The next day, Barely and Bright could hardly hold their excitement. Neither of them had ever heard of a child doing anything but going to school and then taking up their father’s craft for males or becoming a breeder for females. They had also never heard of someone going to the surface and returning, nor had their classmates, so needless to say they caused quite a commotion when they went below. They had been barraged with questions as soon as they returned to class, and while Barely refused to divulge anything, Bright let a few things slip. She had never been very obedient to or reverent of the Elders, rebelling against the monotony of the village whenever she could. Although children were supposed to address all adults by their occupational names and all children by son or daughter of their father’s name, she called all of her classmates by their ‘individual names’, something she had invented to break the uniformity of occupational names. She rarely wore her uniforms correctly, only when she was scolded by Uchitel, the teacher. She hated the restraining feeling of not being able to choose what to do with her life—it seemed unnatural, somehow, as if there were something else out there.
However, everyone in the village knew there was nothing out there for them. Everything had been destroyed in the Great War long ago, and the only people left alive were the Original Elders and their descendants, the current Elders and citizens of the village. Outside, on the surface beyond where the Elders resided, there was only danger. The villagers were never told what kind of danger, but it was never questioned. The Elders knew everything, after all.
Later that night, Barely was staring up at the ceiling, too full of thoughts to sleep, when he was startled by a knock on his bedroom door. He jumped slightly, then stood from his cot and crept over to answer it.
“…Bright? What are you doing? You know you’re not supposed to come into my room.” He whispered, looking around.
“I know, I just can’t stop thinking about tomorrow.” It was obvious that she had not been able to sleep either. Barely opened the door and sat on the floor, offering Bright a place in front of him.
“Me neither,” He said. “I can’t imagine what kind of work they’ll have for us to do.”
“I’m more worried about something else…” Bright looked down.
“What’s that?”
“The School Elder said we would have different missions, right? Well…what if we go off to train and never see each other again?”
Barely’s eyes widened for a second, but then returned to normal.
“I’m sure we’ll still be able to see each other.” He patted her knee. Bright smiled weakly.
“Yeah…I guess you’re right.”
YOU ARE READING
A Perfect World -- Chapter 1
Science FictionHe was a short man, a scant 5 1/2 feet, further dwarfed by the ever-growing mound of bodies around him. He slashed about every which way, grunting and screaming with every skull he struck, every life he took. The wave of reanimated corpses approachi...
