We the People Are Good to Eat
5. Harvested

Karenfelt herself moving. She also felt cold, and she was shivering. She was lyingon a cold metal surface that rumbled beneath her, as it carried her in thedirection of a loud, continuous growling roar.

Sheopened her eyes. She was being moved along, with girders crisscrossing aboveher, beneath a massive dark ceiling. She looked at herself. She was naked but unwounded.She looked to her left, where another naked woman lay dead. A naked dead manwas on her right.

Shesat up and found herself in the midst of an endless pile of dead, naked men,women and children, lying on a massive conveyer belt, as wide as an avenue. Theconveyor belt was carrying the bodies toward a massive black aperture, like anunending giant tongue, bringing endless piles of food through a monstrouslygigantic mouth.

Frominside the aperture, she heard a continuous growling roar, and the scream of awoman being killed.

Thisis a meat packing plant! Karen thought. The growling machine is a meat grinder, andeveryone here is about to be ground into sausages! Including me! In less than aminute!

Karenstood up, with her bare her feet against the cold metal of the conveyor belt,and the crisscrossing girders passing less than a foot above her head. Sheturned, with the approaching aperture to her right, and hurried toward the sideof the conduit, through which the conveyer belt transported the unprocessedmeat. She couldn't avoid stepping on some of the bodies.

Shereached the side of the conduit, which had a waist high barrier. From here shesaw long lines of tables, beneath florescent light fixtures, that hung on wires,suspended from the overhead girders.

Peoplestood beside the tables, sorting mountainous piles of clothing. Shirts, pants,shoes, dresses, blouses, skirts, hosiery and undergarments, and children'sclothing were all being sorted. Briefcases, personal computers, wallets, keys,eyeglasses, jewelry and other personal items were also being sorted.

Thosepersonal belongings, Karen thought, were taken from all the dead people hereand from me too.

Iwas killed again? I was in the gym. I was killed after that punch fight I hadwith Alyce. After that my neck was in pain where the noose had choked me todeath. Then Louise Torelli punched me in the face, and knocked me to the floor.That's all I remember.

Iwas killed, a second time? By that nerd Louise Torelli? Over a boyfriend? NowI'm alive again? Again?

Oruntil I get dumped screaming into this giant meat grinder.

Karenwas getting much too close to the aperture. She could now plainly hear thesounds of flesh being ripped off bones.

Karensat upon the edge of the barrier, picked her feet up, swung her legs over tothe other side, and leapt away from the conduit. She tried to slow her fall, bygrabbing onto an overhead light fixture, knocking it sideways, causing shadowsbeneath to sway back and forth. Then she landed on a table, and rolled onto thefloor. Everyone sorting at the table jumped back.

Karenstood up, with her bare feet against the solid, cold floor. Everyone around herhad stopped sorting. They stood staring at the naked teenage girl, who had justfallen off the pile of moving dead bodies, and she was alive.

Awoman called out, "Live one! Live one! Aisle 15! Got a live one who needsshooting! Aisle 15!"

Sheheard the sound of feet clanging against a catwalk, above the overhead lights,where she couldn't see.

Aman shouted from above, "Yeah! I see her! Everybody step back!"

Allthe people around Karen moved a good distance away from her. Then she was completelyalone and exposed.

Aboveher, she heard the loud buzz of a laser pistol, and the tabletop to her rightsplintered.

Karenjumped away and began running along the aisle, between two long lines ofsorting tables, while laser shots cracked around her. She ducked down as sheran, stopping to pick up a pair of slacks, shoes and a halter-top. She carriedthem with her, as she continued to flee, until she came to the end of the rowsof tables.

Sheheard the same woman say, "This happens every now and then, whensomebody’s wounded but not killed. When they reach here, they jump off and tryto run; but they all end up as packaged meat, just like this one's gonnabe."

Adoor with a bright red EXITsign stood about thirty steps away from where Karen crouched.

Shegripped the items she'd grabbed, and ran for the door, trying to stay crouched.Now laser shots came at her from the right.

