The Contractors

Chapter 1- A Changed World

Kelsie's POV

CRUNCH!

The sound of twigs snapping caught my attention, bringing me out of my thoughts. I peered through the trees looking for the source of the sound. The malum, what we call those hideous humanoid creatures that attacked our home, were starting to hunt during the day instead of just at night. That meant we needed to constantly be on guard. And to be caught by one of them was like being handed a death sentence.

Five long years have passed since the malum showed up. Though to many of us, it feels like it was just yesterday. Our world has changed quite a bit since then. Many of us have discovered an ability to use magic, something we never thought possible. Not many people believed in things like demons, mythical creatures or other things like them, but now we all know they exist. One of the most notable examples would be fairies, more commonly referred to as fae. Only around a thousand people can see the fae or use magic. Then there's the new element that just appeared out of nowhere, a metal we call Kallium. Kallium is a bluish- gray metal, that's very durable and for reasons we don't know yet, repels the malum. The sectors we now live in have tall, but relatively thin walls made of Kallium. There are a total of fifteen sectors, all of various sizes and populations. But sector 1 in particular housed people who were important, like scientists, doctors, and former world leaders.

I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the source of the noise, a deer. Moving slowly so as not to startle the deer, I grabbed an arrow and nocked my bow. When the arrow struck and the deer went down I mentally cheered. This deer would provide dinner for at least a week or longer if frozen. Meat has become a rarity these days because we have to leave the sectors to hunt, and many people make mistakes that get them killed. Like going too far away from the sector and being unable to make it back before dark. For some reason I felt like I was being watched, so I quickly checked my surroundings. Over to the left of where I was currently crouched I saw something that startled me, a pure white tiger. I knew white tigers existed but I'd never seen one that looked like that. The tiger stared at me, almost like it was studying me, before it turned and walked away. Deciding that my mind was playing tricks on me, I walked over to the deer. Once I got what meat I could off the body, I left the carcass for other animals. It took about an hour to get back to my sector where I lived, sector 5. Upon arriving at the wall, I showed my ID card to the guard and he waved for them to open the gate to let me through. Inside the walls it was noisy and crowded, like a busy marketplace. Weaving my way through the crowd of people, I headed toward my small one story house. Luckily my home was near the middle of the sector. The people were nicer the further in you went. I guess that's cause they feel safer than those who live on the edge of the sector.

"I'm home," I called out as I shut the front door behind me. I could smell food cooking, Mrs. Liane's famous ravioli and sauce. She used to work at an Italian restaurant and that dish was her specialty. "I brought some deer, enough meat to last for a little while."

"Great, thank you," Mrs Liane said taking the bag from me. I washed my hands and set the table while she separated the meat, putting them into bags and then the freezer. The Liane family took me in when sector 5 was built. Her husband had died two years before of cancer, so it was just her and her son Danny now. Mr Liane was the one who taught me to hunt. His father had taught him when he was growing up. Danny was three years older than me, but he couldn't hunt because he has asthma. Speak of the devil... Danny ran through the door waving a piece of paper in his hand. "Mom, Kelsie you won't believe this. Everyone who can use magic is being ordered to sector 1. They even sent a list to all the sectors to round up people who try to stay in their sectors and ignore the summons." He turned to me sadly. "And your name is on the list."

My heart dropped. How did anyone even know? Being able to use magic was my best kept secret, not even Mrs. Liane or Danny knew. So how did someone in a different sector know?