Lies for Lives {Don't Ask}

These are some of my longest stories yet! This is bassically still untitled, I just thought 'Lies for Lives' sounded good so far. I'll update it every so often. ;) It's still going throw a process so please excuse any bad grammar/spelling. I already threw my inner editer away. {For those of you who know what that means} ;)

Think twice about stealing! Yes, these stories of mine aren't very good, but THEY'RE MINE! Please do not take the full story and post it on your blog, but you may post snatch-its of it WITH MY LINK. Just remember- I made these characters, their story, their plot. They are fully mine!

Lies for Lives

Madeline

 The story of a young girl

Who finds hope in a web

Of lies.

They say Bloomingburg is a beautiful,

Wealthful place.

When somebody goes missing,

Most think they just died.

But they didn’t. 

Chapter 1:

Accepted?

I sighed. I live in the capitol of Easternburg, Bloomingburg. Bloomingburg is a place where the wealthiest were off best; like it’ll always be. There will never be any hope for those who live homeless, already forgotten by the families they once loved and loved them. Everything changes if you aren’t accepted.

Being accepted is an important thing; or so my family tells me. Father insists so, but he will always pair with the Council. Mother agrees with him, but with slightly different arguments. Liam, who was accepted only two years ago, says it’s scary. Not of much help, but most of my life is scary.  

We sing here. Always singing, never stopping; is the old saying. We sing when we work, we sing at home, the only place where singing is not allowed is the Lavender Room. That’s where the Council meets. Our grandmas and grandpas say the Council members use to sing the most, but now they don’t sing at all. It’s like it was secretly forbidden, non talking about it, but knowing it. The Council members are very strict and secretive. They wear only gray, as a sign of a Council member.

          They also judge if you’ll be accepted or not. Nobody really knows what being accepted is like, because most topics of being accepted are kept secretive. Nobody really wants to talk about it, like it was only a bad dream. The most one may say about being accepted in his or her life is, ‘’I’ve been accepted.’’ Nothing else. If we celebrate, we celebrate quietly. We don’t want to draw attion to ourselves. Nothing could be worse.

Parents often send their kids to the Orchard the day before being tested. We are tested first, and then at the end of the next day we are told if we are accepted. If we are, the Council will put us where they see best. In this way, we aren’t allowed to choose our jobs; if we do badly at it, or haven’t been accepted, we’re outcasts. Family or friends, nobody, is allowed to talk to you. If they meet you in the street, they must simple stare on and keep walking. Families have broken apart that way.       

                        The Orchard is where we always sing our best; the Council members often walk there. If they enjoy your singing, they may let you keep the fruit you pick. If not, you must give them to the owner of the Orchard, but she pays a small fee to us. The average time being picked is only once. The most was four, though.

A woman knew she could sell the fruit for a lot more than given to us for picking it. She sang once, and was chosen. The next day she disgused herself and her voice, and sang again. It went on for a fifth time, but when Almanda, our oldest Council member, was about to pick her, the woman’s bright red wig fell off. Almanda relized her for the first time. The woman was beheaded. If you asked anybody from anywhere else, they would say she went on vacation, or some silly story and never came back. But their wrong. She died.

          I’m sixteen. You’re chosen when you’re seventeen. They made time for me, as I’ll be seventeen in two months. The test is tomorrow, so Mother sent me to the Orchard. Lily is already seventeen, she’ll be testing with me. We stay silent was we walk to the Orchard. There’s not much to say, anyway, the day before testing. Lily breaks into song. Lily sings beautifully, she’s been chosen twice. That’s a record for not dying. I, on the other hand, sing horribly. My family like to tease me I was only picked so I’d keep quiet. I don’t doubt it.

Mother says I’m too worried about the test. That’s not true. I’m worried about being accepted. I should sing more often, says she, to take my mind off of things.

‘’The wind blows, and the leaves rustles, all is fine in the old cottage house,’’ Lily sings a verse of my favorite song, The old Cottage House. We are honored for making new songs, esspicasly if they are picked up. But the old ones never leave us, they are favorites yet. I started singing with Lily. It was my only way to calm down. Mother says I am already getting pimples from stress.

 Lily and I sing until we get to the Orchard. There we sign-in and grab a basket each, and one ladder. We always help each other. One of us will hold the ladder (putting our basket down), while the other picks fruit. This will change and go on for a while, until our baskets are full or it’s time to stop.

Lily and I don’t sing while we pick, at least for a while. Instead we talk. ‘’The Council members haven’t been out for forever, it’s driving me nuts. Almy says it’s crazy,’’ Lily commented. Almy was named after Almanda, in hope she might gain favor with her. But she never could. Almy bumbled, walked slowly, and sang horribly. Almy cares not to work with the Council, but wishes to own the Orchard instead. Almanda, since Almy is the only child named after her, will most likely grant that wish. Almy will apprenticeship with the owner, Gail, for until Gail dies or is unable to work. It is like that with most jobs. ‘’Sometimes I wish I was named after a Council member,’’ I admit, forgetting I was changing the topic. ‘’You want to be named Almy? Almanda is only one out of two,’’ Lily reminded me. I laughed, and a few people stare. There’s not much to laugh about in Bloomingburg. ‘’Burg, Birch, Eli, Gater,’’ Lily answered for me, laughing. ‘’I guess I could rename myself Ali, after Eli,’’ I suggested. Lily was about to answer before a Council member came striding in. The youngest one, named Elilia. She is twenty four, the youngest person ever to make Council. You have to be at least forty, but they bent the rules for Elilia. She is Eli’s daughter. ‘’Sing,’’ Lily hissed, me still looking at Elilia. I have never seen her before. People have told me about her, though her beauty cannot be told in words. She has carmal sun-shiny hair, which glints gold in the sun. Her eyes are a kind light blue, almost green or brown. Her eyes have no true color, that is. She walks with grace and poise, like a dancer. I’ve heard she really does dance when she walks. It’s no rumor, it is true. She danced towards us, and I burst into a song that has never touched my lips, or anybody else’s for that matter. ‘’She cannot walk; she only dances. Her feet barely touch the ground; her arms as light as feathers, her smile as fresh as daisies.’’ A few look at me enviously. This song is likely to catch on. She stops in front of me, and I try to keep my gaze on the ladder. She lightly touches my shoulder, making it rude to keep staring at the ladder. I turn towards her, gripping the ladder tightly. ‘’You may keep your fruit,’’ she says and moves on. She stops at nobody else, and soon she goes inside. ‘’Wow,’’ Lily looks at me. She is not envious, I know, for that is not Lily. She may just be surprised. ‘’We are the only two people to be chosen twice and still alive,’’ she whispers. But for how long will we be alive? Though the neighborhood I live in, Silver Rain, is filled with good people, others are not. People who might kill other people, just because they are better. It’s a horrible world; one I live in. We finish, still singing, and quickly take our fruit towards the fruit counter, where Gail sits. ‘’You may keep your fruit, but bring back the basket,’’ She nods towards me. She takes the basket full of dealious fruit away from Lily, and comes back with a mere ten dollars. She waves us away, as other women are after us. Lily takes the money and stuffs it into her jean pocket. We leave quickly, running. Homeless people have been known to take our earnings, esspeally fruit.

          Fruit here is worth a lot. Many people don’t have fresh fruit, and if they do they have paid a lot for it. Fruit is a prize poorer people will not keep, but instead sell it to the wealthier people. Mother will probely inspect all of it, and save only the worst fruits I have picked. The others I will sell, street to street. Mother will not need to direct me to the places were the wealthier people live, because I know by now. They also all live in bunches, which make it much easier. Marcus Twine, Toby Kilm, Marta Crossford, and many more. They are all the same, greedy and mean. A few are rarely nice.

          We reach Silver Rain. Lily and I say goodbye, because her house is at the far end of the neighborhood while mine is in the front. ‘’Mother!’’ I excitedly shout. Mother walks out of our windowless one-story wooden plank house. ‘’My! Oh, Andrea!’’ Mother says and races down the steps. She hugs me before taking the basket of fruit and bustling inside again. I race up the stairs; hoping Mother will let me inspect the fruit also. Mother says she will consider me grown when I can pick fruit well. I take a peach and inspect it the way I have been taught. Nice peachy look, few brown spots if not any, smells good. The first peach I take has a larger than sellable brown spot. Mother has told me brown spots are nothing, but the wealthier can afford to be picky. I decide carefully to keep that one. I set it gently in a hand woven basket Mother has made. Mother looks at my chose, but says nothing. I have passed Mother’s test, I will be thought grown of now in Mother’s eyes. I sigh with relief. I have grown tired of waiting to be spoken to at the dinner table, as is our rule. I now may speak when I wish. A small freedom, nothing like the one I will be given if accepted. But it is from Mother.

          I wake up early, with Mother shaking me awake. The Council House is far away from us, and we must walk on foot. That is, I must. She tugs me downstairs and to the breakfast table, where the peach I inspected is waiting. A tear falls down my face. A whole peach, just for me. Mother is being very gerous. She hugs me and pushes me towards the door. I walk slowly down the stairs, and towards the Council House. Towards my new life. When I arrive at the Council House there is already a small line waiting. Lily jumps up and down when she sees me, and becons me to her spot. I walk to her. ‘’Hey! You’re late,’’ she says just as the doors open. ‘’Yeah,’’ I shrug. A middle aged man calls out names, and places people into groups. ‘’Lily Usk, Almy George, and Pattieson Frah, group four,’’ He calls out. I recognize him as Finth, another Council member. Lily makes a face at me, to show she wants to be in the same group as I. Luckily Finth doesn’t see it. ‘’Richard Sun, Crimson Gray, and Andrea Jonth, group five,’’ he calls. A pretty blonde girl walks into a door marked as group five. She must be Crimson Gray, I decided. I inter the door. Four green seats, and a small coffee table is all that the room holds. There is another door, though. ‘’Crimson Gray,’’ Crimson holds out a hand and I shake it. ‘’Andrea Jonth,’’ I interduce myself. ‘’I figured because it’d be odd if your name was Richard,’’ Crimson laughs. She has a beautiful laugh, sounding like bells. I am told my laugh sounds like fingernails on a blackboard. A tall boy walks in. Crimson stands. ‘’Hi,’’ she says. I sit down. They shake hands and both sit down. I tuck in my legs, suddenly glad I’m wearing jeans. ‘’What are we supposed to be doing in here?’’ I asked. The boy turns to look at me, his gray eyes and cold as ice. Crimson laughs again. ‘’Who cares as long as we past acceptians?’’ She asks. I shrug. The only reason we come to the Council House is to past acceptians. If we had a chose, nobody would want to come to this plain steel building. A woman walks into the door. She has black hair and gray eyes, and looks like she could be the boy’s sister. She is obviously young. ‘’My name is Alisha. You are lucky, group five. You got Elilia,’’ she says. Elilia is the least strict of all the Council members, perhaps because she is the youngest. ‘’In one minute, I’m going to take each of you sepretly behind that door. Behind that door is a maze. It is all different for each of you. You’ll need to find your way out. But for now, Crimson is the first one in,’’ Alisha stands up and offers Crimson a hand. Crimson doubtfully takes it, looking at Richard and I as if saying ‘are you going to stop her?’ ‘’Alisha,’’ I say from a sudden desire not to be left alone with Richard, ‘’I want to go first.’’ Alisha laughs. ‘’Fine,’’ she says without a grudge. Crimson thanks me with her eyes. Alisha leads me to a maze.

