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It was strange how easily her mother talked about her dad too as if they had ever lived together, when that man had disappeared before she could even remember him.
She still had a few hours before starting work, so Eden slowly took out what she had bought for the puppies. There was an amazing feeling of relief in thinking she had gotten all of this with Loir’s money. Her pups had almost more belongings than her now… She had given in to Granny Duong’s legendary sales skills and splurged on a cushion for each of them to sleep on, some toys, and a lot of dog food. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about that for a while.
Seeing the two of them sleep so peacefully, Eden smiled. She loved how animals remained innocent amidst this troubled world… After cleaning the room a little bit with the broom she had, she got up, and she went back to lying next to them on the mattress. Their hot little bodies somehow found their way to her and curled up against her, and Eden slowly gave in too, feeling sleepy.
She woke up to the pups barking.
By reflex, Eden opened her eyes and stood up immediately, ready for any danger. She quickly located Beer and Bullet, both yelping under her window.
“Hush, you two!” she said as she walked up to them.
Beer ran to her and she took the little pittie in her arms, but Bullet was still unhappy about whatever was going on outside. He was way too small to see, but he didn’t need to. The ruckus was terrible. Eden got closer to the window, but she was careful not to stand directly in front of it, just in case.
As she had suspected from the noise, it was an Overcraft. She wasn’t too surprised to see one here as they came from time to time… She opened the window slightly to hear the scene, although she was well aware of what was going on.
The engine landed in the empty parking lot a few streets away, and soldiers in black uniforms walked out, escorting some people in handcuffs. Eden frowned. She counted seven prisoners. Five men, a woman, and a woman who looked even younger than herself. While the three men that came out first were quiet with defeated looks on their faces, the next one was incredibly loud, shouting at the soldiers. Even Eden could hear him from where she was.
“…my rights! I’m not a criminal! I asked for another trial, you cannot treat me like this! I am an innocent citizen; I do not belong here! There was a mistake! You can’t do this to me!”
Eden sighed. This was a familiar scene, but it had been a while since an exiled one had been so loud. The woman and young woman were crying and looked terrified, and she realized they ought to be that man’s wife and daughter. The man behind him may have been his son or brother, perhaps. They were all wearing white clothes, and Eden grimaced. They weren’t going to last long…
“I said, you can’t leave me here! This goes against my rights! You, soldier? What’s your name? I want your identification number! You’ll see what I can do with my relations at the–”
“All of you are exiled from the Core from today on,” announced one of the soldiers loudly, ignoring him. “You were judged by the Supreme Court as unfit to retain your rights as citizens of the Core. Your SINs, possessions, and rights have been confiscated. You are prohibited from visiting the Core as of today.”
The older woman began crying loudly, and the soldiers suddenly grabbed one of the men, putting a little tool against his neck. He screamed as his SIN was forcefully removed. The injury was ugly, a little patch of skin was torn off and bleeding, but the soldiers moved on to the next one without care. The loud man kept protesting.
“See, Bullet? That idiot is going to die first.” Eden sighed.
He should have been glad his SIN was removed. Otherwise, someone else would have attacked him to steal it and try to hack it… Eden knew that scene all too well, and she watched without feeling sorry for those people. If they were here, they had probably escaped a death sentence. Although, citizens of the Core being sent here had a very limited chance of survival…
She put her puppy down and glanced at the sky outside, deciding it was time to go. She packed a couple of things for work, put her jacket back on, and called out to the pups to follow her. Although they weren’t fond of their leashes, Beer and Bullet seemed to have understood the rule that they had to follow her. Eden quickly left the building, careful to take a detour away from the parking lot. As soon as the Overcraft was gone, those people were inevitably going to face rippers: people who had seen the engine and were lying in wait to rob whatever they had left.
“Eden!”
She stopped, seeing Lula running to her.
“Are you going to work already?”
“I don’t have money for the bus,” explained Eden. “I’ll walk.”
“Oh, just come with me. I’ll pay for your ride!”
“No thanks, Lula, I’m–”
“Oh my God, those puppies are so cute! Are they yours? Can I pet them?”
After that, Eden couldn’t really protest anymore against Lula offering her the bus ride. She didn’t work the previous night, but Eden knew Lula was one of the most popular hostesses and made good money. Moreover, two of her older brothers worked for the Mexican gang, so she was one of the few girls who could walk around without worries.
The two girls got on the bus, Lula doing most of the talking, and completely fond of the two pups already. While Beer was acting all cute and curious, Bullet kept yelping until Eden put him in her bag and calmed him down with a few ear scratches.
“Did you see the Overcraft?” asked Lula.
“Yeah…”
“I really can’t stand those people. They were given everything, and they were stupid enough to disobey and be sent here? I really have no pity for them. And thinking we are all criminals too! Do they think we are born with guns in our hands?”
Eden couldn’t agree more. She had no idea what people were taught in the Core, but it’s always the same scene whenever some are exiled here. They were arrogant and considered all the locals as savage criminals, uneducated bums. Although the gun violence and the pressure of the Zodiacs were real, a lot of the inhabitants were just regular people, doing their best to survive and take care of their families.
