I ran as fast as I could, dodging other people that were rushing home to lock their doors and close all the shutters before The Curfew began. I passed Mario’s Pizzeria. He was closing the shutters as quickly as possible, with a worried look on his face. Then I darted around the corner into Form Ally. It was a grim place. There were needles and beer bottles on the ground and sometimes there would be homeless people crying that they won’t survive The Curfew. I swung myself over the side of the rusty outdoor staircase that led to my front door. I ran up, tripping on the broken step near the top. I burst through the rusty copper door and bolted it behind me. I checked my broken watch. I breathed a sigh of relief. I made it.
Suddenly, the nightly Curfew broadcast came on. It was president Sunner dressed head to toe in white with her blonde hair in a bun, sitting there staring at the camera intensely. “Good evening citizens of The Moxicord” she announced. There was something disingenuous about her voice, her demeanour but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. She went on with her usual rant about how we must stick to the rules or we will die or whatever. Then came the part I always was interested in; who died. Usually, there’s someone I kind of know listed as one of the dead but there was no one I knew. Until the end… Right there, in big capital letters, was my name, and above it was my government I.D picture. It said I died two whole hours ago.