Chosen.

Chosen. Chapter two

CHAPTER TWO

Autumn

Well, what a doozy, right?  Not what you were expecting, I'm sure, but wouldn't you want to at least apply, just in case?  I mean, at first I was actually a little scared. I don't know if I want to leave everything I know behind; I like my life. I kind of had a plan to stay in college as long as possible and read as many books as I could get my hands on while avoiding getting a real job all at the same time until at least 30. You see, not exactly the best future goals, but I wasn't planning on doing nothing either. Then all these advertisements started coming out and the commercials glamorizing this chance and how important we would be to all of mankind and everything. You know, I want to feel my life has a purpose.  After all, I'm only human. 

So Kyle was the first one to bring it up to the family, and I must say he used some tact for a 16-year-old. He asked if they had heard about our neighbors getting gym memberships to start training for the Mission.  Now, let me clarify something for you guys, there's no love loss between my parents and our lovely neighbors, the Kirkland's. So you may not understand the seriousness of that statement, but those were fighting words in our house. My parents instantly start in on how if this is truly a legitimate mission and not some hoax run by the Government that they would definitely be the last family chosen and on and on.  I don't really want to get into all the details, but, take it from me, it's a long history of adults behaving like children that started all the way back when Kyle was in flag football.  You see, they also have a son his age, George. But he is, oh, what would you call him...an asshole.  Excuse my language.  So, anyways, George and Kyle have never gotten along and, let's just say, he is absolutely a product of his parents, that's for sure.

Thus, that's how it all began with a little competitive motivation.  We all decided to try to exercise a little more, made an effort to eat slightly healthier, run with the dogs more often, play games that were a tad more educational, you know the drill.  And this wasn't just my family.  At school, that's all anyone talked about was "the Mission," teachers and all.  It's like the whole world turned into little kids again and remembered they once had a sense of adventure and wanted to be astronauts when they grow up or something. 

Some of it could also be things aren't as hunky-dory on the good ole planet Earth like they used to be either.  We have been forced to ration resources more often because of supply shortages. There is a lot less tolerance for waste and laziness and whatnot.  But, I mean, what did we expect? The population has grown so much in such a short time, there had to be sacrifices.  And it's not like its all bad; there were some big new changes put into place a few years ago that have been difficult for most to adjust to, but it wasn't as hard in Texas as it has been in other places. Anyways, it just makes the idea of going to another planet that has practically infinite space and starting over that much more appealing. 

The Government is the main sponsor of the Mission, but they haven't really given us much information besides the guidelines, though.  There are always rumors, of course:  They are going to be like the new royal families since they are the first to arrive and start colonizing; they are going to be able to build their own society where they decide everything; it's going to be hard work and we probably wouldn't like it over there anyways; they are probably not even taking them anywhere and this will all fall through before it goes through; they are just trying to get people's attention, and this is all some elaborate prank;  and my personal favorite, they're going to take the best of the best and leave the rest of us here to eventually kill each other or our planet, whichever comes first.  Like I said, we don't know much.  All they've really done is give us the application deadline.  Every application is due by midnight, Monday, 12/22.  Kinda weird, huh? Anyways, then on the New Year, they announce the 200 chosen families and they also reveal the location for the Trials.  That is where they will test them somehow and, with each new trial, they will weed out more and more families based on a multitude of different weaknesses or whatever. They say the process is so complicated there is no way we would understand, and they have recruited more scientists in the last year for the Mission than any other event in history.  So, I think I'll take their word for it.  Anyways, they've just told us the basics.  That way, the chosen families go in with no expectations and no unfair advantages. Who knows, the first trial could be a spelling bee, for goodness sakes! We literally have no idea and they don't want us to either. 

Oh, and did I mention the whole world is going to be kept updated on the status of the remaining families all throughout?  So they will practically be celebrities by the time the final 50 families are selected for the Mission.  No pressure, right?  I mean, we don't even know what they are looking for outside of the requirements and then they have to do it with an audience judging their families along the way, too?  Great.

So, weighing all those factors, I didn't really care about preparing for the applications as much as my family and all my friends. I just didn't think there was a chance anyone within 1,000 miles of us would get chosen, let alone my family.  But we all talked about it and pretended it was our families getting that confirmation video on our portals on New Year's Day. We talked about what the trials would be like, what all we would take if we got to go, what we would miss, the things we would love to leave behind, etc. It's a crazy idea to think of going into the unknown with only your family and leaving all the rest of your life behind. I mean, I always planned on doing the opposite, leaving my family one day and starting my own life somewhere here on planet Earth, I figured that much. 

Well, I guess I should just start at the beginning on the week applications were due....midnight, 12/22.

'However, sometimes life surprises you and your plans end up so much bigger and more important than you could have ever imagined!'

(((Thank you for continuing on through Chpt 2.  I hope you want to keep reading!  **Chosen.** is going to be a lengthy, gripping journey that jumps through 4 main characters' perspectives:  Autumn, Kyle, Heath and Hannah, with a few others thrown in to give the reader added insight when necessary. Chapter 3 begins with Kyle's perspective in the present. I hope you like seeing things through his eyes for a bit! :) P.S. Feedback and Comments are always wanted!!!)))