Worlds Apart

Chapter 1

I walked sullenly down the gravel roads, shadows cast over my face. I stayed under the safety of the buildings, praying no one would see me. I hated attention, and seeing that my brother had just died, I seemed to be getting a lot of it.

I rounded the corner of the building, arriving at the marketplace. The marketplace was always bustling with people, buying food and hanging around with friends. It was a fun place to be. I used to like to run around with James, buying sweets and going on rides. We would laugh and play all day. But we can't now. My whole life has changed, since they killed him.

I watched the children play for a moment, wishing with my whole being that James was here now. At first I hadn't believed that he was dead, when they came to my house to tell me. I had thought they were playing some cruel joke on our family. I had screamed at the officers, the ones that patrol the borders of our city, telling them that they were lying. It wasn't true. It couldn't be.

But it was. My mother had put a gentle hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me, but I had jerked away from her. Now I wish I hadn't. I want her to hold me in her arms while I sob, letting all my worries go. But instead I ran at the officer, hands outstretched towards his neck. He had to die for this cruel prank he was playing on me. But he had caught my wrist in his iron strong hands, glaring at me through small, dark, beady eyes. He said something to me, I could see his lips moving, but all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. He was dead. My brother was dead. No more days where we could run down the streets, laughing and playing tag. No more having fun at the marketplace. No more laughing at his jokes at the dinner table.

He was gone. And they had killed him.

My face had heated up with rage. I didn't have control of my actions, but I remember the officer bending over a bit and holding his stomach. I must have kneed him in the stomach. I was ready to kill him, but my mother had drawn me aside, roughly this time, and there was anger in her eyes. No one harmed an officer. I remember looking into her tired green eyes when it hit me. The tears started, but I was barely aware of them, only that they blurred my vision. I remember running down the street, away from everyone. Away from my mother. Away from the house. Away from the officer. Maybe if I got away from them, it wouldn't be true.

But it was true. And I couldn't do anything about it.

I snapped out of my reverie as a boy walked past me. He gave me a quick glance, and for a moment had had the shaggy, dark blonde hair, sharp nose, and happy green eyes of my brother. I caught my breath, stepping forward, but he was gone. My brother was gone. In his place was a boy, not my brother, with shorter but still dark blonde hair. But the face was not the same. I shook my head, annoyed with myself. I didn't want to start seeing things.

The boy gave me a weird look, before he hurried away down the street. I watched him for a few moments, as if making sure he wasn't my brother. I must have looked horrible. My face was red and tear-streaked, my hair a tangled mess down my back. I quickly wiped my face with my sleeve and combed my dark hair with my hand hurriedly as I jogged down the street towards the large gray building ahead of me.

I was headed to the Headquarters of the city, where they watched everything that happened in the city, controlling and monitoring. I needed to know why my brother had died.

As I walked through the large oak doors, I thought through what I was going to say to the lead officer. Before I could think up anything good, he noticed me and waved me over to his desk. He sat looking over something on his desk that I couldn't see. Something electronic. He snapped it shut when I arrived at his desk.

"Take a seat." He said, waving a hand towards the seat in front of his desk. I had always liked him. He was kinder then the officers and he sympathized with people. And I think he liked me to. We both enjoyed talking to each other.