Chosen

Chapter 1

I wander down the hall, aimlessly tapping my fist against the cold gray cinder block. I've just finished the last class I'll ever take. I'm relieved to be done with school, but a bigger part of me dreads what's to come. I only have one more training session before my whole life changes. I'm not looking forward to the upheaval.

I'm so distracted I almost miss the door to the stairwell, even though I've traveled this way hundreds of times over the past few years. Swinging around the door jamb with one hand, I climb three flights of stairs and press my thumb to the security scanner for the tech wing. A few short turns and I end up at the door of Lab B, the security command center. I don't even know if there is a Lab A. Nobody's ever talked about it. I didn't gain access to this lab until six months ago, and am the only trainee ever to do so. This will likely be the last time I will ever come here.

I scan my thumb again at the door and fumble a little with the doorknob as I enter the lab and make my way to my desk. The sound alerts Wallis, the second tech, to my presence. He looks up from his computer with an amused look on his face.

"Still running into door frames, Elia?" he says as he leans back and rests his hands behind his head.

"Seriously Wallis, on my last day? Rude." I roll my eyes and shake my head.

Wallis sees through my facade and his grin fades. "We'll miss you around here, girleenie. But hey, you'll be on to bigger and better things, right?"

I drop into my chair, wheels squeaking in protest. "Yeah, guess so. I'll miss working here, though." I force a smile and turn on my monitor. I get uncomfortable when Wallis is sincere. It feels too intimate. Our friendship consists mostly of witty banter and bad jokes.

Wallis exhales and spins back to his computer, getting the hint that I don't want to talk about it. There's really nothing more to say. With the Choosing in two days time, I won't be back here. I'll be starting my new life.

For the past five years, I and the twenty four other students in my year have been training to take the place of the people getting ready to retire. The first two years were spent learning about each job available for our class and then specializing in a few areas of interest for the next three. Now that we're in year seventeen, everyone in our class will be chosen as an apprentice for one of the available jobs, setting the course for the rest of our lives. At twenty, our apprenticeships end and we take over permanently.

It wasn't always this way. Even though war and environmental disaster forced us underground a couple hundred years ago, people had more choices and freedoms than they do now. Now, each and every job is essential, the people who perform them doing their share to keep our community alive.

Which job we end up with is mostly out of our hands. The Masters, who gain the status exactly three years from their retirement, do the choosing. I am newly seventeen and the youngest trainee in my year, but my situation is different from the others. I know my path already.

I snap out of my reverie and pull up the terminal on my main monitor. Then I look expectantly across the aisle at Norman. The lead tech has laser focus as he types line after line of commands with long bony fingers. This year, Norman becomes a Master and will choose his successor. Since there are two tech positions, he'll have the option to choose a new second and promote Wallis to lead or choose a new lead directly.

"Norman?" I venture timidly. He doesn't react. After waiting a minute with no response, I try again a little louder. "Uhh, Norman?" I startle him and he jumps in his seat, sending his glasses askew.

"Oh—Elia." He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and scratches the back of his head. Norman is tall and paper thin, and unable to dedicate his full attention to anything except his work.

"Do you have anything for me to do today?" I ask politely.

He blinks, slow to change gears. "Huh. Not sure."

I look at him hopefully.

"Well—since there's no point starting something else...hmm." He pauses, drumming his fingers together. "Why don't you just take today off?"

I sigh again and turn back to my monitor to shut it off. Maybe I'll head down to the agriculture zone and help out in the garden. Or sit here and bug Wallis.

I opt for the latter and push my chair around to Wallis's station. "So, what're you working on?" I ask, drumming my fingers on the desk. I'm prone to fidgeting. It's one of those things that I work to hide when I'm in front of people, except when I'm with the few people I feel comfortable around.

Wallis laughs. "Just can't stay away, huh?" He proceeds to show me the logs for our ancient tremor detection system. As the decades have gone on, techs and engineers have had to work harder and harder to keep everything up and running. Right now he's trying to figure out why the system seems to shut down sporadically at night. "I've looked and looked and just can't find any reason for the system to fail."

"Was there a hiccup in power?" I ask, squinting at the screen.

"Nope, no power surges."

"Undocumented maintenance?"

"Nope, no log of it."

I rest my chin on my hand. "Huh. What if it's not failing?"

Wallis laughs, and Norman glances up from his workstation. My face heats, and I rush to defend myself. "Seriously, what if it's not failing? Isn't it possible somebody's shutting it down some other way? You should check with engineering."

"Maybe," Wallis allows, but I can tell he doesn't think much of my theory. I look up to catch Norman watching me again, but as soon as he sees me looking he looks back down at his terminal.

At five o'clock, I get up to leave. Wallis waves and says, "good luck, girleenie!"

I smile half heartedly back. "See you around, Wallis."

I incline my head at Norman on my way out. At first he doesn't seem to notice, but I catch his gaze on me as the door closes behind me.

On my way down the hall, Celia comes out of Lab C. She's in my year, whip smart, and has been training to work in tech as soon as we were allowed to specialize. When she sees me, she glares and immediately turns to walk the opposite direction, dark hair swishing.

I look at the corner Celia disappeared behind and shake my head as I head for the stairs. We used to be friends when we were younger, but when we went from grade school to job training, friendly competition in turned into a cutthroat rivalry. Now she hates my guts, especially since I gained clearance to Lab B and she didn't. The thing is, it doesn't even matter. None of it matters, since she'll get the tech position in the end.

I'm in the stairwell when I hear the footsteps. Tilting my head back, I see Chief Crane looking down into my eyes from a floor above. He is tall, with broad shoulders and an intense dark-eyed gaze. His black hair is cropped short, graying around the ears. If he weren't so strict and cold, he might have been handsome. He takes everything very seriously, and has a commanding presence that demands respect. Encounters with him make me ill at ease.

"You've been in the tech wing again, Elia," he states evenly. It is not a question.

"Yes," I reply with equal calm, even as my heart beats faster.

He looks at me, through me, with a gaze that leaves me feeling like he finds me wanting, lacking some important unknowable thing. I resist the urge to fiddle with my hands.

Just when the silence gets uncomfortably long, he speaks. "Just as long as you're ready to focus on your future."

It is a warning. A warning to stay away from Lab B. To stay away from what I love.

He doesn't wait for my answer. He simply nods once, then turns and walks up the stairs.

I watch my father's retreating back with a sinking heart.