The Wanderers

Prologue

At one point, the world was glorious.

There were blue skies, white puffy clouds filling their existence. The air was fresh and tinted with the damp smell of the mist that shrouded the rolling mountains in the early summer morning chill. The valleys were plentiful of crisp fresh waters breaking off into the creeks that traveled out into the world, filling the lakes. The fresh waters fed into the wilderness, where the wild flowers bloomed and the vibrant green undergrowth sprouted. The trees scraped the skies and climbed across the world in all unique shapes and sizes, each more magnificent than the last.

You could taste the freedom.

But, that was four hundred years ago, and that type of paradise no longer exists.

In the year 2500, a group of governments came together decided to create an elite group of people, known as the Council. The Council decided the needs of the governments that had come together, and eventually, the countries that the governments were ran from.

The Council grew into a positive group that helped people in third world countries thrive to become what was known as a well-educated and successful human being. By the year 2515, no one thought as Africa as a third-world continent - it was considered one of the best places to be in the world. It was full of smart and happy people, along with incredible new job opportunities and places for everyone to live - even if you weren't the most wealthy person in the world. All was well for a long time.

In February of 2527, the leader of the Council passed away, and a new one took her place. The new leader was named Jacob Dale. He was said to be the smartest man in the world, and the world looked up to him as an idol. He was warm-hearted and passionate about changing the world for the better, but little did the world know what he had planned.

In December of 2527, Dale announced that anyone above the age of 18 in the countries that were ran by the Council with an IQ of higher than 120 was to get on an aircraft and travel to a newly discovered island called Dretex, without packing anything other than what you could carry in your two hands. They were told that they would be given a permanent home with every family member that lived in their current home.

Upon arrival, the citizens realized that Dretex had not been what they expected - it was a barren desert wasteland in the middle of the ocean, with hardly any sort of natural resources, and no visible place to live. As they exited the aircrafts, each person in each family were given a number ranging from 1 to 90. From there, they were separated from each other according to the number they were given, and taken on buses to separate cities, that was also based on their number.

When they arrived, the security gave them 4 pairs of clothes each, two thousand dollars, and they were once again separated into different shelters, where they would live for a little while, though none of them knew how long that was, and why they were even there.

Soon, citizens of Dretex began to protest and demand what was happening. Jacob Dale simply said that it was all part of his plan, and that they would be returned to their usual homes soon. At that, everyone calmed down.

The people learned to survive in the city that they were brought to. Towering buildings loomed over the narrow streets in which they trudged up to find food and supplies to survive. Although no one really had a way to contact the outside world due to the barriers put on Dretex, they were happy to escape from reality, thinking they would only be there for a short time.

After three months of being on the island, the people began to panic, and the Council's troops had to be brought in to calm them down. Along with the troops, aircrafts full of supplies were brought in to give to all the citizens for their shelters and to help them survive a little while longer. But, the people still continued to panic, and it forced the troops to remove the only things keeping each family sane - their electronics.

The troops forcibly took every single device in every single city, and they were immediately disposed of. The troops even took away their calendars, and battery-powered clocks. Eventually, the citizens gave in to the force, and became the people who knew nothing of the time. They became numb and bent to the laws that Dale had made them surrender to.

They spent years there, and many generations went passed. The people had named themselves by the number they had been given on the first day. The Numbers spent their time growing, working, and learning to survive - not live, for the people never did live again. They saw the sun rise and fall, sure, but they never did get to hear the wind rustle through the trees, or smell the clouds that shrouded the rolling mountains in the early morning chill.

Because they weren't free.

Because freedom was never given to those who deserved it.