• Finding Freedom
    By:Carlye Smedley

    The elders of my city say that love reveals the true quality of a person; that love will set you free. It is this falsehood that they infect the future generation with. I know better. Love is a disease. It starts with the initial pinprick, the first moment the oozing invader creeps into the bloodstream. This feeling of “love” creeps through the body, slowly turning every muscle and fibre to its power. Consuming the mind, all thoughts of common sense, stability, and reality are erased. Eventually the sickness corrupts the heart, and the subject is fully at the mercy of this bipolar, life rendering disease they call “love.” Love kills. I see it everyday in this contaminated city. It drips down the buildings and seeps onto the streets, sticking to the bottoms of every citizen’s shoes and dripping on their heads.
    My days follow a uniform schedule, the same one everyone my age has to follow. As candidates for the Amalgamation, we are required to follow a strict set of courses to prepare us for the Last Day. 5:45 every morning, I drag myself out of bed to prepare for “Another Step Towards the Real You!” At least, that’s how the manual explains it. On my sixteenth birthday I was bestowed a hefty, pleather hardcover book, that would contain my life (in easy step-by-step form) for the next two years. The book contains all the regulations that the Council of Elders pulled together in order to create a conflict free environment to attain love. Along with rules, it outlines the stages of love one will experience, and the steps to formulating the perfect relationship to last forever. The final chapter describes the final ceremony, the Amalgamation, and the final year as a Dependant. Unfortunately, that final chapter now applies to me, since I turned 18 last Thursday. An 18th birthday is a hallmark year because it signifies the last phase of the book. Nothing in the book prepares you for the day after your birthday.
    The alarm clock belted the time, reminding me that everything changes today. Noises of the usual morning calamity sounded from the kitchen, as I shoved my feet into my house slippers. I trudged into the bathroom, my feet barely managing to follow my body. Glancing in the mirror, I take in my dishevelled morning image. A mess of brown tresses, fall across my face and down my back. I’ve always considered my appearance average: Brown hair, freckles splashed across my face, and a whole five feet and two and a half inches. The only thing that truly stands out are my gray eyes. Gray; like the sky after it rains. It’s 6:00, I’ve wasted too much time already. Hurriedly running a comb through my hair, I pull on my uniform t-shirt and jean combination, complete with my trademark black Chucks. Downstairs, my babysister Clara is already making a mess of her plate, each piece of her food indecipherable from the other. It’s too late to eat anything, and its not like I need to be energized for anything. I won’t ever return to this place, I decided that a long time ago, but now the time has finally come. I walk over to Clara and kiss her on the head as I take a final glance around the room, taking in my father tickling my mother while she tries to make coffee. Disgusting, and they don’t even realize how sick they are. With a final, “See you later.” I lie for the last time to my parents, since this will be the last time I ever see them.
    I pick my way along the hedges, as a slowly approach the bus stop. The usual people stand haphazardly by the street, waiting. I glance at the group and pick out a safe don’t-talk-to-me zone. I do this everywhere I go. It’s the best guarantee to avoid attachments or infection. I managed to squeeze through all the infected, and just began to settle into my spot when a strange boy stepped in front of me. His ivory skin seemed translucent in the bright sun, but what really caught me off-guard were his eyes. Accompanied by jet-black locks that skewed complete view, his eyes were piercing green, the type of green that reminds you of a picturesque dark forrest with specks of light green dappling its canopy. I refused not be distracted though, because today was the day I made my final move. Today was the day Raina Deitreda would finally be free from the fear of slowly going insane; the day I would escape the fate that inevitably each one of these people faced with bright, cheery faces. This boy was in the way of my transition onto the bus, which I had timed down to the millisecond. “Hey, you.” I rasped in his direction. The boy turned his head to look over his shoulder, and of all things: smirked. I decided to attempt again, “Excuse me, guy, you’re in my way.” I shot daggers at the back of his head as he slowly turned to face me.
    “Karsen,” he said as he brushed a lock away from his eyes.
    “What?” I asked confused, as a small pang of irritation itched within me.
    He sighed as if the words he spoke took all his energy, “Name’s Karsen.”
    His nonchalant manner, poked at me as I answered, “Well, I don’t care what your name is, you’re in my way.”
    He smirked (again with the smirk, it’s so infuriating!), “And what might I be in the way of Miss..?”
    I had no answer other than spitting out my name, “Raina.” My explanation would make no sense to these crazies. I shrank back in retreat, slowly growing in rage as he continued to look on with that stupid smirk on his face. Finally the bus pulled up and I pushed passed him to safety within the bus, or so I thought. As the bus filled, the boy stepped onto the bus and slowly approached. Staring out the window, I refused to give him the satisfaction of catching my eye, when suddenly I felt an arm brush against mine as if someone was sitting beside me. This could not be happening, not today. I reluctantly turned to see my seatmate, that no good guy, still smirking straight at me.
    “So what’s your problem, hey?” he said as the bus rolled forward. I just shot him a glare and turned back to the window. “I thought girls were supposed to be “Engaging is friendly discussion with the opposite sex of Dependants”? Or are you some sort of rebel?”
    I spun around, as my face blanched. “What?” I managed to spit out.
    He continued on, “Love is a sham you know, its really just an excuse to put people into a mentally unstable state so that they will be stupid enough to bend to the Councils every wish. It’s a control game.” My mouth gaped open as I frantically scanned to see if anyone was listening.
    “Be quiet! You’re talking treason, don’t you know?” I could not have him make me a suspicion, not when I’ve come this far.
    “Are you afraid you’ll be found out?” he peered pointedly at me.
