984 (Complex Series, #2)

Chapter One

The Waking Bell rings. I can’t allow myself to see Brinn. One look at her face and I might cry. I know that after I'm taken away, the Officials will suspect Brinn of disloyalty too, and just a look in her direction might count as suspicious. I grab my clothes and hurry to Renewals.

At Renewals, I try to act like I normally do. I shiver as the freezing water pours over my body. I wince as my Renewal Official brushes the tangles from my hair. I try to hold as still as possible while the Official is doing my makeup/ Today I'm leaving everything I know behind as I go to the Unknown.

My Renewal Official sends me away. I think of Brinn and how her Renewal Official was actually rebellious. She helped Brinn at times, covering up Brinn's bruises and giving Brinn her lost MCC. 

Why hadn't Brinn told us any of that? Wouldn't that seem important? Wouldn't she want to share that information? How would I have acted if my Official had been doing those things? Would I have told our group?

I grab my Morning Meal oat meal and sit down. I remember something, back when we were seven years. During Free Hour, Brinn and I were walking around the track. We were talking about the meals we have to eat. Brinn let it slip that she thought of the oatmeal as oatmush. I giggled a little at the time. But then, for months, Brinn and I were worried that we would be found out for what we said, just in case it was considered rebellious enough to get us sent to the Unknown.

Brinn is already here. I once again try not to look at her.

I wonder if I will meet up with Dana. Will she be the same? Or has the Unknown changed her? What is the Unknown even like? Is it as terrifying as the Heads make it out to be? Is it better? Or even worse?

I nervously wait for the end of History Lecture. That's when I will act. That's when I will be taken. I'm filled with indecision. I want time to slow down and speed up. I want to get this done. I don't want to do it.

I have to do it.

The time of History Lecture moves in chunks. Sometimes it seems to barely move. Each second I count away, seems to last forever. Other times I will space out with my questions and a whole lump of time will disappear. 

Then the bell rings. I allow myself to get one last glimpse of everyone I will miss. 

My eyes skip over Kate. I most likely won't ever see Kate again. I can't say I'm sorry about it either. 

My gaze rests on Brinn. She raises her eyes for a second and we meet each other's gazes and something inside me breaks. It's just a second but it seems to last forever. I force myself to tear my eyes away. Sienna sits perfectly straight in her chair. Her eyes straight forward. Taking in everything, considering everything. I think she feels my gaze because the corners of her mouth comes up in a slight smile. She's wishing me luck. 

I rip my eyes away. I stand up and file out the doors with crowd. 

My eyes search the sides of the halls. Officials are stationed every ten paces on both sides of the hall. I'm looking for an Official with a piece of blond hair that is escaping her bun. It should be hanging down to her chin. It's the riskiest thing the rebellious Officials could do. Just a small piece of hair that could have escaped.

The Official should be between the History Lecture Hall and the Circle Room with my Math Teaching in it. After about twenty paces, I still haven’t seen her. Thirty paces. The door to the Circle Room cuts into my vision.

Then I see her. Just in front of the Circle Room. Right side of the hall. She has a hard face. Broad features. The thin strand of blond hair escapes her bun. I take a deep breath and shift through the hall. Towards her side. The crowd flows towards the Circle Room and begins streaming through the doorway. I move closer to her. She doesn't look at me. Keeps her hard eyes forward. 

I can see her clearly now. Her blond hair is stringy and her nose has a strange bump in it. I close my eyes and kick her foot. It's not much. Barely anything really. Not enough to get me any special questioning. Not enough to get me any special attention. Just enough to get me to the Unknown. 

The Official immediately lashes out. She grabs my arm. Spins me around. Twists my arm behind my back. Girls hurriedly back away. I see Kate through the jostling crowd. She has an I-knew-it expression written all over her face. 

Another Official surges forward. I resist a little. Just to secure my place in the Unknown. The Officials slam me to the ground. My hip bone bashes to the floor. Some girls gasp. Tears leak down my face. Only some of them are from the pain. I actually did it. I'm leaving everything behind.

I see a glint of green. A syringe. Fear blasts through me. This wasn't part of the plan. I'm not supposed to get injected with green. Did I resist too much? What did I do wrong? 

I feel the green syringe pierce through my skin. What's going to happen now? What has changed in the plan? My vision starts darkening. I try fighting it off, but it's no use. Blackness covers my vision and my muscles turn to liquid. What did I do wrong?