Year 1

Chapter 2

Don't get too worked up, I repeat, over and over in my head. What happened yesterday and what will happen today? I can't stop thinking about it. That strange boy who wants me to go who knows where to see who knows what. It's absolutely ridiculous! He could be leading me to Death for all I know! He did mention that I wasn't afraid of Death, so maybe that's what he is going to show me. No matter how hard I try, I have no clue about where were going. He made no sense and he was so absurd. I could die today... not that I'm afraid.

I climb out of my window hesitantly. It's not every day I appear naked in front of a boy I've never seen before on an empty mountain, then go off with him to some random place. But something, some part of me wants to go. A small gut feeling that I have tells me that whatever is there that he wants to show me, is important and I need to see it.

I step back inside. I feel like some good luck would come in handy in a situation like this. I have nothing really special in possession so I decide to grab my brown leather jacket with large pockets and slip Bani in one of them. He'll be my good luck charm.

When I got home yesterday, I decided that Bani would be a good name for my little white rabbit. Since yesterday, he's gotten more accustomed to me. I keep him in a box in my room as a make-shift cage and I give him food. Sometimes, when he needs exercise, I let him out of the box to run around my room.

With Bani in my pocket, squirming a little, I climb out without a sound and start running. I pass my flag with my eyes focused straight ahead. I go off my beaten path to about where I think I branched off yesterday. I run through the thick trees and leaves, until after some time, to my right, I see the clearing. I run for it but I stop right at the tree line. I quickly look around for Iil. He's not to be seen.

I go towards the pond and sit near the edge of the pond on the grass. I peer into my pocket and I see Bani, staring up at me, eager to come out. “No. I can't let you out. You'll run away.”

I barely have time to finish the last word before something attacks me from behind. I instinctively throw my elbow back as hard as I can and I hit something soft. I turn around to find I hit Iil in the stomach. He chuckles and clutches his gut, “You got to stop surprising me, girl.”

I look at him with a straight face. “And what if I don't want to?”

“Well, then I'm going to learn a lot about you.” He sits down next to me on the grass, a little too close for comfort, and peers into my pocket.

“Aw, you brought him along?”

“I couldn't leave him alone at home all day.” I lie. I don't want him to know Bani is actually here as my charm of good luck. I don't want him to know that I'm nervous.

“Understandable.” He smiles at me. “What did you name it?”

“Bani.” I say.

“How cute.”

And then silence. I can hear a cricket chirp ten feet away.

To break this silence, he says, “Well, we should be off now.” I don't even have time to brush myself off before he grabs my hand and dashes off, dragging me along with him. I try to make myself focus on my running, and soon, I am no longer behind him, but running along side him, then in front of him, then I am the one dragging him along. I can hear him panting behind me, trying to keep up.

After quite a bit of running, we get onto a path and decide it's time for a break. He leans up against a tree and says between breaths, “So let's see. You're not afraid of Death, or your elders. You have a mean punch and you can run like a cheetah.”

I can't believe he actually made a list. It's absurd by how much he cares about these stupid things. “Did I get everything?” He asks me.

“Why do you care so much?” I respond.

“I don't know. Because I can, I guess.” I ponder at his answer. “That's a stupid reason.” I conclude.

“A stupid reason for a stupid creep.”

“Aw, I thought you got over that.” he says.

“It happened yesterday, not five years ago!”

“Good point.”

“Let's keep moving.” I insist.

“Okay.” He says. His breath is controlled now.

“Which way?” I ask.

He points in the direction we were running in.

I grab his hand. Now that I've seen how he runs, I don't think he wouldn't be able to keep up if I wasn't pulling him along.

“Ready?” I ask.

“Ready.” I look in front of me and as soon as I set my eyes on the space in front of us, I dart off, which catches Iil off guard but he recovers. We storm through the trees as he points right, off the beaten track. I start to feel the slightest of inclines in the ground. And I adjust my strides, from quick and short to long and powerful as I make it up the familiar incline I've done so many times before.

My coat is starting to make me sweat and I think of taking it off until I remember the small weight in my left pocket and what is inside. I push through and completely immerse myself in my running.

A little while later, we make it to a small clearing and sit to rest on the ground.

“Half of the fun about running is that it doesn't last forever, and that you have to rest once in a while.” I say once I catch my breath, but when I hear no response, or even a snide comment, I turn to look where Iil should be but no one is there. I was so focused on running, I didn't even realize his hand slipped out of mine. How stupid of me.

I start to panic a little bit, breaking my rule not to get too caught up in anything, and dart back into the trees. Suddenly, I see a figure, far beyond in the trees, as it jogs up into view. I wait a bit before he comes to rest near me. “What happened?” I ask, arms crossed.

