The Divided

Chapter One

"What in the world is he doing?" I asked, staring at the teenage boy crouching behind a bush. He was on the other side of the fence that marked the border between the Ameliorates and the Extricates. His long blond hair that nearly reached his shoulders was well known, as was his troublesome reputation. He was staring closely at our leadership building as if he was observing everything in detail.

"Considering it is Dean Martin, he's definitely up to no good," my best friend Mason replied. Mason was tall, standing six inches higher than me, but he had a slim figure, as did I. His short black hair contrasted to my golden blonde hair that cascaded past my shoulders in tight waves, as did his dark-green eyes to my own light-brown. My fair skin was scattered with freckles, while his tan skin was clear in exception of a few pimples.

"It almost looks like he is scouting our leadership building," I said, watching his eyes intently stare at every floor of the building. We watched him for a few more minutes, until he stood up and left in hurry, racing back into the woods toward the Extricate civilization.

Mason and I continued walking until we walked through the leadership building doors. The interior of the building was all different shades of silver and with everyone around working and having an assignment to do, it was a great work space. If you were a leader or had a high authority in the community, this is where you came to work almost every day. There were several floors, each one designated for a specific things. Every person we past greeted us with a polite nod and a respectful smile.

Although Mason and I were young, barely the age of seventeen, people respected us because of our parents. I was the only child of the Ameliorate leaders, so nearly everyone respected me as their future leader. Mason's father was the highest authority of the soldiers, so he was expected to hold high authority like his father one day.

We continued making our way around the first floor until we reached the elevators, where we went up to the meeting room on the third floor. I peeked inside and scanned the room for my father, but didn't find him. Mason's father, Adrian, spotted us almost immediately and waved his son over to sit next to him. He was a largely built man, unlike his son, having a large upper body any man would be proud of. He kept his hair shaved, despite only being in his forties, and had the same dark green eyes and naturally tanned skin as his only son.

Wanting to talk to my father before the meeting began, I walked back out of the room and headed back toward the elevator. The elevator doors opened as I reached it and my uncle Roman walked out. At the sight of me, his blue eyes lit up—more so than they already were. His light-brown hair was combed neatly back out of his face and he held himself up with great posture. "There's my favorite niece," he spoke with a bright smile.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm your only niece."

"But definitely my favorite," he said, making me laugh.

"Have you seen my dad?"

"If he's not already in the meeting room, he's probably in his office," he told me.

"Thanks." I entered the elevator and went up to the fourth floor. After quickly making my way to his office, I knocked twice on the closed door. I heard a "Come in," and entered the room.

My father was sitting behind his desk, scrolling through something on his desktop. His round light-brown eyes shared the same color as his short hair. He looked up from the screen. "Melody," he welcomed as I walked up to his desk. "You know, we should be getting to that meeting downstairs."

"I know, I just saw something that you should know about and thought it needed immediate attention," I told him, folding my hands in front of me.

"And what would that be?"