The Price of Life - A Novella

Chapter One :: Orientation

"Welcome to your orientation! I am Gim Hwang, one of the six founders." He stands over the cheering crowd, arms open to all. His black, tieless suit loosely wraps his thin frame. "Please say goodbye to your loved ones and find your seats inside."

Simone hugs her six-year-old twin sisters, Mariah and Nevaeh, and her ten-year-old brother Isaiah. Then her grandparents, Rose and Richard. Lastly, she hugs her father, Noel, wrapping her arms around his neck as though she could drown. 

Noel nestles her face between his hands, meeting her cocoa eyes. "Breathe, sweetheart. Remember what we talked about?"

She nods and slowly starts to pull breath. 

He places his hands over her chest and loudly inhales with her. "You control your mind, then you control your body." He pulls her to his chest again, pressing sweaty kisses to her forehead. "I love you and we'll see you soon."

Noel doesn't like the idea of his sixteen-year-old daughter going off with anyone associated with the US Council. When Simone's name was called as a winner for the lottery, his heart froze. Memories of her first words, first steps, then his wife's face shifts through his mind. Simone looks almost identical to her mother. She has her mother's long, dark, kinky curls. Her soft eyes and thin face that rounds when she smiles. Though, all of his children share his chocolate skin.

Simone nods, releasing the breath she'd been holding, her eyes glistening. "I love you, too." She swallows the lump in her throat, making her best attempt to give a genuine smile. She compels her legs to move against their own wishes, forcing herself into the stream of other lottery winners. 

She follows the flow through thick doors and into a large room with a dome ceiling. A single octagonal skylight lights up the dark cement walls, illuminating weird geometric shape carvings with muted blues and chipping greens. 

"Your name?"

She stops, reaching a tower of a man with a large smile. He looks down from his two-foot advantage and she shrinks. "S-Simone Moss."

Flipping through pages, he quickly finds her name. "Number 86," he says, handing her a sticker with her number on it. He instructs her not to remove it and sidesteps, allowing a view of a smaller, similar room. He renews his smile and gestures her through.

"Find a seat and please be patient while we wait to get started." A robotic feminine voice comes through a speaker. 

Simone finds her way to a suede black seat in the back. Watching the others socialize amongst each other like the 'high school cliques' she's seen in movies.

"We are about to begin," says the feminine voice. The others scramble to find their seats as six well-dressed individuals step onto a stage in front.

"Welcome and congratulations!" Excitement rumbles and Gim raises an open palm, silencing the room. "This is such an exciting time for us as well as all of you. We spend the year planning and executing this lottery, and each year it just seems to get a bit more thrilling."

"This shits crazy, right?" The young whisper belongs to a girl who's chosen to seize the seat beside Simone. Her hair is cut short with slight bangs that hang over her green eyes. Her overalls are light wash, and her old evergreen t-shirt is cut short, showing the cashew skin of her hips. 

A boy, maybe a few years older, takes the seat behind her. He and the girl share the same skin tone and eyes but, didn't share any other similarities. He's in all black except for his dark gray sweater, and his dark hair hangs in tight curls around his head, draping over his eyes.

Simone nods with a smile. The sound of her pulse drumming in her ears as she reminds herself to breathe.

"I'm Indigo, that's my brother Emmerson." She points over her shoulder. 

Emmerson nods and turns back to the stage.

Indigo rolls her eyes before turning her back to him. "What you think it'll be like?"

"I'm not sure." She shrugs. "I'm hoping for a theater."

"I watched a few tapes before trading them, and some car parts, for a music holder they called an iPod. I've had to get creative with getting power to it, but it works." Indigo's voice is still just a whisper. She pulls a small box-like device from her pocket briefly.

"Indigo." Emmerson sighs, his deep voice smooth like silk. "Pay attention."

She crosses her arms over her chest and slides down into her chair obediently.

Simone holds back a smile thinking about her brother, Isaiah.

Gim turns to the others on stage and gestures to a younger, casually dressed man. "Mr. Sylvester Greenwood." He welcomes the tall, lanky man with caramel skin and dark brown hair that lays behind his ears.

"Welcome," he starts, a little bored. "There's only one rule, so follow it."

"He'd be hot if he took that stick outta his ass." Indigo giggles.

Sylvester begins pacing the stage as men walk down the aisle with baskets, handing one to each row of contestants. "Take a bracelet and put it on your wrist, and yes, you must wear one. This bracelet is for your safety and is also your key. That brings me to the one rule, a lost or misplaced bracelet is then your problem and becomes your lost or misplaced key. Either keep a tight hold on them or risk the consequences later on. Ah, and this isn't a rule but, adult or not, we expect you to hold yourself to a standard. Our standard. Follow these and this may not be much of a pain for you."

Simone takes a bracelet and passes the basket to Indigo. The silver reflects the sun from the skylight as it locks around her wrist with a bell. The middle lights up blue and starts blinking slowly.

Emmerson watches as the others lock theirs, placing it in his pocket rather than on his wrist.

An amazonian with brown skin and long, thick, dark hair stands in a colorfully patterned fabric that drapes across her curves and over her shoulder. She looks at a thin device that resembles what Indigo has in her pockets, running her finger up to the front of it. She steps forward, whispering something into Sylvester's ear.

He looks over the crowd. "You!" He points. "Mr. Coombes, I said everyone is to wear their bracelet. I suggest you do as your told."

The smiling giant is looking down at Emmerson with crossed arms. He watches as the bracelet is locked on, then goes back to his spot at the door. 

"This video will serve as your official introduction." The founders file out as the room goes quiet and the lights turn off. 

A video appears on the wall over the stage. It shows bright houses around the edge of a beautiful blue lake, then scans over the clean streets and happy residence. A few other "winners" speak about their life, though something is off.

Simone yawns, eyelids becoming heavy.

A paler woman with long, flowing golden hair and bright eyes appears on the screen. She gives the camera a fake smile. Looking around, unsettled by something before someone behind the camera asks her about her experience. "Becoming a contestant changed my life. I-I learned to play as a team and I put myself in a place where I came out ahead. You just have to find the door."

The audio starts to malfunction, repeating "find the door" as the video bleeds into itself. Distorting until the picture is unrecognizable and Simone loses consciousness.

--- Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to comment and vote! All notes are welcome ---

Word Count :: 1903 of 2000