That’s crazy.” Megan had hissed, shocked. She’d never heard of Agenda 21.
“Yeah, well, the president signed on. Back in 1992, at the Earth Summit, and essentially, they wanted to accomplish global sustainable development. In other words, they wanted to set limits on land usage, population control, pollution control and other key problems. Which, on the surface sounds good. But the UN wanted a say over the United States, over our constitutional rights. It essentially gives the very few a say over the vast majority. Us.”
Megan had been stunned. Was this what had happened? Had the government turned the tragedy of the bombings into some kind of control? Had the Hives been a contingency all along? To move the vast majority of the populations into small islands of life, while leaving the rest of the country to lay fallow, to go back to pristine conditions? Ian’s perspicuous perception was eye-opening. If what Ian said was true, then there was misery ahead, and there was no end to it. They’d sold their freedom for bread and shelter.
A cloud passed overhead, and Megan shivered.
