《The Watcher's Call》


 Chapter 1: A Birthday To Remember

    "Gooooood morning, Terras Three! It is currently 0600 on the third day of the lunar cycle. Or, using Old Earth terms, it''s a Saturday. The Capitol building is reading 70¡ã, with the Skywatchers reporting 0% cloudiness. I''m stuck in here as a radio DJ, so y''all should get out there and enjoy the sun while you can. This is Robert White coming to you from AXYZ, the only FM station at the top of the world. As always, thanks for listening, and stay tuned for round 100 of today''s Top Twelve."


    The radio announcer came as he always did; with a bright cheery voice that would echo across the households of millions of Capitol citizens. Many would stir from their slumber to start a new day. Many more would ignore it or hook up the stream to playout systems aboard their ships or cars to listen on their commutes. One of the stirrers, a young boy, slaps at a button on top of a radio. An unfamiliar voice to him is cut off. The boy knew the sounds of Pink Floyd, the more pop-y tunes of Michael Jackson and Carly Rae, and a few alternative bands in between. Yet, the boy could not keep up with the constant deluge of new Old Earth artists playing on the radio. He found the catalog of Old Earth music to be both massive and diverse.


    Like the artists of old, the boy loves music. Posters of old and new artists and their albums line the room. When alone, he would spend hours picking out each small detail of album artwork he sees as surreal. He often holds up Pink Floyd''s album,Animalsas an example of art that stands out to him. He has never seen factories, nor the dark smoke they belch. The Capitol is clean. The Capitol does not bother with such pollutants. He knows this to be unfalteringly true.


    A quick glance out of the curtains show a street that is kept clean and smooth. Compact four seater cars line the designated parallel parking lanes. An unfamiliar car silently passes by the window, only to stop and pull into an empty spot. The boy could not see who it was through the tinted windows. The cars were all the same to him, with their tinted windows, their similar lights, and even the sizes of their wheels. Uniformity for a highly personal thing such as a car always made him feel a bit saddened.


    Slowly, Josh turns himself away and trudges through the messy room. He opens a drawer near the closet drawer and picks out the first shirt he both sees and likes. A black lizard-like creature is trudging through a city on fire. Explosives fly through the air from primitive looking flying machines the boy can''t seem to recognize. He admires the artwork on the shirt before quickly changing out of his pajamas. He puts the shirt on and gets a pair of jeans before heading back to the window. He places his hands down on the windowsill, casting his gaze back outside as he often does in the morning.


    A gentle humming sound breaks the stillness of the air around him. His gaze snaps to the source of the sound. Buried under a thin layer of toys in the back right corner of the room, a circular device turns on. Its blue light accents the blue light filtering in from the curtains. Emanating from the topside of the device are two holographic people he recognizes as their parents. They are casted in an easily-adjustable blue light that nearly matches the blue and black wallpaper on his wall. A smile and a wave in his peripheral vision attracts the boy''s gaze and physical presence over. Upon getting close, his brown eyes fall on the two, signaling the projector to begin playing the message.


    "Hello, dear Joshua," The woman says. "Happy fifteenth birthday! We wouldn''t forget the birthday of our only son, now would we? The cruise is going well." She looks to the left at something off camera. "Yes, we will be quick, don''t worry. Er..."


    The man shakes his head at his wife, amused that someone would barge in on them. "Yes, I''ll take over, dear. There is a present in the back left corner that we had delivered by your caretaker. Open it whenever you wish. I have also sent a hundred dollars your way. I hear that the day is going to be nice out, so spend it with Carol. I don''t want you to be cooped up inside all day."


    "Besides, I know that you two like to hang out," His wife adds. "Especially on your birthday. I hope you have a great day, and I wish we were there to see you grow. We''ll be back in a few weeks. We love you." There, the message ends. The hologram disappears as the hum fades and the device shuts off. Before Joshua could even look at the specified corner, the chime of a doorbell brings his gaze to his door. With a sigh, he heads out of his room and into the hallway.


    Lining the hallway walls are pictures of Josh and the family. His mother, a short woman with hair the same color as his eyes, has an arm wrapped around her taller husband. Joshua''s gaze falls on the husband. The man''s white hair is kept well groomed, not unlike Joshua''s own hair. Josh wished he took his father''s grey eyes as well. He is in the center of the picture between the two parents. Both parents are wearing more formal wear that works well with the blue background. He breaks his gaze from the images and continues down the hall. Joshua is not too interested in the other pics revolving around his parent''s home worlds. His mother did not speak of them when she was home all that much. Most of the knowledge Joshua gained was from his father.


    "No, I don''t want to talk about it, Josh. Maybe when you are older"His mother''s words ring in his ears when he steps up to the front door. The white paint has long since chipped, revealing the old wood underneath it. The boy reaches for the knob before he stops and peers through the lens in the door. He recognizes the tall blond haired woman as one of his favorite general education instructors and lets her in.


    "Thank you," She nods at Josh, stepping onto the wood flooring after Josh steps aside. The woman is wearing casual clothing, much unlike the mandated uniforms from the Capitol''s education division. She takes a look around at the living room she stepped into. Two couches line the walls. One faces towards a large flat-screen television, and the other faces toward the kitchen to the woman''s right. A table in front of the latter couch has a vase of tall purple flowers. The stems are thick and dark green, leading up to purple petals that curve down from the pollen in the center. Each white tipped petal ends a third of the way down the stem.


    What draws the woman''s eye is not the flowers, but the vase they are held in. Blue stained glass panes ring the base then fan out with the vase''s curve. Laying between the blue pieces of stained glass are purple pieces. Moving up the vase, the two colors criss-cross in a diamond pattern before it ends with a purple band on the lip of the vase. The teacher walks over to the table and takes a closer look at both the vase and the flowers.


    "Crysanthian flowers, right?" The teacher runs a finger down one of the petals. She picks up on a vague mint scent crossed with a touch of vanilla. Joshua remains where he stands, giving her a quick nod at the question.


