The Insiders

The morning sun glowed, turning the sky into a pinkish haze, the wisps of clouds making the sunrise look like something out of a drawing. Her warm hazel eyes glowed as she took in the beautiful masterpiece, the last one she would ever see. No, don’t think of that. I shake my head, a few loose tears escaping. Quickly, before she sees, I wipe them away. It’s not fair to be crying in front of her like this, especially since she’s smiling. 

Her smile, her eyes, her hair, everything about her was just perfect. She squeezed my hand tightly, then loosened her grip, her eyes not leaving the sunrise. Her hand was soft and warm in mine. I will definitely miss this. 

The sky turned blue and she sighed, turning to me. I showed her a small smile and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Jasper, I don’t want to go,” she whispered. I opened my mouth, wanting to say something, anything, that could cheer her up, but all that came out was a choking noise. I closed my mouth and she started sobbing. I looked away.

I couldn’t ever stand it when people cried, I didn’t know what to do. And here she was, crying, and I’m looking away like an idiot. I pull her to my chest and let her cry, patting her back and rubbing it lightly. “It’s okay,” I say. She shook her head, pulling away.

“No, it’s never okay. When will it ever be? I don’t want to die, Jasper! It’s so unfair!” She hit her fists on my chest, pounding them to the rhythm of my heartbeat. My hands shake and I fight back the urge to cry. “You’re right. It is unfair, but we can’t do anything about it.” I bit my lip, stopping it from quivering. 

She stops, pulling away from me, hugging herself and shaking. “I’m going to run, far away from here,” she said, then turned to me with a pleading look on her face, ”Come with me?” I shook my head, backing up slowly.

“You’re talking about the impossible. Do you really want the chance of dying an even worse death out there? You’re better off dying a short death in the Experiment and not feeling anything, rather than dying a long and painful death out there in the Outside,” I say, trying to explain that she was better off with this fate the government had given her. 

Her eyes watered and she looked at the ground. “I’m not giving up. I don’t want to die in the hands of the people who killed my mother. This shouldn’t be happening, it shouldn’t be legal,” she whispered. I clenched my fists. “It doesn’t matter if it is right or not, it’s better for the community. For the Insiders, this is the way to live,” I said. 

She finally looked up at me. “That’s coming from someone like you. You will never know what this is like. They throw us away like garbage. Do you even know what they do at the Experiment? No, of course you don’t. Why would you care?” She turned her back to me, and something inside of me cracked. 

“I do care. I care a lot,” I said, not knowing what else to tell her. She sniffled and brushed past me, heading down the old run-down path that we had traveled on since we were kids. I followed behind her, only making her speed up. “Wait!” I called. She didn’t stop. I sigh, stumbling down the steep path after her. 

She disappeared before I could catch up, her skirt flowing in the wind as she rounded the corner. I didn’t follow after her, and in this moment I knew I would never see her again. This was my last time to say goodbye, and I had ruined it.

I walked along the path that led me to school, arriving just on time as the bell rang. It felt gloomy today, knowing that our friends and the people who grew up around us were being taken away. The men took up the seats, and only a handful of women were left. How was this better for society? How did this change it? 

That was the question no teacher here could answer. The teachers were mostly male, with only maybe two female teachers. The ones that stayed live happy lives and got married, creating a life out of this horrible system, but the thing that changes is when their own child is taken away. The world is cruel like that. You live through one thing only to see the ones you love suffer. 

It’s quiet. No work to do. Down the hall I hear screams, crying, pleading. More kids being taken to the Experiment. Some people tense up, and the women who even dared to show up with the mark on their wrists have tears streaming down their faces. They know they are next, they know they are never coming back. 

Their eyes go wide as the door is slammed open and soldiers storm in with guns pointed at us. We back away and do as they say, lining up on the wall and not making eye contact with them. They walked over to the first girl, one I knew was safe from their harm. “Name and wrist,” the man says, pointing the gun at her while his buddy takes out a tablet to record the data they were about to receive. 

She slowly lifts her arm up, her eyes staying glued to the floor. “Jasmine Hearth,” she whispers just loud enough for us to hear it. They take in the information, the soldier’s eyes trailing down her body before walking away. They pass more people, finally passing me and going to the girl next to me. 

She shuffles her feet and slowly lifts up her arm, her long sleeve covering her wrists. The soldier moves forward, rolling down her sleeve to reveal the arrow going down her wrist. “What’s your name?” He asks. She shakes her head slowly, then looks toward the door. 

I knew what she was planning to do before she even did it. I moved out of the way as she sprinted for the door. Then the room filled with gunshots. Pop. Pop. Pop. And there she lay, a bloody heap on the floor. Her blonde hair covered her once beautiful face, and they walked toward her and shot one last bullet through her skull. 

I feel sick. Before I throw up I turn away, as do most of the students here. No one spoke out, no one talked about it. This was just another normal day here at this high school. 

By the time we turn back the soldiers are gone, the body gone with them, and all that was left of what had happened was the bloody stain on the floor. The bots came in and cleaned it up quickly, leaving the floor spotless and shiny. The teacher sat down at his desk and played the government-approved video they showed every year around the time of the Experiment. 

The video plays, showing the nuclear war that started the Insiders to build the Dome, a safe environment for us to live and grow in. But we started overpopulating, and they came up with a system to rid of those we didn’t need. Throughout high school the women had to take the Test, which was the way the Government decided if you could stay alive or not. 

If you failed, you had a mark connecting itself to your wrist and if you passed, you lived. The Marked are taken to the Experiment, where they kill you in your sleep, an unpainful death. No one really knows what they do to the women before they are killed, but there are rumors that some people have gone against the government and helped them escape and flee to the Outside. 

I zoned out, only realizing that I had when the sirens knocked me out of my thoughts. The sirens that we haven’t heard in years. It means someone had escaped. We were on lockdown. In the chaos of people someone bumped into me, handing me something quickly. I looked down at it and furrowed my brows at the object. A needle. “W-Wait! I think you dropped something-” I said, but they were gone. 

I looked down at it, finding a note attached to the needle. If you love her, save her. Bring this to her and she’ll know what to do with it. Don’t tell anyone. 

My brain was buzzing with questions. I didn’t have time for that, though. I ran down the hallways of the school and out the doors. I had to find her. I had to save her. 

And then I jerked awake, something buzzing on my hand. My desk glowed red and I winced, pulling my wrist away from the desk. I looked down at my arm. An arrow ran smoothly down it, stopping just below my elbow. I slowly got up, pushing my chair into the desk and slowly walking out. 

My name is Samantha Driggers, and my best friend is Jasper. I just took the Test, and I am Marked. My name is Samantha, and I just saw my future through my best friend’s eyes. My name is Samantha, and I am on the run. 

I walked out of the Testing slowly, trying to not get anyone’s attention. Then I ran. I ran to Jasper. 

~Two Days Later~

I stood at the same spot where this all began. The moon glowed and the stars shimmered, rippling in the water of the lake. I brought the needle to her. I saved her. And now Samantha was gone.