Perception [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter One

Chapter One

This isn’t a game.

I wish it were; games have rules, have proper endings. The only ending we get will not be proper. The only ending is fatal.

I’ve always assumed they thought it was a game. Hell, they probably keep score and give each other high fives when they’ve consumed another victim. But this definitely wasn’t a game to us; we run and we hide and eventually, we are found.  

Here I am, in the strangest place: a chimney. Helicopters fly overhead and I feel like my heart is pounding in my ears. I can hear footsteps above me on the roof as well as below me inside of the abandoned house. If I move even an inch, causing the smallest of sounds, I’m dead. It’s getting difficult to breathe; I’m covered in soot and grime.

“I think it’s clear!” a man shouted, stomping his feet. “Let’s take a break, shall we?”

That’s all I needed; my pursuers to take a break as I’m trying to keep myself lodged in the chimney.

Another man coughed, “Sure boss.” I heard and felt several people plop onto an old couch and chairs. “What’s this one’s name again?”

“Audree Knox. She’s seventeen years old with three older brothers—two of which have been captured and killed—and a younger sister, Agatha Knox, who has been quite the aid to us. Their mother and father both died by execution for withholding information. She’s been a fugitive for five months now, and this is the closest we’ve been to catching the adolescent. The third and uncaught brother, Adrian Knox, is not far from here. They’ve been running together for all of her five months.”

My legs felt numb and I could still hear helicopters overhead. The mention of Adrian made me wonder, had he been caught? Is he okay? Surely, they would know by now if he had

“Did you guys hear about the catch our buddies over in Sri Lanka made? A guy, been running between countries for seven years—seven years I tell you! Anyway, our men caught him and pow . . . right through the boy’s head. If the kid had made the smart decision and not ran, he wouldn’t have been shot. These kids are stupid; running is death. But hey, if they want to be my next paycheck then so be it.”

Laughter. Or someone was choking on something?

No, it was definitely laughter. The names of the children become inconsequential once they’ve caught who they chase. That boy ran for seven years and nobody will remember his name; nobody will respect his death. We all just become numbers in the end.

“Did you guys hear that?” a different voice spoke. “It sounded like movement. Oh I love this game of hide-and-seek. It’s thrilling for me; terrifying for them.”

I felt myself begin to panic. Had I adjusted my body without realizing it? The floorboards creaked closer to me and many of the men stood up. I held my breath and hoped my black clothing shielded me from being seen. It was the most terrified I’d been since separating fromAdrian.

There are three types of people in the world: Searchers, Regulars, and Perceivers.

I’m a Perceiver. I see what normal people can’t see: invisible creatures that aren’t really invisible, maps and escape routes that have never been drawn before clearly illustrated inside my head, and so much more. Adrian and I believe that’s why they started chasing us; they were jealous—maybe even a bit intimidated—because we had more vision than them. After all of the studies that started ninety years ago, they still couldn’t figure out how our DNA was different and why we were different. Same structure, same amount of chromosomes; why could the select few of us see what they couldn’t?