Maybe You're the Reason Why

Chapter 1

As the light seeps through the clouds illuminating all that is under it you can see the children playing in the parks or the pool. You can see adults mingling and getting coffee, some even rushing off to work. Or at least, that's what you used to be able to see. Now there are no clouds. At least not the white puffy ones you can see bunnies in. Now all that is visible in the sky is puffs of smog and smoke.  The little light that does get through doesn't show the happy scene it used to. Now you all you see is blood, and dry, barren land. Water is now scarce, and poverty has never been worse. After World War 3, the world broke down.  What unleashed after, was arguably worse. A series of smaller more sporadic wars broke out going by the name of The Element Wars.  These would have been labeled as the next world wars but there have been too many to keep track of.  These wars were over exactly what they sound like, water, clean air, safe, natural food, and not warmth but cool. The world really changed in World War 3.  Started by China once they called in the debt the world had to them in the trillions, the wars broke out. Nuclear weapon after nuclear weapon were used and there are still parts of the world too radioactive to step foot on. The humans who managed to survive the explosions mutated and started the Green Plague. Among all the war, people were getting sick and dying and the scarce population started dying off. This is when the governments finally decided to step in. They decided to abduct all the children and keep them in a government facility, away from the plague, in order to boost the population. Every year after the children turn 15, they are required to take a test in order to determine how they will best serve our broken society. The categories are, The Champions, they are the warriors who serve our country, most don't ever come back, The Handlers, they are like the officers keeping everyone in check, The Life, they are focused on agriculture and science who invent new, fake foods for humanity to safely eat, and The Undetermined, most people are deemed as Undetermined when they are young due to their minds not being matured enough. If you are Undetermined, you just take the test the next year until you are 18 years old. After that, if you are still not a part of one of the other three categories, you are taken away, never to be seen again. These are the thoughts going through my head as I put on the itchy, gray, government mandated uniforms we are required to wear. I am Rada Nastor, I'm 18, and still undetermined. Today is the day of my final test. The day I will find out who I am in this world.