    "The Jungle Dandelion, they call it," Joshua says. "Cliffside clearings are full of ''em. Dad said he used to brew the leaves to make a tea specific to that world." Joshua never tried it himself, as he feels that tea is too strong for him. His dad always told him that it left the taste of vanilla beans in his mouth. As always, he believed his father''s words. The boy is not sure what other parts of the flower are useful. He looks on as the teacher licks at her finger, as if to confirm his words. She gives the flower a quizzical look before she looks over at Josh.


    "Interesting taste," His teacher says. "Would be good as an alternative vanilla extract." She glances over at the plant, then looks over at Joshua with a sad smile. "Enough fawning over flora I won''t see in my lifetime. Let''s have a seat and talk about you." She sits in the nearby couch and motions for him to sit with her. He does after a moment of thought.


    Joshua was not sure what all of this was about. To him, the third and fourth days should be for rest. The other days in the lunar cycle should be for work and school. To come in on the third day just to do school work, he presumed, is a violation of the truths he knew of the world. The week was nine days, so two were reserved for the self. He knows this to be unfalteringly true.


    Is she here for praise? Is she here to criticize my work? Maybe she is here for my- no. No, that does not make sense. She would have asked for them.He becomes increasingly nervous. He picks up a pen by the vase and starts to click the button on the back end, stopping only when his teacher shoots him a stare of annoyance. He sets the pen down and sighs. If he wasn''t going to tackle these emotions through physical means, he had to speak up about them. He started out with the most obvious question in his mind: "Why are you here?"


    The teacher did not ask why he took so long to ask that. She flashes him a soft smile. He didn''t know and she knew that. "I am here to give you an option. Shall we say a choice in what you want to go for when you grow up." The confusion in Joshua''s eyes causes her to sigh internally. "Surely, you must know that Capitol citizens get special perks, right?"


    Perks? Yes?His brow furrows in confusion.But why bring it up here? Protection from the outside, a monthly stipend, and the police here don''t warrant a visit.


    "Then I suppose I have to explain things. It''s not a problem at all. They keep it mostly quiet for a reason. This is your fifteenth birthday, correct?" She asks, looking at him.


    Joshua nods. "Yes ma''am, it is my fifteenth."


    "Good. I don''t wish to blindside you with sudden new information, but this is where we are in the current state of affairs. Generally, fifteen year olds are supposed to know what path they want to take in life. Some may become journalists, some may fall into the Capitol orchestras, like your mother. When you were young, you were likely asked what you wanted to be when you grew up. What was your response to that?"


    "I... don''t know, ma''am. I was never asked that. My parents didn''t want to set me up for failure on that part, or so they said." Joshua clicks the pen a few times to stave off feelings of nervousness.


    "A bit of childhood imagination wouldn''t have hurt in that regard though."


    "I had plenty of things to imagine and fantasize about. From my dad''s stories to my mom''s violin filling my ears. The images on the walls as well." Joshua motions to jungle wildlife paintings and white Crysanthian cliffs on the walls. "You care about my development, I know. Keep going. I''m fifteen, so what?"


    "Sixteen years is when the mandatory schooling period is over, Josh." The teacher searches for his reaction and finds no shock there. His first day of school was a gentle reminder that they had one year to go. "A sixteenth birthday is a day of reckoning for students here in the Capitol. Why it is only here, I do not know. I am not here to question the Empire''s education decisions nor their intent. I am merely here as a messenger. Starting today, you have one year to pick your path. Either you continue schooling with us, or you turn to the Empire and find work with them."


    Joshua''s mouth runs dry and his shoulders slump as if a great weight has been placed down on it. This decision should have been a slam dunk in his head. When he was younger, he had a desire to write, to create poetry and plays. His parents were a huge influence there. Now, he isn''t sure why this is so hard for him. He knew what he was going to do, so why is he feeling this right now. Josh''s negative reaction casts doubt over his teacher as well. She too, was expecting him to answer immediately.


    "What''s wrong, Joshua?" She asks. Her voice is initially shaky until she pulls it together.


    "I thought I knew what I was going to do? Could be the threat of permanence as well."


    "Keep in mind that you have a year. That should be enough to sort out whatever is going in your mind." She stands up. "I wish you the best of luck, Joshua." She then departs the house. She gets into her car and drives off, leaving Josh sitting in the room confused.


    What... what do I do?He runs a hand through his hair gently. Without thinking, he puts on his shoes and runs out of the house. The unseasonably cool weather makes him slow down when he approaches the street. The sun was the only warm thing on his head and back. Joshua crosses the street, then pulls out his phone and starts a call.


    A semi-soft female voice is on the other end of the line."Hello?"


    "Hi Carol, it''s Josh again. Let''s meet up in our usual spot? It''s my birthday and I wish to spend it with you."


    "I was going to call you and plan a meet up. Glad you beat me to the punch. I''ll be on my way in fifteen."She hangs up.


    Pocketing his phone, Josh takes a left onto a smaller side street. A sign with a park bench icon nailed onto a lamp post points in the direction he travels. Surprising to him, there aren''t too many people outside. He walks past a mother pushing two kids in a stroller. He gives her a nod as he passes by, though he doesn''t move his gaze to meet her own. Joshua would always stare at the sidewalk to amuse him. Even here, there were cracks in it. Along the way to the park, he passes by a number of apartment complexes spanning fifty to seventy-five floors.


    So many people live in there, it''s scary.He thinks. Josh breaks his gaze from the sidewalk and turns it to the giant beige buildings.You can''t do much without distracting people.Joshua knew that at least half of the people in those buildings work for the government. Free rent with a government job was often cited as the reason normal civilians would even take a job like that.


    I can''t even begin imagining that. Mom''s violin playing could be too loud,Joshua''s mind continues.She would have to practice in the park. At least the park is closer? I guess so. Dad would be fine, I guess. I would be okay too. It''s mom I''m concerned about.His gaze runs over the windows. Most had their blinds drawn down. He picks up snippets of conversations from a few open windows near the bottom floor.


