1

Chapter 1

“Frade,” they called, “ Katherine Frade. Please step forward.”

It was happening. Today was the final stage of quest initiation. Where we'd finally see what our lives will shape into. Today's the day, the day I've been waiting for, for eighteen years. All these years of wondering are over. I am finally going to see if I will have a successful job, a successful pairing, a successful life. You see, our country is different from the others. We are successful in everything we do with little or no mistakes at all. In our society, there is no room for mistakes. At eighteen, each person is given a specific job according to their talents and/or education path. But not everyone fits in with our way of life. If you get three infractions, you are sent beyond the walls where you must try to find a new way to live in the outside world. In other words, you are escorted out of the country, and basically must forget everything you have been taught. We find the teachings of the outside world irrelevant. The children in our country attend job training until they are sixteen. At sixteen, they take a test which will give them a job to specialize in for the next two years.

That's where I am. I have taken my test and specialized in genetic mutation. One of the highest job positions offered in the country. Our country owes our success to the genetic specialists. They have shaped our world into an organized society where learning is the number one priority. Today, I am going to be given a quest. I need to complete my quest to prove I am capable of working in the genetic department and to receive my pair. I love our society. They give us everything we need to succeed and all we have to do is follow the path we were born to take. The path our country has made for us. The path where we don't need to stress over which classes to take or which person we will choose to marry. Because our country is so advanced, we don't need to go through that process of picking which job to choose, or who we should marry. All we need to do is complete our quest. The quest I am about to receive as soon as I walk up these steps. One step. Two steps. Three steps, and I'm standing in front of the council waiting to receive the quest I've been waiting for my whole life.

“Katherine Frade, genetic mutation trainee. Correct?”

“Yes ma'am.” I managed to get the words out although I was nervously tugging at the hem of my shirt.

"It looks as though you've completed all requirements to receive your quest."

"I believe I have."

"Please step towards the basin and drop your locket into the water.”

I held my breath as I unclasped my locket and dropped it into the water. Each citizen has a locket that was assigned to them at the age of 5. It is no ordinary locket. The locket holds inside a data chip which tracks all of our academic achievements and engraved onto the outside are three parallel lines. The three lines being our emblem; each line symbolizes the thing we must focus on. Only three, three things needed for a successful life. Knowledge, family, and of course unity in our country. With each line you lose, you grow weaker, smaller, and let's face it, if there was to be a war, our country would be helpless against the inhumane ways of the outside world. Our border walls protect us and shut us out from the world.

My locket disintegrates within seconds and my instructions appear: You are to leave the country. No one will know of your disappearance; we'll cover it. You'll be escorted to a genetic research lab on the border of Nimbria. You’ll receive your next set of instructions once you get there. Along the way, it will be your  mission to find your pairing. As of right now, half of a black circle should appear on the inside of your right ankle. Only you and your pairing have this symbol. FAILURE IN THIS MISSION IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND WILL BE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.

"You have seen your quest. Anyone who aids you will also be executed if this quest fails. I encourage you to trust no one unless you find your pair. In which case, secrets will only build up a wall preventing you from keeping that family line, Miss Frade."

Great. One minute into my quest and I feel as though I've already failed. Trust no one until I find my pair. How in Nimbria was I supposed to do that? Nimbria is a pretty decent sized country. One person out of millions? That could take decades! Eighteen years I've been waiting for this quest and only now have I realized the chance of success! Why had I tested so high? My quest would have been so much more practical if I got an average score. What have I gotten myself into?

 

2

 Chapter 2

"Oh no!" I had just been taken into one of the most advanced genetic laboratories in all of Nimbria and I had already broken something... way to prove yourself Katherine. On the verge of

tears, I gathered up all the glass from the broken beakers and let out of a sigh of relief. The beakers had been empty. I hadn't damaged any important data, well, for now at least...

"Making yourself at home then?" I turned and there he was. The greatest scientist the world has ever seen.

"M-Mr. Lageur... I'm very sorry sir. I didn’t--"

"Oh don't worry dear! Those were old beakers anyway. I've been meaning to get rid of them." He winked.

“Oh I’m terribly sorry sir. I just--”

“It’s alright dear. Just empty beakers,” he smiled, “I’ve heard you’re on your way out of Nimbria.”

“Oh yes sir. I’ve just received my quest.” Unfortunately…

“Oh! May I ask what it involved?”

