Roses for Rachel

Chapter 1.

The bells chimed loudly and I quickly rushed to be sure that my bed and space were in good order. The keepers come around every morning and if our bunks don't pass inspection, we don't get any outside time.

All the other girls rushed into the room and we waited patiently as our main guard, Ms. Riess, stomped through with her clipboard. I could relax a little once she was passed me with no citations.

I expected her to leave when she'd finished, but she stopped in the middle of the room and tucked her clipboard underneath her bulky arm. "All girls under the mark of eighteen, please move on to breakfast and then morning classes." She called and a handful of girls filed out of the room. "The rest of you, pack your things."

I felt my heart skip a beat.

"We're leaving now?" I blurted out. I knew I wasn't supposed to speak out of turn, but I just couldn't contain my excitement.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Right after breakfast." She grumbled unenthusiastically, then stomped out of the room.

I didn't even feel like eating I was so overcome with excited nerves. I threw my things together quickly, which didn't take long since I pretty much owned nothing anyway. I seriously thought about skipping breakfast, but I knew it wasn't an option. I don't need to get into trouble on my last day. They take our meals very seriously. We eat three good meals a day, and all of our foods are grown in the gardens behind Drighten, or raised at the farm just down the hill. In addition to that they always force us to exercise regularly. We need to be our very healthiest to support the human race I reminded myself.

"Rachel!" My best friend, Greer, said excitedly when she skipped over to my bunk. "Can you believe this is really happening?" She gushed. "I'm so excited feel like my cheeks are going to split open from smiling so hard."

Greer and I arrived here on the same day and we have been best friends ever since. I hugged her quickly and we giggled to ourselves as we jumped up and down. "I know, I've been waiting for this forever."

Greer pushed her thick sandy hair behind her ears and her small brown eyes were practically glowing. "Do you think we will get to meet the boys on the first day," She mused. "Or do you think they'll make us settle in first?"

I shook my head at her. "I don't know, Greer." I told her. "Honestly, I don't even care about the boys, I'm just happy to be leaving here."

"You're right." She nodded. "That's the really important part." She said seriously, but then her face split around a giant smile again. "But I am still pretty freaking excited about the boys!" She giggled, hopping in a small circle.

"Rachel! Greer!" We jumped when we heard our names called. "Get to the dining hall!" Ms. Riess yelled when she stuck her head back into our room and saw we were the only ones left. "Your luggage will be taken to the bus."

Greer and I exchange excited glances at the mention of busses and held off on our celebrations until we knew she was gone again. I hadn't ridden in a car since the day I was brought here.

After breakfast the twenty five girls over eighteen were all led out to the front entrance of Drighten where a large bus was waiting for us. Everyone was silent but you could feel the heavy buzz of excitement in the air all around us.

The journey took a long time, but the scenery didn't ever seem to change, confirming to me just how far out in the absolute middle of nowhere we really were. Before long, darkness had fallen and we still hadn't made it to our new school. It took hours of utter boredom in the darkness of the bus before we could finally see lights on the horizon. We pulled into a deep valley and the tiny city became visible up ahead. The bus winded through the narrow streets, bumping around on the gravel, before if finally pulled to a stop at what seemed like the city center. Even though it must've been really late, there were hundreds of people standing around seemingly waiting for something.

The city was small, just a handful of stone buildings built into a semicircle that wrapped around the back side of a giant fountain. The people were all gathered out in front of the fountain, most of them with their backs to the bus. The other girl's began to whisper quietly about how beautiful the water was as it sprayed high up into the sky, but I wasn't that interested in that. I was more interested in why there were so many people. If this was the mixed school, shouldn't there be more people who seemed our age? I only could see people who were older.

A man in a black uniform approached the bus with a few guards behind him. He stepped right inside and whispered something to our driver, before he turned to look down the rows of us. He nodded like he was pleased, then he cleared his throat and called us to attention.

"Stand and move toward the front in an orderly line please, girls." He yelled and everyone hopped from their seats excitedly.

The closer I got to the front of the bus, the more nervous I got. Up ahead of me I could hear girls start to cry or screaming 'no'. I instantly knew something wasn't right. When I reached the door at the front of the bus I could finally see why.

The guards shackled my hands together and pushed me out to the crowd, forcing me to stand beside the other girls in a line on the edge of the fountain. I shivered in the brisk breeze that blew through my thick wavy hair, and I tried unsuccessfully to get it out of my mouth with my shackled hands. I had momentarily been distracted by the annoyance, but then, beyond my belief, people start yelling out numbers. I looked down to my shirt and stared at the painted red 476 that I'd worn since the day I arrived at Drighten. I heard my own number being shouted multiple times, and my heart quickened with every mention of it.

The man in the black uniform came to the front of the line and held a megaphone up to his mouth. "The auction will begin shortly, but first, we have a representative of the royal family here to pick girls for the competition." He said and the crowd broke out in hoots and hollers.

A nicely dressed, tall, Hispanic man came to walk up and down the line of girls, looking at each of us carefully, before moving back down the line again. After making his rounds four times he went over to the man in the uniform and whispered something in his ear before giving him a charming smile and a nod of his chin. The men both chuckled together, glancing for a moment back my way, and then the Hispanic man disappeared back into the crowd.

My heart was pounding a mile a minute and I couldn't take in everything that was going on in front of me as the crowd began screaming numbers again. I could hear the cries of the girls on either side of me, but I was too stunned by what the heck was going on to even show any type of actual emotion. I just stood there, frozen, until suddenly, I couldn't see anything. Someone had come up behind me and thrown and black fabric bag over my head.

I could feel hands on the tops of my shoulders as a voice filled my ear.

"It is your lucky day, you've been chosen."