The Selection

Chapter One

I place the chainsaw in my shoulder bag and dust off my hands before turning to the Four who's tree I just cut down. I've done a few jobs for her before, she pays well enough. Ms. Hanson likes to give to the lower castes more than she should, and she's always asking how my Dad and brothers are doing.

"All done, Ms. Hanson." I smile as she holds a cup of iced tea in her hands.

"Thank you so much Sydney, I wish I could give you more." She says while sliding me $37 dollars, I shake my head.

"It's quite alright Ms. Hanson. I should be the one thanking you. Please, don't forget to tell your friends."

"No problem sweetie, tell you father I said 'hello'." Ms. Hanson waves as I begin to walk away from her.

"I will. Bye!" I call and sling the black bag over my shoulder and slide my gloves in my back pocket along with the money.

*

As I walk into my house I frown slightly while dropping the saw by the door. Dad's wooden crutches lay against the living room wall. I sigh making my way into the kitchen, he stands crookedly near the stove stirring the pot filled with leftover soup.

"Dr. Erik said to stay on your crutches Dad, you won't heal properly if you walk without them." I state.

"You were out on a job and your brothers were hungry, I'm not completely useless." He simply replies. "How was Ms. Hanson? Tree come down alright?"

"Yeah, it was fine. Made 37 dollars so we've got dinner for the rest of the week." I put the money on the old wooden table Mom carved a long time ago and I take a seat in the chair I had Max and Trae fix up yesterday.

"Where are the boys?" I ask after the silence begins to make me feel numb.

"Watering the garden outside. Could you call them inside, soups done." He says before taking a small sip off the large wooden spoon.

After most of our tree jobs we would take all the excess wood no one wanted and make our furniture or sell it to others who didn't have much like us. Being Seven's can take its toll, which is probably why Mom left us to join the rebels. North or South, she didn't say. I saw her leave when I was 5, it was so late into the night that I thought it was a dream. She kissed me on the forehead and rushed out. Away from her 2 year old sons. From her daughters, and from her loving husband. She ran away from her family. . .

"Max! Trae! Soups ready!" I shout for them while leaning out of the back door. The two identical 14 year olds rush inside but not before kissing me on the cheek. A smile grows on my face at their unconditional love for their older sister. They look so much like Mom. They have her light sandy brown hair and her green eyes that make you want to just empty all your secrets in to. I look nothing like them, I'm more like Dad. Dark brown chocolate hair with deep sea blue eyes, hard-working and very protective over the people that I love. The boys are more care-free like Mom. Hopefully they don't leave the way she did, we need them to work so we can survive this life and make it through this winter.

Last winter was awful. We had just lost Mikaylah, I thought we were goners. We had no work, no money, and no heat. Plus we were all grieving her the loss of another family member. I had started to feel my body shut down while the 4 of us sat in the living room huddled together to keep warm. And all I wanted was for none of them, for no one, to ever feel like that. Then I remembered that we were still above Eight's, they were going through so much worse and it made me sick to my stomach to even think about that.

"So Syd, you gonna sign up fro the Selection? The form came in the mail today." Trae smirks while slurping his chicken flavored soup

"That is not the right way to find love." I reply. "Besides, could you imagine your big sister as the Princess of Illea?! I'd walk in, open my big mouth, then get thrown out." The boys laugh at that.