    "Yeah, I''m fine. Thanks for-" A male voice quips from a window near a bottom corner of the building.


    "Billy needs to be picked up from the daycare..." A woman says, a floor above the man. She spots Joshua staring and shuts the window. The boy shifts a bit in place, uncomfortable that he has been spotted. The glimpses into the lives of others ends when Josh disappears past the next building. He turns his focus on the sidewalk ahead of him.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Look at me, being a fool on my own birthday,Josh thinks. He chuckles bitterly, angry and embarrassed that he was caught. He clears his head with a heavy sigh. Joshua''s footsteps quicken on the concrete. The boy was itching to get to the park.


    The sounds of children giggling and screaming draws his gaze to the park merry-go-round. Seeing the flash of the metal bars and the children''s hair blowing in the wind brings comfort to his mind. Joshua quickly crosses the street and breaks into a jog. He passes by the merry-go-round, the swingset, and a series of slides before settling down on a park bench. He rests his hands on his legs and watches the children play.


    A group of children by the slides huddle up for a moment, then break apart and scatter in different directions. The smallest child, a girl, starts chasing after one of the boys. Josh lets out a chuckle as she dives toward the boy and misses.


    It''s like an extreme game of tag,He thinks.God, I don''t want to go back to those times.He shuts out the nostalgia before it could distract him from his birthday. The children were enough for him.


    The girl gets up, then continues to chase the boys. A few clamber onto the jungle gym, dangling out of the reach of the girl. Josh watches her circle around it a few times. She swipes at legs whenever she gets close. A leap from her surprises one of the boys. She ends up tagging the boy on the ankle. She lands and giggles, then sprints away.


    Movement in his peripheral vision attracts his gaze over. A somewhat tall, slim woman is walking up to him. Over her usually casual clothing, she is wearing a jacket with a few pockets in the front and sides. This stuck Josh as a bit odd, but he shrugs it off. Her black hair blows a bit with a gust of the wind, the purple highlights blowing with it. She smiles warmly and waves. She walks over to his bench and looks down at him.


    "So, Josh, what''s it feel like being a year older?" She asks, smiling happy at him.


    Josh meets her smile with a soft one of his own. "Like any normal day, kind of." He was pretty happy Carol was here. It was a short fifteen minutes.


    "But, you get to go out with me for a little while," Carol giggles softly. Joshua smiles and gives her a nod. "So, where do we go-" She pauses, suddenly remembering that she was forgetting something. She reaches into one of her front pockets and pulls out a small box. The wrapping on it is free of wrinkles and other defects, much unlike the presents his parents would wrap up for him. Written on the front is his name, in her characteristic fancy handwriting Joshua recognizes almost right away. Carol offers it up to him and Josh takes it. He looks up at her quizzically.


    "Want to open it up now?" She asks with a smile. Joshua nods and carefully takes apart the wrapping paper and opens the box. Inside it is a silver necklace with a face of a silver wolf attached to it. Laying next to it is a smartwatch he hasn''t really seen before. Unlike every other watch, it is brandless, and there is no port on the side for charging.


    Custom made?He thinks. He puts the watch and the necklace on rather quickly. He pulls out his phone and connects it to the watch. He taps through a set of prompts asking to install apps onto the phone and watch. When he does so, the wolf eyes start to glow red and he hugs Carol.


    "It''s a special occasion. Why wouldn''t I?" She hugs him tightly. "The app and that necklace charge off of kinetic energy quite efficiently. You won''t run out of battery."


    Hence the lack of charging port. Kinetic energy though?He racks his brain for any mentions of that energy source. AC power was struck off as relatively primitive, even though the power distribution systems were dependent on it. He then thought of the much more advanced Capitol and regional power generation systems.How the...? Nah, it''s Carol. She... tends to defy explanation. If I asked, I would be even more perplexed.


    Josh clears his mind. "You always give me really nice gifts," He says. "Let''s walk." He nods at her.


    "I always do, because that''s all I know to give," She responds with a giggle. She follows him as he walks toward a nearby sidewalk. He heads down it, his gaze locks on small houses and apartments.


    "I saw my favorite teacher today. It''s... Saturday, you now," He says.


    Carol falls silent for a moment in thought. "Why''s that?"


    "She came to me with an offer." Josh kicks a rock down the sidewalk, the sound of it calming his mind. "I''m... fifteen, so I was given a year to figure out if I wanted to specialize in civilian work or work in the public sector. At least, that''s what I have extrapolated from her words. Either I work with the Empire, or stay in school."


    Carol pauses a bit. "H-huh... and? Have you made any decisions?" She asks. Josh finds the question a bit absurd.


    "It hasn''t even been an hour. No, not yet," He says.Obviously.He inwardly sighs. "My parents want me to keep going to school. Even though I love my teachers, what they teach me isn''t useful." He shakes his head slightly as he walks.Mostly not useful. The writing courses are... useful.


    "School is rather boring. I''d know. I spent less time in school and more with my friends the older I got."


    "It''s more useless than it is boring. What do you suggest I do?" Josh looks over at her. He hoped she had an answer for him.


    "If I were you, I''d specialize. What kind of work would be the most fun for you?"


    Joshua shrugs, having never thought about the question. "Oh, I don''t know."


    Carol also shrugs. "Maybe coding? It''s fun, always in demand, and the pay is good too."


    Joshua shakes his head and sighs. He looks at the watch, admitting internally that the design and programming behind it is impressive. If she did it herself, it must have taken her a fair amount of time. Or, none at all. He could never be sure. "I have no interest in that." He says.


    She hums a bit in thought. "What do you have an interest in?"


    "Maybe film," He says after a few seconds. This earns him a smile from her.


    "That would be interesting," She agrees. "At least it isn''t the military."


    "True, I guess. I have a year to think it over. I''ll be... good." Josh frowns a bit.


    Carol nods. "Let''s go get some cake." The sudden shift in conversation throws him off slightly.


    "Lead the way!"