          The maze is very dark and dull, with rooms with barely lighting enough to see when you step in them. Alisha walks away from me, telling me to count to ten with my eyes closed. Her feet make no sound, so there is no way I can follow her. Once ten seconds are up, I peek around. There is nothing in the room I stood in, only the door which lead to where Crimson and Richard were waiting and three others. I feel around the room, pressing everything I can. There is no light switch. I walk into another room, which is as plain and bare as the other. Everything here, it seems, is plain. It is not a maze of wits, it’s a maze of luck. I enter any door I chose, and just keep going. Finally I reach the first part of the test. The room I enter is brightly lit, with orange walls. There is only one thing in the room, though, and that is a table. On the table holds two things. A sheet of paper, and a pen. Written in white on the walls is: ‘CHOOSE’. A paper or a pen. It’s not difficult. I pick up the pen, and make my way out. The pen would previde me as a weapon, if needed. I wander, again, for a while before entering yet another room. This time it is purple, and the words choose is in blue. An apple or a pocket knife. I sigh. Once again, it’s obvious. Though the apple is food, and rare food for most at that point, the pocket knife is more pratical. I pick up the pocket knife, and set out. Doom to wander and wonder for more time.

          The wails start. Liam had warned me of ‘odd sounds’. Panting and shrieking. Things—large things running behind you. Sound effects? I think not. I duck into a small cubbord just in time. A large thing runs past me. If I had kept running, it would of gotten me. I stay in the cubbord, panting for some time. Where is the apple now? I sadly note. I already had a weapon. I didn’t need another one.

          I am merely in the front most part of the cubbord. My legs beg for me to stretch. I roll in a little deeper, hoping it’ll be wider. It is. My legs push against the walls. I hear something oddly click. I fall, down, down, down into hard cots. ‘’Ohh,’’ I sigh, getting up and stretching out my back. I walk more, into various rooms and various choices. But no more choices are food. Into the last room, I clapse. I can’t go on any further. I despretly think. But I am saved. A white door labled ‘EXIT’ and another ‘ENTER’ are the only in the last room I enter. Which way? The exit door might mean exit the maze, but the enter door might mean enter a new room. I push both doors open, and look at the insides. In enter is another maze. In exit is a pitch black hole, going down. I’m tired of the maze. I jump in the hole.

Chapter 2:

Secrets Unravel

I feel lightless as I plummet down the hole. I land into soft silk pillows, and Alisha is there. ‘’Good work!’’ She says brightly. ‘’Either way would have been the exit, but this is a lot quicker. Crimson has already started, and in five minutes Richard should start. Next you’ll meet Elilia, and she’ll have you do some paper tests. After that you’ll go home.’’ ‘’Like what sort?’’ I ask. ‘’Like the paper sort,’’ Alisha answers, careful not to give anything away. My stomach growled. ‘’The Council is very thoughtful. They thought some teenagers would get hungry, and their right! Pick what you want,’’ Alisha waves towards a table filled with food. Bread, chicken, vegetables. Plain, simple food, but it never tasted better. Alisha handed me a glass of water. Crimson and Richard plop down together, just as I finish my water. ‘’Cool,’’ Crimson says and picks up a roll from the table. ‘’Good job, both of you! I’m so glad I got the good group for once. Roll?’’ Alisha says and throws a roll towards Richard. He catches it easily and takes a bite. I can see the steam rising from the inside. My mouth waters, because it has gotten use to being hungry. I remind myself sternly I am full. ‘’You’ll all do the paper test together, and then you can go home. Come on,’’ Alisha orders us. She disappears. I shrug and get up. ‘’We might as well follow her,’’ and I disappear from view. I hear heavy footsteps behind me, and then smaller ones. Richard and Crimson have followed me. Crimson and Richard? Does it really matter? Alisha leads us to a larger room with Elilia in it. ‘’Richard!’’ Elilia brightly says when she sees him. I glance back at Richard. He seems to know her. ‘’Aunt; I didn’t knew you’d be testing us!’’ He says, trying to sound delighted. He knew she’d be testing him. ‘’Sit, sit! Maybe I’ll go easy on your group since you’re here,’’ Elilia says with a twinkle in her eye. ‘’Aunt, you always go easy. You cannot have any hard feelings!’’ Richard sounded like he was choking. Alisha took  a small pile of papers and handed us each one. I glance down.

1.     You have a choose to save an old man or go away. Which do you chose?

‘’You can start now,’’ Elilia says and starts talking in a whisper with Alisha. I only heard snatchs of it. ‘’Did better than any I’ve ever been with.’’ ‘’Problem?’’ I decided to start my test.

Answer: I’d ask him if he wanted to be saved. If yes, I’d save him.

2.     You are very hungry. You meet a child who is hungry too. You have only a very small piece of cheese. What do you do?

I’d get more cheese.

It went on like that for a while. I felt rather proud of myself, like I was tricking the Council; the answers were obviously meant to be yes or no. Yet I was giving no certain answer. I straightened up. My future lies on this test.

It’s annoying. They know we’re here, working on our test, and it’s like their trying to be loud. As I see the pained esspresions on their faces, I understand it is what their trying to do. Their trying to mess us up! Concentrete, a voice in my head tells me. Keep going. But I couldn’t. I raise my hand. ‘’Yes?’’ Elilia asks. ‘’Could you please be quiet? We are, after all, trying to do a test,’’ I say as if I just noticed she was talking. Elilia’s eyes turn cold. Then they suddenly brighten, and I almost forget I saw something menicing in them. ‘’You’ve got spunk! You’re the girl from the Orchard, am I wrong? Have you enjoyed your fruit?’’ She asks, seeming interested. Was this another test? To see if I’d start doing my test again or keep talking to her, out of curtosy? ‘’Yes, I am the girl from the Orchard. My name is Andrea. The fruit is very good, thank you,’’ I hoped she’d keep quiet. She does, and I turn back to my test. ‘’You’re voice is very fine. My voice is very creaky. So is everybody else’s. That’s why they don’t sing anymore. We use to have beautiful voices. They were treasured, and wanted by others. We were oh so proud,’’ Elilia quietly says. She sounds wistful. I had forgotten she was appointed a Council member at the mere age of eighteen, when the Council sang everywhere. ‘’I didn’t know, Aunt,’’ Richard says, looking up. That sneaky eves dropper! ‘’No, we don’t speak of it often. Since the start of the power control,’’ Elilia’s eyes mist. Then they widen. ‘’Ekk!’’ She squeals. Alisha looks terrified. Elilia quickly stands up. ‘’Children, you’re done. You’ll be appointed a job early. Alisha, please stay with them. I’ll bring them to the Council room later. Stay here,’’ Elilia orders and runs out of the room. Alisha still looks alarmed.

It isn’t long before Elilia returned. Crimson has reduced to a shaking ball in the cornor, and Richard is pale. My fists are clenched, because I know something’s wrong. Very, wrong. Elilia says as she pulls us towards the Council room. In school we were made memorize the whole Council house, in case we were appointed a job there. The Council expects you to know everything; ‘I don’t know’ isn’t an answer. We tripped and stumbled through the hallway, trying to go as fast as we possible could. Elilia suddenly stopped, and we all tripped into each other. She threw the doors wide, showing all of the Council members. I felt ready to throw up. We quickly straightened up. ‘’Please, sit down,’’ Almanda sternly says. The way she phrases it sounds more like an order. We all quickly sit down. The table is now full. There were two sits right beside each other, and then two more across. One must be for Elilia, I relieze. I sit down at one, and Crimson sits across from me. Elilia sits beside her.  Richard sits down next to me, the only space left. I wish it wasn’t. Something about Richard seemed deadly dangerous. Something that most girls couldn’t see past his ‘handsome’ face. Maybe it was because I didn’t like him I noticed it. It warned me to stay away. ‘’Children, Elilia foolishly let slip a little top secret information to you. Something we can’t have floating around, you see?’’ Almanda’s cold gray eyes narrow. Her hair must have been a beautiful black, but now it is streaked with gray. It fits her no longer. ‘’In order to do that, the only way is to… maition,’’ I’m sure she means threaten,’’ you. You’ll all be given work here. I’ll find something personally for you to do. If you tell anybody about what you’ve heard, I’ll see to it everything, everybody you’ve ever spoken to or touched is dead.’’ She’s not doing us a favor. Death would be better, but without everybody we love we’d be soulless, yet bound to live. The Council would make sure we couldn’t commite sucide. ‘’Do you understand?’’ We all slowly nod. ‘’Report here tomorrow at eight. Tell nobody what’s been said here. Simply tell your family and friends the Council has been gracious and let you a job here early.’’ Almanda dismisses us with a wave of her hand.

‘’You spent so much longer than we did,’’ Lily chatters. ‘’That’s beacause, um,’’ ‘’What?’’ Lily asks, annoyment showing in her eyes. ‘’We’ve been given a job early. Apperently group five is lucky. We work for the Council now,’’ I explain. I feel guilty. Lily shrugs it off, but I know her too well. She feels bad. Maybe like she’s a failure, like she should of gotten a Council job early. She has no idea, though, what’s happened to me. Us. The word ‘’us’’ makes me tingle. Whether I like it or not, Richard and Crimson and I are a team. We’re in this together. We walk home silently, only for a ‘’Bye’’ at me house. I climb up the stairs, trying to look excited. ‘’How’d it go?’’ Mother asks, breathless. ‘’Wonderful.’’ I toothily smile. ‘’My group and I all got early jobs! At the Council!’’ I say. Mother’s face lights up. The Council pays well for work. This has been a good turn for Mother. ‘’Oh, Andrea, that’s wonderful!’’ She exclaims. We hug. ‘’We don’t have to sell the fruit anymore! I’ll make a pie!’’ She nearly shouts and rushes inside. ‘’Who died?’’ Father rushes past Mother. I giggle. ‘’Nobody, Mother’s just really excited. I got an early job at the Council! I go to work tomorrow, at eight,’’ I explain. ‘’I always knew you’d get a good job. She’s a smart one, I said to myself, of course she’ll get a good job. And I was right!’’ Father proudly says. I smile. Liam yawns and walks outside. ‘’I thought I heard pie,’’ he says. ‘’You did. Mother’s making some.’’ Liam smiles. Pie, pastries for that matter, aren’t ussal treats for us. I’ve never had pie. Once, though, I got a taste of a brownie. My old friend (now a stuck-up snob) Clarisse had brought a brownie to school for a treat. She let me have some. Anyway…

We were all happy that day. Most of us, that is. I was still worried about the Council. After dinner (and pie) Mother layed out a dress for me. ‘’I think you should make a good impression for your first day,’’ she sighs. ‘’It was my wedding dress.’’ Here in Easterburg we don’t have beautiful white dresses that swish and flow. White dresses aren’t to be owned, unless you rent one. The day before the wedding the bride goes out and buys a plain dress. Mother’s was a little more than plain. It was a rich green, with short sleeves that stuck to your elbows and a lace hem at the bottom. ‘’Mother, it’s beautiful,’’  I sighed while looking over the delicate lace. ‘’Let’s just leave it here for today,’’ Mother says. I nod and we go back downstairs to clean the dishes… a required chore, wether I am plain Andrea or Council job Andrea.

