A New Age

Chapter Two

My mother disappeared when I was about a year old. Her body was never found, but they're certain that she is dead. It hit my father really hard, and he never stopped mourning her. It's still just as difficult for him now as it was fifteen years ago. Most nights, he tries to drink away his grief. When he doesn't drink, he's usually either a sobbing train wreck or a hollow shell of a person, staring at some faraway thing, completely silent and unmoving. To him, I am a constant reminder of her, and he hates that. He's always said that I look just like her, and while he may love me, seeing her in me every day hurts too much for him. No matter how unstable he is though, I still care for him. He's still my father. My heart aches for him every time I see how broken he is; I can't help it, being raised in Sector 2 to care for others unconditionally.

I take a slow, shaky breath and gingerly open the front door.

My father sits at the dining table with his hands folded in his lap and tears streaming silently down his face. He wears an expression of pain and defeat. I approach him slowly and perch on the chair beside him, gently taking his hands in mine.

"Are you okay, Dad?"

He smiles sadly and shakes his head. "Don't worry about me. Today will be different. I have failed you and I failed your mother. Today, I will not fail. Today, I will be the father I should've always been. Not just for her, but for you. For you." He wipes away his tears and takes a moment to compose himself. He clears his throat and continues, "This came in the post today. It's a letter from the leader of Sector 2, letting us know that she is ill, and will be sending her assistant to administer this weekend's batch of Sector Tests instead." Over the course of the last six weeks of school, everyone is given the Sector Test to help them decide, oldest to youngest. As one of the youngest, my test is in the last batch - today. He frowns a little and adds, "I wonder what her assistant is like."

"Me too, but I guess we'll just have to find out." I reply, shrugging my shoulders.

He turns to me, eyebrows knitted together, a look of concern painted on his face. "How did you do that?"

"What?"

"You - you knew what I was going to say before I even said it."

Panic rises in my throat and my heart rate spikes as I fumble for an excuse. I honestly don't know how to answer, but whatever it was, my gut tells me that this a dangerous conversation to continue. I have to somehow change the subject, and fast.

I'm saved by three sharp knocks at the door. My father rushes over to open it, revealing a gentle, blue-eyed woman. She seems quite young, probably in her early twenties.

"Good afternoon Mr Edwards," I flinch at the name. It us to my mother. When my parents got married, they chose my mother's surname - Edwards. We kept the name even after she was named dead. "I am Rosabell's" - our Sector leader - "Assistant. I am here to administer the Sector Test on your daughter, Sapphire Edwards, on her behalf. You should have recieved a notice earlier today."

"Come in. It's a shame to hear that Rosabell is ill, please send her my sympathies." He steps back, holding the door open for her.

She enters, turning to me with a soft smile. I'm liking her already. My father goes upstairs, giving me some space to take the test in private. The woman takes a seat opposite me and starts to get the equipment ready. "Hi, I'm Annabell, but you can call me Anna if you want to. You nervous for the test?"

I let go of a breath I didn't realise I was holding and shake my head as I say, "You have no idea."

"Well, try not to worry, it's completely normal. After all, the test could be the difference between staying with or leaving your father. No one would judge you for being a little nervous, and I'm no different. The test will be carried out in VR. I'm giving you this mild sedative to help you to respond to it more instinctually, rather than how you'd want to respond to achieve a certain result. You'll be okay, it will wear off in an hour." She helps me to secure the headset, then gives me an injection in my shoulder and it begins.

As I reel reality start to melt away I drowsily open my eyes. I'm no longer in my room, but in a seemingly endless white box. I can't see where it begins or where it ends, never mind the ceiling. Just white for miles and miles in every direction. Completely disorientated, I stumble forwards, hoping to find something in this wasteland.

I blink, and the scene changes. Confused, my eyes search for the white box that seems to have become a darkened interrigation room. They land on two men, one only a little older than myself. The other is holding the him at gunpoint. I see his finger begin to squeeze the trigger and I don't think, I just react. I leap forward, grabbing his arm and jogging the gun just as it goes off. It hits the boy in the kneecap instead, and I'm left to fight him on my own. He's much bigger and stronger than I am, and he's armed. I fight him as best as I can, dodging his punches, using his weight against him to throw him off-balance. I find an opening, and manage to wrestle the gun out of his hands. The only way I can save the boy is if I kill this man. I shoot him in the head, turning away because I can't look. I begin to feel faint again, and the gun slips from my grasp.

As it clatters to the floor, the scene changes once again. I'm standing in a playground when a little girl approaches me. "Do you know where my daddy is? He looks like this." She hands me a photo. It's him. The man I shot. My voice catches in my throat.

"He - he's in a better place now. He wherever he is, he's happy there. L - listen, he's not coming back, okay. That's just the way it is. But that's okay. He is happy. Your daddy is happy." As I finish, her eyes begin to well up. I take her into my arms and let her cry. I'm crying too. What have I done? But I had no choice. He was going to kill the boy. I couldn't let him do that. But this girl... she'll never see her dad again, even if he is a killer. Maybe it's better this way, but how will she ever understand that? I gently pull back from her and look her dead in the eyes. "I am so sorry. I had to. I had no choice."

She looks confused for a second. "Why are you sorry?"

"It's my fault. I am the reason he will never come back. I am the one who sent him away."

My vision blurs as the test ends.