Inhalt

Six types of destinies: 1. Intrepidus –fearless people
2. Custodes-keepers of records and history-in charge of the six nations called destinies.
3. Agricolae- peaceful farmers
4. Operarios- laborers, slaves
5. Medocris- average people, kind and unselfish to everyone and everything
6. Principes- government officials and important people

Dubius- undecided, unsolvable, uncertain.
Certus- decided, sure, certain.

Dubius
By: E. L. Smith

Chapter 1

I SIGHED AS I LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW OF THE BUS. It was sprinkling now. I looked over at my brother Tom; he was standing up and holding onto the pole as we rounded our street corner. Tom has dark brown hair that falls over his eyes sometimes, bright blue eyes, and very pale skin. But almost everyone in Medocris has pale skin.
He was so nice, always giving up his seat to someone else. He was definitely a true Medocris. Here in the fifth destiny, everyone is average. There’s nothing special about Medocris, we are just all nice to everyone and unselfish.
Tom is a natural at it, always helping people whenever he gets the chance. Today is the day before final exams. The exams will predict which destiny you are sent to, and Tom will surly choose Medocris. I’m like his complete opposite. I forget to help people, and I’m not anything like a true Medocris. I sighed, and gently rose and exited the bus to our street.
The ground is now dotted with dark spots from the rain. I quickly walked behind Tom, while he helped a lady carry her groceries up the street. He led the way up to her house, and came jogging back to me. He grinned hugely, as he approached me.
I grinned back at him, “Tom, do you think mom and dad will be home for dinner tonight?” His expression grew puzzled, “I don’t know, maybe. They said that they were going to work overtime at the volunteer center.” He shrugged, and we walked towards our house.
The volunteer center is a rundown building in the center of town. They take in those who are homeless from around the whole country, and the people who are kicked out of their destinies. Everyone is required to volunteer there, but since everyone here in Medocris is selfless and kind, they are willingly doing it. I don’t think there was ever a time someone was forced to work there.
My parents volunteer there every day after work for a few hours each day, then all day on the weekends. I tried working there once, but I couldn’t stand to look at all the homeless people, and those who have nowhere else to go. I know I’m not a true Medocris, but I try to be one.
I shrugged it off; I quickened my pace to match Tom’s. He was still smiling, so I smiled to. We walked up the driveway to our house. Tom stopped just I stepped up to the door, and grabbed the hidden key from under the flower pot and unlocked the door.
Tom strolled down the hall to his room and closed the door. He’s probably off to read or research something like usual. My parents don’t know that he does that though, in Medocris, its considered self-indulgence like celebrating your birthday or a holiday. We just treat it like any ordinary day. Or looking in a mirror to admire yourself, or to buy things you don’t really need. If you do any of these things, its considered being selfless. But that doesn’t stop me or my brother.
I strode into the kitchen to start dinner. I had just taken the chicken and bread out of the oven when Tom came in. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans. He smelled the chicken and smiled. “I see you’ve made your famous lemon pepper chicken.” I smiled back at him, “Yeah, do you think we should wait for them, or put a plate aside for them.” He shrugged, and meandered to the cabinets were we keep the plates. “Let’s just eat, and we can always put a plate for them. I just received a message on the I.M.S that they weren’t going to be back for another two hours.” I nodded. The I.M.S is an instant messaging system that each house has. Our parents probably sent it from the one at the volunteer center.
I started to dish out their plates first, and then I did Tom’s plate. He thanked me, and dug in. I had just dished out my plate when Tom spoke. “So Theresa, are you ready for the final exams tomorrow?” my eyes widened in panic and my breathing accelerated. I shook my head, “No, not really. Are you?” he grinned, “Yeah, I think I know which one I’ll choose.” I knew immediately which, he’ll definitely choose Medocris. “Well good luck tomorrow.” And with that, he gently rose, cleared his place, and headed back to his room.
I sighed, final exams. It felt like just yesterday that I turned eighteen. My birthday was actually only two weeks ago, but we didn’t celebrate it. My stomach lurched and I didn’t feel like eating anymore. I put away my parent’s plates, and headed to my room.
