Chapter 1

A Chapter by Amy Skye

Cress receives her Selection Notice, quickly learning she may be the only participant in this round of treatment. But before she can grasp this reality everything she thought she knew, changes.

Cress

The world is run by the one percent, big money and manufacturers. The rest of us have either died off from government mandated population control or genetically manufactured vaccines, meant to weed out the weak minded and vulnerable. Those who survived were sent to Anifa, a sustainable rehabilitation center, which loosely translates to hell. People, not unlike myself, were forced into Anifa to undergo what they like to call Reformification.

Long before what I believe was the end of the world, all the major laboratories were bought out and consolidated into what we now know as Anifa. After that, the weak started dying from a newly discovered virus and the government did little to nothing to help. Everyone who survived, was deemed essential to the future of our "economic growth and the survival of the human race". Anifa's main goal at the time of integration was sustainability. Little did the world know, they were not interested in environmental sustainability. Instead their focus was on Anthropoid sustainability, the modification of human beings to achieve perpetual life, in layman's terms, immortality.

After the mass genocide of half the population, those who were left either willingly surrendered to Anifa or they ran. My family, too scared of the government to defy them, and too broke to run, ended up in the rehab center. Soon after, the borders closed, and the nation went on lockdown. The government started rounding up people left and right. The idea of a free world flew out the window, and we were all subject to hell about to be relished onto us all. If you were lucky and didn't get selected for the first rounds of treatment, you probably survived. I was twenty years old when both my mother and father were selected for Project R: REFORMIFICATION. It was four years before I finally let go of the idea that they could be alive. For my own sanity, I had to believe that they were dead. Watching everyone around you slowly dissipate for years, never seeing them again, takes its toll when your only hope of their survival is based on them being tortured for the rest of their lives. When it comes down to it, maybe being dead is easier.

So when I got my letter saying I had been selected to participate in Project R, I was ready to die.

PROJECT R SELECTION NOTICE

ID: C426-0017H | Cress Hayes

Type: O-

Kin- None

Date of Birth: 2031-11-27

Dear C426-0017H | Cress Hayes, you have been selected to participate in the next round of Project R. As per the regulations and guidelines given by Anifa, you have six months to prepare your effects. Your Reformification date is 2055-12-07. The United States Government in accordance with Anifa respectfully applaud your dedication to your country and fellow citizens, and thank you for your service in helping the future of human kind achieve great milestones.

Respectfully, Thomas Brown, CEO and Founder of Anifa

Anifa, For the Future.

Though I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't skip a beat in terror as the words on the page seemed to reach into my gut and pull on what little rationed food I had resting there. I swallowed the acid in my throat and threw the letter onto my cot. 6 Months, I told myself. However, I had little time to digest the reality of it. I threw on my work issued jacket and walked out into the halls of shift hour. Like a heard of sheep, bumping and fumbling, we all made our way into chow hall. Two single file lines on either end of the large stadium-like cafeteria formed. I followed the stream of people but my mind still stuck on the words etched into my brain you have been selected. I received my ration and found my seat. I sat there for a moment staring down at my almost inedible slop, still thinking about how the next six months of my life would continue.

"Earth to Cress," I hear and looked up to see Talia sitting across from me. "What's wrong? Wake up on the wrong side of the cot?" she joked,

"Just thinking," I said almost systematically. I'm not sure why, but I didn't want to tell anyone just yet that I was next. Call it an optimism, for potential change, that I knew would never come. Several more of my acquaintances began filing in. The daily routine was always the same. I'm on work detail in the afternoons and evenings, so my day doesn't start until around noon. First was chow, then we scan in for work, a normal work day for me was about fifteen hours, after that we scan out, collect our final ration of the day and its back to our living quarters. So the time before work and after was the only conversing time we were allotted. Talia took full advantage of this time.

"During my work detail yesterday, we were replacing the urinals on level 7. Men are so gross. Anyways, have you guys ever been to level 7? They have it so nice up there. There living quarters are like at least a foot bigger than ours. I just don't think that is fair." She continued but I learned to tone out her ramblings most of the time. I felt a soft nudge on my arm and turned to see Jon smiling over at me. I nodded at him.

"What's up?" he began, I shook my head.

