They Chose Me (Draft 1)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

                I follow Mary outside the meeting room into a cookie-cut room to the one we were just in, just smaller. Instead of the screen on the wall, there is a small vault door with a lock on it, like a locker. Otherwise, the room is completely empty. Mary enters first and moves to the side so I can maneuver through. The combination lock is simple, numbers zero to forty-five. But that’s forty-five numbers to choose from.

                “What combinations have you tried?” I ask Mary.

                “We tried anything we could think of, even the room number. But we think your mom meant to have the door open only by you.”

                I sort through any important numbers in my head: birthdays, other important dates, and favorite numbers. I start out with birthdays with no luck. Important dates fail me as well as favorite numbers. An hour goes by until my hands find the wall and I sigh in frustration.

                “Emma, you can try later. It’s really okay-” Mary starts to say, but I am no longer listening. An idea flickers in my head like a timeworn light bulb. An eerie silence crawls over me as I key in my mother’s death date. What is even creepier is that the lock answers. For a second I just stare at the lock torpidly.

                “Emma?” Mary inquires.

                “It was the day she died,” I say blatantly, but just above a whisper. I unlatch the lock from the door and slide it open. Inside it a small note with a necklace that my mother wore with practically every outfit. The necklace is a simple silver chain with a small pendant on it. The pendant is a dull silver circle with a vibrant amethyst in the center. She always mentioned how it was from her great-grandmother and how necklaces like these were sold in the old America. The note was small with a few words on it. It read:

Daughter, I’m glad you found this-whether you’re Rose or Emma. Just know that you both are so strong and will be able to persevere through the worst- they chose you, but don’t let them control you, or anyone for that matter. If I’m alive, don’t tell me you found this. Love you, Mom P.S. Check F22

                Those words again, they chose you. So who chose me? What’s even creepier is that the combination was her last day. And what is F22? I slide the note in my pocket and attach the necklace onto my neck. The note tries to strangle tears from my eyes, but I won’t cry now. I need to put myself later; I can dwell on this later.

                “So let me get this straight: I’m important here because my mom was the leader and everyone loved her, but also because if the government catches me I can be used for a larger purpose like influencing other countries, possibly?”

                “Close enough. You see, we do not know exactly what the machine can do. We only know that it has to do with other connections between countries,” Mary answers.

                “Then why do we care if they can’t have a tea party with another country?”

                “Emma, you do not fully understand. New America thrives off of other countries’ support, which is why they take other old American money and steal it to pay for countries’ help. They could buy weapons, protection, service, and who knows what else. We know that the machine that can only be used by Roche blood could interfere with that relationship. It could hold the chance to take down New America.”

                “Oh. So I can potentially start a new government?”

                “Don’t get any ideas, but you’re going to need our help. Follow me, please.” Mary leads me back out of the room to the meeting room we were in. Everyone is gone, but Mary presses a button which makes a single beep and people start to fill in again as I sit down. And Mary begins again.

“If everything goes to plan, we’ll be heading through the Walls soon with a special team. We have scouts surrounding the area-”

                “Wouldn’t they see your people?” I interrupt, but Mary just looks at me like she’s studying a specimen.

                “No, they would not. The government is pretty arrogant so they trust the walls for protection. There are guards in the center, but we found a spot that has one and the next guarders are far away. Then we’ll lead a small group over the Walls for distraction. Emma and I will lead the next group in and we’ll follow into the main building. Scouts will have already cleared the area. A third larger group will continue into the wall for a further distraction. This should take place in a few days’ time,” Mary states. “Any disagreements?”

                No one objected, so Mary wrapped up the meeting and told everyone to head out. I have nowhere in particular to go, so I explore the area. I come across just a plain grassy field away from everywhere else and I lower myself to the softly frozen ground. My mind tugs at any ideas as why my mom would pick that date of all dates. Did she even know she was going to die that day? A memory emerges on a week before that day. I remember my mom saying that she was going to take me somewhere that day, somewhere special and unknown. It must have been the camp. Everything clicks in place. The day she happened to die, she was going to take me to see this place.

                One thing I can’t seem to figure out is why she wrote they chose you. It was just like my dream. Maybe if I had the dream after it would make more sense. I guess my mom just wants me to be more determined than ever before. 

                “Hey.” A voice says, stopping me from my interminable thoughts. I look up to find Landon looking down at me.

                “Oh hi, just contemplating everything,” I reply.

                “You were sort of… focused when you were walking by. Just wanted to check to make sure you’re getting adjusted,” he says.

                “Well, I just had a meeting with the leader of this whole place and found out much more than I would like to about this world. Then I opened up a vault which had this necklace in it and a note from my mom saying that I should be determined. Mary announced her plans for taking over this government with me as a crucial part of the plan when I haven’t even been here a full twenty-four hours. I’m adjusting really well, thanks,” I say a little too harshly. I expect Landon to be hurt, which weren’t my intentions, but when you have pent up anger it sometimes just comes out. Instead he just smiles, an actual smile for that matter, not a grin.

                “Come on, let’s go do something less stressful,” Landon decides. For the rest of the day until dinner, we go to all the stores and spend most of our time in Reccen. Reccen is supposed to be a creative title for Recreation Center, but from previous notice, they’re definitely not here for clever names.

At dinner I notice that there are less people than usual. Everything is normal until someone comes rushing in shouting my name. Then everything becomes a blur. Alarms ring throughout the whole compound and officials-government officials- throw grenades through the windows. They come crashing in. People start screaming and running away, probably to their designated areas in case of emergencies. But, of course, I never was assigned one. Officials start clambering their way over to me. I duck and slide under one of the tables and roll into standing position. I momentarily acknowledge that move and continue to run in the opposite direction. Black clothes pop up out of nowhere until I’m surrounded. I attempt to fight my way out, but I know there’s no luck for me. An official steps out among them and it flickers a soft memory. It was the same one that night I left my house after the bombing.

“Hello Miss Roche, we meet again.”