Aman on her right shouted. "I'll get her!"

Shereached the fire door, stood up, pushed the door open, and ran through the doorway,while a laser blast struck the spot where her heart had just been.

Karenran across the landing of a dimly lit stairwell. She began running down thesteps, with a gray wall to her right, and the banister to her left.

Shehad almost reached the first landing, when she heard a loud laser buzz, fromthe landing above and behind her. She felt a hard electric jolt slam into herback, and go through her entire body, knocking her forward. She also heard thesound of shattering glass to her right, and a powerful white light surroundedher.

Thenshe lay sprawled on her breasts, at the bottom of the steps, with her legsstretched out on the steps she'd just come down.

Sheheard a man on the landing above and behind her call out. "Welcome to Paradise!"

ThenKaren heard the door shut.

Sheput the palms of her hands against the floor, and pushed down, raising herselfup, while groaning in agony.

Whatthe hell is going on? She wondered, I can't stay dead? Every other slutty, sexycheerleader, who got hanged on Saturday, is now a pile of sausages or meat pattiesthat are being cooked and eaten by some of our fellow citizens. That's whatshould be happening to them. That's what should be happening to me.

Insteadof that, I'm alive. That is not only wrong, it's...

"Irresponsible,immoral, unnatural, and antisocial!"

Andmy family still won't be getting the extra rations.

Sherose up to a squatting position. The garments she'd grabbed, while rushing pastthe sorting tables lay on the landing beside her. She slipped into the slacks,which were a little tight. The shoes were also a tight fit, but she'd be ableto walk in them. The halter was just too small to wear.

Shethought, I'll just have to walk along the corridor streets topless. It'll belike I was wearing my gym uniform. Lotsof women go topless in public, including me now and then. That's how a lot ofthe girls were dressed at the Homecoming Dance, including Homecoming QueenAlyce herself.

Shealso thought, There are just too many things that I've got no idea how tohandle! I have no idea where I am! I have no idea where my home is, or if I'llbe able to get there from here! Then when I do get there, I no longer have mykey. Now I'm getting hungry, and I'm thirsty; but now my money's gone!

Ofall the cheerleaders and warrior girls who got killed, in all the combat gamesthat took place on Saturday afternoon, on every level of the City Building, whydid the one who came back, have to be me?

Therewas also something else mysterious going on. When she'd first rushed throughthe doorway, the stairwell had been dimly lit. Now it was fully illuminated bya strong but soft white light. It came through a foot wide hole in the graywall, which was actually painted over glass.

Theglass had been shattered by the laser blast that had nailed her.

Karenwondered what kind of light could be so powerful, but remain so soft?

Sheclimbed halfway up the flight of stairs, being careful not to step on anyshards of broken glass. She came over to the spot that had been blasted away,and looked through the opening.

Karenfound herself looking out through a window that was three inches thick. Throughthe window she saw a vast green plain, stretching all the way to a range ofrolling blue mountains, beneath a glaring blue sky, in which fluffy whiteclouds drifted. She also saw the ruins of small ancient structures, scatteredaround the plain, rising as much as twenty levels above the surroundingwoodlands.

Shealso saw a broad river, flowing between the City Buildingand the plain, flowing from right to left, as far as her eye could see. Farbelow her, to her right, a suspension bridge crossed the river, from thegreenery of the plain, to someplace beyond her view, along the City Building’sside.

Therewas also a flock of birds, much nearer the window, flying in a V formation.

They'reoutside, Karen thought. I'm looking at what's outside the City Building.There are living things outside. That means that the world outside the City Buildingis no longer polluted. That means that we can live outside.

Onthe landing above her, Karen heard the fire door open. She jumped up and randown the steps to the first landing, turned left, ran down the next flight ofsteps, and the next flight. She ran down three more flights. Then she stoppedrunning.

Shewas on a landing, beside a door to a City Building’s corridorstreet. She had no idea what Level she was on, or how far she was from home.

Karenopened the door, and stepped out into whatever would be there.