The Downfall

Music pulsed around them. Taking away their heartbeat, replacing it with the beat. Gradually getting faster and then slower. It breathed the life that made them move around as exotically as they did. But with exotic dancing, came exotic thirst. The girl, the girl who wouldn’t pay attention to anyone but herself, stepped down from the platform. Her dancing ceasing in the moment. Trying to make her way through the crowd of the dancers and the talkers and the laughers, she eventually made it to the bar. Sweat plastered her hair to the back of her neck, but somehow, even with beads of sweat trickling down her face, her makeup still seemed perfect. “ Uh, a water, please. “ She spoke to the bartender, sliding up on one of the stools, choosing to abandon her small group of friends on the dancefloor, at least for now. They always came looking eventually. But right now? Her moment of calmness. Smiling gratefully at the bartender when he set the water down in front of her, she reached into her pocket to pull out some cash. Water was free at places like this where she lived, but it was always nice to tip. Pulling out a five, she handed to him. He handed it back to her insisting she kept it. Her lips turned down into a small frown at that. “ No, take it. You’re a working man in a place that’s packed. Let me do my bit of kindness for the day. “ She semi-joked. Nadia always tried to be kind, especially to strangers and working people. “ Keep it, Jon. “ She insisted reading his name tag. Jon smiled at her, a small, genuine smile. “ Thank you. “ He spoke, and that was that. Nadia drank her water, and Jon went back to serving customers. That was before the siren went off. Jon and Nadia shared a look of panic before he yelled out to panicking people. “ Here! In the back! “ He lead as many people as he could to supply room. There wasn’t much room for a lot of people, but somehow, he made the best of it. Nadia was squished in between two shaking girls and nearly on top of a cursing guy. But still, she was thankful she had a place to hide out while others had to scatter and hope for safety. They had many drills like this, but everyone knew this wasn’t a drill. She wanted to step on the guy's foot. Make him shut up. If they were found out, they were dead. She had to quiet her breaths. She brought a hand up to muffle herself and soon realized that others followed her. They were doing the same thing, some, with silent tears rolling down their cheeks, others with just a panicked twitch. They all had something. They all kept showing emotion. One that would get them all executed. Emotions, something that was so free in the past, but now? It was so limited. Only the wealthy were able to escape prosecution, that was if they had their blue card. The blue card, the one that decided whether you were able to show your emotions, or at least, how much of an emotion you were allowed to show. Cards ranged from a dark brown to a light sky blue. Sky blue meant you were rich, the wealthy, the ones who were able to buy their emotional freedom back. It was seen as a way to bring back the economy and to lower the crime rate. Only, it didn’t help the crime rate. People started banding together. Rebelling. That was why they were hiding now. They were in rebellion territory. The mark that branded each of their hips was the same. The small, classic, red R. Red stood for passion. That's what they all had, what they all wished for. As fear wrapped itself around Nadia's neck, she wondered why she was doing this? Why was she risking her life? It was a silly, stupid question that she would never rationally ask herself. But fear did things to you. It made you question everything. Send into your natural fight or flight mode. Then, she remembered. She was showing emotion. She was feeling it. And no matter how much a certain emotion gripped at her airways and made her stomach drop to her feet, she would rather have this than be a robot like everyone else. Emotions made you who you were. There was no getting away from that. There was no argument against it. How you reacted gave you out as a person. Nadia’s eyes were trained on the door. She could hear moving footsteps outside of the metal room. Everyone could. Friends gripped onto hands, lovers held the other tightly. But Nadia? She was there, alone in the sea of strangers. She felt a hand slip into her own. It was the blonde next to her. Nadia looked down at the other's perfectly manicured fingers and then back up to her face. Tears streaked down. This may well be her last human contact before she died if she died that night. So, despite not normally engaging in human contact, Nadia gripped her hand. Her breath hitched with the door opened, but she, and so many others relaxed when Jon poked his head through. “ All clear. “ He said. Everyone's sighs turned into relieved smiles. Nadia even let out a breathless laugh. She was safe another day. Slowly, everyone started to file out. Nadia, like others, figured it would be time to go home now. Or, at least to their temporary home. Rebel territories and bases were being found day after day. One in Houston was terminated the day before. They killed nearly everyone. Only a few escaped in time. It was getting harder and harder to survive. But, they all made it work. Stepping outside, a small, chilling breeze whipped Nadia’s hair around her face. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her, but smiled anyway. This was what it was. And she enjoyed her freedom. Walking the block home, her heels clicked and clacked on the stones. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. A small tiny rhythm for something greater than itself. As she walked under the clear night sky, her mind drifted back to the day her life changed. Standing in line at the emotional check office, Nadia was stone-faced. Everyone was. Nobody could show emotion until they got their cards. Finally, Nadia was up to the counter. She took out her ID, the one that labeled said her economic class. Poor. It read. God, she hated the reminder. Living day to day, already worrying about the next day, paying yesterday’s debts only to have debts for that day. Would they ever catch a break? The lady at the counter raised her eyebrows at Nadia. She knew that look all too well. ‘ Cash? ‘ It read. Right. Cash. Money. Dinero. She needed to pay. Digging into her back pocket, Nadia pulled out the twenty. The bare minimum. “ Thank you. “ The woman spoke. She looked to be around her mid-thirties. Nadia just nodded towards her and grabbed the dark brown card. It reminded her of feces or coffee. Whatever color it actually was, Nadia detested it. She was only allowed two faces of emotion a day. She saved one for if the bureau ever came busting down her door. Oh yes, they killed you for showing surprise when they kick down your door randomly. They also do that. An exercise is what they called it. Nadia called it cold-blooded murder. But hey, that was just her. Her day then proceeded as normal. Walking home, yelling at and with her mother, working, and then back home to yell some more. Only this time, it was different. On her way back home, someone bumped into her. Normally, Nadia wouldn’t mind, but this person did it harshly. As if he meant to hurt her. Sending a quick glare at the other, she muttered a few colorful words under her breath. She didn’t see the note until she got home and emptied her coat pockets. Most of what was in her pockets were tips she made. Thank god for her regular customers. In the midst of her cash and change, she spotted it. A little, white piece of paper that wasn’t there before. It was folded up into a tiny and neat square. Curiosity getting the best of her, she picked it up and unfolded the paper. Wallace Street. 7:30. It read. Someone wanted to meet her, and she was sure, she couldn't be seen.