“I got stabbed!” He screams sarcastically at me. “What do you think happened?”

“Well, I can see why you don't come up here much.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, I mean, you're incredibly slow.” I say.

“Shut up.” he sneers at me, almost spitting the words out.

“Come on.” I reply, stretching my hand out towards him.

He hasn't quite caught his breath yet but he takes my hand anyway and we walk back to the clearing.

“Let's rest for a little while.” he says.

We both collapse beside each other against a big tree. I didn't realize I was so tired until I sat down and closed my eyes.

Suddenly, I have an idea. My eyes light up and I decide to make a small loop with my rope. As I hold the other end, I carefully slip the loop of rope around Bani's head and it's a perfect fit. It's snug but not choking. I let Bani out and he immediately tries to run off but then feels the rope round his neck and restrains himself. Iil chuckles and I giggle at Bani's struggle to break free. Then I realize that this might be the first time me and Iil have gotten along. We aren't speaking to each other, and that's probably the reason why were getting along.

After some time, Bani stops struggling against the rope and decides to just enjoy his time out of my pocket, hopping and skipping about as far as the rope would let him.

I let out a sigh. I always thought not doing anything was boring, but now, I find it quite relaxing.

“Hey.” I say. I want to start a conversation.

“Yeah?”

“What is it exactly you're showing me?”

“I can't tell you just yet, but I know you are going to love it.” I am not satisfied. I prod.

“It has something to do about my fearlessness isn't it?”

“And she's smart.” He smirks but then his face goes slack. “And, yes. It has all to do with that.”

At that, I sit quietly and think more about what it could be. I also think about Earth, and humans and weather I believe they're real, because I've noticed I haven't made an opinion yet. Then, I start thinking about home and my siblings and my parents and I wonder if they are panicking or if they called the police or if they're searching for me. I think about a million different things without coming to a conclusion on any one of them.

The last thing I see is Bani peacefully munching on some grass and his white fur, as my vision descends into darkness.

...

I awake to the cold breeze of the summer sunset. The air is cool and refreshing and—sunset! I quickly get up to shake Iil awake but he's not there and neither is Bani. I stand up, frantically looking around for Bani, but then I feel a familiar weight in my left pocket. I look inside and he's there, sleeping, and I nearly woke him up. My rope is in a neat coil next to where I slept and Iil is no where to be seen. I look around for him, searching in the trees and near where we rested. I begin feeling very alone and isolated. “Iil?” I croak.

As I come to my senses, my attention switches from Iil's absence to the setting sun. It's getting dark, and cold and I'm miles from home. I try and think. What to do, what to do? I pace back and forth.

Ever since I left for this journey, I've been letting panic and concern wash over me more and more. That can't be any good for me.

I force myself to calm down as best I can and think,

“What's the first thing I need? Light? Okay then. A fire. I need some firewood...” I mumble to myself and start collecting little twigs around my feet but then a familiar voice comes from behind me.

“It's okay, I'm already on it.” I whip around to find a boy with jet black hair carrying some logs of wood. I immediately relax.

“Well, you're not that fast but you're pretty strong, I'll give you that.”

He looks at me and the end of his mouth curls up a little. “Flattery get's you no where, girl.”

“I wasn't flattering you. I was observing.” I say, mimicking the words he used yesterday at the pond.

He chuckles a bit and puts down the firewood. I put in my twigs and we manage to light a fire with some matches he had in his pocket and settle in for the night.

Later that night, when Iil is fast asleep, I start speaking to Eddard. I haven't spoken to him since the indecent at the pond, but I feel like what has been bugging me all day needs to be said.

“Eddard, I have to be honest with you, I'm not sure I trust him. I can't help but feel uneasy about wherever he's taking me. He's hiding too much and I wonder if going with him was the right decision.”

Of course, Eddard can't answer back but I'd like to think that if he were a Bean, he would. He would listen to me babble on and on about this and that and I would listen to him and we would be the best of friends. Much better friends than me and this creep that calls himself Iil, that's for sure.

I lay my head down on the ground and even though it's just dirt and rock, it feels somehow comforting. I close my eyes and right before I drift off, I mutter, “Goodnight, Eddard. Keep me safe.” And then, nothing.

