Liberi Reader

It's morning. I come out of my room as usual.

Mom calls to me from the kitchen, where she's cooking. I sit down at the table to wait for my piping hot breakfast.

Breakfast would normally be a bowl of porridge served with bread and ham. I guess she wants to lose weight, so we only have oatmeal porridge.

Fine by me.

Dad sits reading the papers. Everything in them is always so boring. Political and economic stuff I have no interest in.

Why don't they run stories about my glorious accomplishments?

This again.

Doesn't he get tired of going through these motions twice a day? It's only ever at breakfast and dinner that he pretends to care.

Why? I'm only in seventh grade.

After ninth grade, I have to decide whether I'll keep studying or go to technical school to learn a trade.

I know Dad would rather I go to trade school. And I'm sure he's about to say so.

Mom interrupts Dad as she carries our breakfast out of the kitchen.

Since losing his job, Dad's struggled to look Mom in the eye. Not that it was much better before.

Mom cares a lot more about my studies than Dad. She wants me to stay in school after graduation. She's even saved up money for it.

She always talks about how you couldn't go all the way through ninth grade for free in her day.

And at the same time, acknowledge how lucky she was to have been a maid to the nobility.

She finished her studies at a girls' school, which let her get a pretty good job, even in a lousy economy like this one.

Sometimes, I wish I could be a good girl for her. Too bad I can't.

I look down at my breakfast, baffled by the strange look of it all——A sad little glop of porridge, half a slice of bread, and a suspiciously shaped ham.

A girl who looks exactly like me appears at the table.

She's me? That's ridiculous. Then who am I?

This makes no sense.

But even weirder is how Mom and Dad have no reaction to this doppelganger popping up at our table.

Oh, I get it. This is a nightmare. That's the easiest explanation. Hah. It's just some weird-looking food. I've had scarier dreams.

What is she saying? How could she know?

It's not porridge. It's rice in water with some weeds mixed in. It's nothing like Mom's cooking!

The bread... it's bread, but it smells terrible, like it's been left out for days on end.

...But how should I know that?

The ham looks like it's been torn off a bigger hunk of flesh, and it smells almost... fishy. Wait, is this... blood?!

I get the sense that my doppelganger wants to tease me, but teacher always says teasing is a way of making yourself happy by hurting others.

And she doesn't look happy.

Either way, I know I can't let her get away with it.

Even if the food's a bit worse, does that make a life not worth living?

I have to shut her up and get to school!

I know the best way to deal with somebody mouthing off: my fists.

I clench my fist and lunge at her, but she's one step ahead.

My right hook slams hard into the face of the boy in front of me.

The feeling of bone crushing against skin is comforting, in a way.

Honestly, I like the name 'General Zima.'

It's badass.

But these punks always come at me while I'm trying to nap. Don't they know I usually skip afternoon class?

This time?

Now that she mentions it, the yellow bow in this girl's hair does look familiar.

Was it last week? Or last month? I'm pretty sure I helped her, yeah.

Looking at her bright, shiny face, some of her happiness infects me. But I still have to keep up appearances.

She yells back as she runs off.

Is it just me, or is everything in the classroom much dirtier than it was?

Eh, whatever. Back to my nap.

I pull four chairs together and lay down.

My back is pressing into something.

I reach behind me and pull out a yellow bow.

It looks so familiar. But it's dirty, and one side is broken.

The back of the bow is stained a dark black color, like...

Blood.

I toss the bow aside and go back to sleep.

But before I can slip into my slumber, I hear a voice.

The classroom door suddenly flies open, interrupting my nap.

A girl with glasses walks in, carrying a book. I can tell from her uniform that she doesn't go to this school.

Anna used to be my neighbor. I haven't seen her in years, since we moved, but...

Honestly, she asked nicely, and it's not like we didn't get along before. I don't really want to turn her down.

But things have gotten rough among the kids here since the first fire. I had to fight off three gangs today alone.

Oh, okay. Time for another fight.

...Anna's the same as she ever was. A peacemaker.

I have to say, that's a pretty tempting offer. It's been a while since I've had something that didn't just come out of a can.

I have to say, I enjoy the acclaim. But the best part is seeing the face of a good girl like Anna turn upside down when she hears it.

...Damn. No reaction. Lame.

After I give my permission, she leads her whole caravan in.

The first bunch are a mix of girls and boys. Their clothes are pretty ragged, their hair all messy, and they clearly haven't slept in days.

Then behind them...

What the hell?!

A bunch of empty, floating school uniforms?!

And at the very back of the crowd is me.