“Actually sir, I’m not allowed to say…” I frowned.

“Must be important then. You must be a very determined young lady.” he chuckled, cleaning up the broken glass.

“I’m sorry sir, I don’t see what’s funny.”

“You remind of one of my former students. Quite the prodigy.” The light in the professor’s eyes seemed to have gone out on that thought. I decided not to ask about it, although I was curious…

* * *    

A couple days have passed since I arrived at the laboratory, and I’m still overjoyed everyday to find myself here. Except…I know it is only a temporary feeling. I will be cleared to pass through

Nimbria’s gates in three days, and then, in a sense, I will be thrown to the dogs. I have a feeling I’m going to be alone for quite awhile, with no one to trust except for my pair. How in the world was I supposed to find him?

“Katherine! We need you in here.” Nia, the professor’s assistant, called.

“Yes ma’am?” Maybe this will take my mind off things.

“We’re conducting a new experiment on these bunnies. We want to manipulate the eyes. Come, come.”  

“So we’re--” CRASH. The door to the laboratory flew off of the hinges and people ran in. There was about twenty of them, dressed all in black, carrying weapons, all of which, were pointed at us.

“Give us the girl.” said a tall man. He looked as if he were the leader.

“Excuse me, what girl?”  Nia asked.

“Don’t play dumb with me girl! Hand her over or we’ll take more!” the man screamed.

“Sir I really don’t--”

“The girl! The one that seeks to destroy us!” he looked around the room, pausing to glare at each of us, “YOU!” he had pointed at me. “Her! It’s her.” The people in black ran towards me.

“I--” I tried to run but they had already gotten me. What they planned to do, I didn’t know, but judging from the look in their eyes, it wasn’t good for me.

 

3

 Chapter 3

I woke up handcuffed, in the back of a van surrounded by the people in black.

“She’s up,” a lady said as she approached me, “So how are you?”

“H--How am I?” I stuttered. The lady laughed and pointed at the handcuffs.

“Trust me honey, we don’t want to be doing that to you. We’re here to help.”  They’re here to help? With my quest? No… they can’t be. I can’t get help until I find my pair.  The council told me to be aware. “I encourage you to trust no one unless you find your pair.”  I can’t trust them.

“I’m sorry, I’m terribly confused.” I tried my best to look as innocent as possible.

“Oh don’t worry dear, I would be too. Let me explain. Fifty-six years ago, the United States had a civil war. One half of the country wanted more order and the other half wanted more freedom. Technology came to destroy the country. People wouldn’t speak face-to-face, children would be taught at home online, and tensions grew high as the amount of people willing to work fell low. The half of the country that wanted more order formed a group called The Alignment. The Alignment worked to restore order in the country but the citizens rebelled. It became an all out war. The death count wouldn’t stop rising. The two sides finally made an agreement to split the country in half. Nimbria became the country of order, and the U.S. became the land of… well, freedom. Tension between the citizens of Nimbria grew as laws became stricter. A small group of the original Alignment got together and The Alignment was formed again. This time wanting to rebel against Nimbria. They thought The Council was taking advantage of the citizens who would obey every command. The Alignment seeked to overthrow The Council, and make Nimbria a more livable country. The citizens had turned to drones, not thinking for themselves and following all laws without question. The Alignment wanted this changed so they took action. They began to plan their attack in weekly meetings, but they were found out, and thrown out of Nimbria.  The Alignment was left on the border of the two countries with no land or power. Now, The Alignment has a small city underground, neither the U.S. or Nimbria knows about. That’s where we’re taking you.” She smiled, “I’m Leona by the way.”

“Katherine,” she shook my hand and laughed.

“You look confused Katherine.”

“I’m trying to understand. You are part of The Alignment then?”

“Yes, and please try to be a little more open dear. You Nimbrians are always so stiff.”

“I’ll try.” I looked down at my shoes. There was a bit of dirt on them. That would have gotten me an infraction in Nimbria…maybe she’s right. I might need to loosen up after all, but can I trust them?

 

4

Chapter 4

We arrived at The Alignment base three hours later;  I was surprised when everyone seemed to know exactly who I was. People would stop and stare at me, whispering to their friends.

“Leona,” I whispered, “Why are they all staring?”

“Most of them have never seen a Nimbrian hun, and those who have, don’t associate Nimbrians with good memories,” She said while putting her am around me, as if to protect me. Although, it didn’t look like any of them had intentions to hurt me. They just looked at me in awe. I tried to ignore the stares as we kept walking through the base halls.