END OF CHAPTER 2

2: Year 1 Chapter 1

THE 30 DAY TRIAL

By: Angela Mellark

Prologue

I can't think of the last time I was sad. It seemed to have never happened. Of course, it did happen. Or so my mother would tell me. Maybe I am always sad but I just don't know it. Well, like my mother always says, “It's never good to get too caught up in anything!” I always tried to follow that advice, even if she might not always do the same. If I were to drop my ice cream, I wouldn't be sad or concerned. If a family pet were to die, I would hold back my emotions until I feel nothing at all. That is how I stayed happy all of my life, I guess. Every experience, just making me stronger to deal with these kinds of emotions, not that I was ever weak. Or so it only seems. I'd like to know what it's like to be sad. Maybe then, being happy wouldn't seem so bad.

===

I've always believed in fate. It's the only thing I know that's real in this world.

===

Year 1

Chapter 1

 

I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. I should get up. Mother will come and scold me soon. She says if I stay in one place for too long I'll go stiff, then I'll go weak, then next thing I know, I'll wind up dead.

I recite that phrase over in my head. I hear her little words of wisdom almost constantly whenever she's around. “Don't eat to much of this!” or, “Don't do to much of that!”. All for what? I'm not entirely sure yet. My parents love Life. But with such love for Life, comes great fear for Death. We've developed a code, a formula, if you will, for keeping our species alive for as long as possible. It is said that great suffering comes after you die. You are tortured and beaten until fear takes over your body and you cry for eternity. Or so they say.

My people want nothing more than to create a good image for Life and a bad one for Death. But I think I might be different. I am not afraid of Death. In fact, I don't think I'm afraid of anything. Maybe that's a good thing. I guess I'll find out, sooner or later.

I sit up, and run my fingers through my long, silver hair. My mother always envied my hair for some reason. She said it looked just like Life itself. To me it just looks like silver, almost metallic even.

I quickly get up from the bed, take a seat at my mirror and start braiding my hair. When I finish, I slip on my black tank top and my black shorts. I think I'll go climbing today, so I grab my rope and slip the coil through one of my belt loops.

I always love to climb. There's a mountain, I call it Eddard, just a little ways off from our farm. I can't count how many times I've reached the top. And every single time I went back to that mountain, I went up a different way than the last. Mother and father says that I shouldn't go anywhere near that mountain. They tell me that I might fall off, scrape my knee, damage myself, and then where will that get me? Death, that's where.

Yet another one of their 'friendly' reminders that Death is “always around the corner” and “we've got to make sure we make the most of what we have”. They keep telling me these things, and maybe I would listen, if I wasn't the youngest, and considering the fact that they're barely ever home. My parents work in the city. In fact, almost everyone's parents work in the city. My people dedicate urban areas for work, and farm land for homes. Everyone is assigned a specific crop to grow, or produce to harvest. We have an apple orchard. Oh yes, and a mountain.

I walk into the kitchen to find my brothers and sisters gallivanting around the table, doing who knows what, chasing who knows who, screaming nonsense at each other. My mother and father sit at the table, quietly reading the morning newspaper. I sit down next to them, right before my brother can steal my seat. I have four brothers and three sisters. And they're all wild.

My sister, Fala, comes up to me, nods to my rope and says, “You're going climbing again.” I quickly put my finger to my lips and she nods. She may be just as bad as the others, but Fala knows when something is not to be said aloud.

I catch a glimpse of the headline of my fathers newspaper. There are new discoveries of Earth, and quotes from important politicians on whether Earth is real, or if this is just another hoax the Labbies are brewing from their beakers. Labbie is slang for scientist, though no one says 'scientist' anymore. They are very well known for making up stories just to get the slightest bit of attention in the news.

“Fame. That's all they want.” -- George Mitchel

“Where's the proof?” -- Ronald Smithson

“I have hope.” -- Samuel James

All these people who I do not care to know about talking about something so mysterious. My mother and father don't believe in Earth. They say it's just something that would lead to danger, if not, Death. “Another planet is all we need. Who do they think they are? Suggesting such non-sense.” My mother would say.

“Krown is the only planet with life on it and that's the one I have my feet on!” My father would say. They that say Earth is just beyond our galaxy, that it's populated with creatures called 'humans' and that we might be able to communicate with them... some day.

“What are humans anyway?” Elec, my eldest brother, would ask my mother. “Nonexistent.” My mother would reply. Probably the most frightening thing about humans is that they say that look very similar to us Beans. The only difference is that they have circles in their eyes, and those circles can come in many different colours. Brown, green, blue, grey, hazel. I can't imagine any kind of shape in my eyes. And I don't see why eyes need to have colour. I like to think that humans are real. I like to think that we aren't alone.

My father looks at me from above his papers. “Morning.” he says. He makes a 'tsk' sound when he sees what I am wearing. “Those clothes again? You know black is the colour of --”

“Of Death, yes, I know.”

“I don't understand why we even let you keep those ugly colours.” He complains.

