The elevator creaked every so often as it switched tracks as it climbed from the bottom of the Burrows up to the 30th level. That was where she would catch the train. It was a long way up. Someday, she would live up there in the sun, instead of vacationing up there. The artificial lights provided what the sun did, but it was not the same. There was no variety in the weather resets. The plants and water features were nice, but there weren't any trees or animals. There were some fish. Carp.
She exited the elevator and followed the subterranean pathway to the train. She was going in for a late shift on a rush project. This meant more money. She found a seat and closed her eyes; the inertia briefly lobbed her head side to side. Minutes went by like seconds as she moved the melting icepack around her neck to cool herself down. Her alert went off on her cellphone.
Henry> 6:34 pm: I cannot deal with this anymore…
Cait's brows furrowed, her hands trembled as she opened her phone with its biometric lock. She paused the music that was transmitting to her implant. Her heart throbbed as she typed. 'What the hell, why is he pulling this now? The drama. He threw his keys at me a week ago during the last fight, but were we good when I left?' Cait's mind went into overdrive as she typed a response.
Cait> 6:37 pm: What do you mean? Deal with what?
Henry> 6:39 pm: This, I am moving out. We are over.
'You motherfucking coward, you beg to move to a one-bedroom and then you bail on me?' Cait thought, her hands shook as she reigned herself in; these messages could be used against her in court. She needed to be civil just in case Henry decided to betray her in court.
Cait> 6:40 pm: What? Why are you doing this now?
Henry> 6:41 pm: I thought it over. I can't picture myself being with you through all that, especially if you are going to die. I get pissed off when you don't go to work. How am I going to be there for you…
'He is a son of bitch. I supported him when he broke his leg and could not work, and he won't be there for me,' she thought. "He is going to make me homeless. I will have to start over again. Shit!" Cait thought.
Cait> 6:42 pm: But we just moved, I cannot swing that place on my own?
Henry> 6:43 pm: You will void the lease; we both will. We will both take the hit on our credit for it. We're both young.
The carriage of the train illuminated the generated voice calling out the stop. Cait looked at her phone screen. She switched chats. Maybe he'd reply, maybe not.
Cait> 6:47 pm: Dad, Henry left me. I have not been feeling well. I'm not going to be able to afford this new place. Can I come home?
Tears welled in her eyes. As people disembarked the carriage and then travelers on their way to jobs boarded. The door whooshed shut as she pinched herself hard to deal with the emotional pain.
The train moved into motion. She wiped her tears on her shirt sleeves, the crisp white shirt of her uniform wet with her tears. The chatter among the passengers dulled her senses, and the murmuring faded as she felt the pain of the cramps she started getting mid-cycle. Her face flushed as her body heated up with the strange fever.
Daddy> 7:00 pm: I am out of the country, I am not leasing anywhere. I am sorry.
Cait sighed. This was her life in a nutshell, just bad luck. The train called out her stop. It was time to go into the company; she did not have a major role there; she was a number shuffler.
Cait> 7:03pm: Maria, you warned me he was a creep. We broke up.
She filed behind the other staff who worked in the vicinity. Her legs buckled. She queued for the Travelator, the long walkway looped to the subterranean entrance of the street. Maybe someday, when it was just Betas living, then maybe they would not live like this.
Alphas were the pinnacle of their species, growing stronger as they bred. They were heroes, businessmen, athletes, doctors, researchers, and celebrities. However, they were few and far between, and this was due to the dwindling population of female mates.
Then there was the Omega population, which was mostly male, which was alright when there were female Alphas, but they were born in even fewer numbers. Females among the two classes were very rare. Omegas were beautiful.
As a Beta Dominant herself, she had lucked out, and it sadly enabled her to get such a high-paying job that did not require heavy labour or dangerous work. She knew girls who had to get their limbs reattached or regrown if they were careless with the thermal blades.
Omegas could breed with Beta females, but it was very rare to birth an Omega boy, let alone a female Omega, but they certainly tried. Female Betas drawn to the financial allure sacrificed their minds and sometimes their bodies for the wealth that giving birth to an Omega paid.
