[b]Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.[/b]

How was it 5:00 AM already?

Aura groggily slapped the alarm clock, causing it to topple onto the floor and disappear somewhere underneath her cot. “Sorry,” she groaned at the machine as she stood up and stretched. 

Though getting up that early wasn’t necessary for work, if she wanted a decent shower in the community bathing room, it most certainly was. The 24th floor housed 18 other 10’ x 10’ apartments, or more accurately described, concrete blocks, half of them with children, and Aura’s ideal morning routine didn’t include fighting over the hot water. 

The ‘high rise’ she lived in was rumored to once be a high-security prison from hundreds of years ago, but the melancholic, towering building served as housing for many of subsection F’s residents. Each room had a toilet and sink, but the bunk bed frames were taken during the construction of Apex’s new prison closer to the beach. The prisoner’s had a nicer view than they did, and she was sure that the senate had a laugh over the matter when they picked the location. It was a surprise it hadn’t been bulldozed yet, but she assumed the AA didn’t want to deal with the daunting task of relocating them all.

Armed with a towel and her toiletries, Aura slipped out of her room and quietly closed until until she heard it click; the Murphy’s had already complained about her slamming her door twice, and being more careful was much less of a nuisance than hearing Mrs. Murphy’s shrill voice berating her about being more ‘considerate.’

Del, her next door neighbor, was unlocking his door as she exited. He was a sweet, humble man, around her age, who became a friend to her after years of living alongside each other. They had come up with the early morning shower routine together one evening after he had scored some wine from a coworker.

“Save some hot water for me, Del?” she whispered, sticking a tongue out after.

He bowed and grinned. “As always.”

[center]***[/center]

“Listen up!” the short, bulky man barked to the small cluster of workers in front of him who had not yet been assigned their daily duty. Surprisingly, you even had to work your way up in Sanitation and Maintenance to get a routine job.

“Keating, you’re doing maintenance for public transportation. One of the rail cars is malfunctioning again. Mayfield, you’re helping him.”

They’d never let her work on the trains again, but she always was hopeful.

“Del, Campos, you’re on roadkill again.”

Aura looked to her friend and stifled a grin. “You shouldn’t have pissed him off last week,” she whispered, getting a jab in the ribs in return.

“And Holland, you’re on street clean up.”

[i]Damn it.[/i]

An hour later, she was in the heart of Atlantic, the innermost square of subsection F,  lazily using a grabber to pick up litter as she ambled down the sidewalk. The streets were bustling with citizens, mostly mothers not assigned job duties getting food for the week and the normal trouble making teens dipping in and out of alleyways. She got along with most of them out of sympathy; it wasn’t long ago that she was one of them.

One of her favorites, a sixteen year old named Sim - which she assumed was short for something - had been caught stealing from a market, his third offense. Once the AE arrived, they dragged him out into the street and shot him in the head.

[i]”This is a reminder to all of you!” one of the enforcers barked through a megaphone. “We forgive three times.”[/i]

Aura was now on her second strike for stealing, along with a few different first strikes in other categories of ‘unacceptable behavior.’ It was said that one wasn’t truly for the cause if they didn’t at least have one.

Time went by slowly as she went from block to block, humming as she daydreamed most likely of the beach or the mountains. It was interrupted abruptly by a familiar voice, immediately causing her eyes to roll.

It was Soren, an enforcer that she knew all too well, along with a couple of others that she hadn’t bothered to learn the names of.

“Hey, Holland,” he greeted her, his voice dripping with disdain. “How’s our favorite garbage man liking her new career?”

“Fuck off, Soren,” she groaned, pushing past the men.

“Is that disrespect towards an enforcer? That’d be a second strike in that category.” 

Aura stopped in her tracks with a deep breath, and swiveled around, displaying a fake smile. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

“That’s what I thought,” he replied, crossing his arms in satisfaction. “Now get back to work.” Soren and the other gaggle of men chuckled until they disappeared around the corner, leading to the woman finally unclenching her fists with a sigh of relief. “Asshole.”

Midday had come along with the intense sunshine, and sweat began to bead on Aura’s forehead. [i]Six more hours to go.[/i] In her aimless wandering, picking up litter from the streets, it surprised her when she wound up in front of the tavern owned by Dean and Mae, a couple in their mid-fifties deep into the cause. 

Aura checked her surroundings to make certain no enforcers were around, and once confirmed, she quickly disappeared behind the heavy wooden door and into the dark bar, greeted by a few of the daytime regulars she had gotten to know over the few years. Once her eyes adjusted, she greeted them back by name until sitting down on a stool, Mae swiveling around from cleaning a glass to greet her.

“Aura,” the woman said warmly, “you’re early today.” Her eyes looked her up and down. “And on the job I see.”

“I know,” Aura sighed, resting her face in her hands. “It’s just so hot out. I got street clean up again.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you’re caught stealing,” Mae chuckled, speaking so quietly that Aura had to strain to hear her. “You’re lucky they thought it was just money you were taking. If they knew what you were really doing, you’d be dead in the street like Sim.”

“For the cause,” Aura groaned, but her demeanor changed when Mae slid her a glass of ale. “Thanks Mae.”

Three months ago, Aura had been assigned to clean a large home in B, the subsection of many of Apex’s elite either born into it or earned through work in the AA or AE. The owner of the house, in particular, was a high-ranking enforcer who was particularly close with elected officials, and she had been tasked with gathering any information on the plans to deal with the rumored uprising in Unity, but when caught, Aura admitted to looking for money in the man’s office. 

“Is the meeting still on for tonight, Mae?” she asked after taking a particularly large gulp from her glass. It was the time of those who were actively gathering intel to notify the rest of the cause of their findings, and from there, devise their new plan for the month ahead.

Mae’s eyes widened, telling her that she had done something wrong, then darted to the left to signal Aura where to look.

When she did, she realized. [i]An outsider.[/i] How could Aura not have noticed? After mouthing an “I’m sorry,” she chugged the rest of her ale, she left her coins on the bar and thanked Mae. Before leaving though, she needed to cover her ass.

“Hey,” she greeted the stranger quietly, leaning against the bar to his right and sliding a single bill towards him. “It’s not much, but if you’re one of their spies, I can’t take another strike.” As she finished her sentiment, she studied his face for the first time and cocked her head to the side in curiosity. “And if you’re just a new alcoholic… drinks on me.”

She patted the top of the dollar as a reminder to him, then continued until she was back out onto the city streets, snapping her arm grabber closed a few times as if to get used to it again. [i]If I’m on street clean up for one more week, I’ll explode.[/i]