Before I can say anything, he gets up, folds his newspaper and heads for the door, pausing to call my mother. “Margret, work! Let's go!”

“All right, all right.” My mother gets up from her chair, leans across the table to give me a kiss on the forehead, and says “Be good.” then leaves.

As soon as they do, I run off to my room again. The large window in my room has the most perfect view of Eddard. I climb out of my window and take off running toward the mountain. I love to run. Makes me feel free. Like I don't have to worry about my parents, or responsibilities, or my siblings, or even Death. I try and be as care free as I can these days. The death tolls are increasing these past few decades and adults are encouraged to have large families, to keep the population sustained. We don't know why people keep dying. Death just comes to us, for valid reasons, but extremely frequently. We wish we knew why, but we don't. Maybe that's why we are so afraid of Death. Maybe we're afraid of Death because it is the unknown. But, like I said, I am not afraid of Death.

I soon reach my flag, or rather, one of my shirts tied to a stick stuck in the ground. It signifies the beginning Eddard's land and that I am the only soul allowed on it.

I like to think that me and Eddard would be best friends, that is, if he was a Bean, and not a mountain. I take the my usual path at first, then go left off my beaten track. After about half and hour of running through the thick trees, with breaks along the way of course, I find a massive clearing.

I take some time to look around the clearing, and see what there is to see. The clearing is about five hundred meters wide and about a kilometre long.

I crouch down next to the entrance of a near by rabbit hole, and peer inside. To my surprise, a small white rabbit flies out and nearly runs right into my face, if I hadn't dodged the little guy sooner. I quickly grasp at him as he runs past me. He slips out of my grasp and I follow him back into the trees. He's fast, but he's only young, and looks like he hasn't had much time to run around. I, however, have.

I quickly catch up to the small rabbit and leap to catch him. When I catch him, I quickly loosen my grip a bit, but still keep it firm and carry him back to the clearing.

When I get back, I lift up the hem of my tank top to create a sort of pouch for the little rabbit to stay in. I hold up the hem of my shirt to keep him in my pouch as I walk over to the pond at the other end of the clearing.

As I get closer, I see that the water is clean and shimmering from the sun. There are many fish in the pond and it looks fairly deep enough to swim in. I carefully remove my tank top without letting the rabbit escape. I fold up the corners of my top and tie them together with the spare hair elastic I had in my pocket. If I had a long stick, I could put it under the knot and it would be like a homeless mans purse.

I quickly take off my shorts and under garments. I rarely look at myself, but now, as I catch a glimpse of my naked stomach, it reminds me that I am only ten years old, short, skinny and flat chested. Mother said I wont be like that for long, although I don't know what she meant by that. I dive into the pond and even though the water is cold, I submerge my head into the cool, dark place. I swim to the deeper end and I am surprised at how long I can hold my brea--

Just as the thought comes into my mind, I feel the need for air, I quickly swim back up to the surface and gasp for air until I've caught my breath and I go down again. This time, I quickly dive down, kicking my legs and rotating my arms. I explore the rocks and the sand for a little while before it's time to go up again.

I stay in the pond for about two and a half hours until I'm sure I've discovered every inch of it. When I rise up out of the water for the last time, I shake myself dry. My braid is still in decent shape, so I leave it in. I find a nice spot on the grass to sit and dry off in the sun.

I close my eyes and think about Earth and how, maybe, it has ponds like this too. Maybe we are not all that different and, if Earth is real, if we could help each other. I'd like to think that would go well with my people, but in all honesty, I don't think Beans are the kind that are really up for it.

All of a sudden, I hear the snap of a twig and I quickly get up and spin around.

“Who's there?” I say into the trees where I heard the sound. Then I laugh. Who else would be here but animals? I am the only Bean who's ever step foot on Eddard, as far as I know.

“Wow, all this Earth non-sense is really making me paranoid.” I mumble to myself. And I'm about to turn around when I hear a voice. A boy's voice.

“You're not paranoid.” He emerges out of the trees and I scream. I scream so loud, the sound pierces the air and hundreds of birds fly out of their trees and flee into the sky. I dive head first into the lake to hide my naked body from the strange boy. When my head surfaces and I make eye contact with him, I yell at him. “What are you doing on my mountain!? Get out of here!” I grab my clothes, except for my top, and put them on under the water. He just laughs. Now that I get a good look at him, he's not much older than me, maybe one, two years older. He has short, jet black hair that looks like a summers night sky but without the stars. He has tanned skin and is fairly skinny. He wears a red shirt, dark blue vest, grey shorts and like me, is bare foot. “Your mountain, eh?” His voice, now more clear, is smooth and confident. “Well, then, I must say you got yourself a pretty fine mountain.” He says, looking at the scenery.

