Haze

Chapter 1

        The world was ending but all I could think about was two things:the ends of my hair were pastel purple and I was late for school. I quickly threw on the first clothes I saw on my floor and put on my pride Converse before grabbing my bag and running out the door. The school wasn't very far from my house so my run to it was only 10 minutes. I quickly put my hair into a bun to try and hide the purple and caught my breath. I walked to the office and was greeted by the ever pleasant Mrs. Raven McLeo, the secretary and wife to Satan aka the principal.

        "You're late Miss Meyer," Satan's wife snipped.

        "Really? I thought for sure I was 2 hours early," I stated with pretend confusion.

        "Just take your pass and go. Everyone's in the auditorium."

        I rolled my eyes and grabbed the stupid piece of paper. I didn't even bother stopping by my locker; instead I headed to the corral of insanity that is school assemblies. I quickly found the two I call my friends and slipped in next to them.

        "Where have you been?" hissed Amber.

        "I woke up late and ran here as fast as I could. Why are we all in here?" I responded.

        "When do they ever tell us why we're in here before hand?" snorted James. Amber gave me a pointed look and was about to add on when Satan himself - commonly known as Gregory McLeo - took over the stage.

        "As you all may know," he started, "our country is currently in a state of crisis. There are fires rampaging the entire south west and our largest cities are slowly falling apart one by one. Because of this, the government has asked every high school in the nation to assign jobs to everyone sixteen or older. These jobs will be assigned based on your strengths assessed by tests, grades, and activities. These jobs are designed to benefit our country during these troubled times and will be based on your skill set. We will be assigning jobs to each student individually. When we call your name please follow your homeroom teacher. Thank you."

        As the principal finished his mini speech, the room erupted into questions, murmurs, and screams.

        "Everyone quiet down. Everything will be further explained in due time. For now please remain calm," Gregory ordered, clearly miffed. This shut everyone up immediately; everyone knew one way or another that you do not piss off Satan.

        "Is everything really that bad? I've heard mom talk about it with Jackson but they've never talked to me about it," James whispered to us.

        "Anna never brings up what's going on whenever she visits," Amber added gravely.

         They started calling names and people started going back with their homeroom teachers.

        "I guess we'll find out soon won't we?" James offered. I could tell by the way his knee was bouncing and how he was biting his cuticles that his anxiety was rising. I put my hand on his knee and smiled softly.

        "I'm sure it'll all be okay. Maybe they just want to make sure we're all prepared before things get out of hand," I weakly consoled. James tried to smile but it didn't reach his mossy eyes. Eventually our homeroom was called but only about 10 out of the 30 of us had our names called. Amber was in a different home room than me and James so we waved goodbye, but there was still an unspoken concern as to why some names hadn't been called. We followed Mr. Ruinner into the hallway and he led us to a classroom that had chairs outside it in the hallway.

        "Sit," he commanded before walking in. We all stayed quiet, not really knowing what to say. A man came out of the classroom with a clipboard in hand. He couldn't have been more than 20 years old but the sense of authority he held was scary.

        "Melissa Meyer," he called. I stood up and followed him into the room. Sitting at lined up desks were roughly 5 people: Satan, Ruinner, a woman with a harsh look, another suited man, and now the guy that had called me.

        "Good morning Miss Meyer. How are you?" Satan asked with a smile.

        "Skip the pleasantries Satan. What are you going to do with me?" Everyone except Satan and Ruinner looked surprised. Satan kept his composer and gave me a thin smile.

        "As much as I would love for you to be disposed of, I do not make the decision. While you are very much this school's problem child, you are also one of our top students academically," he retorted. His annoyance by this fact was written all over his face. The second suited man coughed and spoke.

         "Miss Meyer the job that has been decided for you is Intelligence Officer. You are to work for our government and gain information both within and out of our country."

         "I'm sorry what?" I gaped. "I'm supposed to basically be a spy and report my findings to the government?"

        "Basically. There's been word that what's been happening is due to unrest among our citizens. We need a new face to go in and look around." I sat there taking in what he just said.

        "What even IS happening? No one talks about it here. We know that there have been some fires and the cities are failing but other than that no one tells us anything."

         "That's because everyone has been ordered to not discuss it with anyone who has not received their job," the woman informed. "You are to be told everything once you arrive at the base. You are to go back what you absolutely need from your home and then you are to leave. Understood?" The tone in her voice didn't allow for any dispute. I nodded slowly and got up.

        "There is an agent waiting for you by your locker. He is to be your partner once you are ready for the field so play nice Melissa," Satan remarked. I flipped him off then walked out of the room. James gave me a look and I could feel the guy with the clipboard watching me. I got the sense that I wasn't supposed to talk about it so I gave James a smile and a hug before walking off.

        I walked to my locker and stopped short when I saw who was standing there.

        "Hey Lemon," my old neighborhood crush said.

        "Holden," I breathed out. He flashed me a signature smile and I rolled my eyes at him. I pushed him out of the way and I grabbed my stuff out of my locker.

        "No need to be rude."

        "Whatever." I put everything in my bag and closed my locker and walked out the building. I heard him catching up to follow me.

        "Slow down Lemon! What's the rush?"

        "I have a job I need to get ready for. I'm not going to dilly dally." I start the walk home and Holden falls into rhythm beside me. Once at my house, we both go in. My mom looked surprised and I let Holden explain while I went to my room to pack. I grab all my basic clothes and throw them into the duffel bag in my closet. I don't have very many things that I want to bring with me that's non-clothing. I pick up the necklace that I forgot to put on this morning that my mom gave me when I was younger. It was simple and small but important to me. It was an emerald wrapped in gold on a small chain. I put it on and threw a couple of books and my camera into the bag. I walked into the living room and Holden was telling my mom about what the capital is like.

        "The capital?" I interrupt.

        "Yes. That is where the government resides after all. You will train and receive your first assignment there," Holden explained.

        Holy Shit. was the only thing going through my mind.