The Unnamed | The Unnamed Duology Book 1

ORIGINAL FIRST 3 CHAPTERS

1: the Title

"Runner," he heard. "Come here. I have another message for you to run."

The boy, the age of seventeen, sprinted from his post at the table, where he was taking a break from training. He was tall and had incredibly dark skin. His hair hung down to his shoulders in dreads.

The old man of fifty-seven folds a paper and slides it into an envelope.

"I don't want anybody seeing this, you understand? It needs to go to the Leader. You should know where that is."

"Yes, Master." The Runner says politely, nodding his head. "Is there anything you want me to tell him?"

"Yes. Tell him that this is urgent, and I need him to respond right away." The old man says in his deep, raspy voice. "I want you to stay in the building with him as he writes his letter back. If he asks why you have not left, tell him it really is extremely urgent."

"Yes, Master."

The Master hands the white envelope to the Runner, and watches as he runs out the door.

"One more year until that boy earns his name. He deserves it."

The Runner sprints out of the building, and splashes into a puddle. It's raining outside.

Rain is never a good thing.

The Runner pulled his black hooded jacket up over his head to block the water, and slid the envelope between the jacket and his blue shirt.

Black and blue for the Runners--it's mandatory.

The rain only gets heavier as his legs take him farther from the white mansion and to the big red one.

It was a five-story building with a big arch in the front. Columns run along under the roof that hangs over the outer walls like a hat. The doors are grand and black underneath the main red arch of the building. Red roses lined the perimeter and every window gave away that all of the lights were on.

The Runner jogs up the narrow steps to the front door, skipping every other step. He takes off his jacket and shakes it out, all of the water falling off of it easily, thanks to the water-resistant material. In his hand he holds the envelope, careful not to crease it as he slides the jacket back on. Without this jacket, he wouldn't be allowed to receive his name when he turned eighteen this year.

He opens the big, black door and steps into the beautiful room that laid behind it. An elephantine chandelier hangs from the ceiling above the center of the room three stories up, and two white marble staircases wind their way to the second floor. A red carpet is draped like a runway over each step, and the rug on the floor looks like the rare red velvet the Runner's only heard about. He knows it's not real velvet though. The Leader had told him on one of his runs.

Everything inside is white and red, a contrast to the black and red on the outside of the building.

The Runner waits by the doors, knowing what he needed to do, having done it multiple times before.

"Runner!" the Leader claps once joyfully as he walks down the stairs to greet his guest. "Welcome! It seems I haven't seen you in ages."

The Runner nods politely, knowing he's not allowed to say anything but what he came here to say.

"What does Mortimer the Solver have for me today? Or is it from a different housing unit?"

"The Master has told me to bring you this," he says, holding out the white envelope. "He wanted me to say that this is urgent, and that he needs you to respond right away."