    Carol takes the lead and takes a right at the next intersection onto a more major street. As cars pass by, Josh glances at the tinted windows. He wondered what was inside those vehicles. Carol drops down her hand, offering it to him, but he does not see that. Her hand moves to his shoulder and rubs it gently.


    "Why are your parents away anyways?" Carol asks. She knew they were away. He told her that a few days ago.


    "They are still on the cruise," Joshua says.


    "Ah... alright. They are taking a while."


    "Well, they''re going to one of the outer spirals," He quips. "Of course it''d take a while. I have three weeks to myself."


    "Oh nice. Longest I ever got as a kid was three days."


    Josh glances over at her. "When was that?"


    "When I was eighteen in July."


    Josh chuckles a bit. "Well, that must have been a million years ago."


    "Eh, maybe a thousand or so," Carol giggles.


    "You''re old," Josh comments. His age felt insignificant compared to her own.


    "Do I look old?" She looks over at him.


    "No, but you''re still old." Joshua pokes and prods at her arm.


    "At least it isn''t a million!" She giggles.


    "Well, that''d be super old, then."


    "I still feel like I''m 19."


    "You''re 19, but also a billion."


    "I donotwant to be that old." Carol says, watching as Josh kicks a larger rock down the sidewalk. His gaze turns back to the fancier buildings. Stores and shops lined the street. Between them lie nice houses for the owners. Two-story shops containing the store and the owner''s house are scattered here and there. Carol''s gaze is locked towards a semi small restaurant in the distance. Though small, it was one of her most favorite places in the Capitol. A few cars were parked out in the small parking lot next to the restaurant. Most were in reserved spaces.


    "I don''t see you enough," Her voice breaks the silence in the air. "We should get together more often. It''s fun."


    Joshua quickly thinks through all the times he is free. A few pop into his mind. "After school on Fridays?" He asks. He would prefer using the lunar calendar, but he wanted to make it easier for her to understand. He is surprised when she nods.


    "Sounds good with me," She says.


    Josh nods and looks ahead. "How close are we to cake?" He asks.


    She motions to the restaurant. "Almost there."


    His gaze falls on the restaurant she indicated. "I''ve never been here. At least, I think," He comments. The two fall into silence as they finish up the last hundred feet or so. Carol stops in front of the entrance.


    "Best cake in the city," Carol comments.


    "Then I have definitely not been here," He quips.


    "Let''s go in, then. I made a reservation yesterday," She giggles.


    "You thought ahead."


    "I did. Why wouldn''t I?"


    Joshua shrugs as he heads in. Carol walks in next to him and stops at the front. "I''m here for a reservation. Carolina Tatsu." The person behind the counter checks a list in front of her, then leads them to a table near a back corner. She leaves menus for them, then leaves.


    Joshua sits down in the inside chair. Carol sits across from him and peers down at the menu. "Do you want normal food here?" She asks.


    "Just cake," Joshua says with a smile. He turns the menu''s pages over until he sees the cake section. The options of layering, frosting, and the base of the cake overwhelms him at first.


    "Pick whichever one you want the most," Carol says, smiling back at him.


    Joshua scans through the options, takes a deep breath, then hones in on what he wants. A single layer cake sounds good to him. He wanted to keep the stress low for the bakers that had to fulfill their order. His gaze falls on the most popular option on the menu: Chocolate.


    Makes sense to me.He licks his lips. "Chocolate," He says. "A chocolate cake, please."


    "No drink?" Carol asks.


    "No drink."


    "Alright, sounds good to me," Carol closes the menu. Josh mimics her and leans back in his chair. He was running out of things to talk about.


    Well, this is certainly nice,He thinks.Am here with my most favorite person, besides my parents. What am I doing, but not holding discussions with her? What do I have to say? Hm...


    "School is... okay," He says, suddenly breaking the silence. "My writing and painting classes are going well. I''d show my mom what I made if they allowed me to. They don''t."


    "Why don''t they?" Carol asks after a bit of thought.


    "If only I could answer that myself," Joshua sighs. "They are so strict in that regard. I don''t like it. I could rebel, but that could ruin my chances to advance."


    Carol remains silent. She figures he has more to say.


    "My writing class is exempt from that for some reason. I like that one better. We''re between projects at the moment."


    She looks over at him. "Oh?"


    "One set of short stories," Joshua says. "I turned that in on... Earth Wednesday? They''ll have it graded by the following Wednesday. The next is a set of poems. I have been told that the grading is going to be stricter. I don''t know what that is going to be about, to be honest. I think dad is looking forward to reading it."


    "He reads your work?" She asks.


    "Of course," Josh smiles. "I''m his kid. Why wouldn''t he? Besides, writers look to others for inspiration. Or, so I''m told. I haven''t taken his criticisms into account yet."


    Carol tilts her head a little bit. "What does he... tell you?"


    "Well, he says it''s the work of a 14 year old boy. He wasn''t expecting a masterpiece. He pointed out a few... easy spelling errors as well." Josh says. "Generally, it''s light criticism. I think he knows how bad it can get."


    His caretaker nods, flagging down a passing waitress. "We''re ready to order. A layer of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting." She says. The waitress writes it down, then walks away.


    Joshua frowns a bit. "Wasn''t that... rude?"


    "I wouldn''t do it if it was rude. The servers here are a lot more casual than the ones closer to the Capitol building." Carol explains. She motions around the restaurant.


    Joshua takes her suggestion and looks around. He is somewhat surprised to see that the restaurant is pretty much empty, besides the waitstaff. "What, you reserve the whole place?" He asks. "Looks like it to me."


    "Nope," She giggles. "I know when to make a reservation here. We should get our cake in 20 minutes or so. Maybe 15 from how simple you made it." Carol pats at his head.


    "I''m no dog," He chuckles.


    "I know!" Carol giggles with him. She relaxes further into her seat.


    Josh falls into silence. He wasn''t sure what he should say next. Internally, he''s happy he is here. Looking ahead, he is not sure what he will do next. Nervous feelings creep back into him a bit. Gently, he shakes his head.