‘’You are beautiful, Andrea,’’ Mother says as she puts my hair up in a French twist. She pins my hair with a few of our precious hair pins. ‘’Please, don’t lose those,’’ Mother reminds me. I smile. ‘’Of course not.’’ We get downstairs, and Mother hugs me good bye. ‘’Be good, Andrea.’’

The walk to the Council house takes a while. When I get there, I find Richard and Crimson angerly banging on the glass door. ‘’They tell us to get here at eight but they keep the doors locked! It isn’t even opened!’’ Richard exclaims. I shove past Richard and try to open the door. No use. I slowly take one of my two precious hair pins out. Will I do it? Yes. If I do this right I may get more than twenty extra hair pins. I pick the lock sussfully. ‘’I don’t want to go in first,’’ I say. ‘’Me neither!’’ Crimson quickly squeals. ‘’Fine,’’ Richard growls. He slowly opens the door and throws a single penny in. The penny lands safely with a bang on the floor. Richard strides in, and shouts back, ‘’It’s okay!’’ Crimson looks back. I do too, and see why. A wild dog appears. Wild dogs aren’t unnormal; for the poorer nearer to the woods parts of Bloomingburg. But in the wealthy heart of Eastrenburg? Unthinkable. Crimson and I run in the house quickly. The entrence, though is a good 6 feet away. I slip. The dog slowly advances, while I struggle to get up. My mind is blank except for the words: Get up. Get up. Richard (who has the longest legs) runs out. Stupid of him, I think. He easily scoops me up and runs back. The dog seems to shrug and turns away. ‘’What’d you do that for!?’’ I exclaim once we are safly inside. He shrugs and drops me, on the hard ground. ‘’I thought you’d be grateful.’’ ‘’Fine. Thanks. I could of gotten up by myself!’’ Crimson looks at both of us. ‘’ Both of you stop fighting. Andrea, you couldn’t of. I saw you myself. Richard, if you feel that way next time let Andrea die,’’ Crimson orders. I now understand what would of happened if we had not found out Council secrets. Crimson would be a peace keeper; I might been solidar. The thought doesn’t comfort me much. There was no way I could ever be that. A voice inturupted my thoughts. ‘’Well done, Children. Richard, for your bravery; Andrea, for your smartness. Crimson, for your dictatorship and bringing peace. But, dear, you must have more talent than that!’’ Almanda says smoothly, walking into the room. ‘’You were here all along! Why didn’t you let us in?’’ Richard bursts out. ‘’I was testing you. Any good apprentice could had gotten in, even facing more troubles than you did,’’ Almanda says. ‘’So then we did well? We got in, after all.’’ I boldly ask. Almanda’s eyes narrowed. ‘’Yes, you did do well. It will not be well, though, for you to challenge me again,’’ Almanda says, her cold gray eyes burning a hole through me. ‘’What do you want us to do?’’ Crimson quickly asks. ‘’I am giving you each to a different Council member to be taught certain things for a week, perhaps longer. Then it’ll all change, and a different Council member will teach you something new. You are all going to start with me, though,’’ Almanda says. I inwardly groan. ‘’I’ll teach you to be obident, first. Crimson; get my coffee. Hazelnut, with a shot of whipped cream and carmal srype. Richard and Andrea, come with me. I have a job for both of you,’’ Almanda says and becones Richard and I with one finger. The first hallway we pass is plainly decorated, with many portraits of stern dead Council members. There is only one woman; I noted; and she had a harder, more cold look in her eyes than any of the others. She would have been beautiful if it hadn’t been for her eyes. Her eyes were lovely, with no true color; except for the feeling in them. She had a long bob, cut fashionably. Her eyelashes were long and thick, making her look like she had makeup on; but no female Council member wears makeup. Her nose was not too small, or too big; it was simply perfect. She had full red lips with rosy cheeks. Her cheek bones were high, showing off her heart-styled face. She was the image of prosper and wealth, of glory and admiration. We entered a parlor, themed natural colors. The ‘’natural’’ colors were actucally plain. They showed for a purpose, though: The color wasn’t bright, something you would stare at imiditly. Since everything was like that, only one thing drew your eyes to it. The carver’s delicate work. There were roses, fields, small houses, and even trees seemed beautiful carved into a chair. Almanda walked through without a glance, though. She opened a small door and shoved us in. ‘’I want you to organize these files before noon,’’ she points to a pile of files, stacked messily. So this is why the Council always seems so clean and orginazed. They have apprentices to do it for them. She leaves, closing the door. ‘’We should probely do it alphabiticly,’’ Richard says. I nod. I pick up the first file. ‘Council Jobs’. ‘’I’m making a ‘C’ pile here,’’ I point to the tile square next to me and set my file down. ‘Privet Imformation’. ‘’ ‘P’,’’ I say, and set it down. Richard starts laughing. ‘’What? Oh…,’’ I said in understanding. ‘’We should put all the ‘P’s’ in yellow folders,’’ he says, laughing. ‘’Don’t make it worse,’’ I warn him, countioning my work. He sighs. ‘’You are an interesting piece of work, Andrea.’’ I felt like telling him I wasn’t work. I’m a person.

Crimson was supposed to help us. She came in just as Richard was setting down the last file, ‘W’. ‘’I’m sorry I’m late, but Almanda wants us right away!’’ She urgently says, shaking my shoulder. ‘’Why?’’ Richard says, stretching lesurily. ‘’C’mon you guys!’’ Crimson rushed out of the room; and I am dragged with her. 

‘’Hello, children. I need you to deliever this papers by tomorrow. I don’t care if you’re up all night;’’ Almanda says carelessly, not looking up. Her assistant, a petite girl named Lois, hands us a large stack of paper. We turn to leave, Richard caring the heavy stack. ‘’Wait,’’ Almanda says, looking up. I turn towards her. ‘’Andrea, remember what I said.’’ I turn unblinkingly away, feeling Almanda’s cold stare on my back. ‘’Yes,’’ I finally answer, ‘’I will.’’

‘’How do we divide them?’’ Richard asks, staring at the papers. ‘’And to whom?’’ ‘’Wait!’’ Lois pants, running towards us. ‘’I forgot to mention, the names are on the first page. Their all stapled according to whom they need to go to.’’ ‘’Would had been helpful a minute ago,’’ Crimson says blankly, looking up with red cheeks. ‘’Opps?’’ She asks pitifully. Crimson had torn one of the papers while trying to divide the stack in thirds. ‘’I’ll get the stapler,’’ Lois groans. She runs/walks up the stairs as fast as the tight knee-height uniform skirt and heels will left her. ‘’I’m glad we get to wear pants.’’ I say, looking at the trouble Lois was having. ‘’Did you hear? They changed that rule a minute ago. All women wear skirts now. I think the rule was made just for you,’’ Richard says, smirking. ‘’I hope they send you the wrong package. You’d have to wear a skirt,’’ Crimson grumbles. 

‘’Should we meet for lunch?’’ Crimson asks. ‘’Oh, we could go to JIM’S!’’ She exclaims.‘’ Crimson, I don’t know about you, but I brought lunch. I can’t afford to waste money and time,’’ Richard shrugs. ‘’Same,’’ I answer. ‘’Oh, okay. I’ll stop at my house. Save you a cookie?’’ Crimson asks bashfully. ‘’Thanks,’’ I say, quickly hugging Crimson. I hated to admit it, but I was slowly making friends with Crimson. It wasn’t bad, but it was unheard of. Another unspoken rule in Bloomingburg:

High class and low class do not mix, except for being accepted.

The rule was unspoken because everybody knew of the Council’s disaprovel. Nobody dared break that rule. Almanda was a stickler to the ‘oldies’, and refused to let different classes mingle. It would be bad enough Crimson and I worked together. Anything else would tear our families apart.  

‘’What are you doing here?’’ I asked Richard. He and I both were standing on the doorstep of one of my deliveries. ‘’This is my delivery. What are you doing here?’’ He answers, showing me the name printed boldly across the right hand corner of his paper. ‘’We could saved so much time…’’ I sigh, showing him my paper. ‘’Whatever. Let’s just ring the doorbell and get this through,’’ Richard says, shaking his head. Things between Richard and I had been awkward ever since this morning. There was a thin barrer neither of us wanted to break. I, because I wanted to keep my sanity, and Richard for his own reason. Bloomingburg doesn’t have time for love. Our world is too fast paced, I relized. Neither do I. Family and jobs come before any love.  ‘’Hello, Mr. Deshards. The Council woman, Almanda, sends you these papers,’’ Richard and I recite from heart. When talking to anybody else formally (or doing Almanda’s work) we need to use Almanda’s full title. Mr. Deshards take the papers and close the door. This isn’t odd for for the richer part of Easternburg; Silverdale. Everybody understood they were better than us. Or at least they thought they were, anyway. Time will tell.

‘’How’d it go?’’ Mother asks, taking the pins out of my hair. ‘’Okay, I guess,’’ I shrug. ‘’I remember when I was accepted. I was so excited! But now I know sewing fancy dresses all day for fancy ladies isn’t  very exciting. It’s interesting, though, seeing the designs they pick…’’ Mother drones. I sussefully block out part of it. ‘’I made a cherry pie. After dinner, you and Liam will go sell some of the fruit. Then we can all have pie,’’ Mother says, smiling at me fondly in the mirror. ‘’Thanks,’’ I say, looking wearily at myself. I have brown hair and startling gray/blue eyes. Mother says Almanda is the only other female who looks like that. What do I share in common with Almanda? Not much, really. I never want to be a Council member. I’m not growing up rich, while Almanda’s is and was the richest family in Easternburg. But I could feel the prescense tugging on my soul, affirming my fear. Is Almanda family?