I closed the door behind me, and shuffled to my window. I threw it open even though it was raining, and watched the sun set. I saw my parents coming up the drive, and quickly shut it. I threw on a plain grey t-shirt and shorts, and got into bed.
I listened to my parents in the house, they were eating and discussing about the final exams tomorrow. I heard my mother say my name, and heard her coming down the hall to check on us. I quickly threw the covers over my head, slowed my heart beat, and listened. I heard my door creak open, and my mother’s head peak in and then she closed my door. I sighed, and rolled over and closed my eyes. I slowly fell asleep, wondering what final exams will be like.
In my dream, my parents are hand cuffed to a chair. The room has mirrors all along its walls. I stare at myself before I realize what’s going on. Standing over my parents is a man with a mask on. I can’t see his face; only that he is muscular, and holding two syringes full of a black liquid. I try to move from where I am, but a glass cylinder has blocked me in the corner. I watch helplessly as the masked man presses the syringes into their necks. Then they start twitching, which changes to thrashing and screaming.
I stare in disbelief as my parents thrash from the pain, and slowly die in front of my eyes. I scream until my voice is gone, and bang against the glass. But it just won’t break. When my parents are slumped over dead, the masked man turns to me and removes his mask. But just as he pulls it off, I wake up.
I’m in my clean organized room, lying in my bed, half-asleep and half-awake. I wiped the sweat from my brow, and glance at the clock. It reads just after six. I groan, and get to my feet. Soon I’m dressed in a grey t-shirt, jeans, and a grey sweatshirt, the usual attire for our destiny. I padded off to the kitchen to start breakfast.
I pull a frying pan, eggs, and ham out, and place them on the table. I start the coffee machine, and toaster. I fry up the eggs, and ham. I had just started on the pancakes when Tom strolled in looking tired, but still smiling. “Hey, need any help?” he said, yawning hugely. I smiled back, “I’ve just about finished, unless you would like to make mother’s tea?” I said teasing, I saw him cringing as soon as I said it. He laughed, “Okay, I’ll go see if they’re awake yet.” He meandered down the hall to their room. Chicken I muttered, if mother doesn’t get her tea exactly right, let’s just say she’s not a morning person. The tea wakes her up, and if it’s wrong then she’ll be cranky. I popped in her tea bag, and waited exactly the right amount of time before pulling it out. I placed it in her spot and father’s coffee in his. Then I poured Tom some orange juice and myself some milk.
I had just placed the last of the food on the table when Tom brought in our parents. I smiled at them, and served them their breakfast. “Thank you Theresa, and Tom.” He winked at me before taking a bit of toast. “Thank you as well Theresa, and Tom.” She said, I nodded and started on my eggs. “Well I’ve got to go, see you kiddos Tonight.” My father said, “Really Marceline, do you have to go already?” She smiled at him, “Yes Edward, and so do you.” They smiled at each other, and I quickly cleared the table as they left. Soon only Tom and I were left.
“So, you ready for final exams yet?” Tom asked as he washed the dishes. I dried a few and put them away before answering. I shook my head, “Not one bit you?” he smiled back at me with his one dimpled grin. “I guess so, I wonder what’s going to happen?” I shrugged, “I don’t know.” We went back to washing and drying, my words still hung in the air.
Before long it was time to go to school, and we walked out to the bus stop in silence. The bus pulled up and we both got on and sat across from each other, not talking.
By the time we had gotten to school, I was frightened and shaking about today’s exams. I turned to Tom, and hugged him goodbye. “Good luck.” I said as he walked away. I would see him at lunch, and then it would be time for the exams. I shuttered at the thought as I made my way to my first class.
The day flew by quickly because of the shortened schedule, and by now it was lunch time. I grabbed my tray and headed to the table in the corner. The Medocris table, and sat next to Grace Toll, my best friend here. She didn’t seem to notice me; she was staring at the Intrepidus table. They were laughing and shouting like they didn’t have a care in the world. The other tables, the Custodes, the Agricolae, the Operarios, and the Principes all were talking, but softly to themselves.
Grace soon realized I was there, and she perked up. “Hey Theresa, are you ready for the final exams today?” she sounded scared, so I said, “No, not at all. I’m terrified. But what about you?” She panicked, “Yes, I am.” Her voice cracked, and sounded like she was lying. I just waved it off as Tom sat across for us. Just then the intercom came on and announced the four people from each destiny to go for their final exams. And to my surprise they called Grace’s name. Shocked, she got to her feet, and headed down the hall to the exam rooms.
