Spark.

Chapter 8 - A right and wrong decision

The world breaks in two, and I find myself on either side of it.

I can see the rift in between us, appearing as suddenly and with as much ferocity as an earthquake. On one side, is him. The new life. The life he just dared to suggest to me, the life that breaks every rule we have ever been taught. There are many things you can speculate about in this town, from the ingredients of the medicines and origins of the food, to the wages of the Supers and their source of their instructions, but the one rule still stands the same for every person.

You cannot survive without electricity.

I remember a neighbour, once, who knew a little about biology. They were the neighbourhood doctor, and although they weren’t official, they would work for low pay and do enough to keep us alive. But once a person was taken into their house, set on the table, and he wouldn’t move. His heart had stopped beating.

I wasn’t allowed in to see what happened at that moment. But the doctor took me in afterwards and had a long talk with me about life and how it works.

She explained that everybody had different ideas about how life began. Some people thought it was started by something else, some supreme being who breathed life into us. I liked that idea. Others thought it just happened – that a mix of chemicals and situations came together to create something great.

But she explained that whatever was the cause, it all started with a small spark in the corner of the heart. This spark sent electricity through the heart; down and up and around to make the heart contract. And that’s how it started beating.

I found it amazing, then. I still do. Nobody knows how that spark starts, and nobody is able to stop that natural beat until the person dies. But now I just see how it goes to show how electricity is a part of us; a central life force. Even before electricity was created, even before the Old Era, it was necessary for survival. And now it’s a much bigger part of us. It flows through us, and we make it ourselves in our pursuit for survival.

And yet, a part of me is drawn to this person. Even though I have barely known him half an hour, he is offering me something that could change my life – our lives, everyone’s lives – forever. We would have to work hard; harder, quite possibly, but it would be a work, that would hope to achieve something. Building something, rather than just staying alive. It’s a possibility I never even considered before.

And then, I find myself on the other side of the rift. The side where I am standing now, and I am standing with my sister.

Thirty years. At the moment, we live in a world of poverty and overwork. We just survive by almost killing ourselves. But there is one key fact here: still we live until seventy. Sometimes more.

I think about what seventy years would mean. I am halfway through my life. Kya will only live for twice as many more years as she has done already. And if things go horribly awry; if a natural disaster happens of disease sweeps through our population, we will not be able to sustain ourselves. It could mean the end for us all.

I have to make the responsible decision.

I look up, and see that Lucian is gazing at me, waiting for my answer. Gathering myself together, I shake my head no. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Then I leave the room.

It’s like stepping out of a dream into reality. Everything is as it should be, but nothing feels right anymore. Like something gigantic has changed and nothing is happening. The corridors I walk down at speed are suffocating. Each footstep echoes in my head.

I walk the corridors in a daze, not even realising where I am until I step out of the door into the Generator hall. I don’t even remember that my bracelet isn’t magnetized; that the Supers will ask questions. It is only the movement and sound of the generator that wakes me, knocking me back to my senses.

Just in time to see my sister fall.

Immediately, I back into the door, running back into the corridor. As soon as I am inside, I burst into tears, sobbing, not caring who sees me or who hears me. I lean against the door, feeling the vibrations beneath my back, imagining what is happening right now.

And I am powerless to stop it.

That is the worst, most painful thing. I cannot help her. No distraction techniques. No protesting. I cannot help her this time. I couldn’t catch her when she fell.

I close my eyes, and as I open my mouth my throat emits a whining, groaning sound. A sound of anguish. Of being able to do nothing.

I open my eyes, and the answer is standing there in front of me.

He comes forwards, hands in pockets, expression once again serious. “Have you reconsidered?”

It takes me a moment before I remember what it is he is referring to. I nod my head immediately.

Nothing could make me reconsider more.

He stands up straight, and then I think I see the slightest twinge of a smile in a corner of his mouth. “I thought you would.”

I straighten myself up once again, my weight supported on my own two feet. Standing strong. I have to be strong. “Anything else?”

“Just this for today.” He waits for me to walk over and hands me a small book, as well as the ledger and the pen. “Get started on this. We’ll be in contact with you tomorrow.”

I swallow hard as I look at the items he has just given me. “Oh. Tomorrow.”

“Yes, Spark.” He starts walking backwards down the corridor, leaving his last words before he turns around. “You made the right decision. I promise.”

I watch him travel further away, smaller and smaller, until he vanishes completely around a corner. I hold the items close, close enough so that I can feel each seam through my stiff clothing.

I have to trust in them, now. I have to trust in him.

The thought both scares and astounds me.