"Not much, just mentally preparing for the day." I swallowed the ball in my throat. Jon tapped on my untouched tray of food. "I'm just not feeling it today." Which wasn't true, I was pretty hungry and given that we were only granted small meals just to keep us alive, I needed to eat. So I took a big spoonful of the slop and choked it down.

"Feels like there's something else on your mind," he poked at the subject, "anything you want to talk about?" It was hard to keep things from Jon. He was my first friend when I got to the rehab center, he helped me through my parents' selection and kept me from getting locked up on multiple occasions. I set my elbow on the table and turned to him, my hand slightly covering my mouth, I leaned in and whispered,

"I got my notice." And as if he didn't realize I was trying to keep it down, he shouted,

"What?" The rest of the table went quiet. I rubbed my face with my hands with a sigh.

"Couldn't have said that a little quieter?" I stabbed at him. Talia, stopped mid-ramble,

"What's going on?" She shifted her gaze between both me and Jon, who remained silent. Though I could feel Jon's eyes glaring into the side of my head. With a large sigh, I finally uttered the words,

"I've been selected." Talia's face sank in utter disbelief. And as if the words echoed the entirety of the chow hall, I felt every eye fall on me. It had been at least a year since the last batch of notices went out. I think we all thought that might have been the end of it. I began to hear the whispers of everyone around, asking if anyone else received a notice. My heart started racing as I realized I might have been the only one to be selected for the next round of treatment. I stood up quickly and shouted, "Anyone else?" I waited, hopeful that there was at least one other person facing this treatment with me. But as the eyes in the room fell back on me, I got my answer. My heart sank as I sat back down.

"What do you mean?" Talia questioned, tears welling up in her eyes. I shook my head,

"You know what that means, Tal." I replied as she and I made eye contact. "I've got six months before I have to go." I said, trying to give hope back into the watery eyes of my friends sitting around me. I reached across the table and placed my hand on Talia's. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." Not even I believed the words.

"I thought we were done with this s**t." Talia exclaimed, enraged.

"We all did." Was all I could say, as I pulled my hand back to my side of the table. Talia's gaze landed on Jon,

"Do you have anything to say?" She jabbed at him. Jon shrugged and looked down to the table.

"What is there to say?" He said softly, "It's not like I can take your place." He looked to me,

"I would never ask you to do that." I said, furious he even had the thought. "Look," I addressed the both of them, "This is my burden to bear, so let me bear it." I paused, "Lets hope this will be the last time, and they finally get what they want. So no one will ever have to bear it again." I looked down to my scarred hands, tracing one scar in particular on the back of my knuckles. Jon placed his hand on mine, as the intercom blazed with the chime to head to our work details.

Silence filled the hall as we all sauntered into the scan stations. I parted ways with Talia and Jon who both gave me a hug before scanning into their posts. I pulled my sleeve up to expose my wrist and placed it under the UV light scanner. The code under my skin was revealed as the light raked the alphanumeric code reading C426-0017H. The light quickly changed to red and an alarm began to blare. I pulled my arm back, quickly grabbing my wrist. My eyes shot to the guards who lined the inside of the scanning bay. Jon and Talia looked back to me before they were pushed ahead. Suddenly the guards were at my side. One guard pulled my wrist and scanned it with his handheld. The screen read,

Subject: C426-0017H

Project R 2.0 Approval

Transport to Level 1

"No," I shouted, "I have six months, I only got my notice this morning." The guards, looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I am sorry Ms. Hayes, looks like you won't get your six months." As his words echoed into my mind, my breathing increased and I pulled away shaking my head. Another guard grabbed at me and I threw my elbow into his chest, I tried to make a run for it, but was snatched off the ground so fast the air was knocked out of my lungs.

"Jon!" I shouted into the crowd of people before I was pulled into the elevator ascending upwards toward level 1.

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© 2020 Amy Skye

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Carina Baumert

A bit more dialogue between the characters in the first quarter of the chapter would balance out chapter 1. Excellent writing, there are two comma mistakes that really trip the reader up:
After the mass genocide of half the population, those who were left, either willingly surrendered to Anifa or they ran. -those who were left either willingly surrendered no comma
First was chow, then we scan in for work, a normal work day for me, was about fifteen hours, after that we scan -a normal work day for me was about fifteen hours, no comma