It all started with a change of routine. A sudden, shocking event.
The bombing of a Nutritional Substance Dispensary.
Granted, the building had been closed for business for the night - the only casualties were the mechanical work staff and the building itself, hollowed out from the explosion.
The government had connected the bombing to a group called The Bullseye Society. Their symbol, as the name suggests, is a dot in the middle of two concentric circles. The symbol was found painted on the floor of the building before it exploded.
It's the same symbol that four of you are now trying to scrub out of the tiles, the morning after the building blew.
"It's a temporary redistribution of labor," Jebbediah's boss had explained that morning.
"You'll be back to your usual post in a couple of days," Larry's boss had said.
"It's very important that we get this mess cleaned up as soon as possible," explained Harald's boss.
"After all," Jaden's boss said to him, "we need to make sure people understand the Society's resilience."
So, the four of you were here to do what you did every day - find the messes that people didn't like to have to look at, and make them disappear.
You would probably only be here a few days.
But Jeremiah, something told you you would be here a lot longer. You were tasked with rebuilding the walls, brick by brick. There were other bricklayers, of course, but other than you, the rest were robots. Great for bricklaying, but awful for construction. Still, these janitor guys were here.
Meanwhile, John, you woke up in your home that morning to a strange message on your handheld comm. The device, all glass, about the dimensions of a playing card, was, instead of the usual time or weather forecast, or the state-approved news that often flashed across the screen, there was a bullseye emblazoned across the display.
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Topic: Roll to Hope [6/6] {TURN 4} (Read 3933 times)