Found (Book 1 of the Haven's Army Trilogy) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 1

The rough horsehair of my toothbrush ground across my teeth. My reflection in the cloudy, shattered glass made it look as if I had just risen from the dead. I turned on the scale-covered sink, rinsed, and ran down the short hall into the room that served as our kitchen, dining area, and living room.

"G'bye, Mother!" I called behind me as I walked out the front door, my little brother trailing behind me.

We waited for the bus to come. Finally, the first of the muddy bus peeked around the corner. It rumbled along putting off a lot of smoke. After a few seconds, it came to a squealing stop. My brother and I climbed in the large, black bus and sat down in the back.

A few minutes later, we got to the small, brown brick building that was our school. We stepped out of the bus single file and went in. My brother and I went our separate ways and I opened the classroom door.

I sat down amongst the rest of the girls that looked exactly like me and the boys that all looked exactly the same. We all had dark olive skin. The girls had dark brown hair that was cut short, exactly an inch above our shoulders, and brown eyes, while the boys had short, dark brown hair and the same brown eyes. We were all required to wear a white, long-sleeved, button up shirt and black, regular-cut dress pants down to mid-ankle.

I hated all the restrictions, but if I knew if I opposed, my mother would go to The Halo to work as a slave. My father... Well, The Halo isn't very forgiving. And they enjoy showing their power.

I tried to listen as the teacher explained the history of Haven. Rain began pattering on the small window.

"The first people of Haven; Louis, Nicholas, Dale, Calvin, Samuel, Leonardo, David, Paul, Thomas, Charles, and Ronnie; were placed on The Halo. They built boats and explored all of this area. They found ten other islands. Each took an island and claimed it for their own. They then allowed Louis, the one who settled on The Halo, to take charge of all of them. After a few generations, each island gave up control and handed it over to The Halo. The Book provides teachers and other scholars; The Gear invents new things for The Halo to use; The Hospital provides for medical needs; The Garden provides plants and grains for all the islands; The Shore provides saltwater foods and rope for The Halo; The Hearth provides coal and wood for our fires, as well as beautiful gems for The Halo; The Needle makes our clothes; The Hunt hunts for food for The Halo; and The Victory provides soldiers in case of attack. But there was one more island called The Shadow, which now perfectly describes its state. It used to create things out of shadow for The Halo. But then one day, they decided to rebel. They fought long and hard and lost. The Halo destroyed the island as a reminder not to rebel."

The Shadow was on my mind during the rest of class. Finally, the bell marking 3 o'clock rang out. I got up and my classmates and I filed out the door, single file. I waited outside in the rain in the designated spot our family members met. My brother walked out right after me and stood beside me. We filed into the bus that would take us downtown to the outdoor practicing arena.

When we arrived, the rain had stopped but the clouds still hung low. We marched single file into the arena doors and lined up in front of the instructor, an older man who was a Veteran.

"Today we will be learning to..." he began. I heard a very loud noise coming from my right. It got louder and louder until I could see it. It looked like a metal bat that didn't flap its wings. It was sleek and black and it had something large, round, and black strapped to the bottom. A bomb.

We watched in awe as it flew overhead. Suddenly, what the Veteran called my "warrior sense" kicked in and told me to run to the beach. Another part of me told me not to because I would be punished for doing so.