June 17, 2104
THE CHOSEN ONES
THE FACT ONE-HUNDRED of us were going to be chosen instead of one hit me hard in the face. Wide-eyed, I stared in disbelief at the young female who didn't look bothered at all. Wasn't she human, too? Didn't it perturb her a little that kids were being forced to register and might be chosen to become slaves?
She picked up a nail file from the top pile of papers on the corner of her desk and began filing her nails. "I don't understand why you all seem to be shocked by the decision of the Kings. You gained this by acting like savages."
I knitted my eyebrows together. Just because I didn't agree with their methods didn't mean that I didn't understand their reasoning for trying to overthrow the supernaturals. People were tired of being locked in the sector since the second they were born. There was so much our ancestors spoke about that no one had seen with their own eyes, such as the ocean.
They spoke of days where they walked down the beach with friends, laughing. They even went on hikes, others hunted animals as a sport. So much I myself never got to experience and I had to admit that part of me did crave it.
The freedom to go and do whatever I wanted with my friends and family.
"Savages? They were fighting for freedom!" I stepped closer and grabbed the piles of papers, throwing them at her. A loud screech escaped her lips as she lurched to her feet. "You are an embarrassment to your kind. You have been bought by them with luxury. Do you have children? How would you feel if they were chosen, raped and beaten to death!"
She laughed softly, sitting back on her chair. "You are blind and don't see the truth. You have never stepped out of the sector to know if those rumors are true or not. Guards!"
I was grabbed by the arms seconds after she called out to them and pulled back. She had to be insane. What truth could lie beyond those walls? There was nothing good about being chosen, nothing.
Nick lurched to his feet when he saw the guard pulling me out, but I shook my head, telling him not to worry, that I was fine. They pulled me down the steps toward the car, but I tripped over my own feet, taking them both with me.
Luckily, I landed on top of one of them. My eyes narrowed when I could feel a heartbeat underneath my palm. Eyes wide with shock, I looked up to meet his ruby eyes. This was a vampire. There was no way that he could own a heart. Everyone in the sector said that they were dead creatures.
"Could you help me here?" He asked the other guard. I was grabbed by the arm and pulled up. I managed to stand, staring at the vampire with curiosity.
The one who held me laughed softly. "Are you okay?"
The vampire nodded, fixing his suit. "Yeah." His gaze locked with mine. "Get in the car."
The door was already opened, and I hopped inside after being released by the other guard. Once the door was closed, I leaned back on the seat, hoping for the ride home to be quick.
When we arrived home, I headed straight to my room. Max sat in front of my bedroom door, waiting for me to open it. The second I pushed it open, he darted inside. One thing kept flitting through my mind as I stepped inside my room: I had to focus on finding a job so I could help my parents with everything. I didn't have any work experience, but perhaps I could find a job as a waitress or cashier. It wouldn't kill me to try.
I threw myself on the bed and grabbed the pillow, resting my head on it. Pressing my lips together, I fought the urge to cry until my eyes were dry. Crying wouldn't do anything for me. I could spend the entire day crying over the fact that now there would be one-hundred of us who would be forced to leave our homes, forced to live with a master or mistress that could easily kill us with the lift of a finger.
I heaved myself out of bed and searched for a nice outfit to wear. I picked out an elegant white shirt, a black skirt, and heels. After getting dressed and putting on light makeup, I brushed my hair and curled it. Now, I looked like a different person. The makeup hid all the imperfections, resulting in a flawless appearance.
When I walked downstairs, I found my mother in the living room with Lana, playing Scrabble. My sister was seven years old, and mom said that the game helped Lana improve her writing and reading skills. It had worked so far. For a seven-year-old, Lana read and wrote above her grade level.
I made my way toward the front door, trying my best to not make a sound. Once I stepped outside, I pulled the door closed. Then, I started my job hunt. I was out all day searching; however, it was pointless. Every manager's expression changed the second I told them I had just turned eighteen. They all knew I was in the thin line of being chosen, which made it pointless for them to hire me. It was very irritating, and I was losing hope.
The last place I decided to check was the dinner that Zoe worked at. The second I walked through the door, a soft melody played. Zoe smiled as she walked toward me, a couple of menus in her hands.
"Hey."
"Hey...I was hoping to speak to Shelly?"
Shelly came from the back and glanced at the clock. "Right now we're not offering services, Kendra."
"Oh, no. I came to see if you need any help around here."
Shelly held her gaze. "I'm so sorry sweetie, but I have no positions open at the moment. You can try the restaurant—"
"They're not hiring either." By Shelly's bewildered look, I knew the restaurant owner was in deed hiring but had lied to me. "Thanks anyway."
I forced a smile as I turned to leave to stop dead in my tracks as I spotted the guard that had almost run over the kid, standing a couple of feet from me, as if waiting for something. There was another guard with dark hair speaking to him, but he had his back turned to me so I couldn't see who it was. My eyes narrowed at the fact he didn't wear the same clothes all the guards in the sector did.
Elizabeth, the other person working for Shelly, came and grabbed my arm as I watched the guards turn and head into the dinner too fast for me to catch the features of the dark-haired one.