          ‘’Mother,’’ I ask, ‘’Did anybody else in your family have blue/gray eyes and brown hair?’’ Mother’s eyes turn glassy. ‘’My mother. She’s not with us anymore,’’ Mother quietly answers. ‘’Let’s not draw on troublesome things anymore. We still have some leftover pie. Why not try some?’’ ‘’Sounds fine,’’ I slowly answer.

          Ariving twenty minutes early, I wait until Crimson comes.

          ‘’Hey. I wonder how today will go,’’ Crimson bitterly says. ‘’Oh, but guess what!’’ Crimson says, her eyes brighter. ‘’Dad’s paying for us all to eat out. Pre-paid, of course. We can order anything and then just leave.’’ ‘’Is it open?’’ Richard asks, coming out of some bushes. ‘’They better hope it is,’’ Crimson growls fiercly. ‘’Way to go Crimson!’’ I cheer quietly. Crimson’s cheeks turn red. ‘’It’s open,’’ Richard affirms, opening the door. Crimson and I rush inside, not looking back. I remember the experience with the wild dog. Not going there again. 

          ‘’Hey kids,’’ Alisha says, leaning against a wall. ‘’Almanda asked me to teach y’all today. We’re going to work on defending the Council!’’ Alisha says, eyes sparkling. ‘’No way. Really?’’ Crimson asks. ‘’It needs to be done. The Council has better things to do than fight themselves. Since y’all are the multitask-ers, y’all will do it,’’ Alisha says simply, shrugging. ‘’Real guns?’’ Richard asks. Alisha nods, grinning. ‘’I think it’s going to be fun,’’ Richard says, turning to us. ‘’I hope we get an extra long lunch break,’’ Crimson whispers to us. ‘’ALRIGHT, kids, it’s time to go. Follow me,’’ Alisha yells, already walking.

          ‘’Aim, breath, shoot, destroy,’’ Alisha commands. ‘’I can’t promise anything on the destroy part,’’ Crimson mutters. ‘’CRIMSON! Part of doing well is confidence. If you think you can do it, you may do it,’’ Alisha screams, turning into an army officer. I breath in slowly. I’ve heard of guns before, of course, but never seen one or held one. The Council is afraid of a riot. Many of us don’t even know what guns are.  Or any type of weapon. Then again, if you’re chosen for Army work, even fruit will be  a weapon. Things would have been so different if it wasn’t for Elilia, I think, letting my mind wander.  ‘’ANDREA! Shoot already!’’ Alisha yells. Richard and Crimson are staring at me, waiting for me to shoot. I relize I stopped while I was aiming. Bang!  I missed the target I was aiming for, but shoot the second one, somewhere near the middle.  ‘’Going out for gold, huh, Andrea?’’ Alisha asks, nodding approvingly. ‘’No, I only hit that one accidently,’’ I answer. Alisha’s smile broadens. ‘’And you’re modest. Such a good person. Such a good person,’’ Alisha sighs.  ‘’No, really,’’ I start. ‘’Never mind. Just keep shoting,’’ Alisha says, waving me off.

I sigh, and we shoot until lunch.

And that’s when the scream sounds.

Chapter 3

Dogs ARE NOT Puppies

        ‘’Stay here,’’ Alisha says and runs out. Richard and I look at each other uncertainly. Crimson is studying a pattern in the wall. Richard points at a liquid filled dart. He doesn’t say it, but I know what is in there: the drugs we need to knock Crimson out. ‘’What then? Where would we put her?’’ I ask a little too loudly.  Crimson whirls around on her heels, facing me. ‘’I’m going where you are going. You don’t have anything I don’t,’’ Crimson says, frowning. Richard snorts. She pulls out a dart-loaded gun. ‘’When you’re important, it’s easy to get away with silly thoughts and talking.’’

       ‘’But what will it be?’’ Crimson asks, studying us carefully. ‘’Don’t blow your cover, and you can come,’’ Richard says. ‘’Wonderful. Now can we please get going?’’ I ask. ‘’No… I need to put my hair up!’’ Crimson giggles, seeming stupid and silly in every way possible.  

       We stelfully walk in the dark, abondond halls. It seems every light has been turned off. Even the seucretiy camaras have a drawn cover over them. ‘’Ahh!’’ Crimson shrieks. ‘’She’s in pain. Please. Please, let us go quickly!’’ Crimson says, shaking wildly. Crimson screams again. We walk again, this time at a faster pace. But we haven’t lost any of our security.

       We reach a control room. It is empty, except for a girl pounding on a glass box. Desks and computers are set around her, as if she was something to study. ‘’Kate!’’ Crimson says, rushing towards her. ‘’Stand back!’’ Crimson yells, and breaks the glass. Kate steps out, and only then do I notice it: Crimson and Kate are twins. From the exact curls to the shape of their hands, it’s obvious. ‘’Do you mind explaining?’’ I ask. ‘’Elilia did it,’’ Kate murmers into Crimsons shoulder. ‘’Have you ever wondered why there aren’t any twins around? When Kate and I were born, the Council decided not to have twins anymore. They claimed it was for everybody to be ‘unique’. They took Kate away for studying. Ever since she was a baby, she’s been studied, like an animal.

‘’Elilia told me, one day. She couldn’t bare it anymore. Hearing Kate’s screams after being poked and prodded… she promised to help us. She has. We need to get Kate out of here, now,’’ Crimson decides, stand up and pointing her gun at Richard. ‘’You, boy, carry Kate. She’s too weak to walk on her own,’’ Crimson says. Richard comes forward and carefully picks her up, grumbling all the way. ‘’Andrea, can you take us out?’’ I think for a second. ‘’No,’’ I answer. Crimson frowns. ‘’All right then, follow me.’’

       Crimson leads us out, through many winding halls. And then though the halls of Council Memembers. Even Crimson takes a moment to stare at them, even though she proclaimes it’s to ‘let that boy catch up’.

       As I walk down, I feel the eyes of those dead people staring at me. I feel the woman’s eyes more keenly. If ghosts were real, I decide, she’d be one of them.

       All the while Kate is moaning. ‘’Crimson, get me out! GET ME OUT!’’ She shrieks. More often Crimson turns and worriedly looks back at her. ‘’She’s going crazy, isn’t she?’’ I ask. ‘’No!’’ Crimson bites back. But you can see the fear in her eyes. It’s there, shining more brightly than before. Richard is also slowing. Yes, that tough-I’m a punk- boy cannot carry a starved girl. Nobody told us, but obviously Kate was only given enough food so she would live.

       ‘’We need to stop,’’ I finally say. I don’t care anything about Richard. I was slowing down too, and even Crimson was starting to make wrong turns. Repetedly I would tell her, ‘’We turn this way when we came, now we go this way again.’’

       ‘’Fine,’’ Crimson angerly says. We turn into the first room we find, which happens to be a mini-house. Crimson retreaves food from the mini fridge and hands Kate an apple. ‘’Bite into this. Not too much.’’ I can see Kate trying to restrain herself. ‘’As of now, we have three sodas, one frozen meal, four peaches, and two cans of stew. We will preserve this, but the size will be decided by weight, age, and how much you need to countion your job,’’ Kate says. Richards snorts. ‘’You may as well give it to me all now,’’ he says, reaching for a peach. Kate punches his hand and gets out her gun. ‘’Last time I noticed, I happened to be the one with the gun,’’ she says, aiming it at his head. ‘’And last time I checked, that made me the leader.’’ Richard slowly moves his hand, then presses it against his chest.

       ‘’Richard and Andrea, go back to the training room. I’ll stay here with Kate. Make sure you make up a good reason why I’m not there.’’ Crimson says. ‘’We will, hon,’’ Richard says, laughing at Crimson’s fouresous face even though he can’t see it.

       ‘’Why isn’t Crimson here?’’ Alisha says. We returned right in the nick of time. We had only time to settle down and pretend like we were doing something. ‘’She got sick. Andrea was playing around with her perfume, and it made Crimson allergic. So she went home.’’ I send a dirty look at Richard for his story. There were many better stories he could make up. ‘’Richard also scared her.  She almost passed out,’’ I say. Alisha nods. When you outsmart a smart person with a fake story, it feels wonderful.  But with somebody gullible like Alisha, it’s horrible. You gain nothing.

       ‘’Andrea made me scare Crimson!’’ Richard says, pointing accusedly at me. ‘’Did not!’’ I angerly say. Alisha sighs wearily. ‘’Richard and Crimson, today you are dismissed. I was planning on doing a three person activity, but I can’t now. Tomorrow come back at the same time. If I’m not there by thirty minutes, you may leave,’’ Alisha says. When we are almost out, she leans her head into her hands. It is a look of despretation.

       ‘’You didn’t need to make up such a horrible story,’’ I snap at Richard. It was obviously him who made Alisha so tired. And of course, she probrally saw through his lie. ‘’It was what I thought of at the moment, I didn’t intend to hurt you on purpose, let’s stop fighting,’’ Richard sighs. Prehaps that’s a good reason. We are all tired today. We walk back to our houses in silence. ‘’Good bye,’’ Richard says curtly but not kindly at his house. I nod, feeling as stoney as he is acting.

       ‘’How was it? I still can’t get over the fact you got a job at the Council!’’ Mom excitedly says. Today is the Celebration Of Jobs. It’s when we normally get our jobs. Even though I already have mine, everybody is still required to go. Council’s orders. In other words, law.

       ‘’It went wonderfully. What am I going to wear for the Celebration of Jobs?’’ I asked, changing the subject. ‘’I picked out a lovely see green dress for you,’’ Mom says, stroking the beads on my dress.

       It has pretty silver beading on the lower end. The neck line is a ruffled top. Mom obviously made it for this acasion, even though I was already given my job. Maybe she made it before I was given it.

‘’Tonight we are going to enjoy some more fruit. I went to town today and bought supplies for beef stew! I hope you don’t mind I already seem to be eating up your pay check…’’

       ‘’No Mom,’’ I answer. ‘’When I get it, I’ll give it to you. I never had any other idea.’’

       Well, actucally I did, but Mom doesn’t need to know that. This job will be heaven on earth for her.

       Liam and Dad are dressed stiffly in suit and ties. Mom wears a beautiful yellow dress she just completed for herself. And I, I wear my new dress.

       Lily gasped when she saw me.

       She said I was something more than beautiful. She couldn’t come up with it, but I made a few guesses myself.

       Marvoulous.

       Wonderus.

       Beauty beyond imaginable.

       Okay, probraly not the last one, but hey. I felt all of those in it.

       You know that feeling you get when you try on something new? Yeah, I barely ever have that feeling. But today I felt it. I felt beautiful, like I could do anything.

       The material felt like silk. Swishing around my legs, it felt wonderful. The beads sparkled when the light caught them. The ribbon’s color seemed deeper than before, creating a mash of colors; new and old.

         

          I have gone to the Celebration of Jobs ever since I was old enough. The required age is 5, unless you are sick or dying. The council, however cruel, isn’t that cruel.

