Arlo, 2185

It's the year 2185. I'm 25 years old and, truth be told, I'm not ready to die. Not yet..

My name is Arlo, and if you're reading this, it would seem that we both shared the same fate of being the Immolated. Congratulations! I like to refer to it as the "Chosen One;" makes me feel better in some way. Anyway, I'd like to tell you my story since you're going to be here for a while. Don't worry, it will all make sense in the end. 

I was born in Pennearth in the year 2160 to parents Mary Anne and John. As you already know, per one of many Pennearths' rules, I was an only child. Even luckier for me that I was born a male. At Pennearth, a woman's value is much higher than that of a mans for obvious reasons: reproduction when necessary. Though women have been chosen before, it's much easier for the Clan to send off a man, I think. They must assume we'll survive longer here.

I was seven years old when my father first explained to me how this world came to be, right before passing away in his sleep one night. He told me that we were the last civilization on Earth and have been for over one-hundred and fifty years. I did not know of the world before it came to be this. I had no other choice, and no argument, but to believe what my father was telling me.

One-hundred and fifty years ago, there was a world-wide pandemic. It's origin has always been unknown, but there was speculation of certain countries experimenting with the potential for mass population control. Death; knowingly killing people from the shadows and disguising it as sickness. I guess I could say that at least nowadays, you know it's deliberate and you know when it's coming.

The Sickness began, unnoticed at first. A tiny, inconvenient clearing of throats turned into equally tiny airways that eventually just shrunk so small, until there was no breath left to fight for. Time of death was always followed by the cause: "unknown."

What started from the furthest reaches on Earth quickly spread across the globe; Australia, China, Europe, South Africa. I suppose the United States was considered lucky. It took a whole two-hundred and seventy five days for the first case to be broadcasted on television. People panicked, every shelf became empty and everyday necessities became non-existent. People left their jobs. The cities became ghost towns despite its inhabitants still being very much alive. Those who would travel outside of their homes became paranoid over the possibility of strangers being carriers of the Sickness. 

The irony in all this is that people became so desperate not to die from this Sickness, they started turning on one another, killing each other because of one, undiagnosed cough. Quickly, the population dwindled. You either died from the Sickness or you died by your neighbor and nobody was keeping track.

Eventually, each city and every town had a population of less than five. My father said that the first contact between these cities and towns was made by a man named "Lou." At Pennearth, Lou is known as the Almighty Shadow of God or the Divine ASG. He was the founder of Pennearth and the reason so many people were brought together, taught to not fear the Sickness in one another and, ultimately, the reason one person is chosen each year as the Immolated. 

Every year, when the trees' first leaves start to turn orange, it is said that Lou visits Pennearth and places one, single orange leaf on the doorstep of the Immolated, the Chosen. This is Pennearths way of keeping our population under control. If more than one man is present within the home, it is first the man who has not successfully implanted his seed to bore a child, or the older man's responsibility to accept his fate. With my father passing when I was seven, I was the only man left in the home and the only one whose fate was already one-day sealed. 

I remember that morning. The air smelled crisp from the window and a little threatening. I threw on my clothes for the day and made my way downstairs. My mother was standing at the front door with her hands clasped together. If my mother wasn't easily read by her tone when she spoke, her face could tell stories on its own. She looked at me and back down at her hands; the orange leaf. "Arlo, I can't do this." I walked over to my mother and placed my hands over top of hers. "It will be OK, mom. It will all be OK. I promise you." That was the first time I've ever lied to my mother.

The truth is, I've been hiding from this day my entire life. Ever since my father passed, I knew my time was somehow shortened at Pennearth. I knew my seed would never bore a child because I was never interested in women nor have I ever tried to be. I kept a low profile, went to work and came straight home. I thought in making myself less noticeable, that I could somehow be passed up, overlooked. I was wrong. 

There was a loud knock at the door. I told my mother to go up to her room. She was hesitant until I insisted. She hugged me harder than she ever had before, walked up to her room and shut the door. It was the last time I'd see my mother, I thought.

Another loud knock. I opened the door to see two men looking at me. They didn't need to say anything. I put on my shoes, my coat, and walked out. We walked for what felt like an hour before coming upon a large industrial building. I could feel my heart racing. We walked around the outside of the building towards the back. My eyes met with a large, white rocket. The man to my right stopped. "It's time," he said. 

They both walked with me until we were standing right in front of the rocket. Along the side of it, the word "Pennearth". They unlatched the door and the man to my right put out his hand, motioning for me to take the only seat inside. A one-way trip for one. I couldn't move at first. I thought about my mother. "Arlo?" This time it was the man to my left. I stepped inside and sat down. They closed the latch and walked away. Within two seconds the engine kicked, the rocket rumbled and I was sacrificed up towards the sky.

Hours had passed until, eventually, I felt it land. I was nervous to open the latch. I didn't know what to expect on the other side, but my fate was already sealed so dying now and dying later didn't seem to matter at that point. I turned the latch and pushed open the door. Once outside, all I felt was confusion. I was standing in front of what looked like miles and miles of.. civilization, buildings, houses, and people. More people here than there was in Pennearth. Very much alive and unharmed.. people? An older man came from behind the rocket and stood beside me. I turned my head and looked at him, questioning. 

"Hello, Alro. My name is Lou. We have much to talk about."