Carnes

She was beautiful, gleaming in a soft glow and loyally going about her daily chores. Eugo admired his copper partner, still marvelling at the craftsmanship he had seen the other day.

Using his memory at maximum power he attempted to replicate the intricacies of Fiz’s creations. Yet a part of him felt that he could never capture their charm, he wanted to visit her and ask how she created such sacred inventions. 

Although a lack of coal at his door pushed him in another direction, towards the metal desert.

Eugo found himself reaching the desert much faster than his first few ventures, perhaps his legs were finally building towards such vast journeys. 

They no longer bucked when he ran, and his breath no longer tore at his hollow chest. Then reaching his destination, Eugo could freely lay down on the icy floor and rest.

§

“Eugo? You awake?”

“…Guh.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

The two boys spent some time laying in the ash, their hair settled, dark grains of coal seeping between the strands. A silent illumination carried itself away from them, leaving in place constrictive dusk. Snowflakes of crystalised ash floated above, gliding downwards across the dome. The crackle of fire and humming of working Scorchers filled the air, all wilfully working in their day to day lives. 

Not a qualm was found in the city, its residents lived these brief few moments in complete eternity and peace.

§

“What do you think the explosion was Ilken?”

“…I don’t know, but I doubt it was accidental.”

“You seem fairly opinionated for your age don’t you think?”

“Most of the Spotless are, you’d be surprised what a few books can do to your way of thinking.”

“Is that one of the reasons you come out here?”

The younger boy hesitated, his mouth gaped open as though he wanted to speak. Instead, he took Eugo’s arm.

“I want to show you something… but, you’ll have to promise me that you keep quiet.”

“I promise.”

Ilken dragged the older boy towards the small alcove resting on the side of the dome known simply as the farm. From what Eugo knew, all of his food which was primarily bread originated all from that one place. 

He also knew that not just bread came out of the farm, and containers containing unknown treasures were sent to the castle.

“What’s in the containers Ilken?”

“…you’ll see soon enough.”

Reaching the entrance to the farm was a large iron gate, it consisted of several solid steel bars which seemed impossible to move. Ilken pulled out a small key made of… what seemed to be bone.

“Ilken, what type of key do you have there?”

“…you’ll see soon enough.”

The younger boy placed the key into an almost invisible slot found in one of the many bars. Eugo recognised the soft whistling of steam that crept out from behind the gates, followed by the churning of gears. 

The ravenous steam tore the steel bars to the side, wrenching it open as though it were paper. Eugo’s eyes sparkled at the power his coal could provide, a Scorcher could have no greater honour than witnessing his steam at work.

“Follow me.”

Ilken’s distant voice dragged Eugo back to his senses, as the opening between the bars widened in front of him.

“Green.” Eugo had only heard of such a colour, but part of him now wanted to lock this memory away, never to be tainted again. Ilken had other plans, as he dragged him through the farm. 

Eugo noticed a lack of animals, he had always imagined the farm creatures to roam endlessly throughout. Instead, he found the resounding image of absolutely nothing.

Eugo spun around dizzying himself in the landscape around him, luscious green, grainy yellow and… dark grey. A factory stood quietly at the end of the farm, slowly working out its duties for the day. Ilken grasped Eugo’s hand tightly once more.

“You promise to say anything?”

“Of course.”

Eugo was dragged at full speed towards the factory, sprinting behind the younger boy Eugo was thankful for his walking practice to the desert. While running he almost wished to just let go, stop and admire the colours around him, just lay silently in the grass. 

Just as these thoughts travelled through Eugo’s mind, the two boys arrived at their destination.

“The fuck is that smell!”

“…”

“Seriously Ilken, what is it.”

“…you’ll see soon enough.”

Eugo was yanked towards the hideous smell, it was wretched, writhing its way through his mind. One could only dream of what it was, and Eugo certainly didn’t want to. The sudden urge to vomit meant Eugo was unexpectedly trying to forget the horrid stench.

Seemingly as though satisfied with his reaction, Ilken handed Eugo a small metal clip. Who then clamped it onto his nose with such speed that he probably could have caught a fly, not that many flew throughout the isolated walls of the dome.

Taking some time to look around Eugo saw gears, cranks and a massive grinder that could probably kill him in less than a second. There was also a tank, metal of course, and finding himself drawn towards it (literally by Ilken…) Eugo aimed to discover the source of such a horrendous stink.

Bubbling away in the tank was a mixture of deep scarlet, all Eugo had to see was the odd floating piece of white calcium to know what it was.

“We’ve been out of food for a while now Eugo. This… mixture is all our leftover animals, including any new flesh we can scavenge from… elder Scorchers. 

This here is made into the odd servings of meat and sauce you may have seen throughout the dome. Water is running low due to reservoirs running dry, we won’t be able to grow wheat for much longer. 

Most of the Spotless believe we have a year at most, maybe longer if we ration. Those who will die first will be most of you Scorchers, and then us not long after.”

“…and if we were to leave the dome?”

“Most of the Spotless say we would die.”

“Is there any way to get more water?”

“Funnily enough, in our search for finding water, we’d use up more than we’d end up collecting.”

“So… why show me this.”

“I needed to share it with someone, most other Spotless have given up, they wander around aimless in their lives. The rest find their contentment out of violence or pleasure, or at least that’s what my Dad keeps telling me.”

Sigh

“Anything else to tell me?”

“I’m meant to liquify some bodies today… I was hoping you might be able to help.”

“I guess so, show me where they are.”

§

Eugo’s mind was dull, carried by leaves in his mind he dreamt of mystical landscapes, towers of rock and water so deep you could sink in it. Perhaps he wanted to question what existence truly was, but he already knew the answer. 

He could never escape the wall of the dome, no one could, bound by time all he could do was watch the clock, just like everyone else. Maybe one day it would strike on that perfect hour, give meaning past just a serving of coal. A proper day to look forward to, one to admire, one to live towards, his mind drifted to that of George. 

Somehow such a simple act of dedication towards a single thought was enough to give life meaning, did that outdo Eugo’s addiction to coal? Is it worth the effort, striving for knowledge even knowing the inevitability of death? 

Yes, it was always to come, it would have come to them all, but with so little time how can one decide the importance of life. Maybe he should have talked to more people, explored more of the dome, perhaps so much more could have been done. 

How can one prepare, when they are never sure what they are preparing for? 

His mind travelled again, to Fiz. He barely knew her; such little time was all that was needed to grasp her passion. How can someone barely the age of him have achieved so much in such less time, where did he stray, had he done something wrong? 

Truly what is right and wrong, maybe the path of truth is death, that which leads to acceptance. An understanding of the world itself is to understand the unknowable future. The paradox of life is truly a mystery that troubles the minds of both those young, old, Spotless or Scorcher, it binds us all.

§

“Thanks for the help Eugo… I hope you’ll still come visit me after today.”

“Huh, yeah… sure.”

“Oh, and don’t forget to clean those hands.”

Looking down he saw his hands drenched in blood, so thick he couldn’t see his ash-stained hands beneath. The sight burned into his very eyes; time passed far slower than an eternity.

The rest was a blur, Eugo stumbled his way home or at least in that general direction and collapsing in a heap he let his mind rest.