|Mia|
Mia wandered the streets, clutching a half finished project in her hand. She had been working most of the morning, but got lonely. She set out without even setting the unfinished shirt down, pulling a small, handmade cloth mask over her nose and mouth. She had to do something outside or she might have exploded from boredom. She walked slowly through the familiar streets near her home, not really doing anything other than people watching. She started getting hungry, but ignored it as she found a small market she had not know about before.
She eagerly went around looking at the various items for sale, talking to the children there, and answering and asking questions as she showed them the gown she was working on. Finally, Mia realized the time. She had to get home or she might not make it! The thought made her shudder.
She hurried away, trying her hardest not to get lost since she was in a mostly unfamiliar area. Finally, she found a familiar street and scurried off toward home. She anxiously checked her bracelet, making sure it had not gone off yet, then increased her pace slightly. Mia could not stand the thought of being caught away from where she needed to be. The scanners were never nice about that.
Suddenly, her bracelet went off, and she stared at it in horror. Not now! She was almost home, but it was still several blocks before she got there. Remembering something she saw some other kids doing earlier, Mia tucked the half-done garment in her belt and lifted herself onto a low roof, running across and jumping with perfect form to the next roof before jumping down to the next block and repeating the procedure on the other side. She covered several blocks within a minute, but the scanners were coming closer fast. She saw her warehouse up the street and ran for all she had.
Finally, she made it and pushed inside the door panting hard. Seconds later, the scanner passed by her and her bracelet shut down. She closed the door with a loud sigh as she sunk to the floor. That was enough excitement for the day. She slowly stood up, taking the dress from her belt and examining it closely. It was slightly dirty now and she had ripped it slightly, but nothing irreparable. She sat down at her work space and started again on it, soon losing track of the time.
Suddenly, she was jolted out of her focus by a loud clap of thunder that seemed to explode right over her house. She screamed and jumped, running to the door and flinging it open with tears streaming down her face. Terrible dark clouds roiled overhead, noxious fumes swirling in the air. The entirety of Project 21 looked like it was trapped in a giant smoke cloud. Mia pulled her mask over her face, a flimsy protection from the bad air, but far better than nothing, and darted into the street, running with all her might toward Daize's tent.
She quickly arrived, only to find that Daize was not even there. She began sobbing as she looked out again at the ominous sky. She couldn't be alone, she would be to scared! But where could she go? She knocked on a couple other doors with no response before she came to Angela's tower. She had met the girl a couple times, but did not know her well.
Desperate, Mia pounded on the door and waited. She impulsively tried the door and found it open, much to her relief. She hurried in and slammed it behind her, still sobbing as she stared at the winding stairs before her. Before she could debate whether or not to go up, another clap of thunder hit, causing her to yelp once more. Without any more hesitation, she bolted up the stairs. She soon arrived at a white door, huffing and sobbing. She took a couple breaths to calm herself before raising her fist and knocking loudly.
"A... Angela?" She knocked again, and said in a slightly louder, clearly panicked. "Angela, can I come in? Please!" Thunder struck again and she shrieked, collapsing to her knees with her head against the door as she cried with gasping sobs. Her whole body shook as she wept with terror.