The lake was just a short walk away. Some of the families had already started scavenging. When she was younger, she had thought the water reached the horizon and beyond but now it seemed small. There was hardly enough lake for all of them. She grabbed her net and got into the water. She held the bamboo stick firmly with two hands as she lowered the net. It was important to get to as close to the bottom as possible as most of the sencurium sank into the sand. She dragged the net along until she was waist-deep in the water and started walking back towards the shore. She lifted the net with anticipation, hoping to find pieces of the green metal overflowing but as usual seaweed was the only green thing there.
Sencurium was the most expensive metal in the world. It was funny to think that it had once been considered worthless only because there was so much of it. It had come down with the rains leaving a thick layer of green on the ground along with red from the people it hit along the way. The Sencurium showers were rare now and most of the metal was washed into lakes and ponds and seas. Finding a piece of it meant a better meal, medicine for the elderly, sometimes just a day to rest but it was always worth it. Sometimes it was the only thing standing between life and death.
Andy was so deep in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed everyone else had stopped walking around and were staring in one direction.
“Stop,” said Andrew in a quiet low voice and put his hand on her shoulder. Andy was startled. It wasn’t common they touched each other. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had hugged her or even held her hand. She hadn’t realized she had missed it so much.
A carriage neared the lake carried by two black horses which could only mean one thing - the Emperor had come to execute someone.
Everyone had to get out of the lake and there was a guard counting heads so that no one would stay to hide under the water. Andy stepped into the line behind her brother and felt her heart beating faster and louder. An execution wasn’t a punishment for some crime, it was simply to show power, to remind the prisoners that because of their ancestors, their lives were worthless.
The Emperor stayed in the carriage, only his silhouette visible from the window - his long straight nose, pointy beard and piercing eyes. He didn’t have to step out for his presence was strong, the perfume of death hanging in the air. One of the guards stepped forward with a list and started yelling.
“Victor Carroll!”
A short man with bulgy eyes stepped forward and a guard led him to the other carriage which windows were barred.
“Erin Snyder!”
Andy had found that the best way to deal with the executions was not to pay too much attention to the ones that were selected. Every time she held her breath for as long as she could, hoping that she and everyone in her family would live just a little bit longer.
“Glen Haynes!”
She turned her head to look at her mother. She stood there, head lowered, murmuring something Andy couldn’t hear. Maybe it was a prayer or maybe she was just losing her mind.
“Theo Mason!”
Three names to go, Andy thought. She wanted to get back to work so badly. She could hear sobbing in the crowd. Otherwise emotionless people were crying and some even holding hands, preparing to say goodbye to their loved ones.
“Javier Byrne!”
It was truly rare to die of old age here. A lot were executed. Some drowned in the lakes during scavenging. Then there were illnesses, aggressive guards...
“Brynn Byrne!”
Two from the same family? Andy was shocked as were everyone else. The Emperor was cruel but he had never taken more than one person from one family. Andy didn’t know the family too well but Javier and Brynn were identical twins who had been familiar to everyone. They had tried to organize gatherings and sometimes sang as they were working. She had liked them.
“Eliana Trevino!”
“No!” someone said quietly. It was Andrew. She had never seen him this upset. His jaw clenched and his eyes dwelled up as he forced his hands into fists. The blonde girl who stepped forward looked towards him and tried to smile although crying uncontrollably. For a moment Andy thought he might do something stupid but then the doors of the carriage were closed and they wouldn’t see the chosen ones before the next day when their bodies were brought back to the families.
For now, all they could do was scavenge.
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