       You aren’t required to look pretty, but we try. The Celebration of Jobs is a new chapter of life for us sixteen year olds; and we all celebrate that. This is the time when our fates are decided.

       How much money you will be paid. Status. Where you will live. What you will look like, and whom you will marry.

       The Council is very strict on that. You may not marry anybody lower than your status, and you may not marry a person of your same gender. This, they say, is to keep us in order.

       Some like that rule. They believe there is no reason what so ever you should marry somebody of your same gender. God, they say, did not make Adam and Steve.

       Some people don’t. People should have free rights, this is Bloomingburg, whatever; they say. God never comes into the picture there.

      

       The celebration starts.  The Council says we are ruled by God, so we start with a prayer. We are not required to follow the beliefs of God and believe He is true, but we must respect those whom do. There have been many wars over this.

       Next is the welcome speech by one of the Council members. We start off with Almanda, because she is the oldest. She says how proud God must be of this part of Bloomingburg. The capitol of Bloomingburg.

       Next she talks about how our lives will happen after this day.

       ‘’The lives of our sixteen year olds will be drastically changed after this day. In fact, most of their life matters, here, on this day, in this place.

       ‘’We can’t wait to welcome a new generation of workers to our prospering jobs. Just remember, however small or big job there is, there are no jobs of low status.’’

       I snort. Almanda makes it sound so believeable, but I have seen it firsthand. It is not believable that way.

      

       Elilia takes her place. She, too, makes a small welcoming speech. Not so interesting or believeable as Almanda’s, but a few parts strikes out at me.

       ‘’We haven’t always been so prosperous, but through trial and error we believe our workers after this day will never go hungry.

       ‘’Things have changed surprisingly for us, and because of this fact we believe we will always be safe. Our walls are guarded well, and at least half of the new workers will be postioned there.’’

       Interesting.

       Then another one of the Council members calls out names and jobs.  

       Most of this is boring, having heard this almost every year of my life. So far, the only interesting parts have been the speeches.

       ‘’Lily Usk, you will be a worker of the Four Building. Congrats.’’

       We all chime in ‘’congrats’’. Lily walks off the stage, and many hands clasp at her back. The normal rings of ‘’Good job!’’ and ‘’See you at work!’’ run around the stadium, blurring my head.

       Should I mention? The Four Building is the tallest in Bloomingburg. It is the second most important, rivaling the Council House. 

       Lily will be fortunate to work there, and she will probrally go into a higher status. When she is at the required age where you must live alone until you marry, she will leave her house in the lower subarbs and live in the height of fashion.

      

       Richard, Crimson, and my names are not called. Supposedly, everybody already knows we were given jobs early.

       The Council, however, is required to tell anyhow. We needn’t go up, only let the congrats ring around the stadium for a while until the next name is called.

       ‘’Richard Sun, Crimson Gray, and Andrea Jonth have been awarded their jobs pre-early. All three of them work for the Council.’’

       A gasp comes up. Almost every year somebody is given a job pre-early. But never has it been three, or a job for the Council.

       Council jobs lead to higher Council jobs, and then… Council member. Oh, the possibilities.

       We leave early. Normally we stay for dessert, but Mom has made the decision not to. We did, though, take a fruit tart for each of us. Almy brought those.

       ‘’That went nicely. People were surprised when Richards and Crimson’s and Andrea’s pre-jobs were announced. I thought they were supposed to know,’’ Liam says, frowning. My observing brother.

       ‘’The Council is always very busy getting jobs ready. It’s not their fault they forgot,’’ Mom says, frowning at Liam. It is not a rule, but we all know it shouldn’t be done: disrespecting the Council. The Council, as it is reported, makes no mistakes. Not announcing pre-jobs is no longer thought as a mistake. 

       ‘’Yes, ma’am,’’ Liam meekly says. We walk the deserted streets in silence.

       I want to remember this; I try to take in every detail.

       The sun is currently a pinkish color. Most of it is hidden by the Four Building. We don’t live near a beach, but sandy grit is blowing around the streets. The streets are cracked and dark, and some are so big you feel  as if you will fall into them. We carefully leap over those.

       The trees are stripped of their leaves. It’s getting noticeably colder, and I happily sigh. My favorite time of the year, fall, is coming close.

       We are still walking when we hear the stomps. Every year, those sound. The screams sound, too. It’s only a sound of celebration, but I can’t bare but shiver.

       The teens will dance their normal dance, including many stomps, and the adults will do a lighter dance. The children’s dance is my favorite. It consists of merry music, and even if you are not dancing your feet are tapping.

       The children always try to make up an act to do while dancing beforehand. Sometimes it means lots of hair pulling, and other times silly cardboard costumes.

       Whichever way, it is always just as merry watching their happy faces.

      

       This time, however, the stomps come from behind us. People are running, and we hear shouts of: ‘dodge to the left!’

       Dad’s face becomes stern. ‘’Andrea and Jelisha, go home. Run. Liam and I will be there soon,’’ he says.

       Dad has always been my role model. He’s strong, and I have never seen him cry. Today, though, you can see him shaking. I catch the words of ‘’wild dogs’’ whispered to Liam.

       Mom and I run towards our house. When we turn the bend, I stop, huffing and puffing. ‘’We have to go on!’’ Mom says, grabbing my arm to rest on. ‘’No. Mom, go home. I can handle myself. I need to go back,’’ I say. Mom tries to keep me from leaving, but I run away.  ‘’I love you!’’ I yell over my shoulder. Mom has already turned another bend.

       I can’t find Liam or Dad anywhere. I am lost in the mass of screaming people, each thinking they are better than the other and trying to push. The only thing I can do is try not to fall. I slowly back out of the mass, to the left side. What is the first thing I should do? I ask myself. See what the thing the people are running from is. And how can I achive that? My mind is whirling, and I must take it slow with myself. Climbing a building. I can’t climb. I have never climbed a tree, or even tried. I have used ladders the Orchard before, but it was Lily whom tried to shake the best and biggest fruit from it’s place.

       I look around for anything I can try to climb. Nothing. Bricks poke out at odd places in the buildings, but they aren’t big enough for me to climb. The vines, though beautiful, are weak and thin. The only tree is a lonely new-born oak.

       ‘’I can’t climb. I will have to stay here, and I have left Mom alone. I have broken a promise, and I will die with that thought,’’ I whisper to myself. I huddle down into a ball. There is no way I can get out into the stream of people. I repete those words over and over in my mind. Can’t. Die. Alone. Broken. I giggle delirously at what those four words from my thoughts pieced. Can’t die alone broken.

       The stompede of people have stopped. Now the hissing of dogs fill the air.

       I have always thought of dogs as puppies. But as I look up, I will never make that mistake again. The dogs slowly fill in in anywhere they can fit. There are too many of them to count. They have long, visious teeth. Warm slobber falls down from open mouths. Their eyes are completely dark, no light of day showing in them. They are, obviously, trained to kill. One of the dogs quietly walk towards me. This dog isn’t like the others. It is bigger, but much more lovable. It seems to be smiling, showing off the biggest of its teeth. It playfully pats me with it’s huge paw.

       Then it bites into me, and I have only time to see the teeth dripping with sleep medicine before I fall into a deep slumber.

Chapter 4:

Dark Lives, and a Dashing but Cold Stranger

They are deciding. Deciding my fate, like I chose to come to this… this… whatever. There are four tents. Two each were put together to make taller ones. In harsh, cruel words ‘’MALE’’ and ‘’FEMALE’’ are written across the entrances. Wobbly crates were put together to make a wall around their camp. The other side is protected by a horrible smelling dumpster. By the smell, it is long abandoned. Blocks of cut wood and empty crates are put in a circle, around a campfire. People are sitting around it. I want to turn my head to look at the surrondings behind me, but they still think I am asleep. They won’t let me hear their conversation if I am awake, I know it. But I have a right to hear my fate.

       ‘’She can help us. She doesn’t look like the weak sort,’’ one of them say. He is obviously the leader, because others start nodding in agreement. He has dark, wavy curls and gray eyes. You can’t look at him only once. He looks over at me, and has caught me staring. I sheepishly move my gaze to the dirty, brittle brown grass. ‘’She’s awake,’’ a girl says, looking at me. Her voice has musical tones. ‘’We don’t save dinner for those who won’t get it.’’ I hear somebody call out. Gingerly I get up. ‘’What’s for dinner then,’’ I ask, sitting down roughly on a crate. The crate wobbles. I hope nobody has noticed. One of the girls tosses me hardened black bread. I start cutting the black parts off. ‘’No. Somebody will eat that, even if you don’t. Not all of us have lived soft lives,’’ the leader says. ‘’Put her off her soft life gently, Kaleb,’’ another one of the girls say. She’s thin and athletic looking, with skin the color of creamed coffee. She has short, soft brownish black curls. Her eyes are a clear hazel green. ‘’I’d prefer not to,’’ Kaleb softly growls. He glances at me for a split second and then gets up and goes into the male tent. ‘’Don’t mind Kaleb. He’s always like that, but it makes for a good leader. No spilling secrets there. By the way, I’m Christy,’’ Christy pounces on me, holding out her hand. ‘’Andrea,’’ I say slowly. I shake Christy’s dirty hands, which have the remains of the gritty bread on them. Christy starts staring into my eyes. ‘’Not Andrea Na, is it?’’ she asks. ‘’No,’’ I answer, but Christy is still staring into my eyes. ‘’I’ve missed you, Andrea,’’ Christy starts to mutter. ‘’Great,’’ says the other girl. ‘’Thanks a lot. She’s gone into one of her ‘’remembering my dead people’’ things.’’ She crosses over and shakes Christy hard, then leads her away into the tent. ‘’I’m Duncan,’’ the other teenager says. He has close-cropped hair and laughing blue eyes. ‘’That was Danielle. She didn’t catch anything today, plus farmer Jones told us the vegetables aren’t ready yet.’’ ‘’Didn’t… catch… anything today?’’ I requiringly ask. ‘’Yes. It was a bad day. Those dogs chased them all… Oh! You meant catching. Most of our food is meat and herbs (found around, you know). We can’t exactly walk up to a grocery store and ask for meat…’’ Duncan dwaddled off.

‘’Oh.’’

       ‘’Yeah.’’

       Our conversation stops there. I can tell by his body language he’s normally easy-going, but freezes up when asked certain questions. I must have hit a mark. We sit in the ever-growing cold darkness. Nobody has come out of the tents yet, but light peeks out through cracks.  

       ‘’You can go in if you want, you know,’’ Duncan said. ‘’Thanks. I was wondering,’’ I briskly say.

