A Dream About . . . A New Beginning (Part 2)

I sat alone and waited

It did not take me long to find the meeting place. It was a plain, unnoticeable building in the middle of town, but I had ridden past it a million times ever since I had gotten the letter, looking for any sign of the Plan. But today, as soon as I opened the door, it had been a bustle of people around me faster than the storm outside. I was rushed from here to there, given clothing to change into and pushed into a waiting room. It was white with a table stretched down the middle, and I was the only one there. As I moved to the far corner, I counted 13 chairs, 6 on each side and one at the head. Then I sat alone and waited for what felt like eternity.

Every so often, the room would begin to shake again, and it seemed to get stronger each time. Eventually, two girls walked in and sat down, with a boy and a girl close behind, than another guy, and after him another girl. They all began to talk to each other quietly about the Project. I didn't really join in, because I had not idea what to say. After two more guys came in, one of the girls blurted out, "Oh! I want him to be my partner!" Everyone laughed at the realization that we might actually have to pair off, if this plan was going to work out how it was meant to. I glanced around at the other boys, but it was clear that most of them were picked for brains and not looks. Another boy and girl walked in and sat down - that made 6 girls and 5 boys - but these two clearly seemed to be a couple. Over the past month, the idea had never really dawned on me that I would have to spend the rest of my life with these people - with one of these boys...

He had a look of pride on his face

The door opened again, but this time it was an older man in a lab coat who stopped at the head of the table. He carried in his hand a folder and had a look of pride on his face, like we were a long run science experiment that was finally coming together. "Good, um, afternoon. It seems we are still missing one, but he -" Just than, someone else walked through the door - the last boy. Honestly, looking at him, I had to do a double take. Not only was he cute compared to the other boys in the room, but he would have stood a good chance outside in the really world. He seemed out of breath and embarrassed to have walked in late. As he searched for a chair, I realized the only empty one was right next to me. He pushed his way past the others and regarded me with a warm smile before sitting down. Oh yeah, I wanted him as my partner.

We all sat there as the man in the lab coat explained to us a bit more about what was happening. I could tell he was trying to act calm and professional, but something seemed to be bothering him. Maybe the storm was freaking him out, or maybe something wasn't quick right with the Plan? I realized that one months notice was not very much time for a plan like this to be prepared for, how long had they been working on it? Maybe they thought they would have more time than this, maybe the storms came too early.

"Alright, I think it is about time we got you all to the capsule." The man opened the door, and two guards began to escort us all to another part of the building. I ended up in the back of the line, and glanced at the halls around us. More people in lab coats were running around franticly with clip boards and folders, talking to each other with hushed intensity, but as we walked pasted, they seemed to quiet down and stare at us with somber eyes.

"Why do they look like we're marching down death row?" I turned my head back around to find the newest boy looking at me. "Um," was all I could think to say, "I'm not sure."

He smiled at me again and stuck out his hand, "Well, I'm Lucas. We might as well get to know each other now." I reached up and shuck his hand. I told him my name and smiled in return, it was nice to know I had a friend no matter how long this lasted.

TO BE CONTINUED