Running On The Line

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Kimberly

Ever since I was younger, I've been told not to ask questions. I've been told over and over: Kimberly, stop. You're being rude. Curiosity killed the cat. What happened in the past doesn't matter. It got on my nerves. I wanted to know what was behind that line. But no. Apparently, me and everyone else in this city, or 'Haven', as mayor Birk would say, had no right to ask questions. It wouldn't be any different this morning. I forced my eyes open, wanting ten more minutes to sleep. Today, school was starting again. I was going into my third year of high school. It wasn't as if I was nervous to be going back. I had already been through the process of starting a new school year at least ten times. I just was not excited to be known as 'the girl who gets sent to the principal's office for asking stupid questions'. They were NOT stupid questions. I just needed to know what was behind the town line. We couldn't get close to it without being arrested.

When I was five, we went to a small boutique named Felicity which happened to be the closest to the town line anyone ever got. It was the only dress store in this town, which was why we were there. My mother needed a dress for a special gala. You see, I have a reason for my unstoppable curiosity. She works with the mayor, and she knows what was behind that line. I asked her every single day. She never answered. So, while my mother picked out a gorgeous satin red dress with my father, I ran away to go see what was past the stupid, mysterious line. You cannot tell a child not to do something and expect them to listen to you. I mean what did they think would happen? I had heard my mom calling me. I didn't listen. Oh, yes. Baby Kimberly was, in fact, a true rebel.

When I reached the line, I was scared to cross it. The guard shouted down at me. I had looked up, squinting from the sun. He told me to back up. I had stuck my tongue out at him. Looking him in the eyes, I stepped onto the line. My toe was about to pass it. He warned me again. I was under 18, he could not shoot me. Smiling to myself, I jumped across the line. Hearing my name being called frantically, I sprinted to the edge of the giant cliff, waiting to look down. Citizens looked on, too scared to even try and stop me. My little legs weren't fast enough, and soon my mother's arms wrapped around my tiny waist. She pulled me off the ground, but not before I saw a little bit of a building. "Kimberly Rose Emerson! What is up with you today! You are in trouble the second we get home young lady!" I had tried to break free, squirming in her arms. She only held on tighter. "Madam!" a guard called. "Get back across the line or you will be shot on sight, with your daughter." I stopped moving. My mother ran back across the line. She had set me on the ground, her dark hair slightly undone from the whole event. The fury in her eyes was enough to set me on fire. I looked at the ground. "You are not getting any dessert for a week!" She told me. I frowned at her, little tears starting to pool. No desert! I mean, woah, dude, chill. "No mama!" She frowned at me, and then leaned in close. "Fine. But listen to me: never do that again. They'll kill you." I had nodded my tiny head; the thought of death scared me more than running across the line was worth.

So, I stopped trying to cross the line. However, I still tried to ask about it. Surely, someone could tell me. I stopped asking my mother when she started lying to me. She said there was nothing. That I had imagined things. She said that I made up a lie in my five year old head that I had told so often, it started to seem like the truth. But I know. I did not imagine seeing the top of a building. I was five. If I had imagined something, it would be rainbows and unicorns. Today, I would ask again. What the hell is behind that line? I stretched and stood up. My toes softly padded across the room to my dresser. I was careful not to wake my younger siblings, Lana and Jack. They were twins, both ten whole years younger than me. Lana was a sweetie... most of the time. Occasionally I would be pranked, or traumatized while taking a shower. Once, I was taking a shower, and she turned on what sounded like a fire alarm right into the washroom. I almost killed myself trying to run out of there. When I had realized what was happening, I got dressed and started my revenge plot... This happened to be a bunch of fake bugs under her bed sheets. And I got in trouble for it. But she was a nice kid, always trying to braid my hair and giving me hugs. Jack on the other hand... he is a TOTAL rebel child. I'm talking nightmare. I love him...but sometimes he is just trying to get me to punch him. I don't. But I want to half the time. They both have brown hair, a few shades lighter than mine, with hazel eyes. However, Lana is taller than Jack which drives him mad. I got out of my pyjamas and slipped on a fuchsia sweater and some black jeans that fit tight around my legs. I took about two minutes to braid my hair and then tiptoed quickly down the glass staircase into my kitchen.

My mother was already at the counter, pressing buttons on our coffee maker. Our kitchen was HUGE, even for Haven standards. It was almost all white, dark brown wood or glass. "Hi, mom." I called, walking over to the pantry to get some toast. I was starving. She smiled at me and leaned over to kiss my cheek. "Hey, sweetie. Excited for school?" I sighed. "No one is excited for school, mom. School means work. And I just want to lounge with Jemma and Fitz and like run across the town line." She looked up at me with panic written across her features. I giggled. "I'm just joking, mom. I'm not going to run across the town line." She nodded at me, slowly moving back to her coffee, which was now in its own little cup. I'm pretty sure I almost gave her a heart attack just now. In all honesty, I really, really wanted to cross that line. I also didn't want to get arrested... you pick your battles. I started spreading melted chocolate on my toast and then moved to the couch to eat it. I was about halfway through my toast when Lana and Jack entered the kitchen.

"JACK. GIVE ME MY DOLL." Lana shrieked. I covered my ears on instinct which made the chocolate toast fall onto the floor. I swore under my breath and got up for a rag. Jack's little body barreled into me and I grabbed the wall to steady myself. Oh, what a fun morning. My mom sighed. "Jack, give Lana her doll right now." He laughed and threw it at her. I couldn't help but bite back a smile. Lana's face was priceless. She was gaping at him as if he had just killed a kitten. My siblings' antics weren't new to me. They were a part of my daily routine. Most of the time, they made me laugh. Except for when they wouldn't stop bugging me. My mother handed me a rag to clean up the chocolate stain on the floor. I groaned. I was already doomed by having to go to school and now I had to clean up too. I didn't want my mom to have to do it, though. Especially since she is already trying to handle three kids alone with dad being gone for work a lot. He works as a type of doctor. Since you can't get 'sick' in the Haven, whatever that means, my dad makes the vaccines we get when we are born. They're supposed to protect us from the basic 'illnesses' like Alzheimer's, cancer, the flu, the pox... all of those. However, there are new ones that were created a few hundred years ago. The main one is called RED. RED is created by radioactive chemicals mixed with other things new to the atmosphere. It causes you to bleed from the mouth and occasionally the eyes if it gets really bad. It also causes you to feel weak. You can't even walk. Eventually, if it doesn't get treated, your bones turn into blood and you die because your heart cannot pump that much blood. There are other small ones, one of them causes your lungs to shatter like glass. They've never happened to anyone in the Haven though because of the vaccines. That being said, we forgive my father for being gone. He's saving lives.

"Ok, sweetie, here is your lunch. Lana, Jack here are yours. Yes, I didn't put any tomatoes. No fighting on the bus. Behave, have fun!" I smiled. "Bye, mom!" I grabbed my black lunchbox and my school bag that was bright red with the word REBEL written across the front. I couldn't wait to see my friends again. Fitz was a tall, red haired guy with bright blue eyes and Jemma had light brown hair and hazel eyes, kind of like Lana and Jack. Whenever there were teacher-parent reunions, they always thought Jemma was the sibling and I was just some random kid. It wasn't that annoying, just took a lot of correcting. I grabbed Lana and Jack's hands and together we got on the bus that was standing right outside our door.