       Fiddling with my hair, I gently step into the tent. Large bunk beds, tables, and chairs fill it. A good-smelling candle is sending it’s smells wafting everywhere. Christy giggles as she writes something into a notebook. ‘’Hi,’’ my voice squeaks. Danielle peeks her head out of the smaller tent. ‘’I’ll introduce you to our living spaces once I get out,’’ she says and pops her head back into the tent. I gently sit down on one of the many pillows thrown on the floor. It doesn’t pop. Or burst into bubbles. I sigh.

       ‘’This is the privacy room. Half is for dressing/using the bathroom, the other half is a nobody else but you sort of half. The third part is for social girl only meetings. Boys can’t go into there,’’ Danielle says. ‘’So boys can go into the other rooms?’’ I ask. ‘’Only the front room. This tent and our ‘’dorm room’’ are off-limits,’’ Danielle states simply. The tour must be over, because she walks away and converses with Christy. 

       I try to go to sleep. It’s deep in the night, and I can hear crickets chirping and like-wise night noises. ‘’Farmer Jones brought the vegetables! And desserts!’’ Shouts Duncan. Christy hops off and runs like mad towards the door. ‘’C’mon, you don’t want to miss it, do you?’’ Danielle asks, and starts calmly walking towards the door. ‘’What is it?’’ I ask. ‘’Dessert. Whenever Farmer Jones is late in the vegetables, he brings dessert like a sorry note. It keeps us from being mad at him,’’ Danielle shrugs.

       A mid-seventy old man stands, shaking slightly and pinching his nose. ‘’We couldn’t be mad at him anyway, we aren’t one to pick on the weak sort. But he helps us, and we call him a good man. We supply him with fresh meat, too,’’ Danielle whispers to me. He holds out an apple pie to Kaleb. ‘’My ife nade it resh,’’ he says. I translate it to: ‘’My wife made it fresh’’.  ‘’Thank you,’’ Duncan speaks up for Kaleb. Kaleb glares at him. Quickly, he hands a large packet of stinking meat to Jones. ‘’Be gone before they find you,’’ Kaleb warns, sweeping a hand to the unknown. Jones wobbles to his pick-up truck, and disappears into the night. ‘’Somebody get me a stick.’’ Christy goes and returns with a stick. Kaleb uses this to cut the pie. We pass one piece downwards, until the person left of Kaleb has a piece. Then we countion this process until everybody has a slice.

       I look long and carefully at my slice. Slight dirt on the bottom crust from being passed around. Moss and dirt from the stick litters the side. But oh, I have not had apple pie in a long time. Gingerly, I take a bite.

       Wonderus.

       The crust is salty and savory, and the sauce the apples were cooked in is a melt-in-your-mouth sort. Enjoyment at it’s best.

       Contented, we all go to sleep. I can only wonder what tomorrow will come…

       ‘’WAKE UP! Newbie, you’re with me,’’ Kaleb shouts. ‘’Ugh.’’ I moan, stretching. Christy, already dressed, rushes past me. ‘’You might want to get dressed, and quickly at that,’’ she warns in low tones. I hop out, pull on a {loaned} shirt and jeans, and rush out. Members are already picking at remains of eggs and sausage. ‘’Next time, don’t sleep in,’’ Duncan says good heartedly, passing me a sausage. I bite into it, and notice right away it tastes different. ‘’What is this?’’ I ask Duncan, trying not to spit it out. ‘’Deer meat. It’s not spiced, so that’s probrally what it is.’’

       ‘’What it is?! It’s deer meat, Duncan!’’ I almost shout. ‘’The meat you buy in Bloomingburg is dear meat. It’s just spiced and pre-cooked in oil,’’ Duncan shrugs. I try not to stare at him.  

       ‘’I heard and saw your apparent dislike of un-spiced meat right away, so you’ll be gathering herbs today,’’ Kaleb says. We are walking in the dark and shadow-y forest. I’m constantly shivering at the thought of me, being alone with him.

       ‘’Those. That is mint. We use it normally for drinks,’’ Kaleb says, pointing a finger to the short but leafy steams. ‘’Pick those up.’’ I crouch, feeling silly, and start digging up roots. ‘’No!’’ Kaleb practically screams, flying on me. ‘’No! Not by the roots! Pick off a little bit, not the roots, and they’ll grow back. Do you want to waste our supply of herbs, fool?!’’ I shudder slightly from Kaleb’s harsh words. He sees me shuddering, and backs away quickly. ‘’Sorry,’’ he says, looking at the sky and offering me a hand. The bloke. I bet he’s never even said sorry to anybody; much less a girl! I think. I despretly feel like pulling him down into the mud beside me, but I don’t. I take his hand to help me up and make a show of brushing the ‘’cuties’’ off my hand. Now he only points to herbs, no longer speaking. I thank God for the silence.

       Most of the herbs I can guess. Whenever we had to flavor our food, Mom would try to tell me the names of those she knew. Otherwise, she judged the herbs by their flavor. By sight I could tell: Rosemary, Mint, Basil, Thyme, Bay, and Summer Savory. That was enough of my limited knowledge to pick them for spices.

       Kaleb and I ignored each other for the rest of the day. We ate our meals in silence, glaring at each other. ‘’What happened while you were picking herbs?’’ Christy asked during lunch. ‘’Why don’t you ask him?’’ I ask, sending one last glare at him, seeing him return it, and then resuming to eating. ‘’Maybe you like each other?’’ Christy asks in a low, teasing voice. ‘’Do not!’’ I say, turning into a rampage. ‘’I’m done,’’ I announce to everybody, putting my plate down with a bang on a crate. I try to storm away, but only get a few feet away. ‘’Andrea, finish your food!’’ Kaleb snaps. ‘’I’m not hungry,’’ I say defiantly, turning around with my hands on my hips. ‘’Somebody else is, and you are taking for granted what they are wishing for!’’ Kaleb snarls. With that I meekly sit down and finish my food. Then I storm to the female tent.

       ‘’Sorry.’’ Christy comes and sits down on my bed. In a loud voice she countions: ‘’I’m sure KALEB would like to say sorry, too!’’ ‘’No, I really don’t,’’ comes that cool, awful muffled voice. I start muttering every name that’s suitable for him. Christy helps by exclaiming each name in a loud voice. Kaleb laughs, and that only infuriates us. We start on a wider, larger range of new names to call him. We keep going until some-time in the darkness of night. ‘’If you don’t stop, I will personally come in there whether you like it or not.’’ Kaleb threatens. ‘’Oh, you don’t want that to happen. He did that once. It was horrible. Danielle and I fled by slipping under the tents, and stayed with Duncan until he was done breaking things,’’ Christy says in an undertone. I try to giggle, but I’m too drowsy. Then I manage it, and Christy starts, too. We keep on laughing for a full fifteen minutes until we hear Kaleb stomping over. ‘’Quick, the back!’’ Christy hisses, her eyes wide. We quietly rush towards the back tent, and slip under. Duncan is waiting there. ‘’Hey. I’m neutral,’’ Duncan says as soon as Christy starts pleading for help. ‘’But I can tell you this: Kaleb will figure you’re going to sneak out and go back to our tent. For the time being, you might want to double-cross him,’’ Duncan warns, then disappears back into his own tent. ‘’Good idea. Double crossing. Yeah… how do we do that again?’’ Christy asks. I hear Kaleb stomping towards the back, with lighter, Danielle footsteps following him. ‘’Front. Go the front,’’ I whisper. We dart towards the front. We enter when we hear Danielle’s and Kaleb’s footsteps outside. We do this ‘’dance’’ {as Christy called it}, until finally Kaleb retires to his tent, and Danielle tracks us.

       ‘’Finally, peace and quiet,’’ Christy sighs. ‘’Not when you wake up, no,’’ Danielle says, with a slight grin on her face.

       ‘’Christy and Andrea, you may not have breakfast today as punishment for comminting the following crime: keeping the whole group up with your obnocksious giggles,’’ Kaleb says. I flatly grin at him. Christy and I can find something to eat in the woods. I can imagine what is going on in his head:

       What? Why is she smiling? For Heaven’s sake, I’m not letting her eat breakfast! Why is she so happy?!

       And with that I remembered a quote:

‘’Smile. In confuses people!’’

‘’Smile,’’ I whisper to Christy, grinning like a lunitic. ‘’What?’’ she whispers back, but starts smiling like crazy also. ‘’We are just going to pick fresh fruit for dinner!’’ I say sweetly to Kaleb, and then bouncing off with Christy, holding hands.

       ‘’What was that for?’’ Christy asks, yanking her hand away from mine as soon as we are out of sight. ‘’Smile. It confuses people!’’ I quote. ‘’Oh. I’ve heard that before,’’ Christy nods. ‘’I just never thought I’d use it.’’

Christy and I are true to our words. We pick wild blackberries, apples, and other berries, feast on some of them for lunch, then return with bucket loads. Christy expertly wove baskets with tough reeds from a nearby river. Duncan, Kaleb, and Danielle stare at our fruit when we return.

‘’Where did you get that?’’ Danielle exclaims, popping a berry into her mouth. ‘’We found some trees and bushes and picked. We weren’t lying, Danielle,’’ Christy crossly says. Danielle remains silent to this.

The next day goes slowly, unlike yesterday. Duncan takes me out hunting, and we practice on trees until I can aim properly. Then we, er, Duncan takes down a wild turkey. ‘’Congrats,’’ Duncan says, like I shot it. ‘’I didn’t shoot it. You did,’’ I say, staring at Duncan. ‘’That doesn’t matter. We are a team, and you helped,’’ Duncan shrugs. When he isn’t looking, I smile secretly to myself.

The turkey is wonderful, roasted with herbs this time. Everybody, even Kaleb {though he barely nodded his approval}, encouraged me to take the last drumstick. So this is what family without fear of the Council is like. I sleepily think. And, I am one of them.

Chapter 5:

Without Fear

      

       {Andrea’s} Journal’s note:

       Dear ‘’Diary’’,

       Christy gave me this. She says every [female] Dark Lives member has one. I’m betting this is for a good laugh for Christy, but I’ll record a few things anyway.

       First of all: Life is hard with the Dark Lives. It’s wonderful, though. It’s free. I love it. I also love the reason Christy gave me this ‘’diary’’. She told me, to repeat: ‘’Every [female] Dark Lives member has one.’’ Does that mean I’m a member? Personally, I’m guessing it does.
       ‘Bye now. I’ve got to find a place where Christy won’t be able to find this…

       Kaleb is gradually giving me more freedom. I think he’s almost over the whole ‘I shall laugh if I want to and you won’t be able to find me’ thing. Christy’s not over it, though. Every time she thinks of it she starts laughing like crazy. So yes, that means a lot of late night laughing/waking everybody up.

       ‘’Can you shoot properly yet?’’ Kaleb asks with a bored, bland tone. ‘’Yesss, I cannn,’’ I say in the same tone of voice. ‘’Gooddd,’’ Kaleb mimics. Turning and handing me a gun, he says, ‘’Today we are going to be shooting together. And I’m going to be giving you a serious talk about being a Dark Lives member.’’ In my mind, I heard:

       I’m going beat you up until you promise you won’t be stickin’ around.

