July 10th, 2567
It's my 17th birthday today! It's also been 12 years and 68 days since Mason went to Leave and he never came back. I really do miss him. He Left at 16 years old (on his 16th birthday), but for some reason, I never Left. All my old friends Left on their 16th birthday, and now I'm friends with all the younger kids (no fair!). I'm not sure why we Leave at 16, or where we go. But everyone here knows I'm the oldest kid here. Adults around the town are extremely limited, only those who don't Leave get to stay here. Otherwise, birth is given There, and the children are delivered here (my hometown) by a plane. Two children per household, each at least 3 years apart (for caring purposes). Mason would be 28 at the moment, still caring for me There. But that would only be if I Left. I didn't. I'm not sure why I'm still writing all this down. I've written this down every single day since I've gotten my book. Anyway, I'm going to treat myself to ice cream cake and I'll probably have some fun with Joey and Eli. I know I've written about Joey before, the class clown at the age of 7, dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin. Eli is a new friend of mine, who is the exact opposite of Joey. Surprisingly, they get along pretty well. Eli has light hair, light eyes, and light skin, and he's very quiet unless I'm there helping him. He doesn't learn very fast, and the teachers say he has a Disorder, although we don't like to use that word anymore. We usually say Advanced or Individual. He's 7 as well, and is scared to Leave. Joey, however (as said before), is excited to Leave and see what goes on There. He promised me he'll come back and tell me everything afterwards.
Mason never promised me he'd come back, he just said he probably would after a month. I have high hopes for this Joey kid, and I'm yet to see what kind of aspirations Eli has. Maybe he wants to grow up to be a Caretaker or another type of important job that requires a lot of calmness. I believe he'd do great at something like that.
Off topic a bit, but remember how I said I was the oldest kid Here? Well, sure, I did say some adults stay here. But those are ones who want to stay here, for work. It's a lot of trouble convincing Him. He is the man who leads you to The Tunnel, and apparently he tells you many stories along the way. Those stories are secret, so those who back out last minute get put under some weird spell, which gives them partial amnesia. What I'm saying is, they remember being told stories, but they don't remember what. I was never even picked to Leave. He never showed up at my house (other than when he picked up Mason), and I never saw him wandering around since 2555. Some tell stories of those who avoided Him, one story is of me. They're surprised I haven't mysteriously died yet, which always gives me a chuckle. Anyway, this writing thing is getting super tiring. It's usually the same things over. I might just try to find The Tunnel myself one day, so I can finally have something interesting to write about. Unless Here is just like There. Then I'm not sure if I'd want to Leave. I guess I'll just have to find out later.
Sam - 10:56am
YOU ARE READING
The End of the Beginning
Science Fiction"Mason," the figure says, reaching out his hand, "it's your sixteenth birthday. Come, come. It is time to go to The Tunnel." "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 y...
