Part Five
Chiana's hands dug into the light gray ash nearly filling the barrel beside the isolation building, her fingers swirling around near the surface in the pillowy powder. Northlan walked around the corner of the isolation building, brow knit firm, coming into line with Chiana's sight in her gaze along the palm of her hand.
Chiana blew the ash coating the palm of her hand. Chiana laughed while Northlan quickly moved aside to avoid the cloud of ash sent toward her. "Y'keep things clean. Drastic. But clean. Ever heard of sterilizing things?"
"Is that what that is?" Northlan faintly smirked, looking to the barrel before settling a peircing gaze on Chiana's open face for a moment. "That's how they leave when they get better" Northlan stepped around her and walked away.
"No" Chiana dug her hands into the ashes, through what she realized were tens after tens of those gone the deeper her hands slid. "I'm-m I'mmm" Chiana mumbled while she replaced the cover on the barrel "going to find...."
Chiana staggered back a few steps and looked at the crude isolation building with its occupants clinging to life in their misery with this fate thier reward. She scraped the ashes on her forearms, knowing that it wasn't so different from anyone's fate. The way these people met their end simply felt wrong, and that was all she had to put it in any perspective.
....to be continued