       I inwardly shudder. ‘’Okay,’’ I say, picking up the biggest and bad-est-looking gun on the stack, thinking of my protection. ‘’You won’t be needing that. I’m not going to be trying to beat you up,’’ Kaleb says, voicing my thoughts. Walking away, he says, ‘’I’ve got better thing to do.’’ ‘’Ouch,’’ Christy says, sliding up to me. We watch Kaleb walk away. ‘’He’s never very nice, but he’s always been okay to us. I guess you’re not a chip off the old block, eh?’’ Christy asks. Without waiting for an answer, she walks away. ‘’I guess I’m not,’’ I say to myself. Shrugging, I follow Kaleb into the woods.

       When Kaleb is in the woods, it’s hard to find him. He seems to glide across leaves and grass. And here I am, tramping along, scaring anything within miles. ‘’Be quiet!’’ I hear Kaleb’s voice from a nearby tree. I look up, and see his face looking back at mine. I think of snapping: And why would I try not to be quiet in a forest haunted by an old crab like you?, but instead I stare calmly into the mist, waiting for his next words.

       ‘’It ran off. Probrally because you scared it. You can move now.’’

       Not the exact words I wanted to hear, but hey, it works. ‘’Finally,’’ I groan. ‘’Catch anything on the way here?’’ I shake my head no. ‘’Oh gosh, Andrea.’’ I roll my eyes, hoping he won’t see it. He does. But he doesn’t do anything about it, like I thought he would. ‘’Fine. I’ll go catch a stinkin’ squirrel,’’ I grouchily say. Kaleb says never to venture into the left side of the forest. But he wasn’t looking. And for that reason, I went into the left side.

‘’Into the heart of the forest, where the bravest man shall not go,

       Into the heart, the heart, oh, the heart of the forest!

       Where who knows what dwells,

       Monsters, elves, fairies, giants, and everything inbetween!

       Into the heart of the forest we’ll go, oh we’ll go, my love!

       And if we don’t see daylight again,

       Well, they never liked us!

       They never told us to stay.

       ‘’Into the heart we venture,

       Into the cold and despire.

       But if we come out, hey!

       We shall be known as heroes, forever after.

      

       ‘’The things in the light never liked us,

       It makes all more reason for the dark things to love us!

       Together we’ll stay, oh my love, together we’ll stay,

       And venture into the forest, the forest, oh my love.’’

       I sang, humming to myself. I didn’t care if Kaleb heard me. If he wanted to, he could come after me.

       The song makes the heart of the forest sound wonderful. But I promise it’s not. The cold was seeping through my skin, into my bones, and out again. It was wet and foggy, and I felt strained; the wind pushed me to and fro. My skin felt baggy; and my lips were cracked from the cold. Everything was dark, oh so dark, and wild things danced around me. I heard them whispering evil things to each other. And each one betted the other would not dart in front of me. The started dancing faster and faster and faster, and finally the largest, a big, black bear-like thing stepped in front of me. ‘’Today,’’ it growled in a low, grouchy yet mystical and magical and musical… ‘’Today,’’ it said again; ‘’You shall go with our blessing. Seek us in need, but never come again otherwise.’’ All the wild things started chanting what it had said. Their voices blended together, then out again in harmony. ‘’KALEB!’’ The wild thing yelled in a voice like mine. I felt drowsy, oh so drowsy, and I simply fell, sleeping.

Chapter 6:

The Dreams of Andrea {recorded by the dream bear}

Andrea called me a bear. So be that. I am not, but I am not anything else. So I guess you can call me the Dream Bear. But no, I was not a dream. I am only here to record Andrea’s dreams, at her request.

Dream number 1:

‘’Andrea,’’ Kaleb asked. ‘’Where is Crimson?’’ ‘’How should I know where my best friend is?’’ Andrea grouchily asked. They were in their hazel house, which, according to Andrea, was normally ‘’the dream house’’. ‘’No, I meant our daughter Crimson,’’ Kaleb patiently said. ‘’Oh. I think she’s outside with Richard. Our son, Richard, not my other best friend,’’ Andrea said. They quickly kissed {only a light tap on the lips}, and began their normally Sunday chores. Set out nice clothes for kids. Get dressed. Have at least something warming up in the crock-pot. Making their own fresh juice, at least enough to last through the week or more. Gather the kids and wash them, then proceed to church. Praise and worship God, come back and enjoy meal. Take kids out to the park. Talk with friends from church. Come back home, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Then repeat every Sunday.

Dream number 2:

‘’See that, Andrea?’’ Duncan asked. ‘’That star wasn’t named. I won a contest, and they let me name it. I named it Duncan Jr..’’ ‘’Really?’’ Andrea asked. It was the tiniest star out there; in the sky. ‘’Yeah. If I had been dating Danielle when I got to name it, I would have named it after her. But I was only 7 then.’’

       ‘’You never told me you where dating Danielle.’’

       ‘’I thought you knew. Besides, I thought Danielle told you.’’

       ‘’Danielle and I aren’t close.’’

       ‘’Oh, okay…’’

Dream number 3:

       ‘’I can ride my bike faster than you can!’’ Danielle teased. She pedaled out of reach, leaving Andrea to pedal even faster. But she couldn’t make it. Even if she felt like she could go no faster, Danielle was still far away. And it seemed like she was getting farther away with every breath Andrea took! At last she stopped, and fell. Andrea’s knee was scraped horribly. ‘’Danielle!’’ Andrea cried. ‘’Come help me!’’ But Danielle did not come.

Comments on Andrea’s dreams from the Dream Bear:

Comment number 1: The first dream scared me. That dream was just desterbing. Very.

Comment number 2: The part about Duncan naming a star really happened, but the dream didn’t take place in any part of Andrea’s life, from birth to death.

Comment number 3: Danielle isn’t mean. She’s just not willing to open up to strangers. Which, in a certain sense, is the way not to get your heart ripped apart.

Chapter 7:

Paul Jackson

Have you ever experienced coldness? No, not like waking up without a blanket on, but coldness in its pure form. Like standing outside, naked, in a snowstorm.

       That’s what my waking hours were like. Anger and coldness should never be mixed together, please let me tell you.

       I woke up slowly and painfully. Everything hurt, and I heard moaning. I realized it was me. ‘’Where am I?’’ I asked, my eyes still closed, pawing the air weakly. A hand caught mine and let it lay for a second on his. Duncan. That affectionate guy. I thought sleepily. That was exactly what Duncan would do, either for a female or male. A door bursts open and I hear light feet hoppity-skip over to my bed. ‘’Finally. If she had gone any longer I think Kaleb might have thrown her out for ‘being use-less’!’’ Christy’s happy voice chirped. ‘’Would not,’’ said a cross voice, coming in through the open door.

       ‘’What happened?’’ I asked, getting up and looking around at the starch white room. ‘’You ventured into the left side of the forest, despite my orders, called me for help when you realized how utterly foolish you were, and I had to carry you back. Whatever you’ve been eating, you need to lay off,’’ Kaleb said. ‘’Go,’’ I say, pointing to the door. Kaleb crossly went away. ‘’That Paul Jackson kid is coming over,’’ Danielle says, coming into my room. ‘’C’mon. You know we all love him, including you,’’ Duncan says, lightly punching Danielle playfully.

       The name Paul Jackson rings a bell inside my head. Ring! Ring! You should know this name! Ring! C’mon, think! Ring! Paul Jackson, I pondered. I repeated his name several times in my mind before I thought of it.

       Paul Jackson.

       Of course!

       When I was only 7, the tragity of the year hit. Council member Eli Jackson’s son died after a minor accident with the car he was in. Nobody else in the car was injured. His body wasn’t found, but blood and car was very visible.

       Paul Jackson had died, no doubt about it. I’ve known kids to be named after well-known people, so I don’t doubt this is what happened.

       ‘’Paul’s here. I think you should meet him. Great kid,’’ Danielle says, placing her red UNO card on top of my green. ‘’He’s older than you by at least 5 years,’’ Christy says, placing a wild card on Danielle’s. ‘’BOOM!’’ ‘’You win,’’ Danielle says, throwing her remaining cards down in defeat. Carefully, I lay mine down, too. A card lost means a time less not played.

       ‘’So this is Paul?’’ I ask, looking at the lanky man. He looked to be in his twenties. He rather awkwardly had his whole arm laying on a girl’s shoulders.

       He had black, greasy hair, with life-less eyes. A small tattoo peaked from under his shirt.

       ‘’Yeah. He brought Ashley with him!’’ Christy says, unnessasarly pointing to Ashley.

       Ashley had short, cropped blonde hair, vivid gray eyes, and thin, weak colored lips. She was slightly shorter than Danielle, but looked to be her age. She was slightly overweight.

       ‘’I’m Andrea,’’ I voulenterr. ‘’I thought you weren’t going to get anymore newbies, Kaleb!’’ Paul complains. I have to bite my tongue to keep from replying: ‘I thought you weren’t going to let weird-os come over here anymore, Kaleb!’ ‘’Andrea has progressed fast. You can’t call her a newbie anymore, except for the fact she went into the left side of the forest despite my orders!’’ Paul looks at me with a little more interest.

       ‘’A brave newbie, huh? Don’t get much of those anymore.’’

       ‘’Hey,’’ Paul says, turning to Kaleb, and finally taking his cold, cold eyes off of me, ‘’Remember when we had all of those newbies? We had so much fun then!’’

       Kaleb does something between a smile and a grimace, and nods.

       ‘’I remember that. Those were the horrible years.’’

       ‘’Nah, man, they were pretty good. We had unlimited supplies of meat with that one newbie. He was totally my favorite.’’

       Totally. This Paul person is, without a doubt, totally creepy, I thought to myself. If Mom was here, she would scold me horribly. But my thoughts and words and deeds have long since strayed from the idea of goodness {of my mother}. I had devolped into something new, something perhaps better. Mom said I can always change as long as it includes Godliness.  

      

       We ate a simple meal of wild meat, fruit, and the normal gritty bread. Christy took it upon herself to make fresh juice. The last of the pie was handed out to Paul and Ashley. After that we went to breakfast. I found Ashley was a normal addition to the tent, so when I came I had taken Ashley’s bed. We shared it.

      

       Ashley, like everybody else, was weary of me at first. But at breakfast, we broke the ice.

       ‘’So, Andrea, where did you come from?’’ Ashley asks. ‘’I was found by Kaleb. A dog passed me out with sleep medicine. It was on his teeth, then he bit into me,’’ I say, all the while stuffing a peach into my mouth. ‘’That’s what happened to me. I had a Council job before, but when I tried to return they said I was a traitor to Bloomingburg. Next time I showed up, they said, they’d kill me.’’

