Chapter 2 : The first infection

Then came the day we leave gramms house. Somewhere, I myself knew the Feed was watching.
But Mother was watching me.
"What are you doing, dear darling?"
Her voice floated through the still room. I couldn’t answer. The tears wouldn’t stop �" hot, stinging �" dripping onto my hands. My chest ached. My throat felt tight. Mother tilted her head, her eyes following the trail of tears. No fear. No anger. Only... a strange curiosity.
She stood in the silence.
Then �" her hand came to my shoulder.
"Come. We will go home." Her touch was firm, guiding. My legs felt heavy, strange. I followed her from the room.
Behind us, everything was being wiped clean. The body taken. The chairs stacked. The floor scrubbed.
But the air... the air felt thick, as though something unseen remained.
No one spoke. No one looked at us.
We walked the long gray street toward home. Orionis stood silent �" perfect rows of smooth buildings, blank faces passing by.
Mother said nothing. Her grip remained steady.
I could feel it �" a change in the air. Something shifting �" slow �" but moving At home, she folded the cloths. Straightened the table. Poured water. Every motion exact �" as always.
But her eyes kept drifting toward me. Watching. Measuring.
Finally, the silence stretched too long. She turned.
"Oh, sweet Lina... darling, you don’t understand, do you?"
She knelt before me, her hands cupping my face �" fingers warm, eyes cold. "Long ago, people were full of feelings. They thought it was good. But it brought ruin. Anger, greed, pain... the world burned because of it."
Her smile was perfect. Too perfect.
"That is why we have Project F.E.E.D. It protects us. Feelings are dangerous. They spread. Like a sickness. Like fire. What you felt today... you must hide it. Lock it away. Stay calm. Be clear. Be a good girl, yes?"
And somehow �" I knew.
She wasn’t really speaking to me.
Her words were too perfect. Like someone reading lines. Like a machine trying to sound soft. How did I know that?
Because I had seen something different �" once.

Gramms �" when she still could love �" her words had been messy. Her hugs uneven. Her smile alive.
But Mother now... was like Gramms after she couldn’t anymore.
Like something dead.
That night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

The Feed Device whispered through the walls: “Purpose. Clarity. Harmony.”
But even the voice sounded thinner now. Off.
Father’s hands had trembled at dinner. Mother’s eyes… emptier than ever.
And beyond our walls… the city felt heavier.
A child somewhere hummed a tune �" soft, off-key.
And in the silent glow of her chamber, Mother spoke �" not to me �" not to herself �" but as if reporting to something unseen:
"I took care of her feelings," she said.
Like a dead body. No soul. No life.
Just sound. Too perfect for a human.

CHAPTER 2 END

Author's Note

Next chapter coming in 14 days stay tuned