At World's End

April 23, 2058-- Risks and Changes

                                                    Author's Note--

Hey everyone, my book has literally blown up with reads, and I have, hate to admit it, but I have been slacking off. I already had this chapter written, and I have been waiting to update. I want to apologize profusely for not updating. I am so sorry, you all have been so supportive, and I haven't been writing. Hopefully the length of this chapter will suffice, and hopefully I can write more in the future. Depends on if I run out of tea.....

                                                            xoxo,

                                                          Ashley

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                                                         Delilah

I could feel the cool breeze blowing against my face. The sun was shining brightly, and all the problems of before seemed to drift off with the wind. We were cracking up for no reason, and we were just genuinely happy. Honestly, our walks home are some of my favorite parts of the day because it's moments like this when all our fears and problems are gone. Megan's laughter is loudest, filled with an occasional snort that makes us laugh even harder. I start to skip and twirl, because that's just one of my favorite things to do. I trip on a ditch, but catch myself. This just makes me laugh harder. Everything seems perfect. I was thinking about going out with them tomorrow, because my parents won't be home. We could go to SkyGlobe and hang out. SkyGlobe is one of my favorite Year 17 places to go because everyone there is as obsessed with music as I am. We all just grab our EarTunes, and blast in our music.

Megan laugh-yells me out of my daydreams, "Earth to Delilah!"

I glance over at her and crack up.

Justin smirks, "You always zone out Delilah. You might want to get some professional help for that."

"Says the one who's had to escape the psychiatric ward at least three times." I retort back with a smirk to beat Justin's now fake crying face.

We carry on with our simple small talk, deciding to take the long way home, around the playground. I turn my head and inhale sharply. I'm always sensitive to seeing the line after Will disappeared. It still affects us all and normally we avoid this area. The line seems to lurk past the darkness, taunting and mocking us. The sky changes abruptly from a crystal blue sky to a pitch black darkness, exactly where the line cuts off. Ever since forever the darkness has stayed there, with no one really questioning it. I mean, who even made the line, who crafted the darkness? In school we learn how to be good citizens, but never about our city's history.

A bright light snaps me out of my thoughts, shining and blinding us from the shadows. We look around confused. This has never happened before, right? The white lights lead to two huge jets. The jets hover in the air and slowly land.

"What the heck are those?!" Justin screams.

Megan looks terrified as she says, "I'm not sure, but how did it come from the line?"

I think through my confusion and remember the note from earlier, "Will. He....he... knew. How?"

We look at each other, our brains synchronizing our thoughts. We drop everything and run, the only sensible thing we could think of. I don't know if they are dangerous or helpful, but I'd rather take my chances staying safe than risking our lives. Justin points towards the nearby playground, which seems to be the closest thing to safety at the moment. I look behind me as we near the playground's main area. These people, dressed in all white battle suits and white and black helmets climb out in an army style fashion. They honestly seem trained.