A Sneak Peak into the perspective of Inno from Seeking Incandescence!

“You are going to die.”

            I glance over at Pepper, her blue eyes starting to mist. Her hands shake as she hesitantly picks up her wine glass. A small red drop drips from her cup, bleeding into the white table cloth. Shifting my eyes back to Mother, I lift my own glass and steadily take a sip. I will not show weakness. I am not weak.

            Mother stands with striking posture, her hair a tight red bun, dress sleek and the color of wine. Her cheeks are flushed with passion as she says, “Everyone dies eventually. Today you decide the risks you are willing to take to honor our family. Don’t let fear make your choices.” She points at the center of the dinner table. On cue the silver holographic boxes appear. My mouth goes dry, but I don’t move towards my cup. My hands are shaking. Mother’s blue eyes focus on me. “After dinner Pepper will go first.”

            Teacher pats a napkin to his wet forehead and avoids my gaze. He wears a crisp suit. His stress is painted in thick streaks across his head, but his clear blue eyes reflect Pepper’s gentleness. Father sits, silently typing on his Holo-page, a clear sheet of glass that projects holographic images.  His H-page starts to buzz and chills slowly inch up my neck, causing my body to tremble. We don’t know our parents’ real names.  It’s better we don’t, because they are traitors. That knowledge could get us killed.

Mother glances at the screen blinking in Father’s hand and hurries out of the room to answer the door. Her heels click above us as she pulls open the front door. I can imagine her fake smile as she allows the Elite into our house. Father signals us out of the room as the muffled voices above get loud. Quickly, we move from the dining room to the hidden door behind the framed map of the old world. As Teacher slides the large map away from door, I stare at the old map and think about Pepper’s lecture on how the “Old World” map is really the “New World” map and that we don’t have a world anymore. Teacher roughly drags me out of my thoughts by pushing me through the doorway.

“What do you think that was about?” I whisper to Pepper as we sit in our living space.

“Inno, be quiet,” Pepper whispers as she fiddles with the blue bow in her long blond hair. She wears a short, fluffy blue dress that sets off her eyes.

“Did you make that dress?” My own dress is black and plain, but Pepper never wears the clothes given to us.

“Inno, be quiet.” Her eyes avoid mine.

“I’m tired of the silence.” I look at her expectantly. “Why aren’t you?”

She laces her pale fingers through my dark fingers. “Because we are different. We were born into a world that doesn’t want us and you want to be a part of it.”

“What are you going to pick?”

Pepper lets go of my hand, pulls a pencil from a hidden pocket, and starts to doodle on the hem. “It doesn’t matter, because in the end, they will pick for me.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I snatch the pencil from her. Mother doesn’t allow drawing, and Pepper knows it. Pepper picks at the couch cushion, and the silence between us coils around my throat. I want to tell her we’re not different and that she does have a choice, but that would be a lie.

The law forbids children to know their parents because we are all supposed to be children of our Parent Country. A typical child is bred and sent to an Academy. They are groomed to be mindless creatures, the perfect picture of obedience. In the real world there are no mothers and fathers, only daughters and sons of the country.

Pepper’s real mother and father were caught hording their four children, hiding at the edge of our world in an abandoned Academy. Her mother was put in the breeding facilities and her father escaped. All the children had their memories wiped, but Pepper was immune to the procedure. She was sent to my mother for an experiment on the brain and Mother became so fascinated she fabricated Pepper’s death and brought her here. Mother located Pepper’s father, who we now call Teacher, and made a deal. In exchange for his and Pepper’s lives he was to teach us how to survive when we came of age. It seems too simple, but I can imagine how difficult it was for Mother to get a hold of Teacher and put her trust in an alleged criminal. A crime she committed when she chose to keep me.

            “Inno?” Pepper avoids my eyes and focuses intensely on her hem. “What will you choose?”

            “I… I want…” Carefully I touch my hands to my cheek, rubbing the tear-shaped mole beneath my eye. “Something worth the risk.”

            Her smile is shaded beneath dull eyes. “We will always be different, won’t we?”

            “Different is a good thing,” I attempt to reassure her.

            Pepper shakes her head, causing her hair to brush against her shoulders. “Being different has never been good. Inno, when we get out there… when we are on our own, do not draw attention to yourself.”

            “Girls.” We both look up. “It is time.”

            I grab Pepper’s hand and pull her up alongside me. Her wrist is fragile in my hand. I steal a glance at her frail frame and wonder when she had become so pale.

            As we enter the room, I take in the surroundings. The chairs have been moved into a straight row, but the table still contains the silver boxes. Teacher and Father sit in their chairs with straight backs, one chair on each side of them. Mother stands next to the table, her hands tapping silently on her wrist.

            “We are out of time.” She glances at the silver boxes on the table. “Dinner will have to wait.”

            Pepper and I take our places next to our fathers. My father doesn’t look at me as he clicks his H-page off and stares obediently at Mother, he never looks at me. Teacher picks at the dirt beneath his cracked fingernails.

            Mother hovers one hand over the three boxes, causing them to slowly click open. The first box contains a wilted flower. “Life must be balanced, and the science field gives us that opportunity. Unfortunately, science has become destructive, and if you choose this field you must stop the newest discovery from being implemented.”

            “What discovery?” The words erupt from my mouth before I can contain them.

            Mother purses her thin lips and glares at Teacher. “Um…” He nervously chokes on his words. “Inno, questions are forbidden during the ceremony. Giving more information about a job could cause you to choose for the wrong reasons.”

            Mother nods in agreement. “Moving on.” she motions to the second box that contains chains. “A strong country requires strong individuals. The chains that have kept our society together now oppress us. If you take on this task, you must do whatever it takes to break the chains and bring down the government.”

            “The cost is high,” Pepper mutters.

            I shift my eyes to the third box that contains a bowing dog. “For every strong and balanced job, there must be one willing to serve those who make our world livable.  In a typical society, this task is for the lowest social status. However, it does have its benefits. If you choose this task, you must become my eyes.” Mother breathes in the air around her. “Pepper, stand and make your choice. Understand that whatever you pick will become unavailable to Inno. After you leave in the next seventy-two hours, you will no longer know us. Knowing us could get us all killed. Do you understand?”

            “Yes ma’am.” Pepper steps towards the table and reaches her hand towards the dog. The dog immediately bites her finger drawing thick oozing blood. Pepper doesn’t flinch as each drop of blood smears into the table cloth like my short-lived wine tasting. My stomach growls from the lack of dinner. Blinking back tears, Pepper turns to face us.

            Standing up, I take her place in front of the table. Mother places her hand on my back and smiles kindly. “What will you choose, dear?” Her kindness is out of character and causes me to shiver slightly.

As I stare at the wilted flower, an edge of curiosity causes me to bring my finger towards it. I could be like mother, a scientist. If I worked long enough I could live outside an Academy. This is my chance to be as extravagant as Mother. No. My purpose for existing is to destroy the Academy system.  I pull my hand towards the chains. Immediately they wrap around my wrists imprisoning me with my decision. I attempt to pull away from them but they tighten and begin to cut into my creamy, tan skin. Blood. Crimson specks slowly dibble down my wrists. I swallow a scream before turning to face my audience. The holographic chains disappear, but I can still feel their presence clinging to me as I sit down, the blood and pain an evaporated memory.