Pregnancy was no joke, especially one that was above your body's ability to maintain itself. She had heard horror stories about it growing up. Her Father would kill her if she even tried out.
Especially with her being a Beta Dominant. Both her parents were Beta Dominant. If you didn't know that you were a Beta Dominant and you went into the trial, separation from the child was a problem. Many Betas ended up taking their lives. She could not imagine living without her children.
That's why she never applied to the program or even got tested for her compatibility. She didn't want to end up relentlessly pursued by Omega males like her mother was. No matter how much money they would earn. They had to move around a lot, which is why Mom didn't catch her illness before it was too late.
The pursuit of Omegas who wanted an Omega child. Because Beta Dominant females were rare, made rarer because they died of what happened to them after pregnancy. They died after an Omega pregnancy; they needed their child afterwards, needed the father. That was a wish that rarely got fulfilled.
Maria> 7:05pm: I don't like being right about this kind of thing. What are you going to do? You can always come home.
Cait could not come home, she would struggle here. But if she worked hard and they figured out how to treat what she had she could swing it. Accounting was an easy job. It was not like she was carrying reams of fabric off the looms in the textiles factory anymore. She did that sick.
Cait> 7:06pm: I think I will stick it out as best as I can. He won't kill my dream. Want to split a place in the Burrows?
Maria> 7:07pm: I won't have any friends there.
Cait> 7:07pm: What do you call me then?
Maria> 7:08pm: Something, so much more precious?
Cait smiled weakly and wiped sweat off of her brow. She could always go back to Breakwater, although that place still haunted her. Her old place gave her the willies. There were places she could sell herself.
"You're not that desperate, Cait," she told herself as she reached the surface. She swiped her wristband. She padded across the empty lobby towards the elevator and hit the call button. A cramp and wave of dizziness hit her as the elevator opened.
The scent of the air had changed; perhaps the cleaning staff had started using air freshener, or someone had brought in something sweet. It was almost like sunshine. Her head cleared, and she pressed the button for her floor. "Maybe you can get through this after all," she said to herself.
Cait felt the inertia as the elevator stopped on the floor for the parking garage. The security guard came on and gave her a quick and questionable glance.
"Are you here for a shift?" he said, his head tilting as he looked at her. She looked like death warmed over to him.
"Y-yes, sir," Cait said, avoiding his gaze. He was scrutinizing her. It was odd, she swore she had seen this guard before.
"The office is closed for the day. What department are you working in?" he asked. His eyes narrowed. He was suspicious. What would a girl like her be doing here? She was far too pretty.
Sensing his scrutiny, she quickly answered. "I work in the accounting department. I am coming in to organize for tomorrow's shift and start the quarterly numbers," she held up her security wristband. It gleamed a copper colour for accounting.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "You look sick, you sure you should be pulling extra hours in the evening?"
"Yeah," she said and paused. "It seems like I will be working extra hard for the foreseeable future. I'm just a little under the weather; it will go away in a few days." Cait answered.
He nodded. She was relieved that he did. It was not like he actually cared. It would actually get worse. But the likelihood of her running into him again was likely, so it was best to have an amicable relationship with him. This was the first time he spoke to her.
"If you need anything, here's my card, call it," the guard said. He withdrew one and handed it to her.
Cait took the card. A senior security officer in uniform walked on. She was a sucker for a man in uniform. Cute enough. Cait inwardly smiled. Well, at least she was single now. If he was interested in her for real, she might consider a date after she processed her feelings.
"Thanks, Grant." she said as she read of the card.He had a good career as a manager of the security department here. What he was doing here she did not know. One thing always stood true.People were always kinder to her for some reason during her time.
Grant smiled, "You new to the company? I have not seen you around?" he said as he eyed her.
"Yeah, I'm Cait, I don't have cards yet, but I will see you around?" Cait said.