    "What''s wrong?" Carol asks.


    Drat. She saw the headshake.He grimaces, then sighs. "It''s nothing."


    Carol sighs as well, not willing to let him go like that. She keeps looking at him.


    "Fine. I''m worrying about the decision I am going to make in the future." Josh relents.


    "Don''t. It''s your birthday, Josh." She gives him a reassuring smile. She pats his shoulder gently. Josh''s nervousness fades away when she lifts her hand for the last time, as if it took the feelings with it.


    "I should... relax. It''s my special day," He sighs softly. "You''re right."


    "Don''t apologize either. It''s not your fault." Carol rubs at his head, then closes her eyes and relaxes further.


    "I don''t want you falling asleep on me," Joshua chuckles. "That would be bad."


    She reopens her eyes and giggles. "I know!"


    The two then fall silent once more, retreating into their own thoughts. Carol had very few, while Josh kept his restrained. They snap out of it when a chocolate cake is set in front of them. The waitress places plates, silverware, and a large knife in front of them.


    "If you need anything, feel free to ask," She gives the two a nod, before walking away.


    "Birthday boy gets first slice," Carol giggles.


    "Birthday boy cuts the cake," Joshua quips. He divides the cake into mostly equal eighths. The inconsistency is spotted by Carol, yet she does not comment on it.


    Joshua takes the slice closest to him and puts it on his plate. Carol takes the smallest, then nods at him. Josh tries a small chunk of the cake. The chocolate taste is almost too rich for him. The sugar cut into it enough to tone it down. Carol happily digs into her slice. To him, she doesn''t look bothered by it.


    Good on her for being used to it,He thinks. He takes a bigger chunk out of his slice and eats it. The boy regrets that he didn''t ask for water. As the inside of his mouth was drying up, Carol was slowly eating her slice. She made sure she savored each and every bite. Josh starts cutting his cake into smaller chunks, then starts eating those chunks.


    Ten minutes pass without many words spoken between the two. Half of the cake is gone, and Josh doesn''t feel like he could continue. He asks a waitress for a container to put the cake in, then chuckles. "Sorry to cut this short, Carol. I don''t want to... have it all on one sitting. You can come over and split it with me."


    "Split it with your parents," She says, smiling. "Don''t worry about me coming over to get some. This is your day."


    "You sure about that?" He asks.


    Carol nods. The waitress comes back with a clear top for the cake and a bill. She slides it on, leaves more than enough money on the table, then picks up the plate and leaves. The hostess at the front waves at them as they step outside.


    "Well, Joshua, what next?" She asks. Joshua looks at the time on his new watch and shrugs.


    "I should head back," He admits. "Unless..." He rubs his shoulder gently, sighing. "Unless I get bored again. If I do, would you come over?"


    "Certainly. How about I walk you back?" She smiles, a bit disappointed that he had to cut the meeting so short. She understood why he would do it though. Carol starts to head back the way she came.


    "Thank you, really," Joshua follows her, drawing up to her side and keeping pace with her. They take it slowly, savoring every moment they spend on the sidewalk.


    Joshua''s gaze turns toward the buildings he passed by not even an hour earlier. He liked the variety of the restaurants and shops here. He knew his parents went further out, possibly for the discounts the Capitol all-in-one stores give the family. He never went to the stores while he was on vacation. He knew Carol was more important to him than some store in a district he has never been in.


    I vowed to explore places,He thinks, remembering that his parents wouldn''t allow him out of certain districts on his thirteenth birthday. In response, he told himself that he would step foot in every district, including the Queen''s Court in the northern central district. He knew it was a large task to finish. Sub-districts within the center of the city was often locked off to normal Capitol citizens, even when the Queen allows visitors into her chambers.


    White Pine, Central Square, Mattiston, that''s all,He rubs at his chin. His gaze flicks away from a battered sign that states the shop sells alcohol. He speeds up a bit, uncomfortable by the presence of the shop.Why didn''t I see that earlier?He grunts in annoyance, then slows down until Carol is beside him. Her hand pats his shoulder gently. It comforts him. He nods at her in thanks.


    Twenty minutes pass quickly for the two. Josh kept himself busy kicking rocks and looking at the Capitol citizens they share the sidewalk with. The boy would wave, but only get stares back. The boy never read into the stares too much, otherwise, it would bother him even more. He is much more concerned with those in his age group.


    His gaze flicks from the sidewalk to the small white house Josh calls home. Right there and then, he feels as if he doesn''t want to go back. As always, he turns away from the deepest desires of his heart and enters the confines of his home. Carol gives Josh one last wave before disappearing behind an alleyway, leaving the street as quiet and empty as it was when the sun rose.

 Chapter 2: Imagination

    A low pitched boy''s voice calls out in the middle school cafeteria room, filling a starving Joshua with dread: "Hey ghosthead! Catch," An apple slice whizzes just past Joshua''s forehead and ends up beaning a girl on the cheek. She shifts around food on her plate in thought. After a moment, she glares at Joshua.


    "Leave me alone," She mutters. "I didn''t do anything."


    "It wasn''t me!" Joshua protests. "It was Anderson." The thrower laughs at the girl''s reaction. Anderson ticks all the marks of a middle school bully: Tall, muscular, and has a stare that would intimidate even the most unshakable person in school. Many boys would give in under his brown-eyed stare.


    "Oh no, I missed," Faux shock covers Anderson''s face. He covers his mouth and laughs again. The girl rolls her eyes and goes back to mixing around her peas and carrots.


    This kid, Joshua shakes his head. Trying to figure out how to best deal with the generic school bully was always troublesome for him. Ever since Anderson moved to the Capitol and went to school, Anderson poked fun at Joshua''s appearance. He kept poking fun at him once he knew it was Joshua''s most obvious weakness.