    “What are you talking about? There’s nothing to be found out!” my voice raised as tension creeped into every muscle.
    “I saw it the minute you skulked up to the bus stop, your whole demeanor screamed Irregular.” He shifted towards me, blocking view from the rest of our company. “It’s okay,” he said in a tone of seriousness, “I’m not sticking around to play out the life they have in mind.”
    Could this boy be real? I blinked several times. Definitely real. “And how do you plan to do that?” curiosity taking down my guard.
    His eyebrow arched upward in mischief, “If you really want to know, I plan on running away.”
    The bus ride flew by fast as Karsen revealed his intricate plan of escape, not very unlike mine. I forgot the presence of everyone else as I spilled all the details to my plan as well. Excitement built in my chest as words tumbled out of my mouth. At first, I was reluctant to the idea of a partner. But as Karsen convinced me, I began to see the benefits of a partner. By the end of the bus ride we had a plan formulated. It wasn’t difficult as I had spent months preparing escape routes and security measures, as it turns out so did he. We decided that the best time to escape would be at lunch, during the gate guard shift change. At precisely 12:07, the guard would leave his booth and would be replaced within three minutes. In those three minutes, Karsen and I would have to have cut through the fence (I already packed the tools for all of this), coat the cameras with spray-paint, and disable the electric charge within the guard booth. After doing all this, there would be a 5 minute space when the guard would be settling into his shift, for us to sprint across the field and swim across the river. Once past the river, everything else was just details. No one has ever reached the river, so the council never trained or equipped the guards to deal with the situation of someone successfully crossing. No one was prepared, because no one has ever escaped.
    The hours flew by quickly as Dependant Professors discussed the dynamics of a relationship, and the duties of each part in a marriage. I watched the hands of the clock move, counting down the hours, building my suspense. Finally the lunch hour bell rung. It was time. My books jostled in my backpack as I sped towards the fountain where Karsen and I agreed to meet. As I neared the fountain I paused. What if he was one of them? What if it was an ambush? I scanned the faces of all the students, looking for inconsistencies. I spotted Karsen, as he smiled and waved at me. I walked over, putting on a smile as I flung my arms around his neck. We would be less noticed if we acted like the infected, we had decided earlier. He reached down and interlocked his fingers with mine, as I felt our palms sweaty with anticipation. Strolling towards the greenway, leading up to the fence, we took time to check that there was no one near the fence. Miles and miles of fence stretched as far as the eye could see, as it now loomed over our heads. Glancing up at the booth, Karsen pulled out the wire cutters. The clock starts counting down now. I took care making my way to the guard booth, so I would be unnoticed. I shakily turned the knob, as I let out an unsteady breath. I pulled the door open and glanced inside. The stairway was dark, but empty. I stepped inside and slowly ascended the stairs, careful not to make any noise. Reaching the booth, I rushed to the control board and quickly found the switch. Motioning to Karsen, I turned to leave. At that moment, something smashed into the side of my head, and I stumbled back blindly.
    A stocky figure stood in front of me, the butt of his gun raised above his head as he readied to bring it down. Warm liquid dripped down my face, as the taste of metal filled my mouth. I rolled to the left as his arm came down, missing by less than an inch. This was my moment. I’ve never hit anyone before, but there was no other choice. Pushing off of the ground I stepped towards the guard. Swinging my arm, I thrust my pointer finger into his eye-socket, and watched as he fell to the ground and dropping his gun, clutching his face in agony. I grabbed his gun and swung it with all my strength, towards his over-sized head, feeling the shock travel up my arms as it made contact. I ran from the room and stumbled down the stairs, hoping Karsen had managed to cut an opening.
    Karsen’s eyes met mine, full of horror as he took in my wound. Saying nothing I picked up my bag and turned towards him and nodded. He lead the way through the gate, sprinting towards the field as the scream of sirens ratted us out. Losing my footing, I stumbled forward, but Karsen caught my arm/ Pulling me up, we took a moment to glance behind us. The greenway was full of military vehicles, slowly creeping their way towards us. Karsen grabbed my hand and took off again. Feeling light-headed it was all I could do to place one foot in front of the other. The river was within view, and exhaustion filled my lungs as I gasped for breath. Karsen urgently pulled me towards safety, but the sounds of danger grew louder. Loud bangs sounded. Gun shots? Karsen crumpled to the ground as I fell helplessly beside him. His face contorted with pain, I could no longer see those hopeful eyes. I could now hear voices. Fear registered on Karsen’s face as his complexion ashened. Pulling me up with him, we leaned on each other, each dependant on each other’s strength. Heavy steps brought us closer to our destination, but the noises were inside my ears, drowning out whatever words of encouragement Karsen attempted to utter. Pain ripped through my left arm, as a bullet tore through my flesh. Collapsing all my weight on Karsen, I cried out. We were now at the river bed. “Don’t move, you will be shot on sight,” a gruff voice commanded. Glancing at Karsen, the mischief I once saw, was now replace with pure, unrefined hatred. He took a step back. “Stop! This is your final warning!” The voice now seemed angry, as if we had done something wrong. My mind spun without direction, all of my senses muffled. I stared up at Karsen, and he looked down at me and smiled.
    “For freedom right, Raina?” He wrapped his arms around me as he pulled me back towards the river. Stumbling backwards, we hit the water. Arms of frigid, wet, darkness enveloped us as the water buried us further into the abyss. I let myself go limp, as I felt Karsen do the same, letting the current take our bodies while streams of metal shots whizzed past and through us. Darkness, then nothing.