The End of the Beginning

Prologue

 The year is 2555. Two boys, 16 and 5, have been awoken by a strange noise inside their home. The 16 year old, Mason, always has a Swiss Army knife by his bedside. Parents are limited in their hometown, and those who are still living where they were born usually don't have children and work in Manual Labor rather than doing something they love. This makes angry adults and reckless kids both want to break in during the middle of the night. Maybe to steal something, like a child, or maybe it was completely on accident. That being said, Mason picks up his knife and fumbles with it, trying to open it to the proper tool.
The 5 year old, Sam, sits up in his bed and covers his mouth. He may only be five, but he has had the break-in procedures drilled into his head multiple times. Be quiet, and hide under the bed. Sam, while keeping his mouth covered, gets out of bed on his toes and crawls under the empty space below his bed. The dust makes his nose tickle, which, in return, nearly causes him to sneeze. He knows that sneezing is noise, so he shuts his eyes and holds his nose to prevent the dust from hurting him.
Mason pulls the correct weapon out and slides off his bed, keeping his toes on the carpet and avoiding all the creaking boards. Footsteps start to climb up the stairs, with a humming voice of an old man following it. Mason turns on the hall lights and dims them so they're barely on. A figure appears in the hallway, a smile on their face.
"Mason," the figure says, reaching out his hand, "it's your sixteenth birthday. Come, come. It is time to go to The Tunnel."
Mason shifts slightly, and grips his weapon a bit more. He has always heard about The Tunnel. The people of his hometown Leave at the age of 16, and go There. However, There has always seemed odd to him, and he didn't want Here to seem distant.
"I don't want to go without Sam," Mason pointed under the bed.
"Sam is only 5. We must control the population of Here, so you must go There. Please, Mason. You're 16," the figure drops his hand, a frown growing.  Mason takes a quick look behind him, seeing Sam underneath the bed. He drops his knife and crouches down, turning around.
Sam is shaking under the bed, tears welling up in his eyes. His hands are still covering his mouth as he feels one tear pass down his cheek. He tries extremely hard not to take a sharp breath in, but he fails, causing him to make a noise. Sam isn't entirely sure what's going on, although he's heard about The Tunnel here and there. All he can process is that he's about to lose his brother, the one who has protected him for 4 years.
"Come out, Sam," Mason whispers, holding both his arms out as he tries to understand everything.
Sam crawls out from under the bed, his face damp with tears. He runs to Mason, and gives him a hug. "Don't leave, don't leave!" Sam yells, choking on his sharp breaths.
"It's okay Sammy. I'll be back in a month or so after my training, and I'll take you to The Tunnel so you can watch me Leave," Mason feels his eyes start to wet too, then pulls Sam in closer. He stands, looking down at Sam.
"No, no, no!" Sam cries, running towards the door to block Mason from exiting the room. Mason walks to the door, gives Sam one more hug, then moves him out of the way as he strides towards the figure. Sam watches as his brother walks down the stairway with the figure. He watches as he loses his brother to a tradition, and, despite not knowing at the time, watches his brother make the last motion Sam would ever see.