The base was amazing. The people here took pride in being a part of The Alignment by helping to make the base an enjoyable place to live. There were quirky, colorful decorations everywhere, lighting up the cement walls. There were obviously no windows in the base but they somehow captured the essence of sunlight, illuminating the base with a new type of lightbulb they had invented. At the end of the hall was a room acting as their city hall. The leader of The Alignment was sitting inside waiting.

“Hello Miss Frade,” She smiled and shook my hand, “I’m Katarina Cage.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I suppose you don’t know why you’re here, correct?”

“Yes ma’am,” I nodded.

“Let me fill you in. After Nimbria kicked us out, we built our base here. Both the Nimbrians and the U.S. are unaware of our position here, but they will soon find out. The genetic engineers in Nimbria are on the verge of creating a kind of . . . monster. You were on your way to help to control the project.”

“M-me?”

“Yes. After you arrived at the genetic laboratory, you were going to be sent to a secret laboratory in the U.S. There, you would’ve helped discover how to make a successful serum to finish ‘the monster.’ We want you to help us destroy the serum.”

“D-destroy the serum. . . why should I trust you. I was told not to trust anyone.”

“It is your choice, but you will not be going back to Nimbria. We have told you too much.”

“What would happen if I did help to destroy the serum?” Betray Nimbria? How could I?

“After the serum is destroyed, we plan to take down Nimbria. They plan on genetically altering everyone in the country and we won’t allow it.”

“Genetically altering everyone? Why?”

“They want complete control of the citizens. Any sign of rebellion must be destroyed. That’s why we were thrown out of Nimbria. . . because we had a mind of our own.”

“What will I do about my quest? I was supposed to find my pair. . . and if I fail, they will kill me.” I wipe the tears from my eyes. I’ve made up my mind. I trust no one. Not Nimbria. Not The Alignment. No one.

“You have to make a choice. Join us to help destroy Nimbria, or let them take control. If you refuse, Nimbria will use that monster to threaten the citizens, and once the entire country is genetically altered, we would have no chance of winning a war against the Nimbrian drones. Either way, people will die.”

“I’ll join you.”

 

5

Chapter 5

The next day I started physical training for our upcoming trip to the U.S. I had to learn hand-to-hand combat along with how to shoot a gun. I was pretty good with the gun but I was one of the poorest in the group regarding hand-to-hand combat. I’m short and I’ve had no experience with fighting, as it would give you an infraction in Nimbria.

“Katherine, follow me please,” Oh great. I get to go get one on one lessons with the instructor. He took me to a back room in the gym and handed me two five pound weights, “Get lifting Frade.”

“Uh sir, I’ve never really--”

“Just lift. Let’s go. We need to get you back out there and you need to start winning some fights.” I started lifting . . . and didn’t stop until an hour later, “Alright, that’s enough of that. Follow me.” Oh no. He’s going to have me run?! “Alright Frade. Give me two miles in less than twenty minutes and you’re done for the day.” He patted me on the back and sat down, “Close your mouth and get going girl.”  So I did.

“M-mr. Keegan, I’m finished,” I panted, shutting off the treadmill.

“Time?”

“Eighteen minutes flat.”

“Good, good. Well you’re free then. Training tomorrow begins at eight a.m. Don’t be late.”

I trudged back to my room, feeling my muscles burn with every step. I didn’t bother to change my clothes and fell asleep right away.

I woke up the next morning feeling well rested and full of energy. I looked at the time and went to take a shower. It’s already nine-- wait. Training! I quickly changed and grabbed my stuff, sprinting to the training room. I could feel every muscle in my body burn as i ran through the halls. I got to the training room . . . and it was empty. “Hello? Mr. Keegan?” I called as I walked through the room.

“Everyone went home Frade,” He was sitting in the back of the room with his arms crossed, staring me down, “You were supposed to be here an hour ago.”

“I know sir. I just woke up a little bit ago. I forgot to set an alarm last night.”

“Forgot to set an alarm? That’s your excuse? You’re going to run a mile for every five minutes you were late. That’s twelve miles Frade. I suggest you get started.” Twelve miles?! He must be joking. Well he’s still staring at me, so I guess not. I got on the treadmill and started running, “You better be done in less than three hours. I’ll be waiting in the weight room.”

