The Twenty Five Percent Rayanna

Fifty\Fifty

         We eat our hot grain breakfast, clean up the kitchen, together, and then walk out the front door. It's time to meet in front of the Genetix Lab. I stop a few hundred feet away from the house and turn around for one last look, just in case. Our house isn't anything special, in fact, it's smaller and more modest than any other house on the street. If you even want to call them houses, I call them shacks. On the outside, they all look the same, the same stone walls, the same thatched roof. Our roof used to be great, but a small fire due to a lightning storm burned a lot of it and now the roof barely keeps you dry in a rainstorm. All of the houses consist of two bedrooms, one bathroom and a common room, which is made up of a kitchen and dining room. The only difference between our house and the others is the size of the rooms.

          "Come on, sport." Wolfe says "we have to get going."

         "I know," I say, walking towards him "I just wanted one last look at the house."

          "Don't think that way. Think positively. You will see it again, tonight." By the way he says it, you can tell he doesn't believe it.

        "What if we die, today?" I ask as we cross over an old wooden bridge. I look down as we walk and try to imagine a time when the water was blue and full of life.

          He's quiet a moment before answering, "then we just die. We have no control over life or death. But if it helps, our ancestors used to believe in a higher power, a god, maybe you should try talking to one. See if it will spare you."

         "I'm not sure I believe in a higher power," I say.

        "Maybe it's time to start."

         We walk in silence the rest of the way. Once we get closer, I can see the large crowd gathered in front of the Genetix Lab. We get in line and wait for our turn to walk through the Identity Scanners. The scanners are tall and remind me of door frames. You step through the scanner and press your thumb to a small screen on the other side. Once you hear a beeping sound, you move into the crowd and await the drawing. A long time ago it was done via paper, but people got to where they were refusing to step forward if they had the X, so it was changed to button pressing. Wolfe passes through the scanner, first and then I follow behind him. I stay close by his side as we wind our way through the crowd.

         As soon as people stop trickling in, drones will quickly fly out and scan for life signs, to ensure that nobody is hiding out. The drones are heat-seeking and impossible to hide from. I heard stories that when the lotto first started, some people tried to hide to avoid it. Those hiding were found and were declared "winners" and sent into the lab with everyone else. I think it's much better to take my chances at the Lotto, at least then I would have a chance of survival.

        I hear a low whirring sound and look up to see the drones zooming off, it must almost be time to get started. I look around me, there appears to be somewhere close to one hundred people waiting for the lotto to start. I see a few people I know, the girl who lives two houses down, the boy who was attacked by wild dogs and now walks with a limp. Within several minutes, I hear the whirring sound, again, indicating that the drones are back.

         A few minutes later, I hear a metallic voice ringing out, "Twenty-one year olds, step forward."

           My breath catches in my chest, and I just stand there staring at the Ghemin soldier in his metal suit. The suit is metal from head to toe, the only part not metal is the small piece of thick, yellow, tinted glass type thing covering its face. It's got to be hot in there, especially in the summer, but they never take the suit off. No one really knows what the alien race known as the Ghemin look like. Whenever you see them patrolling the streets or guarding the Genetix Lab, they are always in that suit. Far as I can tell, they are built similar to humans; one head, two legs, two arms, standing upright. They do sound funny though, not sure if that's because of the suit or if that's just the way they sound.

         "That's you, Rain," Wolfe whispers, poking me in the side.

         I breathe in deeply and make my way slowly towards the front, dodging in and out of the crowd. There are only five of us, this year, we form a line and one by one press the red button. Most of the people before me get a green light, which means they get to go home, but the girl in front of me gets a black X and is forced to wait off to the side. Suddenly, it's my turn, and my hand starts shaking as I reach out and press the button. I hold my breath and look down at the screen. There it is, my death sentence, the black X. I breathe out and can feel my heart drop.

        I just stand there staring dumbly at the screen, tears falling down my face, until the Ghemin soldiers takes hold of my arm and leads me off to the side. Wolfe threw away his whole life in order to take care of me, and it was all for nothing. He could have gotten married to that Crystal girl, had children, and had a happy life, instead, he stayed with his kid sister. How disappointed he must be, right now. At least with me out of the way, he can find someone to marry and have kids of his own.

        I stand there numbly and listen as they call age after age until they come to Wolfe's age. Wolfe and nine others step forward and form a line. A few ahead of him get the X and walk over to our line. He steps forward, pushes the button, and then heads my way. I refuse to look at him, as he stops beside me. My heart drops, again. Not Wolfe too! It's not fair! I'm only twenty-one! I'm too young to die! And Wolfe didn't even get to live his life because of me.

       He stands beside me silent for a while, before speaking up, "I'll stay with you as long as I can."

        I look up at him. "What do you mean? They will probably separate us the moment we walk through those doors."

          Of course, life has played another cruel joke on our family. The last of us are marching off to our death. I cry again and throw my arms around him. I know he hates hugs, but I don't care. We are both about to die, and I want a little bit of something to hold on to before that happens. Once every age is called, I attempt to count how many of us are going to our deaths, looks like somewhere around fifty. The soldier that announced the age groups dismisses everyone else. A few soldiers march us all through the open gates, towards the Genetix Lab.

          I turn around and see the relief on the facesof those not chosen. They are finding friends and loved ones and hugging them tightly. Some are crying over theloss of family and friends that were chosen. But there is no one to mourn theloss of me and my brother. I turn back around, and I grab Wolfe's hand, to my surprise hedoesn't pull away, instead, he gives my hand a slight reassuring squeeze beforeletting go. Soon we are walking through the doors of the Genetix Lab, where ourfuture ends.