The elevator reached his floor, and the door slid open with an efficient slide and dinged, calling 'Twenty-Sixth Floor- Corporate Security'.
"Look forward to it, feel better soon." he said as the door closed. So he was security.
The lights were dimmed, panels illuminated as she walked in and shut off behind her.Cait made her way into the logistics accounting department. She swiped her badge and the counter started. It was tied into the payroll system.
Cait walked past the hundreds of desks. It was so peaceful. Maybe she could sign up to work nights permanently. She did not hate her coworkers, she preferred the quiet. Everyone was crammed together down her and space was precious. She was in the dome proper of Geneva. The sea wall was lined with towers, she was high enough now to see above them and look down at the fairy tale old world city twinkling below.
She sat down her bags and powered up her station and logged in. She looked at all of the assignments. Some of them had extra pay assigned to them. She greedily accepted them. She pulled off her coat and sat it on her chair and went to the bathroom.
Cait checked the bathroom for stragglers. She did not care if someone slept here to save money, she just wanted privacy. Cait sobbed while she washed her face and hands. The counter ticked down.
Cait pinched herself a few times to reign in her feelings and left the bathroom. She had to bring a doctor's note for this desk, which was closest to the bathroom. She had had a change of clothes in her locker by her desk and her cup. She stopped by her desk and grabbed the travel mug. She walked to the refreshment room and made herself a cup of ramen and brewed herself a cup of tea.
She checked the countdown. She had ten more minutes.This refreshment room was going to be her pantry for the foreseeable future. For as long as she could hold it together. She was back to boiled food. Meat on holidays from the canteen. She sighed and scarfed down the cup of noodles and brought the giant mug of chamomile to her desk to brew. She liked a strong and bitter cup of it.
She started working; at least she could lose herself in doing all these calculations. Math did not bullshit you or lie to you; it was sometimes complex, but it never dumped you when you were sick. It never saddled you with homelessness. It did not talk down to you.
Henry> 9:45 pm: I have moved all of my belongings out. I left the food. I am sorry.
'What a saint, I bought all the food anyways, that is why my account was so low you asshole.' Cait thought she could not say so as her chat logs could be used in family court to prove her as hostile. She would talk him to court for abandoning her when she was sick. It would be a slow process, and she could not seem abusive or negative. Cait sighed. She paused and replied.
Cait> 9:46 pm: I am rescinding your keycard's operational status. Are you out yet?
Henry> 9:48 pm: Cold. Yeah, I am out.
Cait> 9:49 pm: What do you want me to write to you? You dumped me because I am sick over comms. You can make this seem as amicable as possible in your head, but it was not ethical. I have nothing else to write. I'm restricting your number since I am working. That means your messages will be screened. Good bye.
"Mother fucker." Cait said aloud to herself, the office was empty anyway.
She restricted his number. She alerted the security system to the apartment and changed the code. She was nervous as to what he took. Saying that he left the food could have other connotations. She reached into her bag for her herbal prescription. It was one dad who used to order a lot for her PMS. She was still waiting for her shipment to come in.
"Fuck." she muttered as she did not find the bottle in her purse. She had three left. This was going to be the worst. Especially if he took the shipment accidentally, she would be screwed for half a year. She must have forgotten them when they were fighting. Would she be able to make it home during lunch and back? Probably not.
Cait sighed and dipped her head, and focused on the work to shut out the negativity swirling in her head. She had one day when she missed her dose a couple of years ago; it was not so bad, but she had only started her cycling a couple of years ago. Her hands whirred on the keyboard, shifting and tabbing through the accounting spreadsheets as she watched the monitor. She sent an email to analytics just as the end-of-shift gong rang in her ear.
Cait stood; the heat in her body was intense. It was the middle of the night, and she unbuttoned her top… panting. She grabbed her bags and staggered.
"Fuck..walls are melting again," Cait muttered. She pulled off her heels and began the walk through the office.
She swiped out of the accounting department. She heard the automated voice wish her a good morning as she left. She would go home, get six hours of rest, and start this over again.