[980] Snippet from a longer draft

Hello! I am currently in the process of writing this idea I've had for a very long time and I was hoping to see if what I have got so far is good or could use some refining. I do have a google doc that if you did enjoy I can send you a link to see it as it continues to be fleshed out.

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I walked around one of the camps. A mother was keeping a watchful eye on her children. Pruners continued their walk down the dirt path, clutching their modified MP5s. Their black rubber outfits squeaked as they continued their walk. The Mayor is running on pure luck, hoping no one bats an eye as he builds a huge tent in the center of the 4 smaller camps. Back when I could spit in his face. One camp has been designated as “The Food Tent”. A small group of workers is feeding the citizens and making sure nothing goes wrong. A worker hesitates to pass the bowl of soup. The citizen smacks their teeth, yanks the bowl, and guzzles down the grey liquid. As each person gets a bowl, their pours become smaller and smaller. As if they’re cutting back without saying it, then it hits me. 

They don’t have enough food. 

How can a Mayor of one of the main cities not have prepared for a situation like this? I need to figure out why. As I sneak to the back of the tent and step inside, A Dish boy drops a bowl that rolls towards my feet. He does a quick snap at the bowl and grabs it. But he hasn’t looked up; however, I can sense the boy staring at me. 

“Sorry,” I reply, “I got lost and thought this was the entrance to-”

Before I can finish my sentence, a balding man in a white apron walks backwards through the makeshift doors and sets down more bowls. The Dish boy lifts a finger at me and runs back to the sink. The balding man turns to look at him. 

“This Mayor will be our downfall, “Says the man in the white Apron. “Our supply is dwindling. If we continue at this pace, then we will have to resort to other means. Misha, hurry up with the bowls; people are hungry, and we still have a lot of unfed mouths.”

Misha cleans faster as the Man in the apron drops more of a grey liquid into bowls and barrels and carries them out the door. The Mayor is easing their fear with food. We weren’t at war with anyone; last I heard, the world was healing and heading towards a brighter peace. What caused us to go underground? I leave the food tent and head towards Camp Creation. As I approach, I hear the sound of metal ringing. Lights flickering from torches, along with the sound of searing metal. The only thing missing was the banter. I stood at the camp entrance where workers were hammering on what seemed to be metal pillars. They wore grey, slightly burned overalls, black goggles, and yellow hard hats. A pruner was there patrolling the grounds; their uniform was also rubber, but instead of the ones patrolling the streets in black, this one was grey. We labeled them Gruners. They carried an M16. It wasn’t uncommon for a soldier to be brandishing an American rifle before we went underground.  

The Gruner paced back and forth, weapon stowed between their arms. The workers grunted as they lifted heavy pillars of metal. Each step against the ground crackled as the torches glued the metals. A worker dropped their helmet, and The Gruner aimed the rifle at their head. 

“Employee 257, please reacquire your helmet,” it said in this booming, deep, modulated voice, “This is your only warning. Please reacquire your helmet.”

The worker hesitantly picked up their helmet and placed it back on their head. The Gruner lowered their weapons and resumed their patrol. Its suit squeaks away as if the encounter never happened. Another Gruner appears in front of me, it gestures for me to leave and taunts with its gun. I smack my teeth and give him a friendly gesture. I walk back to the center tent, where a small group of citizens is huddled around a little stage, shouting questions, wondering when we can return to the surface. The Mayor comes up and gestures for everyone to be silent as he clears his throat. 

“My dearest citizens, I am aware that you all are not comfortable with the situation that we are currently facing. Let me quell some of those burning thoughts you have swirling in your brain. We will be here for quite some time. So, we have set up some camps; to our right, we have the medical tent. All of our doctors have created a makeshift hospital for all of our needs. If you need anything, I will make sure that our doctors keep you fit and healthy. As every citizen should be. To our left, we have what I call my absolute favorite: The Food Tent. Whether you are carving a light snack or, heck, even a good ole steak. Our chefs will make sure that you are well fed. Now behind me is the workers' tent, or rather, as some of you have already dubbed it, ‘Camp Creation.’ This tent will help us usher in new and stronger buildings. As you can all see, this cavern is huge. You all remember the war? We have to thank the United States military for that,” The Mayor snorts as he giggles to himself. “ Enough laughing. Now, in front of me will be our renaissance, our shining jewel of all four tents. The Entertain-tents! We must surely enjoy ourselves if we are to live long and-”

“When are we going back?” I raised my hand as my scream cut through his fake warmth. 

The Mayor stared at me blankly and stuttered, “G-going back? Back where, my dear boy?”

“To the Surface.”

“My boy, why would you want to return to the surface. We have plenty of space down here. We can building a stronger city, heck, we can even build those homeless shelters that you all desperately wanted,” He chuckled.