I finished my twelve miles in two and a half hours. I may have paused the treadmill a couple times but Mr. Keegan doesn’t need to know that. I gathered up my stuff and started walking to the weight room. “Ew is that all sweat?” I turned around and saw The tall boy from The Alliance van. He had brown hair and eyes as blue as the sky.

“Does it matter?” I rolled my eyes, “Who are you anyway?”

“I’m Cade Pell. Nice to meet you too,” he laughed.

“Well Cade, next time you meet someone, try not to make fun of them,” I glared at him and he put his hands up laughing.

“Hey, hey. I was just asking. I admire a girl who works hard.”

“I had to run because I was late. Do you admire that?”

“No need to get snappy, I like sleep too. It’s alright, it happens to everyone. You’ll get better getting up.”

“Then why was Mr. Keegan so angry with me?”

“He’s just giving you a hard time Kat.” I’ve hardly met him and he’s already given me a nickname. Who does he think he is?

“My name is Katherine,” I turned on my heel and walked out of the room.

“Okay, well I’ll see you around Katherine,” he called.

 

6

Chapter 6

Three weeks later, I was told to report to the training room at eight p.m. and tell no one. I was on my way when I heard him jogging after me.

“What do you want Cade?”

“To know where you’re going.” “Sorry Cade, I really wish I could tell you but sadly, I can’t. Oh darn,” I shrugged and he looked puzzled, “I hope you can sense my sarcasm.”

“No, no I can. I’m just surprised that you, serious as you are, tried to be funny,” he smirked and I punched him playfully, “You’re going to the training room aren’t you?”

“H--How. Cade how did you know?”

“I’m going too. I think it’s about the trip to the U.S.”

“Do you think they’re cancelling it?”

“Kat, they’ve been working towards destroying Nimbria for fifty years. There is no way they’ll cancel the trip.”

* * *

“You’re canceling the trip?!” Both of us yelled.

“Children please--”

“We’re both sixteen,” I spat.

“Oh a bit stubborn, are we?” Ms. Cage smirked. Cade stepped in front of me and crossed his arms.

“Kat has a reason to be upset. We’ve been training for this for three weeks.”

“We aren’t ready Mr. Pell. We cannot--”

“What do you mean we aren’t ready?” Cade shouted throwing his arms in the air.

“Cade calm--” he grabbed my shoulders and looked me right in the eye.

“Don’t try to tell me to calm down. You know we’re ready Kat. You know how hard we’ve been training.”

“Cade if she doesn’t think we’re ready--”

“No Kat, what are you saying? What happened to the strong, stubborn Kat that was just demanding to know why the trip was canceled?” He’s right. We’ve worked to hard to back down now. I turned back to Ms. Cage.

“We’re going to the U.S. whether or not it’s authorized.”

“See it’s funny Miss. Frade, I don’t remember putting you in charge of this mission. Can you tell me who did?”

“I did,” I smiled and walked out of the room. Cade came laughing behind me.

“Kat you should’ve seen her face when you left! She didn’t know what to do,” He was laughing so hard his face was bright red.

“Cade it’s not really that funny.”

“No you don’t understand. No one has ever talked back to the almighty Katarina Cage,” He put air quotes when he said her name, “She really didn’t know what to do. You stunned her.”

“Great. I just ruined any chances we had of changing her mind.”

“No no no. This is great. You have to keep up your attitude. She can’t control you. I don’t know how the Nimbrians controlled you honestly.”

“I’m not hard to deal with,” I argued and he raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah okay. That’s why you are here ‘in charge’ of the mission.”

“Stop. Just come to my room, we need a plan.”

 

7

Chapter 7

“You’re room is boring Kat,” He stood in the doorway looking at my room which was completely empty besides the bed and dresser.

“If you don’t remember, I was kidnapped and didn’t get a chance to pack.”

“I can help you decorate.”

“Thanks Cade but I barely have enough money for food.”

“No really. My uncle owns a small shop about five minutes from here.”

“We really should be discussing what to do about the mission.”

“Come on Kat. It’ll be quick. We’ll go look around, buy some decorations, and we can talk about the mission when we get back.”

“I don’t know Cade.”

“I didn’t hear a no!” He grabbed my hand and started jogging through the hall.

“Cade.”

“Stop complaining! You need to loosen up.”

* * *

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 15.04.2014

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This book is dedicated to my best friend punching fist for inspiring me to write again.