    Joshua''s father always told him that ignoring Anderson would likely not make him go away contrary to what his wife learned. He would then go on to explain that the bullies in his past would double their efforts upon seeing his unflinching gaze. They knew he was being affected by their taunts. All of their abuse culminated into a moment where his family was truly threatened by them. He took it into his own hands and swung a fist at one of their faces, making contact with it much to the shock of the bullies. Since then, they stayed away from him.


    Often, Joshua would wonder about what would happen if he repeated what his father did. Would it feel intensely gratifying to punch his least favorite person in school? He knew and wouldn''t mind that he would get in trouble from it. Whenever he would get close to the breaking point, he would tell himself that violence would not sway Anderson onto a peaceful path. That part he drew from his mother.


    "Bullies? I had no bullies. I didn''t even go to school, son." His mother had said. "The neighborhood was the biggest bully around. Non-violence can be the way to go." After asking him the reason for the question, Joshua changed the subject. Her experiences as a kid did not help him here in his current situation. Neither did the conflicting views his parents had on the bullies.


    Unnaturally, Carol did not seem to help him either. Her response merely confirmed his father''s viewpoint but framed it in a different way. That day, he learned that the bully had power over him. He never looked at Anderson the same since then. His motives were as clear as day: Deprive Joshua of his social capital through any means necessary.


    A shrill ringing fills the air. Joshua scarfs down some of the peas and carrots for a moment He scoops up his bag from the floor and takes the tray to the trash can and throws it away. The white walls offer Joshua nothing to look at as he heads through the doorway into the lengthy school hallways. Teachers he never met sit behind their desks and lecture students in rooms he passes by. Their happiness was of no importance to Joshua, for he did not know them.


    "Hey, watch yourself!" A girl calls out somewhere in front of him. He only stops when his cheek collides with a pink bag. Glitter falls off of it onto the floor. In front of the girl is a taller one staring angrily at her. Feeling as though the situation could get worse, Joshua forces himself in between the two girls.


    "Whatever happened here needs to stop. The anger needs to stop." Joshua keeps his tone level so it was not going to betray his slightly confused feelings. The glares he receives from both parties burn into him. He gently pushes the two away from each other.


    "But that-" The girl behind him protests. She waits for a response from him, then stomps her feet, groans, and trudges away when she does not get it. She glares at both Josh and the taller girl as she passes by. Joshua shrugs off the glare, slipping into the steady stream of students going to class. Whatever the other girl does next is not his concern at the moment.


    Joshua''s fingers twitch when he begins to climb up a flight of stairs. Both the girls'' anger at his interference and Anderson doing what he does best leaves Joshua with all sorts of anxious feelings inside him. Anderson would certainly confront Josh after school if he got under Anderson''s skin. Joshua didn''t think the girls would do that, but the thought that they could does not leave his mind.


    Taking a deep breath, Joshua opens one of the double doors, then steps into the hallway. Cats, dogs, and more exotic Earth animals are plastered on the only open door at the end of the hall to his left. Though uniform, the fluorescent lighting spilling out cuts off whatever negative feelings he had earlier.


    The teacher''s room Joshua steps into is devoid of students. Sitting in the front corner opposite the door is a large desk with a laptop sitting in the center. In front of it sits a stack of graded papers and a grade sheet next to them. Scrawled in the margins are student names. Joshua''s sits towards the bottom where the paper is more wrinkled and hanging over the edge of the table.


    All sorts of maps are scattered around the room''s white walls. Those with similar typography grouped around the door date back centuries to 2110. Taking up each sheet below the title is a map of a specific non-Earth surface. An inset on the bottom corner shows an unfamiliar coordinate system that the maps are bounded by on all sides. Lining up on the side and bottom margins are more specific coordinates in the specified range. Each label on the map has a coordinate attached to it, an entry in the bottom-center table, and an entry in the legend. Each valley, peak, and dip in the surface maps are well represented. Man-made structures take on a highlighted hue that contrasts with the surface colors. Boundaries between planetary or lunar sections are drawn with a yellow color. Printed on strips of paper below each sheet are text strings familiar to Capitol students:


    The Moon: MW-AS056-0-0-3-1


    Mercury: MW-AS056-0-0-1


    Mars: MW-AS056-0-0-4


    Joshua always finds himself looking at the maps. The contours of the Moon''s surface map has long since been burned into his mind. He familiarized himself with the differences between the moon base and its much more complex cousin on Mars. He licks his lips as his gaze sweeps over the Mars central complex. Slowly, he imagines what it is like to be on the surface for the first time.


    <hr>


    Anticipation swells inside me as the blueish hue of the console in front of me reads successful touchdown on a planet I''ve only heard in the news. Beyond the curved window stretches a rust red rocky landscape. Harsh winds blow across the land, pelting the side of the craft with sand particles and setting off some collision sensors. With a tap of a button to my side, I silence the klaxons going off around me.


    Carol, my crewmate, shifts her tall swivel chair to face her own console. Her watchful gaze once plastered on the desolate landscape turns to the very systems that got us here. Our small FTL cruiser, the Blackhawk Mk. 1, was a proper feat of engineering back when FTL was on the rise and hadn''t replaced generic rocket boosters. The pamphlet we were given by the trader boasted space for three crew members, thrust that would get out of Terras III''s atmosphere into orbit in a minute, and an FTL drive that would max out at a blazing 1.01c. Naturally, Carol ripped it out and replaced it with a more contemporary engine. She gives me a soft smile and shuts down the engines. The whine of the life support systems fills the air with a tone I never liked.


    "Time to go," she says. She disappears into a back room. I scour the ship''s status. A computer tells me things I can already see. Though rocky, we found the flattest stretch of land to touch down on. Lone peaks break the red-brown horizon on all sides around us. The telemetry data we received from the onboard computers merely affirms that the place is flat with cold, unfeeling precision. I jot down the external temperature into a notepad to my left.


    With my job done, I enter the back room. This is usually the worst part of the missions for me. Falling into Martian orbit and landing was the easy bit. The staging and planet walk that remained made me feel a little nervous. I look over at the wall to my right and see space suits that look like they were ripped from the Apollo 11 mission. Without any issue, my copilot takes a suit off the wall and holds it in front of me. My shaky hands grasp the front zipper and try to force it down, only for it to stop down toward the center.