Now clothed, but wet, I climb out of the pond. I think of putting my top on, since I am only in my under shirt and shorts, but I remember the rabbit inside the fold so just hold the bundle in my hands.

“What makes you think you can randomly show up on my mountain?” I demand, emphasizing the word 'my', “And then start having a conversation with me while I'm stark naked!?” I screech at the word 'naked'. Who does this guy think he is? I have no idea who he is and I've never seen him before in my life.

“Well, I was wandering around in my backyard and something struck me. That mountain is right there. So why don't I climb it?”

He lives on the other side of Eddard? I never knew there was anything back there. But that might be mostly because I've never been there myself.

He continues, “I wandered aimlessly around and came across this clearing and then I saw you swimming in the pond and--”
“So you were spying on me!?” I interrupt.

“Not spying, observing.” He replies.

“How long have you been there!?” This boy is getting on my nerves real fast.

“I don't know,” he mumbles. “Half an hour or so--”

“You were spying on me for half an hour!?”

At this, I walk up to him, so I am less than two feet away from him and slap him right across his face. “You creep!” He laughs again. I am beginning to hate his laugh. “Wow. So she's not afraid of Death, OR her elders.” He says with a grin.

“What makes you think I'm not afraid of Death?” I squint at him.

“Well, for one, you're up here by yourself on this pretty huge mountain. And two, because though you seemed you like swimming in the pond, part of you was, I don't know, bored-looking, I guess.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” I sneer at him.

“Well it was like you weren't fully enjoying it. But I don't think it was the pond you were bored of.”

I am still holding the rabbit tucked away in my top. He notices it.

“What's that?” He says when he sees it squirming.

“None of your business, that's what!” I say, holding it back from his reach.

“Aw, come on! Let me see it, please?” And then he starts doing some strange things. Weird and strange things, more like it. He starts making puppy dog eyes at me and he starts whimpering too, and pouts his bottom lip. I've never seen anyone act like this, so I don't know how to react. I just stay still, staring at him in utter confusion.

I guess he saw the bewildered look on my face because he stopped the whimpering but the strange eyes and his pouted lip are still there. After it's clear he wont quit it, I decide I've had enough of this nonsense.

“It's a rabbit! It's nothing special. Plus, I can't let it out of my shirt or it'll run off. I need to take it home.”

“Why?” He says.

“Well,” I have to pause for a moment. He's so absurd. “Because I want to.”

“Do your parents know?” He prods.

“It's just a rabbit. They don't have to know.”

“They don't have to know about what?” he asks.

“The rabbit, that's what, you stupid creep!” I cannot believe this guy.

“No, I'm not talking about the rabbit anymore.” He shakes his head and rephrases his question. “Do your parents know your not afraid of Death?” I squint at him.

“Why do you care?”

“Because this is a big deal. And if you really are fearless of Death, then I want you to come with me.”

“What? No! Absolutely not! I don't even know you.” He is making less and less sense by the second.

“Alright, fine.” He folds his arms and sits down on the grass, cross-legged, looking up at me.

I hesitantly sit down too and place the rabbit in my lap. “I'm Iil.” He begins.

“Ray.” I answer.

“Pretty name.” He says.

“Thanks.” I reply.

“Nothing to say about my name?”

“Yeah. How do you spell it?” He explains it to me.

“Okay.” I say.

“I'm twelve years old. And you?” He asks. I don't know what he's doing or where he's going with this, but I decide to play along.

“Ten.” I answer. He just nods.

“I have three brothers and one sister.” he continues. A slightly smaller family than mine.

“Four brothers and three sisters.” I reply. Another nod.

“My parents are Life lovers.” He says, almost spitting out the words.

“Same.” I answer. His eyes light up at this.

“Really?” I don't know what could be so special about that, but I don't ask about it.

He gets up and unfolds his arms. He reaches down at me and I pick up my rabbit in one hand and grab his hand in my other and he pulls me up.

“There.” he says. “Now we're not strangers.” I don't say anything. He's so ridiculous. I've never met anyone like him.

“Again, I'd like you to come with me. Maybe not today. But tomorrow. I want to show you something that you might be interested in.”

I think I should ask, so I do, but he just tells me it's a surprise

“Right here. Same time tomorrow. Got it?” He asks.

I nod. And with that, he dashes off into the thick trees. I shake my head to clear any confusion left. Don't get too worked up, I remind myself. I walk back home with my rabbit in my hands, still squirming but less now. I wonder what I'll name it.

 

END OF CHAPTER 1