The Switching

Chapter 2

The rain wasn't letting up, and the nerve in my stomach was eating me alive. I couldn't do this. Leave my only sister, everything I knew, going to who knows where with who knows who on a journey I could possibly never return from. But I had to. For my world. But the Keeper could be anywhere, from the Earth(that's the strange place where there is an actual human race) to space, or any other planet. All these questions swirled through my mind as Diana and I came to the Plaza, where the Gathering would be held. I took a deep breath, and squirmed to the front of the hundreds of people, where all the sixteen-year-olds sat, waiting for the Seeker to appear. Then he stepped out of the shadows. The Seeker was wearing a long grey cloak, showing only his head. He had flaming orange hair, and a surprisingly young face. He looked about twenty, and I guessed he was the replacement for the old Seeker. No one knew where the retired Seekers went, so I pushed the thought out of my head.

"Welcome. As you all know, I am your Seeker, who will see who goes on the perilous trek to find the awful Keeper. Tonight, we will find out the four Retrievers, and send them of to their destiny." He paused, and cheers and shouts erupted from the crowd. I scanned the sea of heads, and found Diana. I wished she was here with me. She always made things less scary then they really were. To my left, there was a tall girl with flowing blonde hair. She looked brave, unlike me, so I tried to imitate her pride.

"Now, without further ado, let us call the sixteens who will train to try to become a Retriever." He sounded tired, as if he had stayed up all night without sleep.

"Reed, Alice." He called from a scroll. The blonde haired girl next to me stood up, brushing her tan colored suit. She hurried up to the stage, and a couple of guards led her away into the shadows. Great. I will probably never see Diana again.

"Ford, Daniel." A brunette boy came from the second row, and it went on like that. Only ten more teens will be called. Finally, they came to the ninth name. I released my worry. They are almost done. Then the speaker raised his voice.

"There is a...mistake. Only nine sixteens will be called this Gathering. The last person will be apart of The Switching." The Switching? The name repeated in my head over and over, trying to comprehend its importance.

"McNair, Emmilyn."

I froze, not able to speak. Fear crept into my mind, and my knees buckled, but I quickly got up. Nervous tension wafted over the Plaza. Murmurs and whispers filled my ears as I stumbled up to the stage. I looked for Diana, and her face hard to read. Tears were streaming down her face, and she left the crowd. I felt miserable. Then, four guards grabbed my arms and I winced. I was taken into the shadows, and

time

slowed

down.