       ‘’No,’’ I say breathily.

       ‘’What?’’

       ‘’I have a Council job. I haven’t tried to go back yet, but I’m diffenetly using up my vacation days.’’

       Ashley stares at me, then laughs. ‘’What a grand ole couple the Council is making from us!’’ I laugh, not because it is funny, but somehow it drains craziness from my body. I instantly feel relaxed after my bout of laughter.

       Ashley and I are assigned hunting. I can see Kaleb’s shoulders relaxing when Ashley voulenterrs to hunt with me. Somehow, it kills me he doesn’t want to hunt with me. Am I really that bad of a shot?

       ‘’What do you normally shot around here? I’ve been gone so long I’ve forgotten,’’ Ashley asks, aiming her gun at random places. I can see she’s excited. Her cheeks are flushed and theirs a twinkle in her eye. ‘’Good meat like deer or turkey when we can get it. If not, any sort is good,’’ I answer, spotting a squirall. I take it down. Ashley looks it up and down. ‘’They’ve gotten smaller within just a few years,’’ she says.

‘’These?’’ I ask, taking my shot. ‘’These are the plumpest I’ve ever seen.’’

       ‘’Then you haven’t lived until you’ve seen the average fat squirrel.’’

       I laugh. Yes, a true laugh. Not a laugh driven by the need to annoy Kaleb, or to let my emotions ‘’free’’. A true laugh, not faked.

       It feels wonderful.

      

       Ashley and I return with only two squirrels. Upon catching her’s, Ashley said, ‘’This is an average fat squirrel.’’ She gave the skinny squirrel a small shake, laughing. I giggled a little.

       ‘’That’s all you got? I remembered Ashley being a good hunter,’’ Paul says. ‘’Didn’t you hear them? They were laughing so hard, you could hear them from a mile away!’’ Kaleb exclaims. I decide not to give him the satifaction of knowing one comment and we’ll spill. Ashley must read my mind, because she doesn’t say anything, either.  

‘’Meat is scarce now a days. Winter is coming too soon,’’ Danielle says. Christy follows her, bringing a mere supply of two squirrels. Both are skinnier than ours, but I take little pride in my fat squirrel. ‘’We’ll have to make them last. Ashley and Andrea, you are going to be in charge of drying meat. Andrea hasn’t learned this yet, so you’ll have to teach her, Ashley,’’ Kaleb says. Ashley nods. I wonder how she lets him boss her around, even if she was once in the same group as he. 

We eat a small supper of fruit alone, saving our meat for deeper on in winter. Then we retire to bed. Since it’ll take too long and it won’t be ready by the time Ashley leaves Kaleb has decided Ashley and I must share a bed for a while. When she leaves and we see Farmer Jones we can terad supplies for a new bed and blankets.

It’s close to dawn, but Ashley and I are just starting to go to sleep. ‘’You know Paul?’’ Ashley asks sleepily. ‘’No,’’ I answer. ‘’Well, he’s the Council member’s son,’’ I am more awake now than ever, ‘’ssshhhhh,’’ a slightly ludicres Ashley sighs. She turns on her back and goes to sleep.

I, however, seem to have lost any urge to sleep.

Paul. Paul Jackson.

Chapter 8

You Could Help Me

‘’You could help me,’’ I imagine what I would say to Eli. ‘’Your son didn’t die. I know where he is.’’  

But I couldn’t betray Ashley. She had told me in trust. But couldn’t I? Wouldn’t she understand? If she knew my condition, would she agree I should do it?

I can’t. I can. I won’t. Oh, but I will. Will I, though?  

The moving hours are even worse. I feel dread at the name or sight of Paul.

‘’Why are you acting so weird?’’ Christy asks, looking hungerly at my untouched food. Too much undecision. ‘’I don’t know. You want this?’’ I ask, waving towards my meal. ‘’Sure,’’ Christina says and digs into the food.

Luckily I’m not told to do anything with Paul. Danielle and I go out to get fresh water for the day.

Danielle tries to explain the concept of getting water each day for us.

‘’We keep it in a big barrel. We try to get more every day, so slowly we’ll be adding up for winter.’’

‘’Do you have anything to keep it warm? It’ll freeze over just like the creek water will.’’

‘’We always do fine. We just have whoever on patrol stir it every few hours. We have never been short of water before, unless in summer. But that doesn’t count.’’

I shrug. It still doesn’t make sense to me, but if it works I’ll take it. If not, I’ll have a talk with everybody about preserving water in a sensible way. If only I knew one that would work accordingly. 

Danielle and I gather water in our pots and pans. The water is bitter cold, and I feel an urgency to plunge my face into it.

‘’Don’t,’’ Danielle says. ‘’Somebody will drink that water.’’

I sigh loudly but obey Danielle’s orders. We walk, ever so slowly, making sure not a drop of water hits the ground. I imagine a ping-like sound when a drop hits the ground. I imagine it slicing through the earth, deep, deep until it can go no farther. The thought comforts me.

We make it back to the camp without spilling more than a cup’s worth of water. Considering our cups are very small, that’s not half bad.

Kaleb nears us. He’s not running, but you can tell by the fire in his eyes he would like to. ‘’We need force by the first gate. Now. Issue the command by my name,’’ Kaleb speaks into a thing plugged into his ear. ‘’What’s up?’’ Danielle asks, dropping her pail gently on the ground. ‘’The cows.’’ I try to keep from laughing.

Cows? Really? That’s our problem?

‘’The cows. Beep those cows,’’ Danielle mutters, running outside of the camp while pulling a dirty sweatshirt on. ‘’What about cows?’’ I ask Kaleb, grinning slightly. ‘’It’s not funny Andrea. The cows eat our wheat. We only have a small amount of wheat. Besides, fancy meat isn’t bad. The only part is their Farmer Jones’ cows.’’ Kaleb says. ‘’Get his cursed cows out then,’’ I say. ‘’They also happen to be fat cows…’’

       After chasing those cursed cows out we decided to take a rest.

       ‘’I think we’re done for the day,’’ Kaleb says. We all shake our heads in agreement; and attire to our tents.

       ‘’That was an interesting day,’’ Christy says. I don’t dare disagree. It truly was, but I wouldn’t want to go over it again. ‘’I’m tired. I’m going to sleep,’’ I say and turn my back on them. I can hear the hushed whispers of Christy and Ashley. ‘’Is she okay?’’

       ‘’I think so.’’

       ‘’Is she normally like this?’’

       ‘’Nah, just since Paul came.’’

       ‘’You don’t think she likes him, do you?’’

       ‘’Nah. I don’t think Paul’s her sort.’’

       ‘’Oh, okay.’’

      

       Maybe it’d just be better if I went home. I think I want to go home. I can decide there.

       One thought burns in my mind:

       I want to go home. I am going home.

Chapter 9:

Pity, Isn’t it?

‘’A pity, isn’t it?’’ Kaleb slowly asks, looking into my eyes. ‘’That you decided you don’t want to be a member anymore.’’

       ‘’It’s not like that,’’ I defend myself. ‘’It’s not?’’

       ‘’It’s not.’’

       ‘’Then tell me, what is it like?’’

       ‘’I do not have to answer you,’’ I say, smirking slightly. ‘’Alright then. You are dismissed, and I will tell the group you left because of cowerdice. ‘’Funny, a leader would lie.’’

       ‘’A leader does what they have to do.’’

       ‘’That’s just what the Council says. Prehaps, in some ways, you are just like them.’’

       I seem to have hit a target. Kalebs face draws closer to mine. ‘’I am, in no way what-so-ever, like the Council,’’ he says. ‘’I find that awfully hard to believe,’’ I say. I walk away, but I can feel his anger. It’ll be smoldering still after I leave. 

       I almost tearfully pack my small trinkets I’ve acquired after staying at the Dark Lives. Almost. Burning anger at Kaleb keeps me from crying. Christy walks in when I’ve finished packing. ‘’You’re leaving?’’ I nod. ‘’Why?’’

       ‘’I can’t really explain it, but it’s for the greater good,’’ I try to explain. Christy doesn’t get it though. ‘’Oh, so you think we’re not good enough for you? Alright-y!’’ Christy storms out.

       Then I cry.

       Crying isn’t enough. I sob. ‘’What’s up?’’ Danielle asks. ‘’You wouldn’t understand. And don’t  believe them!’’ I say. Kaleb has got to know. He will get his horrible, evil way, and I can’t stop it. But I’m not trying to hinder it either.

       ‘’Fine,’’ I snarl at Kaleb. He sees me in this weak, crying state, but I don’t care. ‘’If you really want to know, I’m going home because of the Council! I work there, and they will kill me if I don’t go back! Because of the ‘’Power Control’’! Whatever that is! There!’’ I say, vision fuzzy because of tears. I storm out into the on pouring rain and run. Who knows where I am going, but God?

       God. I haven’t thought of him in a long time. We always went to church, but that was as much as required. Sometimes we prayed at dinner. But that was all. God is a mysterious, far-away figure away from us.

       But what if He’s something more? I ask myself. But I’m not ready to deal with that question. I ran harder and faster than ever, trying to push away the thought. But it burns horribly, creating a mark on me.

       What if He’s something more? I ask again. He can’t be. But he is! I fall to my knees, and hide my head in the wet grass. My tears mix with the rain. ‘’Dear heavenly Father! Where have I been going? Why have you been forsaking me?!’’ I ask the down pouring rain. ‘’Why?! Why do you put me through this?’’

       Words of our old preacher comes back. ‘’God puts you through hard things because he believes you are strong enough for it.’’

       ‘’But I’m not strong!’’ I tell the rain. ‘’I never have been! I’ve ran away all my life!’’

       Another bit from the old preacher came back:

       ‘’All you have to do is asked to be saved and put Him into your heart. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be the best choice you’ve ever made in your life.’’

       ‘’Is that all? Surely I’m not good enough. I never will be,’’ I ask. But I stop to ponder it. It truly is all, I answer myself.

       ‘’Dear heavenly Father,’’ I start off. ‘’I’m sorry I’ve been running away from You. I  always knew I was missing something, but I never got it. Maybe I thought the Dark Lives or Acceptance would fill it. But it didn’t. Please, dear God, go into my heart. Be in my life, every step of the way; give me guidience, because this is when I seem to need it most. Will my family really die because of me?

       ‘’But You’ll take care of us. You always have, I’ve just have never noticed. Thank You, dear God. Thank You.’’

       I get up and notice the rain has stopped. A beautiful rainbow shines in the sky, and I’ve never felt so happy. I feel like dancing, shouting, singing for the glory of Him who made all.

       But I can’t now. I take in some direction of where I’m going, and start trudging in the mud towards the city light. In that time. I decide. I am not going to tell Eli.

[Note from Madeline:

I have a horrible habit of posting parts before the chapter is done, so just bare with me, okay? Thanks. :)]