I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn’t called yet. I stared at my soup, and said nothing. What felt like hours, was only thirty minutes until the intercom came on again and called Tom’s name. He rose silently, and I stared at him. “Good luck, I love you. See you tonight.” He nodded, and followed the hall to the exam rooms. I sighed; I was now all alone at the table. Only a handful was actually left in the room still. I waited; the whole room was now silent. Once I heard the familiar boom of the intercom, I rose silently like Tom and down the hall I went.
The others were mainly Intrepidus, some were Custodes, but I on the other hand was the only Medocris. We walked silently into the room, and took our seats in our destiny rows. I was the only one in my row, I felt lonely. The room was huge; it had high ceilings, and was spotless white. Three people stood at the front of the room in red gowns, and had clipboards. The one in the middle of the trio stepped forward and spoke.
“Welcome to the indication room. Those of you who are Intrepidus will follow Candice. Those of you who are Custodes will follow James. And if you’re Medocris you’ll follow me. Any questions?” She asked, and everyone lined up and marched out of there to the separate rooms to the side. I stood by her side. “Hello my name is Gloria, you must be Theresa Grey. Tom’s sister.” She said as she glanced up from her clipboard. I nodded, “Yes, that’s me.” I shook her hand, and followed her to the side room.
Inside the room were all mirrors, and a single chair. She saw, my face, and said, “This is the simulator. It simulates the test, and what choices you make. You will be strapped to the chair and the glasses will create the test based on your choices. So why don’t you hop on in and we will get started.” She smiled at me, and I nervously sat down and was strapped in. She placed the glasses on my eyes and I saw nothing at first, but then. . .
I’m standing in the middle of an arena; people are sitting on bleachers surrounding me. The ground is muddy, and there is a black table holding three items. There is a knife, a piece of meat, and Taser. All strange objects for the exam, until I see why I need them. The door to the arena opened, and a tiger appeared. It was growling low in its throat, and pacing. Then there was a voice that said, “Choose one, and only one.” My thought was if I grab the knife I would have to kill it, the meat would only preoccupy it. Then the teaser would only stun it. I couldn’t kill it though; I just slumped to the soft ground and let it come after me.
What felt like hours, the tiger finally got close enough for me to smell its horrid breath; it was hot and smelled of death. I opened my eyes, and was face to face with it. It growled once more and then sat down in my lap and started licking my face. I smiled back at it, and started to pat its head. “See you’re not a horrible monster.” I said, and the moment I said it a little boy fell from the crowd into the arena. I screamed as the tiger turned its attention to him. I, without thinking, lunged at the tiger to stop them from attacking the boy.
The boy and tiger disappeared, and in their place was a masked man. He was standing over me, and suddenly the voice said, “Now for this part you will fight him off and escape the maze.” I thought, but we are in an arena. But as soon as I thought that, the place shifted to a maze of green hedges, and the masked man was still standing over me.
Suddenly he grabbed me and pulled me to my legs. I screamed, thrashed, and then remembered something from a book I read before. If someone ever grabs you, go for the most sensitive parts and to scream fire. I then stepped on his foot hard, and then jabbed my elbow deep into his stomach. He doubled over and I ran towards the tree in the middle of the maze. I climbed it and scouted for the way out.
I spotted it and headed down that path, watching for the masked man. He was still down, so I run faster and out into an open field. There's that voice again, “You are now at the third and final exam. Choose who to shot. You must kill someone.” I glace around, there’s a table with a loaded gun, and I’m face to face with two masked men and they each hold guns and people with bags over their heads. The men remove the bags and I’m now faced with my brother and a stranger. It’s obvious of who to choose, but it’s a test of my selfishness.
Before I know it I race forward and grab the gun. Tom says, “No Natalie you can’t do this.” He starts to cry and I close my eyes and press the cool barrel to my temple. I stare at my brother, and pull the trigger.

