I
Rane’s worn down shoes were almost silent on the packed dirt. In the Pannid District there were no paved roads. They were on the outskirts of the town, in the poor region, and were deprived of that privilege. Though it was small, Rane had heard that the inner region of the Pannid District was a wonder. Everyone there had their own gigantic house, brand new and created exactly how the owner desired. The children all had their own rooms, and every house had numerous bathrooms. Rane could only dream of not sharing a single bathroom with her parents and two older brothers.
Drawing from her imagination of the inner city, she ignored the leaning buildings surrounding her. The Pannid District had been built to house millions of people. Buildings had been stacked on top of one another until they towered high above the dirt roads. Rane was thankful that she her apartment was closer to the ground. She feared the aggressive storms that made the apartments sway in the fall. She was grateful they hadn’t seen a severe hurricane in her lifetime.
She hadn’t been alive when everyone had begun to move to the large cities, now called districts. Her grandmother had told her about the migration that occurred during her childhood. She had been 8 year old when the crops began to fail to the point where farmers had to abandon their homes, leaving them for the banks to take. The surplus of people resulted in cheap quickly built homes, and with that came an increase in crime.
In response to the mass overpopulation, the government had finally launched their plan the send people to Mars. This was supposed to relieve the stress on the environment of Earth. With less people here, there was less pollution and less demand for necessary resources. Rane’s grandmother had thought it seemed rushed despite the constant interviews of the president and members of the senate and congress from that era supporting the mission.
75 years ago, the first shuttle had been sent to Mars filled to the maximum capacity of 2000 citizens. 75 years ago, hope was renewed for their race.
As Rane approached her building, she looked up at the towering stack made from mismatched materials. With a frown, she opened the glass door, careful not to touch the metals bars across the front. Her family couldn’t afford to get her tetanus shot, so she avoided touching any metals that were visibly rusting. Though she knew the risk was low for contracting an infection from the metal bars, she was still wary.
She quickly made her way through the dank, poorly lit hall, casting her eyes downward as she passed a group of young boys crowded over a screen in the stairwell. They were playing a game that easily hid its true math connotation. It was a way for teachers to get their students to study outside of class. Video games were as popular as ever, and it was almost the only way to get young students to focus on their studies.
Rane sighed as she caught sight of the screen from the corner of her eye. It was basic fractions, something she hadn’t learned. She had to drop out of school when she was young to help her parents pay their bills. She used to work at a food bank. She had stocked the shelves there since she was 10 years old. Up until 8 months ago, it was one of the safest places she could have been. When armed men entered the soup kitchen, demanding all the food they had be put in cheap burlap sacks, her mother made her quit and look for a job somewhere quiet and relatively unpopulated. It took her a month, but she eventually found her way to Alexin’s book shop.
As Rane walked down the hallway of the second story, she caught sight of dirty blonde curls walking ahead of her. A bag was slung over the boy’s shoulder as he fumbled for his door key.
“Axel,” Rane breathed, feeling red flush to her cheeks as she realized how lovestruck she sounded.
Axel Harper turned around, locking his gaze on Rane. He gave her a lopsided smile and extended his arms, waiting for a hug.
