Selected

The dart ride wasn’t very long, maybe two or three hours, but I wasn’t sure. I mostly just looked out the window and watched the scenery blur by. It was mostly trees and valleys, every once in a while we’d pass by a town that was in ruins that used to be part of the old world, before The War, before Selection. I didn't know ruins like that still existed. I guess no matter how hard you try to start a new civilization, some parts of the past will always remain.

I replayed the last few moments I was in Sector 16. I replayed Teyland and her reassuring words and I’d start to feel better about my future. Then I would replay my last conversation with Koontz and I wanted to break down and start sobbing. The only thing that didn’t make me start crying was the fact that there were other people on the dart. I couldn't let myself shed a tear in front of people.

The husky voice of my escort guard would through to me every few minutes. He would ask me if I needed anything; a beverage, something to eat, to use the bathroom. I denied them, even though I need them all. I just sat there on the verge of bawling my eyes out. His voice cut through my thoughts once more, “Did you love him?”

I looked at him, “What?”

“The boy you were talking to. He said that he loved you, did you love him?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I looked back out the window.

“Who was he?” My guard questioned. He had told me his name, but I wasn’t paying attention when he had said it.

“Nobody.”

“I said that I loved a girl once.”

I scoffed, “Oh yeah? And how did that turn out for you?”

He looked down at the floor, “She left.”

“Wow, what a surprise ending to that story.”

“She pretty much said exactly what you did. That she couldn’t.”

“Its the truth. I couldn’t stay with him. That's not the way the world works. No matter how much we want it to.”

He met me in the eyes, “It would have been better to hear that she loved me and that she wanted to stay, not that she couldn’t stay. I already knew she couldn’t. I wanted to hear that she wanted to. I wanted to know that she wasn’t staying because she didn’t love me, but because they were making her go. I just wanted to hear her say it one last time. Something I could hold on to for the rest of my life.”

I tried to swallow, but my throat was tight. I tucked my hair behind one ear. I started to feel yet another tear running down my cheek. I usually rarely cry, but it seemed like that was the only thing I had done all day. But I couldn't help it, I didn't have control over myself at the moment. I was scared and hurt and alone and filled with regret. I wanted to just lay in fetal position and cry for eternity. I wiped my face, “I need to use the restroom now.”

I stood up and let him lead me to the restroom. It wasn’t much of a restroom, more like a small box with a toilet and a sink. It was hard to imagine someone as big as my guard using it. “You don’t need to stand outside, I can go to the bathroom by myself.”

“I’m not here to help with that.”

“I’m not going to run away either.”

“Just in case.”

I sighed and closed the door. What I really wanted was to be able to just cry. To just let out a long and hard cry that would get rid of all of my tears, and I certainly didn’t want my escort, or anyone else for that matter, to hear me. I put the lid on the toilet down and sat on it. After only a few seconds I let the tears start to free fall. I tried to stay quiet about it, but every now and again I’d let out a sob.

Everything I knew was gone. I would never return to that life. Now I’d live in Sector 3 with Mr. Vox Bly in an elaborate home. He’s probably the son of a judge or a CEO of some company. We’d send our kids off to get a better education than I could ever dream of. It was what every girl wanted. The perfect life.

There was a knock on the door, “Miss Eaton, the dart is about to arrive in Sector 3.” I had ran out of tears by this time. I stood up and washed my face before I opened the door.

There was a ding and a voice came over the intercom. “We have arrived in Sector 3. Everyone please depart.”

I followed my escort off of the dart. For a second I stood there in awe. Their Capital building was so much nicer than the one back home. The floors were made of marble as well as the walls where as ours were made of wood and concrete. There were banners everywhere with different sayings on them, telling people to vote for the next Sector 3 representative. I looked at my guard, “What does it mean by vote?”

The guard gave me a confused look, “What do you mean?”

“The banners tell us to vote for Ander Pollick for the next Sector 3 election.”

He nodded, “Right. People pick the person they want to represent them. That person then goes to Sector 1 and tries to get laws passed that will help his Sector.”

I frowned, “We’ve never had an election.”

He gave me a confused look, “You haven’t?”

I shook my head, “No.”

“ Come on or we’ll be late for the next dart.” We walked through the Capital building before we got onto another dart that would take us to Subsector D.

This time I looked out the window not because I was thinking but because I was in amazement. I couldn’t believe that all of this was real. There were huge buildings that towered over us and they were all magnificent. I stared at them as we raced by in wonder. This place was nothing like Sector 16. There were no walls separating each Subsector either. Probably because no one would dream of running away from a wonderful place like this. None of our buildings back home had a second story or huge windows. Everything about this place was amazing.

It only took us 10 minutes to reach Subsector D, but this time I wished it lasted longer. I wanted the dart to make an entire loop around the city, with a tour guide pointing out all of the important landmarks. Maybe I could convince Vox Bly to show me around.

My escort lead me off the dart and in the station. He started to look around, “Okay, there should be another guard around here that will take you from here.” He pointed, “There he is.” He lead me to the other guard who was tall and muscular, overall very intimidating. He looked to be a few years older than me, probably in his mid-twenties. His brown hair was combed and parted in regulation with guard protocol.

“Emmary Eaton, birthing number 45729 escorted by Captain Romero, birthing number 92749. Arrival time, ” He looked down at his watch, “1:27. I officially hand Emmary Eaton, birthing number 45729 to Captain Pike, birthing number 38229.”

Captain Pike nodded, “I, Captain Pike, birthing number 38229, at 1:27, accept the responsibility of Emmary Eaton’s, birthing number 45729, health and welfare from Captain Romero, birthing number 92749.”

That was the most bizarre thing I think I have ever seen. Captain Romero smiled at me, “It’s just for formality. Now you can run away and I won’t be blamed, he will.” He shoved his thumb in the direction of the other guard, who gave us a stern look. “Okay, well, I have to get going.”

I nodded, “Thanks.”

He smiled, “I was just doing my job.” With that Captain Romero turned on his heel and started walking in the other direction.

Captain Pike was still frowning at me. “Where are you from?”

“Sector 16F.”

He didn't say anything else. "My orders are to take you to the Bly's sylist first so he can make you more presentable."

I looked down at my dress, at Teyland's dress. "What's wrong with the way I look?"

He shrugged, “For starters, you look like you’ve been crying for the last few hours, and you need a more appropriate outfit for tonight's festivities."

“What festivities?”

“The Blys are having a dinner party to welcome you.”

“What the hell is a dinner party?” It certainly sounded like something I didn’t want to be a part of.

He gave me a confused look, and said his answer uncertain if it was the answer I was looking for. “A party that serves dinner.” After a pause he said, “It will be fine. People eat, drink and mingle. They just want to get to know you.”

I was right. I defiantly didn’t want to go to some party and mingle with strangers. All I wanted to do was crawl into a bed and hide from the world. Maybe when I went to sleep, all of this would just be a dream and I'd wake up in Koontz's arms under our favorite tree.“Why do they have to have a party for that?”

Captain Pike smiled, “It’s Sector 3, there's a party pretty much every night. Come on, this way.” He started to lead me out of the station and into Subsector D. I froze when we stepped out of the self revolving door. No way was this all one Subsector. It looked bigger than I could ever fantasize it being. I stared at the ginormous buildings in awe. They seemed to be hundreds of stories high. Some buildings looked to be just four huge pieces of glass put together. “Miss. Eaton”

I heard Captain Pike’s voice and immediately jumped me back into what was happening, “What?”

He motioned me to come with his hand, “Come on, we’re going to be late.” I took a few hurried steps to close the gap between us and then fell in synch with his quick paced stride.