Chapter 2

I heard the sound of the gun go off, but I didn’t feel it. I looked around, I’m back at the exam room, and Gloria, her face is in shock. I just know that I did something wrong, I’ll probably end up a homeless person, kicked out of my destiny.
“What’s wrong, did I not do it right?” I asked, my voiced cracked. Sweat poured down my face and my breathing accelerated. She just shook her head like nothing was wrong, but her earlier expression said otherwise. “Nope, just need to go get the results.” She left and I sat there waiting for her to return. I was getting so anxious that I started to bit my nails.
It felt like eternity before she ever came back. She opened the door slowly; I knew something was wrong by the set of her lips. “Well I’ve got some interesting news for you.” I shuddered, I knew something was wrong. My hands started to shake violently, “What did the results say?” She looked at me soberly. She pursed her lips and said, “Theresa, your test results are indecisive. Do you know what that means?” I, wide eyed, shook my head.
She sighed, “What I’m about to tell you is not to be repeated, okay?” I nodded, “Your exam results were split between Intrepidus, Medocris, Custodes, and Principes. This means that you are what they call Dubius.” I was utterly baffled, what does this mean? “What does Dubius mean?” She looked around nervously.
“Dubius means unsolvable. It means that you are a unique individual that is multi-personal. You are gifted, and you can’t tell anyone, understand? The government would have you executed if they found out.” I nodded, a million thoughts raced through my head. I innocently asked, “Why?” She sighed, “Because you tested for more than one destiny, and that means you are a threat to them. They believe that people like you are different; they don’t understand why there are people like you. They are afraid of you.”
I stared at her shocked, I couldn’t believe this. “I think you should go, and don’t mention any of this to anyone ever. You have a lot to think about for the Choosing ceremony. Good luck Theresa Grey.” I nodded, and exited the room. Oh my I thought, what was I going to do? I know which one I should choose, but I know deep down that I’m not selfless enough, and that I wouldn’t be ever. I had to clear my head, so I rounded the corner, and rushed out of the school. I caught Tom’s face as I hurried out the door, and it was a mix of confusion and worry. I smiled weakly at him and sprinted out into the square.
I swiftly moved around people, and for once my short height and small body helped me move quickly and easily through the crowd. I looked down the whole time, not meeting anyone’s eyes. I decided against riding the bus home, so I cut through the wooded area around the bus loading docks.
The wooded area was dense and untouched because the government tells us of all the dangerous animals and homeless people live, so naturally nobody would see me here. I meandered down a dirt trail, and eventually emerged on the street next to mine. Sweat was pouring down my face; I wiped my forehead and walked down the sidewalk. Nobody was out today; it was so quiet that I could hear the city generators on the outskirts of the wooded area.
I hiked up the walkway to my house and grabbed the key form under the flower pot. I unlocked the door, and strolled into my room and flopped down on my bed. My parents were still at work, no doubt that they were already at the volunteer center. And Tom would be home soon, so I would need to explain to him why I left early, and start dinner.
I groaned, and jumped up, thinking of things to make for dinner. I entered the kitchen, and grabbed a frying pan. I decided on making plain chicken breast, broiled potatoes, and gruel. A very common meal in Medocris, and my father’s favorite, but he doesn’t say anything because we try to avoid vanity, greed, envy, and not being selfless. And not to favor things especially. But I can tell that he likes it, so maybe he wouldn’t think about what we are going to choose tomorrow.
I had just finished dishing out everyone’s plates when Tom and my parents walked through the door. I smiled and said, “Hey guys, dinner is ready.” My father smiled back at me, and said, “Thank you Theresa.” He put his coat away, and my mother sat down at the seat across from Tom. Tom took his seat and my father did as well, leaving me standing in the kitchen, assembling the drinks. I slowly moved around the table, placing the drinks down careful not to spill them.
Then I took my seat, and started on my chicken, warily cutting it into small bit size pieces. I had just placed my first bit into my mouth when my father cleared his throat. “So, how did your tests go today?” I grew nervous, and waited for Tom to say something. “Well I know which Destiny I’m going to choose.” He said with a smile, and turned to me. Oh no, my turn. I took a quick sip of water, and cleared my throat. “I think I know which one to choose as well.” My parents smiled, and my mother spoke. “Well we are glad with whatever you choose.” And with that my father nodded, and everyone resumed eating.
It was Tom’s turn to do the dishes, so I said goodnight, and went to my room. I couldn’t believe this, what was I going to do. If I choose Medocris, I wouldn’t be able to be selfless enough, and if I don’t I will never see my family again, not until visitation day, which is in four weeks.
I decided that my only way to choose was my family, they needed me, and as the saying goes, “Destiny is your future, and family is your past.” It means that your destiny should be first, and your family isn’t. Once you leave, there is no going back. I don’t think I could leave them and give up my life. I would just marry Grace’s brother or someone else on my block, and live happily ever after in Medocris with my family.
I awake to an alarm going off, todays the day. I was going to choose Medocris and live the rest of my life here. I sighed, was it truly better to choose the life you live of the life you want to live? Always watching the Interpidus always doing whatever they want, the Custodes always getting to read whatever they want and learn, or even the Principes deciding our rules and getting a say in what happens all over the country.
Oh well, I won’t ever know what that’s like. I shrugged, and dressed in a grey tee, jeans, and my grey tennis shoes. I jogged downstairs, and saw that everyone was already eating. “Good morning everyone.” I said smiling as I sat down, and filled my plate with eggs and plain toast. “Good morning.” Everyone said back, and I dug in.
“So, today is a big day. You guys have a lot to think about and what you are going to choose.” Tom and I nod as father continues. “Your mother and I have to get there early to help set up.” Okay, so when they leave I’m sure Tom will ask me what happened, I’ve kind of been avoiding him. But I don’t know what to tell him, Gloria told me not to tell anyone though. I nodded to them, and wiped my mouth on my napkin.
“Okay, see you guys later, love you.” And with that my father opened the door for my mother. She thanked him, and said goodbye to us and left. Tom smiled at them as they left, and when they were out of site, he whirled around to face me. My face fell; I knew what he was going to ask me. But instead of asking he meerly said, "I have to go in early. I'll see you there." He hugged me and then left. Wow, he seems different. I wonder what was with Tom today?

