Beyond the Walls

Chapter 1

When Vienna finally reached the building, she almost turned around and walked the other way. The only thing that was stopping her from doing that was her friend, Mae. Vienna knew that Mae would be inside, anxiously waiting for her. She needed Mae right now just as much as Mae needed Vienna. Mae and Vienna had been friends since they were little; they were both in the same class, and enjoyed to draw. They would always sit together, and show each other what they had made. Vienna wondered what job Mae would get: probably some job involving science and math, those were Mae's best subjects. Mae was probably no where near nervous as Vienna was, for Vienna had a rational reason to be worrying so much. The thought started to slip into her mind again, but she pushed it out before it could get any further. Slowly, Vienna walked up the steep steps that led up to the center building. It was in the shape of a dome, and pretty small, considering everyone who was 16 in the city would be coming here today to get their job. It was a deathly grey; the color of a corpse's face.  Two small doors were located in the front. Vienna noticed that other kids her age were going through the doors. Taking a deep breath, she reached for one of the doors and opened it.

The first thing Vienna noticed was the smell, it hit her like a slap to the face when she opened the door. It smelled new and clean; kind of like the smell of the medicine packages Vienna's mother used to receive from the medical building in the city. Vienna shivered, the air conditioning was on full blast, blowing cool air in her direction. She stepped out of the path of the vent, and took in her surroundings. Small talk was being made from different groups of kids around the room. It looked like a lobby; there were a couple of doors leading into what looked like an auditorium. A large receptionist's desk was sitting next to the wall, and an old lady in a white uniform sat typing on a glass screen. This room seemed lighter and friendlier than most of the buildings in the city. There were glass walls, which brought in natural light. The other walls were painted a yellowish-white color, which made Vienna think of a warm summer day.  She realized that she needed to move after a line of kids were trying to push through to get into the lobby. She quickly stepped to the side and started to look for Mae. Vienna spotted her sitting at a glass table near the corner of her room. Her bright blonde hair almost looked white as the sun hit it, and her long locks were in one single braid, trailing down her back.

"Mae!" Vienna quickly walked over to the table, and took a seat at one of the chairs.

"Vienna! I thought that you'd never show up." Mae grinned as she looked up from her book. Her bright green eyes looked especially alert today, and her skin looked perfect, not a flaw in sight. Vienna was sometimes jealous of her looks; she had long brown hair with a tint of red, and dark blue eyes. Freckles were splashed across her nose, and she had a birthmark in the shape of a crescent moon under her left ear. Vienna, on the other hand, had the skin of a doll, along with shiny blond hair which looked white most of the time. Her lips were smaller, and almost in the shape of a heart. Boys, as one could imagine, always looked towards Mae's direction, even though she ignored them. Vienna always had a tinge of jealousy whenever Mae would complain to her at lunch about how a boy had said she was pretty or something along those lines. Vienna knew deep down though that she wouldn't of liked the attention either.

"I should've just never showed up," Vienna joked, flipping through the textbook Mae had brought. "Did you really bring schoolwork to this?"

Mae furrowed her brow. "Well, good grades are a factor they look at when choosing a job."

"Well, I'll be getting a job cleaning the toilets." Vienna said. She was also always jealous of Mae's stellar grades in school. Vienna was smart, but school wasn't a priority.

"I hope you actually take this seriously," Mae replied, taking back her book, "you'll be stuck with your job your whole life."

"I know." Vienna said, letting it finally sink in. "Aren't you a little bit nervous?"

Mae propped up her head with her hand and looked at Vienna for a minute. "Yes, but somehow I just know that I'll get the job I want."

"I've been thinking about that too." Vienna said, fiddling with a bracelet she had on. "But it's not the job I want, it's the job that I worry I don't get every day."

"Vienna, I can promise you that your job won't be the explorer." Mae persisted. "You are not your father."

"They probably think so though!" Vienna shot back. "They'll want me to join him out there!"

"Vienna!" Mae looked embarrassed. Vienna turned around to see that some of the chatter had stopped, and kids were staring at her with blank faces. Slowly, her face turning red, Vienna turned back to Mae. "I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous."

"I know, I can tell." Mae said. "Are you sure you feel ok?"

"I'm fine," Vienna insisted, "I just has to keep thinking that the selection process will be over soon."

Mae opened her mouth to say something, but the old lady at the receptionist called out to the people in the room. "Everyone, please listen! The selection process will begin momentarily! Listen carefully for your name, and when it is called, please report to room 134, down the hall this way." She pointed to a narrow hallway with her bony finger to her right. "Thank you."

The chattering in the room increased as the lady sat back down in her chair and went back to typing. Vienna looked at Mae, who now looks like she was going to be sick.  Before she could ask her if she was ok, the first group of kids were called.

"Mason Grey, Jeremy Blank, and Mae Josman." Mae stood up suddenly, and began to walk towards the hallway briskly.

"Mae!" Vienna tried to get her attention, and Mae turned back around. Vienna ran up to Mae and hugged her. "Good luck," she mumbled. " you'll be ok. " 

"Thanks." Mae replied. "If I don't see you again before you go, good luck." Vienna stepped back, and Mae walked briskly down the narrow hallway. Vienna sighed, and sat back down. Now she had to wait.

A couple of hours later, Vienna was still sitting in her chair, which became increasingly uncomfortable by the minute. Her hands felt clammy, and her head was spinning with thoughts.

"Vienna Gatten." The old lady called Vienna's name, but no one else. Vienna looked around, and realized that the room was completely empty, and she hadn't even noticed. Great, Vienna thought to herself, Now all of the good jobs have probably been taken. She began her journey down the hallway. There were no sounds, only the clumping her boots made as she walked down the hallway. There were no window walls here, and all of the light was shining from bright overhead lights. It made Vienna feel dizzy, but she continued walking. 132, 133, 134. Door 134 looked no different than any of the other doors. It was an off-white, and had the numbers 134 printed in dark ink in the center of the door. The knob was a dark brass, and had a swirling design in the handle. Taking one deep breath out, Vienna grabbed the cold handle, turned it, and walked inside.

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A/N: Hello, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! At the top, you can see that I included a picture of a dome building, but it doesn't quite match the description of the dome in the story. I will post a picture with every chapter as sort of a reference to the setting and what everything looks like, so it probably won't be exactly like the story, but relatively close.