    Oh.


    I wiggle the zipper up, then force it down to the bottom, exposing a smooth and bulky interior that is as white as the suit itself is. I can''t help but look at the arrays of sensors weaved into the back of the interior. Begrudgingly, I slip my arms through the bulky sleeves with relative ease. Much to my surprise, the sensors aren''t felt on my back. What is felt is the weight of the life support systems as Carol lets go of the suit. I gasp for air as my chest crashes onto the cold steel floor. The weight on my back binds me to the floor for a moment.


    Okay... okay... you got this. I shake my head a little, upset that I had let this happen. I grasp the floor and shift myself to a kneeling position while ignoring the pain of my arm muscles. I catch my breath after what feels like forever before shakily standing up, face red with embarrassment. She gathers up two helmets and gives me one. Remembering my training, I slip it over my head, then secure it to the rest of my clothing using zippers and velcro flaps. After twisting it counterclockwise, cool air floods the area around my face. I breathe in the slightly stale tasting air and look up to flash Carol a smile. Dangling in front of my gaze is a pair of white gloves and boots. Internal padding in the boots leaves my feet feeling as if they are resting on top of the bathroom rug at home. The gloves offer no such comfort with their slightly stiff and leathery feel.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The weight lessens slightly when Carol''s glove firmly clasps around mine. Whether it was Carol doing what she does best, or it was the confidence swelling inside me, I did not know. Slowly, she leads me out of the cockpit and into the main hallway. Though small, the central room we pass through is inviting. A half-finished game of chess is sitting in the center of the table. Two timers have long since been paused. Adjacent to the table against the wall is a soft couch. A stuffed black Eastern dragon, who we call the guardian of the ship, perches on one of the arms. Its red eyes are turned onto the two bedroom doors in the ship.


    I follow Carol through the room, patting the dragon on the head for good measure before stepping through the back door. The hall here is slightly wider. A console on either end shows internal and external pressures and temperatures. To the right of the back console is a silver-colored lever bolted onto the wall. Carol looks back at me before she pulls it. The door behind us closes and locks with a clicking sound. After a moment, the display on the wall and one toward the bottom corner of my gaze both read the room pressure dropping.


    After a moment or two, a sound of pneumatic hissing fills the air in front of me just before external light floods my field of vision. At first, the light is blinding, so I do the first thing that pops to mind: shut my eyes. As if on a whim, I press forward onto the gently sloping platform until I register that I am on a flat surface. I poke the ground to the left with my boot, then step onto it. Carol''s hand falls onto my shoulder. She gives it a rub and smiles.


    "You''ll get used to it," She says with a giggle. I crack open an eye and find that the blinding light is gone. The second one follows suit. The land around me is as desolate as it was when I was in the ship, if not a little more daunting to my eyes. Ankle high rocks litter the landscape surrounding the ship. We were fortunate enough to land on one of the areas relatively free of rocks. Without much aid from Carol, I spot small landable areas in the direction of the sun''s travel. Somehow, they evaded topographic scans.


    Red dust pelts my helmet at the smallest of gusts. Absentmindedly, I brush away dust caked around the vents on the sides of the support unit. Sans all of the rocks, the surface is slightly loose to walk on. Every step was a drain on my mind. Is the step in front of me safe? Are the rocks I will step on firmly on the ground? Will I lose my footing if I put more pressure on my front leg? My back leg? What will I do if I do fall? What if- no. Josh, focus on the planet.


    With every step, I mutter "focus" as if it would somehow quiet the small, cynical, and dark voice at the back of my mind. Hearing its feeble protestations fills me with a sense of self control and empowerment. I decide that my strides aren''t covering as much ground as I wanted to, so I lengthen them a little. Behind me, the ship gets smaller and smaller. What I don''t expect though, is the desolation of the land to strike.


    There was nothing around me. Besides Carol, no other living being appeared to be here. A cry for help would fall onto no ears. This realization sends a shiver up my spine and emboldens the cold voice within my head. Nobody is here Josh, it taunts. Carol will not save you here.


    "Shut up..." I frustratedly mutter under my breath. I kick some sand, only to be rewarded by it blowing back and hitting my legs.


    None of this is real, Josh, It''s cold words stop me in my tracks. The landscape around me is unbroken, uncorrupted and highly consistent with what I learned in my readings on the planet.


    They are mere books, Joshua. Books contain lies, The voice continues. You aren''t going to believe a dusty, outdated technology, right? Why should you? A book is as true as the author says it is. I ignore the voice. I bend down and grab a fistful of sand. It feels harder than Terras'' beach sand. The grains are larger, more inconsistent in shape, and heavier than I originally expected. A sample I take off the vents is consistent with what is on my hand. I pocket some for later analysis and press on.


    None of this is real, The voice says, louder. I shake my head in defiance. Wake up.


    "No," I reply coldly. "You can''t make me." I await a reply, making it in the form of kicking over a rock to check the underside of it. I brush aside sand in the imprint the rock made. Predictably, more sand is underneath it. "See? This is real."


    No. You are a delusional boy, The voice taunts. I grit my teeth, fighting back rage. You lust for things you do not and cannot have. Wake the hell up.


    "No," I repeat, more forcefully. "You cannot ''wake me up'' as you say. Don''t even try."


    Yes, The voice says with a tone of finality to it. It is not my parent, so why should I listen? Defiantly, I move to take another soil sample but stop as I gaze into the hole I took from. Flooring seems to have covered it up. With a growl, I scratch the floor to get through it.


    "Carol! Come over here!" I shout as I try to pry the flooring away from the hole. I hear no response. I move to get back into a standing position, only for the voice to stop me once more. A feeling of dread eclipses the awe of the planet I once had. I realized that it was right.


    None of this is real. Give the hell up and wake up.