That makes sense. Something like this has to be a dream... But why did I just call myself an idiot?!

Why would I do that?

This is pretty weird, even for a dream. My doppelganger is having a conversation with a girl I barely know, as if they're old friends. But all reason tells me they're both just figments of my imagination.

That reminds me, shouldn't I have woken up as soon as I realized I was in a dream?

The instant that thought pops into my head, everyone in the room but my doppelganger and the floating uniforms turn to fix their eyes on me.

Every face bears a twisted smile.

They surround me.

I try to find the other me.

But she's gone.

My eyes shoot open.

The room around me is still the classroom. It's late at night. The others are asleep. I'm slumped up against the door.

There is another door, but I barricaded it with my desk. The windows have all been sealed. The door next to me is the only way in or out.

I am their leader. I have to protect them.

I hear Anna's voice nearby.

It's been three days since she and her partner joined us. There was some unpleasantness in that time, but Anna sided with me in the end.

I can't remember what I was dreaming about, but Anna must be thinking it was something to do with them.

She feels bad about it. She never imagined the classmates she trusted would go so far as to attack me just because she asked me to lead them.

I killed them all, of course.

I've seen lots of groups fall apart because of little conflicts like this. It's why I didn't want to join a group in the first place. I'd rather communicate with my fists than try to manage relationships.

I hear a rustling as she moves over to me.

I know she wants to comfort me, but it's obvious she's the one who needs comforting. I should change the subject.

It's true. She may look the bookish type, but Anna's really very good in a fight. She just doesn't like to apply herself.

Oops, she sounds even sadder than before. I really don't know how to comfort a girl. What can I say to cheer her up?

That's the best you could come up with, Sonya?!

After the fire destroyed one of the food pantries, the noble students from #4 Secondary School occupied the other one. Then they started looting.

You still see commoners fighting over food.

The school looks like a war zone. Debris and graffiti everywhere. And every night is set against the sounds of kids yelling, screaming, crying.

I don't think that's right. But I don't know how to argue with her either.

Her voice is teetering on the brink of tears.

Aaagh, I made this so much worse!

Whatever. I don't know shit about morals, order, society or any of that. But I understand what she's getting at, so I might as well start talking.

Now she sounds surprised. Hah, I got her good with that one.

I fight a lot, but they always deserve it!

...I probably shouldn't have expected much out of an honor student.

But I guess a straightforward, brass tacks name like that is okay, every once in a while.

Who are you?

Sure, she does look exactly like me... But why am I raking myself over the coals like this?

And it freaks me out the way she always says what I'm thinking. Not to mention her creepy tone of voice.

Suddenly, I realize the floor beneath my feet has become a bottomless void.

And I start to fall.

As I fall, I hear disjointed voices calling out.

That's when the darkness begins to swallow me.

I drop down from the second story window, landing steadily on the ground.

They'll catch me if I take the main entrance, so this is my only way.

There's something I have to do. Something very important to me.

I understand Anna. Vika's idea makes sense. And I'm not so full of myself I think I can take all those noble shitstains on my own.

At least, I couldn't take them head-on.

They're definitely asleep this late at night. Now's the time to take them all out once and for all.

Well, maybe killing them all is a bit much. Capturing their leader should do the trick. But really, I'll have to cut off the head to let the body die, at least...

I'm not going to save them.

Not only because I'm busy. I also don't care.

I've seen so much of this these past two days.

I saved a few. And now we've got more kids holed up in the classroom than when Anna showed up with her classmates.

So Anna had to listen to Vika.

But the truth is, even though she told her I don't like nobles, it's actually Anna who hates the aristocrats more than anything.

When those shitheads took the last remaining food store and left the rest of the kids to fight over scraps, that was the last straw for Anna.

And I sure as hell can't change her mind. So it would be nice if the cause of all her worries here just... went away.

I think to myself, as I press on, leaving the screams to fade away behind me.

I suddenly trip over something, barely keeping myself upright.

I look down to see a fallen road sign, already covered in illegible graffiti.

It's only been ten days since they locked us in here, but the school looks like it's been abandoned for years.

Pockmarked walls, graffiti, litter, blood...

Honestly, I hate it. And I don't know when it will finally end.

I hang my head and press forward, to the fancy scumbags' base. It's in this warehouse, with the last of our food.

And who do I see standing there? Me.

Not sure why, but I actually wasn't that surprised.

My doppelganger suddenly vanishes, and all I can see before me is a pure, fiery red.

The brown-haired girl slumps up against the washstand and stares out the window. The moon looks lovely this evening.