After

Excitement rippled through the air as Mary stood on the edges of the crowd, uneasy of the activities taking place on the inside of it. All of their lives the youth of Truant Valley had been preparing for this moment. This one choice would change who they were forever. No longer would she be Mary the skinny, plain girl who no one paid any attention to. No one ever took notice in her because she was really nothing remarkable. With her button nose and too round, too dull eyes, Mary wasn't the type of sixteen year old that stood out in a crowd or even a room. But soon, Mary knew, soon she would be a beautiful and powerful woman. At least this is the story that the rumors told. The truth was no one really knew what happened when you Chose. Some say it was based on the skills one possesses. Others say it is as random as drawing a slip of paper from a hat. No one knew their futures. No one knew what happened After, no one besides Mary that is. 

It was necessary that she keep the true nature of her abilities a secret from all those around her. Even her own mother had never known of her daughter's abilities, but she would not have treated her any differently if she had. 

"Alright everybody, settle down now!"

The voice of the guard up front shook Mary from her wayward thoughts.

"I'm going to need everybody to shut up so we can get this over with as quickly as possible. Everyone whose last name starts with the letters A-C please follow me behind this curtain." 

The guard didn't bother to wait to see how many people were following him; he just turned and walked behind the curtain. 

"A-C! Everyone who's last name begins with the letters A-C please step forward now." 

The voice of Ms. Fagneer bounced through the air. She was a rather sour looking woman. Her face perpetually puckered as if her mouth were full of lemon slices. Mary grinned slightly at the thought of their town Mayor's mouth full of lemons. 

"Can't even get so much as a hello from you these days Mary."

Her neighbor Bethany said to her. 

She was a pretty and bubbly young woman. With honey blonde hair and a smile that could light up an entire room.

The guard from earlier reappeared while Mary contemplated on whether or not to answer Beth. 

"D-F, follow me behind the curtain. Get a move on it, I don't have all day."

With a few choice words under his breath, the guard turned his back once again and walked behind the curtain.

"Hi," Mary answered in a small voice.

Beth grinned, "You nervous?" she questioned before continuing. "I am. I can't believe it's Choosing time already! Seems like yesterday we were just sitting in Mrs. Jacob's class trying not to fall asleep."

Mary nodded in agreement.

"Our futures are behind that curtain Mary. Just think there's a whole other world behind that one piece of fabric. I hope I get to be something important. Like the founder of some franchise or something. Remember Jayden? They say he's nothing but a janitor now and that he was lucky to get even that. Whatever he did he Chose wrong and didn't fit into his new society right and so they kicked him out."

Mary remembered hearing some rumors about the Jayden boy but dismissed them as a hoax.

"But I thought if you were disowned it meant death?" she asked, slightly confused as to why the young man as even still alive let alone with a job.

"In most cases it does," Beth responded, "but somehow he managed to convince the people otherwise. You know how good he was at manipulating people."

Once again the guard reappeared ready to gather another group.

"G-I! Back behind the curtain."

"Well that's me," Beth smiled nervously. "I hope to see you on the other side Mary!"

With those parting words she left Mary standing amidst the front of the crowd. She thought about what she would have to face behind that curtain and if it was as bad as some said it was. She thought of how many years her power lay hidden inside, just yearning to be set free. Mary thought again of her plan. She was sure no one would ever find out. 

"J-L! You know the drill; behind the curtain."

Mary made her way to the front of the crowd. At last it was Choosing time. As the officials made their way through the list, Mary held her breath trying to calm herself. 

"Mary Lakehart."

A woman with a polite smile called her name and Mary came forward. 

"Okay so we're just going to take a moment to make sure that all the information we have is correct before running a few tests."

With that the woman handed Mary a form in which she proceeded to fill out. The woman looked over the paper once before telling Mary to have a seat a few feet away. As she waited, Mary looked around the room she was in. It was a rather large open space, nothing very grand about it. It had tables and waiting areas at various intervals throughout the room. There were multiple doors and chambers leading to many different places. Every few stations there was a chandelier positioned above their heads, the only source of lighting in the room. 

"Mary Lakehart?"

A man in scrubs holding a clipboard stood before her.

She answered and the man ordered her to follow him through one of the chambers. She concluded that this was most likely where the tests were being conducted. 

"Have a seat and relax. We're going to conduct some simulations to see what skills you possess to benefit our society." 

Mary nodded numbly and proceeded to close her eyes. A series of events presented themselves in her mind. She glided through them with ease. Most were just about the skills she possessed and how she behaved in different situations. Her personal favorite was on how she would go about managing a company to ensure success. All was going well until the last simulation. It was a memory she had suppressed for many years. The last simulation tested her ability to stay calm and rational even in a crisis. Mary watched as fire invaded her mind. She could see herself coughing from the smoke in the air; hear her mother's voice crying out from the flames. Back in reality the man in scrubs watched as the young woman before him began to convulse violently at the simulation in her mind. He watched with rising concern as her body began to float above the chair. Light spouted out of every pore of Mary Lakehart drowning out the darkness in her mind. She kept reminding herself that it was just a simulation but even she knew that it had been real not too long ago. 

As the simulation ended her body fell back against the chair and Mary opened her eyes, her skin bathed in sweat. In front of her she saw the faces of many shocked officials staring back at her; a blade in the hand of the woman with the polite smile. Somehow she knew that her secret had been discovered.

"I'm sorry Mary," the woman said, "But I'm afraid that you will not benefit our society."

The woman raised the blade as Mary screamed, but it was too late. The dagger moved through the air with a whistle of wind. Blood spattered the chair that Mary's limp body lay in; her head on the white tile beside her. 

"Number?" the woman asked the staff around her.

"Number twenty-seven today ma'am." replied the man in scrubs. 

"Good. Take her head to where the others are, but be sure to dispose of her body properly this time. I don't want a repeat of Sarah Finnley."

"Yes ma'am." 

The woman cast one last disgusted glance at the bloodstained room before tossing her blade behind her. Leaving behind all evidence of her crime and the young girl inside as she closed the door to her room of lies.