Chapter Three
The opening ceremonies began as i waited in line with Tom. The ceremony was goning to last about an hour before we were to be introduced. the process is short but will last a few hours with all of us here. i patiently waited while we started the process.

The process of getting a new Destiny is simple. in order to give up your past life you must get onto the stage. once up there they have 6 boxes with items that relate to each destiny. in the Intrepidus there is a fire, in custodes there is a book. in the Aricolae there is cornicopia, in operarios is a plain white rag, in Medocris there is a stone and in principes there is water. each represents the significants of each destiny.

They started to call our names, starting with the end of the alphabet. so tom would go before me. we waited and before i knew it tom was next. we watched the boy infront of us go as he broke the egg over the Custodes box. uh oh, the first transfer of the ceremony. those who transfer are frowned upon by most people at first, but after a while no one remembers.

They called tom and he walked out on stage and grabbed an egg. the egg represents new life and when broen over the boxes they signify new life has been chosen. i watched tom walk over to the boxes looking swiftly betweem the custodes and the medocris. he broke the egg and i heard many people gasp and i starred in horror. my selfless brother, the nicest person i know has choosen custodes!!!!!

Completely shocked i felt like my whole world was crashing down. i watched as he exited the stage, omg, how could this of happened? my brother, the one more selfless, nicer, and more likely to be medocris than me. now how could i leave mom and dad? i sighed, and relaized how loud it was in here. everyone in the audience was in an uproar. oh God tom, what have you done, and wat will i do?

the end for now, will add more later

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