365 Days

Auditoriums and Hovercrafts

I wake to the sound of a loud buzzing, ringing deep in my ear.

"Go away," I groan, lazily swatting the air.

It gets louder, forcing me to sit up. I glance around and am greeted by a dark room. I realize that my arm feels weird, like it's got pins and needles or something.

Looking at my chip, I notice that it's faintly glowing, showing the time 6:47 am. The buzzing in my arm stops, satisfied with my awakening.

So, I roll out of bed, switch on the lights and start to get ready for today. Today is my insertion day; the day I leave civilization for a year. The day I catch my last glimpse of people and buildings - and I may never return. The chilling thought accompanies me as I slip on my clothes. I layer on all of them, even though I'll be hot. I don't want to take the chance of forgetting any of my clothes here because I'll need them in the wilderness!

I walk into the hallway, and Officer Sullivan is waiting there, leaning against the wall. "Do you have everything?"

I subtly check that my bracelet is on my wrist. It is, and so I reply, "Yeah. Now what?"

"We have your briefing scheduled for 9:30. For now, we will eat breakfast."

We make our way to the huge dining hall, where a substantial spread of food has been laid out and children are already helping themselves.

Unfortunately, Officer Sullivan takes the seat next to me and starts to heap food onto a plate. "Eat up. Lunch won't be a big meal."

I pick up three pancakes from a stack with a spatula, and smother them in maple syrup. Carbs, for lots of energy. I will need it today!

I see the boy that was whispering to me before, farther down the table. I wonder what his name is, or where he's from?

He's shoving food into his mouth like mad. I guess he's had the same idea as me; this could be our last proper meal.

"Hurry up," the officer mumbles amid a mouthful of omelette.

I finish my last pancake. Officer Sullivan finishes his meal as well, and stands up. "Let's go," he says.

We walk silently across the dining room, and into a large auditorium. It's already filling up with kids and other officers. A soothing voice clears its throat, and a lady wearing all red steps out onto the stage, holding a microphone.

"As you all know," she begins, and the audience quiets down considerably. "All of you children seated here today are due to begin Project 365 today. We know that it has been hard to leave your families behind for a year, and it will be hard to adjust to the isolation and the remoteness of your Project location. But I have faith that some, if not most, will survive this challenge and emerge victorious! These select teenagers will become the future of our nation and will lead our country with honor and confidence."

I notice that she never called Project 365 "The Abandonment". She wants to try and turn this horrible thing into something good, something that will "shape our future".

"I am sure that most of you know the general rules of Project 365, but we will just go over them now. One - do not try to exit your site, which has a radius of 1 km and will not overlap with anyone else's site. If you go within 10 metres of the boundary, your chip will release a minor electric shock. After that, with every metre closer to the boundary, the shocks will get larger and larger, until you cross the boundary. Then, your chip will release a shock big enough to knock you unconscious. Very unpleasant."

She shakes her head and continues. "Two - anything that happens within your site is up to you to control. We will not pick anyone up before the 365th day under any circumstances. Three - After your insertion today, you will be completely alone. We will provide you with only the necessary tools for survival, and after that, no further contact will be made."

Her tone changes, more solemn than before. "I would like to address an incident that happened yesterday at dinner." Behind her, security camera footage begins to play on a screen.

I see the boy stand up, concealing the knife. I flinch. Officer Sullivan glances at me, whispering, "Did you see this?"

I nod, and the lady continues to talk. "As you know, Project 365 is mandatory for all 13-year-olds. This boy was armed, and was trying to escape. He was willing to harm anyone in his path. While I understand his motive, I do not agree with him. He was not killed, only knocked out by his chip. You shouldn't worry; our staff are trained to deal with anything and this facility is as safe as any government building. We will not tolerate any of this behavior."

"And finally," she says, "here are your instructions for your Insertion today. Following the conclusion of this presentation, you and your assigned officers are to make your way to one of the hangars, where you will be transported to your site by hovercraft." A chart shows a map of the facilities behind her. 

"The assignments are as follows: Red Star to Hangar 1; Yellow Star to Hangar 2; Green Star to Hangar 3; Blue Star to Hangar 4; and Black Star to Hangar 5."

Stars? What stars? Then I remember the strange green star tattoo on my face. Maybe that's what that means!

"I wish you all the best of luck in the wilderness. Thank you," she finishes, and walks off the stage.

Kids start getting up and flooding out the exit doors. "I guess we go to Hangar Three," I say loudly to the officer.

"Yeah," he says, and we join the crowd.

__________________________________________________________________________

We're in Hangar Three, waiting with a bunch of other kids with green stars on their faces. There's a large hovercraft parked in front of us; the only thing in this huge room.

Finally, the door opens and a lady starts to direct children away from their officers and into the hovercraft.

"I guess this is where we say goodbye," I mention to Officer Sullivan.

"Goodbye," he says gruffly. I can tell from the frown on his face and the way he avoids my gaze that he never liked me.

"Thanks." I shake his hand, and walk towards the lady. I check that my bracelet is still on my hand, and it is. It gives me a surge of courage as I walk past the lady and onto the ramp.

The truth is, I'm scared. Scared to death, actually. I have no idea what's going to happen out there, and that's what really scares me. That's why I need all the courage I can get right now.

A security officer pats me down gently, checking for weapons, and waves me along to an attendant. She points me to a seat on one of the walls of the hovercraft.

The inside of the hovercraft is shaped like a giant tube with glass walls on each end. There are twenty-five seats along each wall, and two doors on each side. The ramp where I came on is at the back, through the glass wall.

One of the doors is labeled Cockpit, one is labeled Staff Only, and the others are unlabeled.

I sit, and put on my seat belt. Others are doing the same, and chatting quietly with each other. I can see that boy at the other end of the room; the one who whispered to me yesterday. He gives me a subtle wave and a wink, and I smile. Is he trying to flirt with me? I hope he knows it's hopeless since I'll probably never see him again. 

After a while, all the children are seated and the ramp retracts back into the hovercraft. The glass door closes. I notice the girl beside me is fidgeting uncontrollably.

"Hey, you okay?" I ask, because she looks worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just - I don't like heights..." she says quietly.

"I'm Kara." I offer my hand, and she shakes it gladly.

"Tiana." She smiles, and with that, the hangar door opens wide, the hovercraft glides forward, and lifts into the air.

I stare back at the fading facility and faraway towns. Goodbye, I think, because this will be the last time I see civilization for a long time.

I hope. Because I may never come back...