The Right Choice ~ Bellamy Blake {EDITED}

one

Quinn Evans shown above.

The sky box had to be the worst place on the ship if you asked me; it was quiet, too quiet. If I wasn't in here for the reason I was, the silence would have been a blessing, but now? Now it makes you crazy. It makes you think, and thinking too much is dangerous. Every single day it's the same old routine. Wake up, stare at the same grey walls, eat and then sleep. You'd think after 4 years you would get used to it, you thought wrong. It doesn't get any easier in here. I can hardly complain though, it's what I deserve.

For us kids in the sky box, there's nothing left to do but wait for our impending death. At the moment we're prisoners and that's it, we don't contribute anything to the rest of the ship. As soon as we got arrested, we became a waste of oxygen, literally. You may see us and think that we threw our lives away; I think that every single person in the cells had a reason for what they did. Maybe I'm just optimistic, who knows.

You see, where we live, on the ark, every crime no matter how small, is punishable by death, unless you're under the age of 18. That's when you get put into the skybox to await your 18th birthday, when this day comes you are to be reviewed, and the council decide if your crime was bad enough to face death, or if you are allowed a second chance and can join civilisation once again. For me, my guess is that I will be floated for what I did, and I have a week to accept that.

The cold, metal bed I was laying on was uncomfortably digging into my back. The room I had spent the last few years in smelt clinical and like it shouldn't be inhabited. I guess that's my own fault, I had to find a hobby to keep me sane whilst I was in here.

I sighed through my nose for what seemed like the 100th time today as I traced the black ink that swirled into patterns under the skin on my hand. If only my parents could see me now.

My parents, I wonder if they were watching over me the day I was arrested, they'd be so disappointed, they'd hate me for what I did. I can't help but wonder what my life would be like if I had done something differently that day. If I had just been more careful, if I had stayed calm it wouldn't have happened. Calm, that word seems to be foreign to me. I had never been a calm child but it had never been a matter of life or death until that day.

Why couldn't the guards just float me now? Not that I was looking forward to the experience but at least I'd be free from my thoughts. It's almost as if them keeping me alive is a punishment in itself. They know I relive that day over and over again every day, and it brings them joy.

My thoughts were interrupted when the door to my cell slammed loudly against the wall. I sat up abruptly and my eyes blurred slightly from the quick movement, but I could still vaguely make out the figures of two guards waltzing into my room.

"Prisoner 717, face the wall." said the first guard who came in. I felt my heart start to race and my breathing become uneven as I stood up and made my way towards them. I quickly held onto the wall in front of me to prevent my legs from crumbling underneath me. I knew they were a week early but I wasn't going to fight them, this was going to happen sooner or later. I know I sounded pretty confident about it a second ago but now it's happening I feel nauseas. This is all wrong.

"Hold out your right arm." commanded the same guard as before as he pulled a metal bracelet from his pocket. What the hell is this? This isn't how they kill us? They're supposed to take me to the Chancellor Jaha so he can sentence me to death through the air lock.

Panic filled my entire body as I looked between the two guards, but to avoid being lashed or restrained, I followed their commands. A sudden sharp pain in my wrist makes me pull my arm away from them.

A yelp left my mouth as I rubbed my sore wrist with my other hand. The other guard in the room walks towards me and they both drag me out of my cell by my arms. As I am moving down the halls I notice the rest of the prisoners and see that they are all in the same situation as me.