    <hr>


    Joshua jolts into the present day with a gasp. Impulsively, he stands and whirls to face the one person that dares stir him from his daydreaming: Ms. Winter, his teacher. His face, red with anger, contorts into a look of confusion as he sees what stares back at him. For the first time in his life, he sees worry and fear in her eyes. Her bottom lip quivers a bit which further dampens the anger inside of him.


    "D-Daydreaming again, Joshua?" She stammers. Whatever she had seen from him has left a spooked look on her face.


    "Y-yeah I was, ma''am. Sorry," Joshua casts his gaze to the floor.


    "J-Joshua... don''t scare me like that." She shakes her head. She takes a moment to calm down. "You... you''re still allowed to have an active imagination in this room. J-just... t-try not to yell at me a-again. I-I don''t want to attract the neighboring teachers, you know? E-especially Mr. Creek."


    "I-I... yelled at you?" He asks, shock now crossing his face. H-how could I?


    "Y-yes..." She says quietly. "I-I had to close the door, Joshua."


    "I''m s-sorry ma''am," Joshua repeats.


    "I-I forgive you. I''d let you off with a warning, but you-"


    "Are a free thinker, I know. Free thinkers shouldn''t punish others for thinking differently," he says. The change of tone in Winter''s voice brings him relief. She subverted his expectations by not punishing him as well.


    "T-to change the subject to lighter tones... w-what did you dream of?" She asks, swallowing the last of her fear.


    Joshua blinks. "Mars. Mars and how it would be if I was to... step onto the surface and explore."


    "What did you find out?"


    "Emotionally?"


    "That would be a start, Josh."


    "Anxiousness," Joshua shrugs. "Anticipation, mostly. Dealing with my inconsistent mind as well. I am not sure if I''d feel all those things, or if I''m conditioned to believe that. Could be real, but could also be... fake. I''ll never know."


    "Ah ah ah, remember the first rule?" The teacher jabs a finger over to a poster hanging above the whiteboard. In plain block letters over a white background is a poster titled Five Rules for Classroom Students:


    1: Never say never


    2: Try not to be tardy


    3: Learn to recognize your shortcomings


    4: Do not fear asking for help


    5: Respect other people''s individualities


    Don''t be sorry, Joshua, He thinks, keeping his gaze on the poster. His teacher''s words continue to leave a mark on him regardless of what they are. Only his parents and Carol have this effect on him in his life. Don''t... be sorry.


    "You should run off to your desk now. Sorry to cut this... short." His teacher says. A glance at the clock confirms Joshua''s suspicions. He heads to the center-most desk and sits in it. The desk is spacious with room for an open textbook, an open notebook, and a few pencils towards the top. Joshua drags out a large textbook from the cubby below and sets it down on the desk. It wasn''t something he had seen before with its glossy white cover, thick size, and images of feathered and furred alien beasts circled around a planet that looks remarkably like their own: Medium in size, mostly water, and with frozen poles. The northern pole seems mostly non-existent on the image, much unlike the frozen wastelands far to the north. The image of the planet itself feels oddly familiar to Joshua.


    The room around Joshua does not answer any questions in his mind about the planet. There are no maps to match the landmasses to, nor are there any other images of the planet in question hanging on the walls. A quizzical look to the teacher earns him a soft smile. You''ll find out, Her gaze seems to say to him.


    Will I now? He slouches in his chair as he runs his hand over the eerily smooth cover. Flatness appears to be in a school system that favors slightly raised covers wherever images lie. His once tame headspace now teems with the anxiety of change. Physically, Josh keeps it out of the sights of students filing in. If they would stop to listen, they would hear the gentle sounds of a foot tapping on the ground. Joshua shifting in his chair becomes a coded cry for help internally. However small, times were changing for him.


    Over the growing din, the teacher clears her throat. In that brief respite, Joshua shifts into a more proper sitting position. He shifts around the back of his chair a little. The boy takes a moment to unzip his bag and drag out a fairly thick and divided notebook. He opens up the middle section, then flips to a blank page. Joshua produces a pencil from the back pocket of the bag and sets it down toward the back of the desk.


    His gaze catches the teacher crossing over to the front of the central row of desks. She moves her gaze around the room. "May, pay attention," Her eyes narrow at a girl near the back corner. May and her adjacent friend cut their discussion. May glowers at the teacher.


    "I see only three of you discovered the books in your desks. Good job," The teacher brushes her hair with her hand, then shakes her head. "Just keep in mind that it is only for the week. By all means, take the books back to your homes, but do not forget to return them next cycle."


    Next... unit? Joshua thinks. What can it possibly be? He rubs at his chin. The way the Capitol middle schools had their systems set up greatly confused him at the start. Elementary school was just the basics for the whole day: Math, science, reading, and writing. The students had more freedom in middle school but at the cost of student confusion and, for Joshua, a less cohesive learning experience. His choice reigned for half of the day. The other half was down to what the teacher felt like teaching. When the unit bores him, Joshua yearns for freedom. Today was not like those days. Today, he found himself staring curiously at the front of a textbook for a change. Anxiousness for his future turns to excitement for the unit before he even knows what it is.


    The teacher surveys the room one last time. A final clearing of her throat quiets down rouge talkers in the class. She crosses to her desk chair, pulls it to the center of the room, then sits down in it. She rests her hands on her lap as her gaze slowly sweeps across the room.


    Her voice is softer and more subdued as she speaks. "Who here knows where their parents came from?" Every hand in the room shoots up. "Good. Keep them up if you know where your grandparents came from." Murmurs spread through the room as most hands lower. Joshua''s raised hand falls onto the book. His eyebrows are furrowed.


    Where is she going with this exactly? He thinks. He looks to the student to his left. They are as skinny as he is, with the same confusion in their eyes as Joshua''s own.


    "Students," She continues. "We are going to learn about something normally... disallowed by the Queen." She locks onto the gazes of shocked students. The most talkative students in the back of the room are silenced by the teacher''s words. She lets the words hang in the air for a little while. Her gaze remains plastered on their faces.


    "We are going to learn about a small planet called... Earth."