FYSH: Diving Deeper.

Chapter Two: Plucking Out the Weeds

Our coach was in the central part of town, enveloped in the North Station. The North Station was even grander than the South. Where gold walls lay, pure white walls replaced, with veins of shimmering blue as if the walls were made from some sort of crystal. The people bustled through, flitting like butterflies in and out from each store. There was more, much more. But somehow, it was the people themselves I couldn't seem to tear my eyes off. They looked so youthful and shiny, like they had upgraded from those in the South Station. And unlike the Station over there, the people here were all the same. The same smooth, pearly teeth, bouncy and fluorescent skin, a glimmer in their eyes, sunlight recoiling off their hair, they seemed so familiar.

Our people were easy to tell, because we were pretty ordinary. We had mousy hair, and gritty nails. Our bodies were flawed and our bone structure did nothing more for us than hold us up. My village was little but we were the embodiment of "happy-go-lucky" type attitudes. We were nothing special, but that was all going to change. With me.

As all other thoughts dissipated away, only a few thin questions swam around my mind. Those questions built up as the more worrisome I became, and soon I was a hot pool of paranoia. My eyes scanned my surroundings, again and again, not really taking anything in. It was an alien environment, and where I was used to seeing soft crumbly earth and hard sanguine rock, there was only sharp, crisp walls of navy and gray. For a full minute we stood there, like a cluster of spilled jelly beans, waiting for something to happen.

And then, something did.

In the suffocating silence in the large, open room that tightened around us as we breathed, a sound bleeped, and echoed. The infernal beeping made me feel strange and empty, as if the sound itself was reverberating through our bodies. And in the precise middle of the room, a shiny screen slid from the ceiling. Unconsciously, I grabbed the person next to me, as a dizzy bout rolled over me. I looked up, blinking, staring into a pair of glittering dark blue eyes. I remembered those eyes from the bus, those sly navy eyes from the boy leaning against the doorframe, and hastily I pulled my hand away, expecting him to do the same. Instead, he settled his hands into his pockets and shuffled a little closer to me, providing me a little more support as my brain pulsed, unbalancing my whole body. I lifted my head, shifting my focus on him once more, but this time he wasn't looking at me, or even in my direction. He was studying the screen at the front, with a fixed glare that I couldn't unravel. I followed, directing my gaze at screen as well, and almost in response, it flickered. Some of the younger children gasped, their attention quickly stolen.

A woman's face flashed on the screen, and more silent outbursts were made. Ioa, I thought disdainfully. I couldn't help but scrunch up my nose as she began talking.

"Congratulations to all boys and girls from the eight to seventeen division on making it to headquarters. The project that you children are taking part in is a vital part of not only humanity's survival, but everything beyond." Even when congratulating us, she sounded bored and grumpy.

"The project is called," she continued, "the Fountain of Youth."

Something within me twitched as she said those words, and her digital eyes suddenly seemed to be all on me.

"It's an incredibly important proposal which includes a specific program for youngsters to fulfill. There is an unimaginable amount of responsibility on your hands. It's almost preposterous to hand such an imperative task to a bunch of children." Something in her voice was electrifying and intense, and though the words coming out of her mouth were somewhat degrading, she made it sound like a privilege. "And to conclude," her owlish eyes blinked eerily at us and her thin, scarlet lips barely moved, "some of you will get hurt. Some of you may even die. This project is one that simply is too difficult and complex for anyone to not get hurt." She paused here after speaking so quickly, and the words trickled over us like butter on toast. "But, think of it this way. You work harder, everyday, training so that every night you can barely sleep because your bones absolutely ache, so that each limb feels as though parasites are nibbling away at it's sinews, and your lack of sleep makes you lose your appetite, so that you look like a measly sack of bones, and maybe even then, you'll wish you were dead. But you won't be, because you'll see the kid who didn't even give herself a chance to step into the pool, floating in the centre, her tongue lollygagging, and her eyes slimy and still. If you know you're not dead, but you want to be... well, that is the perfect state that you want to be in. And the reward given to you, will be one worth your hell. Good luck children, and remember, you are here for a reason."

She pouted and then slid her lips into a beam. Her shiny, shark-like teeth glinted as she drew her nails lightly against the table. Her eyes, that hadn't left the camera for a second, veered up as her lips became o-shaped, and in that split second, the screen went black.

For a moment, there was a disconcerted quiet. And from beside me, the boy spoke.

"I think we part ways." He said, and nodded forwards. The gloomy room seemed to have transformed, revealing, as the screen smoothly ascended, two tunnels. One on either side of the room that curved towards each other, but not enough to meet. They were both decorated with a single, white symbol at the top of the opening of the tunnel. On the left, the male sign, on the right, the one for women.

"I-I guess you're right." I replied. Or, moreover, squeaked.

Everything was spinning, and we were like a blur as the boy and girls segregated themselves. The girls puddled around me, each unable to keep still, moving like the ocean. I told the buzzing girls to wait and marched over to the two boys from the coach.

"What's your name?" I said.

Rescue-boy grinned.

"Beck." He answered.

I turned towards the other, avoiding eye contact. I mean, I was still embarrassed from basically jumping into his arms.

"Tyde." He told me after a little pause.

"Atlanta Piscis." I told them.

Tyde's eyes widened, and almost immediately, he turned away.

"You should get going." Was all he said.

My eyebrows furrowed but I still walked away, my mouth sewn shut. We all stepped into the tunnel together, the same concoction of fear and nuzzling curiosity bubbling within us. No matter how eager or inquisitive I felt, I still couldn't shake off the feeling that something really bad was about to happen.

...