|ONC 2024 SHORTLISTER|
In the isolated world of Veridonia, three teenagers-Axelle, Wylan, and Keira-uncover dark secrets and face dangerous truths as they battle a deadly plague and oppressive government, challenging the very fabric of their once-p...
How much pain did it take to wish your family dead rather than alive and hurt?
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to", I started but she cut me off.
"No, don't worry about it. I've kept it a secret for so long. It's nice to tell someone."
I smiled. "Yeah, I suppose it is." There was something that all three of us had in common. We were all broken. Everything about our lives was a lie, or built on a lie.
"It was hard when my mother disappeared with my sister," I told her, my voice trembling. It was the one part of me I had never shared with anyone. I had never talked to my father about it either. I just spent way too long thinking, just like Keira had been. "My sister used to be sick all the time. It was hard for us, but we were at least a family. Together. And then, my mother just disappeared with my sister. No note. Nothing. I thought that maybe she'd be back soon. It's been three years...or four. I can't even remember."
Keira listened carefully, but she didn't say anything. Nor did she attempt to say anything. I was grateful for that.
"I don't want to lose her, you know. Some day...some day I'll forget everything about her. Her voice, her scent, her laughter, her pain...everything. I'd lose every memory that I have. I've already lost some, and soon, it'd be like she never even...existed."
At that moment, I realized how much I held inside of me this entire time. I was living, but hiding. So was Keira, and we realized that there was we had more in common than we realized.
"I understand," Keira said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Losing someone...it's like a void. She's still a part of you, Wylan. No matter what happens, she'll always be in your heart."
"Thank you," I said, sincerely. "For listening."
She smiled, her eyes focused on mine. "Well, you listened to me. I'm just returning the favor."
She fell asleep in the next hour or so, and we didn't speak much afterward. She went back to the ceiling, her attention not wavering even once. From what she told me, I knew that she was either just thinking, or reminiscing. I didn't want to ask her if she didn't feel comfortable enough to tell me by herself.
I was awake all night, my mind listing out everything I knew about Veridonia and us. I didn't have a paper to write on, but my mind was making a murder board already. I remember school days when my friends would make meaningless murder boards for books they used to read. Now, I had to make one for my reality.
What did we know? What could we speculate?
The soil is made up of arsenic and cyanide which killed most crop production in Veridonia. The air itself, we don't know.
The sun shone on the borders outside the large fence, outside Veridonia. Which meant that the Disease was strictly bound to Veridonian borders. But how?
Madame Henderson betrayed her husband and told the authorities that he was a traitor. So what did Axelle's father know, and what did he do afterward?
What were the institutions even for? Keira's brother probably ended up there but what did they do to them? What did Keira's brother know that caused him to join the Death March?
I had more questions, all whirring through my head. I wanted to know the truth, to uncover the secrets that had been hidden from us for so long. But with each question came the awful realization that the answers seemed to lead to more questions, and more uncertainty.
I rose, careful not to make too much noise that'd wake Father or Keira. I tip-toed across the room to find Father's research notes and important tools that he managed to pack into three old duffels. Reaching in, I took out the air composition detector.
The air composition detector was something I made for a science project when I was still in school. It was miniature, seemingly accurate for basic functions and I remember taking the 'Best Project Award' from a Council Member who was a special guest. My father found it incredibly useful for his research, and together, we redeveloped it and added more sensors and hardware. It was now a super accurate device, with almost 92% precision.
I held it up in the air, squinting from the lack of light emitted by the fluorescent bulbs. My eyes narrowed as I clicked on the red button on the bottom.
It was a very few agonizing seconds, waiting for the meter to read.
One
Two
Three
Four.
Beep!
I pressed the sensor to my sweater to prevent the noise from traveling across the room. I pulled it up after the beeping stopped to see the most extraordinary thing ever.
I slowly opened the door of the room stealthily, avoiding any creaks. Thankfully, the door didn't make too much noise. The air was only toxic to younger children. Most families avoided going outside, but the air inside? It was breathable for children as the government covered all homes with repellants. Even then, that got rid of 30% of whatever the air had. It didn't even get rid of it, it just made a barrier. The Dominion Council never told anyone about this. They simply made it happen one day, and I only realized when I used the sensor inside and outside my house.
