4:37 Eyes flutter open Wince at the harsh blade of light crawling through the chipped corners of the tinted windows 4:41 Breakfast Watery oatmeal substitute Juice of some fruit, imported from an off-world colony since there is no flora on idem 4:49 Instinctively clutch at left breast pocket for communion vial Fuck 8 days since I last partook 5:0- ugh Who the fuck cares My entire body's stiff, preparing for that sickeningly polite knock at the compound gate Fucking Greyshirts I smile I greet I sweat I shake Their shifting weight coaxes out a squeal from the floorboards and my teeth clench behind my curled lips Motherfuckers are standing on 8 days worth of Manna Fuck Manna Fucking brain-death pills I'm feeling things I didn't know could be felt I'm thinking things I know shouldn't be thought Just how much has he taken from me All citizens must gather in the tabernacle at the dawn of the eclipsing binary to participate in the biannual Public Communion Absence or abstinence is a punishable offense