Chapter 1

After the Resistance had taken over, life soon became a living hell. We were barely able to leave the safety of our own homes anymore because of how much violence happened out on the streets. School happened once or twice a week, and as soon as you turned sixteen, you were forced into the workforce. There was no hope for us.

School was always being watched. You couldn’t do or say anything about the Resistance, or as rumor would have it, they’d take you away and lock you up for life.

I was at my locker when Arielle, the happiest girl that I have ever met, came skipping over to me with a giant smile glowing on her face. Even throughout all of this, I’ve never seen her frown once. It’s pretty annoying , I’ll admit, but the only friend I’ve got nowadays.

As she skipped over to me, I spotted the familiar book in her hands and frowned. It was a big brown book with a bold title “SCIENCE” on the cover that was clearly glued on.

“...Isn’t that Kelsey’s?” I asked. Kelsey, my sister, has a book of FAIRY TALES with her, carrying it around everywhere she goes. She says that the book gives her hope, even though she knows that having a book that gives out any kind of hope is illegal. The Resistance had burned every book in the country that had happy endings in it… Every book but Kelsey’s. She hid it before they could find it.

“I found a ‘science fact’ in here that you need to read,” Arielle hinted, flipping through the pages of the book. I looked around the hallway nervously, noticing a Resistance guard eyeing us from just a few feet away.

“Arielle…” I said softly. “Don’t you think that we should talk about this later?”

“No, no, no,” Arielle said, finally stopping near the end of the book. “Here! Look at this!”

As she shoved the book into my hands, I nervously glanced back at the guard. There was no doubt in my mind that he was suspicious of us. And I didn’t blame him. Break time was almost over, yet there we were, the only two kids in the hallway, sharing SCIENCE FACTS with each other.

Sighing, I took the book in my hands and started reading through the text. Arielle pointed at a picture of a little girl with long, silky, blonde hair, raising her arms to the sky. Her arms were covered with glowing tattoos.

“It’s some type of prophecy,” Arielle whispered excitedly. I paused, studying the picture. How was it that this girl looked so familiar to me? Was she in one of my dreams before?

I used to have a power whenever I was younger. I could see things from the past or future whenever I dreamed. Kelsey always loved hearing about them. She would come sit on my bed every morning, begging to hear about them. But… that was a while back. The dreams have stopped, haven’t they?

“This prophecy,” Arielle went on, “It’s about how some powerful sorcerers took over the world. And this child…” She pointed at the girl in the picture. “”She’s supposed to be the savior or something.”

She paused, waiting for me to say something. I said nothing, just stared down at the picture.

“Don’t you get it, Mystic?” Arielle asked, her voice rising. “This prophecy is about US! This child can SAVE us! All we need to do is find her!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Resistant guard moving closer, his eyes burning with fury.

“Shush Arielle!” I said anxiously, but it was too late. A gruff voice appeared behind me.

“What is that?” A large hand reached out and grabbed the book out of my hands. “Give me that!”

I spun around, terrified to see the guard flipping through the pages of the book, each page he read through caused his frown to increase more. Both Arielle and I went silent, chills running down our spines. The class bell rang, echoing down the empty hallway.

Reviews

[Beth Moreno]

Captivating! I want to read more!