Keep your head down,
don't make a sound and don't get noticed, otherwise--
you're done for.
When I was a little girl my Obāsan used to sit me on her knee and tell me stories about the Elephants' Graveyard-- A place in Africa where old elephants direct themselves when they reach that point in their life. They will separate themselves from their herd and when they reach their destination they will be meet with a lonely death. The story always made me cry, it wasn't fair that the elephants had to die alone. Obāsan always laughed at me and told me to stop shedding pointless tears. "Elephants chose to die alone" she would say.
"Because dying alone is a whole lot better than hurting all the ones you love by dying by their side."
I remembered when my Otōsan died. He was shot through the heart by a gang known as the Akatsuki. The Anbu took away his body and I never got to tell him goodbye. I cried for him and by the third month my Obāsan asked why I was still in mourning and I told her I was no longer in mourning but I was sad because he never got to the Elephants' Graveyard to be with all the Elephant spirits. Okāsan burst into tears and explained to me that he couldn't have gone their anyways because no one knows where the Elephant Graveyard is located. When I asked why she told me honestly;
"The Elephants' Graveyard is just a myth."
I cried harder then and between her own sobs Okāsan called me a useless brat. She didn't mean for me to hear hear. But I did. And I never cried again.
By my fourteenth birthday Obāsan went missing. We searched all over the underground sectors but couldn't find her anywhere. We asked around, even ventured up to the third sector. No luck there, and the levels above the third were too dangerous. Even if she had made it that far she wouldn't have survived for long. That's when I meet him. He looked to be my age, his hair was pulled back and he walked with his back hunched over. His clothes weren't dirty. He wasn't from around here. I turned around and got ready to run but he told me to wait. I don't know why I did, I guess I was just obedient back then.
"You stopped."
"You told me to."
"You shouldn't always do what people tell you to do."
"So I can go then?"
"I have to tell you something first."
A beat.
"Your Obāsan. I saw her."
"You saw her? Where is she?! Is she okay?! Is she hurt? Why did she leave me- us?!"
He didn't miss that little mistake. His face looked young, but he had the eyes of an old man. His face was contorted slightly so his eyebrow were wrinkled and his relaxed shoulders tensed a bit. Something was wrong. He sighed and looked up at the blank nothingness that should have been a sky.
"Have you ever heard of the Elephants' Graveyard?"
I did.
It wasn't real.
But I nodded anyways.
"That's where she went."
A beat.
A second beat.
A third.
"She's dead." It wasn't a question.
"I'm sorry for your loss." I turned around and walked home. Keeping my head down, ignoring anyone who tried to get my attention. They only wanted money, and even if I did have any I wouldn't have given it to them. I weaved my way between the thousands of people. There were so many of us. I didn't want to be like this. I didn't want to be a nobody. We didn't have legal names, just a bar-code with a jumble of numbers. Yeah we had nicknames but it was the number that made us who we were. 781036-020336, that was my full name--or should I say number--it was the number on my bar-code tattoo which was printed just above my heart.
They call me 7.
The nobody; the undergrounds' drifter.
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Chapter end notes: Wow, wow wow. I'm pretty hesitant about this beginning. If you have any questions just let me know. This story is going to be very complicated. I've always loved Dystopian novels so I decided to give a Dystopian-themed fanfiction a shot. Naruto characters are included so you have that to look forward to. I used an O.C. instead of a cannon because none of the females in Naruto really fit the part as 7. If I had used a cannon she would have been very O.O.C. and I didn't really want that.
One little spoiler I'll let you in on is the meaning of the term 'Drifter'.
In this alternate-universe there are upper class and lower class. The world is very limited. There are seven sectors the three lower sectors specifically designed for the lower-class. It's over-crowded, hot, and dirty. Not a place you would want to live in. Above that (the fourth level/sector) there is a place known as "The street" this is the only level that both upper and lower-class interact. The street is run by gangs, it is unsafe, full of crime and violence. It's not a place that most people want to be so very few people actually venture up into this level. The best way to survive is by making alliances with gangs. A drifter is a term for a single person who knows how to survive in the street without the help of a gang. There are not many drifters, there are people who try to label themselves as such but the survival percentage-- on your own-- is barely 6%. Most only last for a few weeks, the good drifters can last for years without being detected. So yeay- if there is anything else you need to know or are confused about you may leave a comment and I'll give you an answer to the best of my ability.
Thanks so much for reading leave me a review by clicking that little button labeled 'Review'. Let me know if you like it, hate it, want to shove it up someones butt- okay please don't do that.
I feel like this is a weird way to leave you guys. Um- bye~!