Chapter Two

I haven't seen another person for weeks.

I have to venture into the centre to steal what food I need but mostly I stay out in hills in and out of the caves. This area is not populated. All the people live in the centre in state provided housing. Like battery chickens.

Going into the centre is always dangerous. That's where all the agents of The Constabulary are. On every street corner. Every citizen would turn you over to The Consortium given half a chance. So I go under the cover of darkness. The Guidelines set a curfew for the citizens; the streets are deserted at night. Only the occasional watchmen patrolling the streets to avoid.

Tonight was going to be another forage in the centre. If all went to plan I would have enough food to last for another couple of weeks. I always move on after a visit to the centre. It is the most dangerous time in my existence just after I return. The people hunting me are revitalised by a sighting and they search more instensely. The more proof I give them I'm not dead the harder they search. So I pack up my camp before I leave and store it nearby. When I return I can pick it up on the way to finding a new camp. This way I don't have to risk dismantling my camp with officers of The Constabulary hot on my tail. I don't always get caught, more often they don't even notice me, but it always pays to have precautions.

My camp is all packed up now. Everything I take with me is light, portable and doesn't take up much room. Sometimes I have to move fast and I can't have heavy equipment weighing me down. I don't own much. I have a blanket to sleep on; if it rains I find a cave, I have a change of clothes, a knife, a tin can, some wire and rope. It doesn't sound much but I survive.

I stashed the bag behind a rock well covered by foliage and carried on towards the centre. Darkness stretched out in front of me pierced only by occasional street light. My target was a nearby general store. These types of establishments had flourished under The Consortium a utilitarian enterprise with only the staple foods supplied. But then luxuries had become hugely scarce and the ordinary citizen just couldn't afford to part with that many stamps in order to get them. This meant my diet, along with every other citizen, was bland. But it also meant that everything I wanted would be in one shop, one place to hit rather than several reduced the risk of being caught.

Looking down the street, my pulse quickened, this was the most dangerous part of my journey into the centre. In the quiet residential streets of the outskirts I may as well have carried a sign saying fugitive. If anyone saw me I would be caught easily. But then the curfew played into my hands again. The citizens were all in bed, sound asleep because The Consortium told them they should be. I knew a general store would be ahead and on the right. I was lucky tonight, there was one close by. Some nights I had to walk for hours before reaching a store. I slowed my pace as I reached the corner, pressing myself into the shadows I peered around the building hoping to catch sight of any potential threat before they saw me. Again, the luck was with me, not a soul in sight. Cautiously, I ventured forward, keeping myself calm but alert, I stopped outside the general store. Stealing from The Consortium is surprisingly simple. The technology exists for it to be impossible but they don't implement it in general stores. None of the citizens steal so all they need is to know that something has been stolen to know that a fugitive has been. Then they can follow the trail up to the mountains; after all there is nowhere in the centre they could hide. The only security they have is a surveillance camera in the corner and even that is mostly used to remind the citizens that there's always someone watching. Turning the handle, I found the door unlocked, as I often did, and walked in. By habit I shielded my face from the camera; although inevitably they knew someone had robbed the store I didn't need them to know it was me. I unfolded my large canvas bag and went to work filling it with all the food I would need for the next couple of weeks. I moved quickly round the store; I knew where everything would be and exactly what I wanted. I had been eating the same way for 18 years and I had developed a routine, a set menu I guess. Food under The Consortium was about subsistence not taste.

A noise. Upstairs. Someone was awake. Had they heard me? I froze on the spot. Hardly breathing, I waited. No sound followed. I was safe.

My heart raced as I zipped up the bag and left the store. Outside the air was cold, I could see my breath escape from my mouth hanging in the air. I pulled my coarse woollen coat around my body and braced against the swirling wind. The harsh climate of winter had persisted for too long seemingly stuck in a cycle passing from autumn and back again with no new life. Maybe The Consortium banned the sun as well, shut it out behind the walls to prevent the citizens from feeling the happiness of it's rays on their faces. But that was silly, it had been this way for longer than The Consortium had been in control. I remember the stern warnings of smart looking people announcing the approaching doom of endless winters but I'd never taken any notice. I just took for granted what I'd had and assumed it would always be this way.

It didn't look like the alarm had been raised, no sounds of motors filled my ears. So I walked back through the streets contemplating the lives they must lead behind those metal shutters and steel doors. Each house the same, uniform, cold. Into the outskirts I quickened my pace, I just wanted to get on the move, find somewhere safe to spend the night and fall into a deep sleep. I passed the last of the houses and relaxed a little. I had survived.

I picked up my pack from behind the rock and set off west towards a rocky outcrop that overlooked the entire land. It was one of my favourite places to stay and I'd been back there many times. I think if I ever decided to settle in one place it would be there. There was shelter from the elements, a shield against the wind, rain and sleet where I could build a good fire and lay down a dry blanket to sleep.

Looking out accross the land it is to believe what is going on just below the surface. The citizens live each day in mindless obedience never questioning, never thinking. Like robots.