Quill's First Chapters!

Blank Space

​Ahem. Here is the summary of Blank Space.

There is a wall and then there is nothing. Literally nothing. They call it the deleted space of the dimension. The blank space. Nothing exists there, not even air. Expeditions go out there to try reach the other end and they all fail. Adara's father went on one of the missions, and he chose to go past the point of no return. Now, she and her three friends find out they have the same chance to discover what lives beyond the Blank Space.

People say we're crazy, living near the wall. But it really isn't scary or different from living inland. We just have a big wall as a border instead of the passers everyone else has. Well, our divid does have passers, three to be exact. But the wall is the substitute for the forth passer, and I prefer it that way. Still, all everyone from inland can ever say is, "How are you not frightened out of life with being so close to the Blank Space?" The truth is, I don't know.

​

​"Adara! Dinner time!"

​"Coming!" I shout back, getting off my bed and walking through the white halls of my assigned living containment facility. At least, that's what I call them, since that's kind of all they are. Not really homes, but a place given to you to fit the size of your family "comfortably" and "safely". We don't get to pick it out or choose not to move in. That's against the law. No homeless or underprivileged anymore! That's what the president had said 30 years ago, and so that's what he did. Cookie cutter homes for miles and miles, each divided so that there were no large "conflicts." Yeah right. The government just doesn't want anything like the Mob to happen again. These "homes" are just so that they can keep us contained if anything starts to break out. But it's all we've got. All anyone's got. So I keep my thoughts to myself.

​My foot steps over the thresh hold of the hallway into the kitchen and the same little green dot flashes on the wall. It sends the message that I am still occupying the house and am about to eat my meal to the home data base. Just another "safety" feature.

​"Here, honey. I ordered you're favorite," my mom says, placing a plate on the table and pulling out the chair for me to sit in. I sit down without a word, but say "Thanks, mom," before she walks away. Smiling, she prepares a dish for herself, saying, "Barley soup and rye bread," into the processor. Ingredients from our kitchen begin to move around in the cupboards, the little robotic arms grabbing them and sending them down the chutes. At the center of the unit, which sat where the oven was supposed to be, the meal begins to be prepared. Arms dicing and mixing together all of the components to make the food. The walls of the unit are clear, so I watch as one arm slices the bread while another toasts it. It would take a while before they would be done, so my mom sits down across from me on our big oak table.

​"Adara, what's wrong? I haven't seen you leave that room all day." She says this in a concerned tone and her eyes carry the weight of a saddened mother. I answer her, knowing she'll find out one way or another anyway.

​"Mom, I don't like it here. I mean, I love being with you, but I don't love this house or my school, or any of it."

​I sigh and my mom asks patiently, "Any of what?"

​Looking up, I see the true concern for me in her eyes. "Ever since dad left, it just doesn't seem like a home anymore. It feels like the government is ruling everything these days. Our meals, our education, our everything." I stare at my food. Spaghetti and those really good vegetarian meatballs. Mom must have gone to the store especially to get the ingredients. This makes me smile.

​My mom's sad eyes grow sadder at the mention of my father. "You know he did it for the sake of our safety, Adara. And the government doesn't rule us. We are free people."