She pulled me to the curb, a smile on her lips. "Hey, I know you really need a job. Its not much but there are many people in town who can't walk their dogs every day so maybe you can offer to do so for them until you find—"
"The guards eat at Shelly's diner?" I asked, evident curiosity in my voice. "Does Shelly serve blood?" Now, I couldn't hide my astonishment.
She laughed. "Oh, heavens no. She bloody wouldn't do such thing, but like everyone else around here, they do need to eat...We wouldn't want them starving, would we?"
"Of course not." I smiled. "Thanks for the tip. I'll try first thing tomorrow."
Elizabeth began to head back to the dinner. "Good luck."
On my way home, the tears threatened to rise, but I composed myself. Tears never solved anything. Elizabeth was trying to help me, but after today, I knew if I knocked on someone's door and offered my services as a dog walker, they would all turn me down.
I folded my arms over my chest and sighed. Footsteps thudding against the concrete sidewalk caused my heartbeat to accelerate. I looked over my shoulder to find Sammy right behind me.
"Please, go away."
He extended his hand out to grab hold of my wrist, but I jerked away, stopping in my tracks. "You shouldn't worry. I'm not going to let anyone take you."
I ran a hand through my curls, eyes fixated on the ground. "What do you plan to do? There is nothing that would stop them from taking me if I was chosen."
"Kendra..." He stepped closer and seized my arms. "We know that when someone is chosen, anyone can pay for them to stay in the sector."
Eyes narrowed, I looked up to meet his gaze. "You would pay for me? Why?"
He inched closer, stopping only centimeters away. At the proximity, heat rushed into my cheeks. "I would do anything for you, you know that."
I jerked away. "Stop trying to act as if you are still the same boy I knew back then."
"I am still that boy you knew."
I shook my head. "That boy wouldn't have forced me to accept to be his woman. Is that why you don't want them to take me? Of course it is. You don't want some creature taking my innocence. You want that privilege, right?" I shoved him away.
For a moment, he was frozen, wide-eyed. Then, he grabbed my arms and jerked me closer, but I swung my opened hand. When he let go, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets as I saw the scratches on his face. I stared at my trembling hand, feeling as if my body temperature had risen.
What on earth was wrong with me?
First, I had attacked a guard with a chair...and now, I slapped Sammy.
I never lost my temper so easily.
I turned on my heel and ran toward my home. It wasn't easy with heels, but I still managed to reach my home without tripping or falling to the ground. By the time I stopped at the front door, I thought I was having a heart attack. My heartbeat was out of control and pain engulfed my chest. Then, a painful throbbing began in my head.
Hands flat against the door, I inhaled and exhaled. As the seconds ticked by, everything seemed to ease. Once I collected myself, I pushed the door opened and headed upstairs to my room. At this moment, I wanted to avoid speaking to anyone, but a soft bang on my door confirmed that wasn't going to happen. I opened the door and my mother stepped inside my room, then turned around to face me.
"Where did you go so early?"
I started to play with a hair strand, trying to avoid eye contact. "I was out searching for a job." After taking a seat on the corner of my bed, I kept my eyes focused on the ground. I hated that I didn't find anything. My mom and dad needed the extra money.
I glanced up, and she folded her arms over her chest. "You don't have to worry about money. That is your father's and my responsibility, not yours."
Why didn't they want me working? An extra income would definitely help us.
I stood up from the bed and gave her a hug. "Okay, I am exhausted. Good night."
I gave her a kiss on the cheek and entered the bathroom to take a shower. When I came back out, she was no longer in the room. I jumped on my bed and hugged my pillow, holding the tears back. When Max laid next to me, I wrapped my arm around him. Then, I squeezed my eyes shut, slowly falling into oblivion.
★✩✩✩★✩✩✩★
A loud cry had me quickly awake and up from the bed. Frightened, I sprinted downstairs, bumping into a couple of flower decorations Mom kept in the hallway. Heart about to explode, I ran down the steps, then into the living room.
Mom was on the verge of tears, sitting with my dad beside her on the small sofa. Their eyes were focused on the small television. Mom covered her lips, then looked in my direction with horror.
"One-hundred...one-hundred of you." She shook her head, and my father wrapped his arms around her.
"Calm down," he said, running his fingers through her brown curls. "Everything will be okay."
"How could you say that? One-hundred, David. They said one-hundred have been chosen." When she cried, I ran to her side to kneel in front of her. She leaned forward after pulling away from Dad and wrapped her arms around me.
"Where is Lana?" I asked.
"She—She is still sleeping," she sobbed weakly.
"They are announcing the names of the chosen ones," my father said, the fear lacing through him evident in his voice. I stood up and turned to face the television, my heart drumming in my ears.
One by one, they began to show the pictures of the chosen ones with their name below it. My hands shuddered irrepressibly when number ninety-nine was shown. With one spot left, I was relieved that one of my friends wasn't being chosen.
Then, my heart sunk to the ground.
There was a loud scream, but everything seemed to fade into the distance as I stared at my picture with my name below it. The worse part was the intricate tribal lines that intertwined to form an elegant gold star at the corner of my picture; I had been chosen by one of the richest beings on earth.
I had been chosen.
Soon, they would come for me to take me away and I would never see my family again.