Chosen

Chapter Four

        The ringing of the gong filled the air. For a second, Hayel froze, forgetting about what was at stake. Then, she realized that there were people running around and she was shocked into motion. She noticed someone running for her at full speed and sprinted away, hopefully buying her time to find Mia. She looked around and saw a jumble of people running in all directions. Finally, she spotted Mia a few dozen yards away. She saw Mia look around, and then made eye contact wth her. Mia instantly knew that Hayel wanted to bond, and began running to her. Hayel began running as well, and had to jump to the side as someone came running at her.

        Hayel ran at full speed, dodging people from all sides. When the two girls were a few yards apart, Hayel saw Mia's eyes grow wide and her face turned white and looked confused. They were almost steps apart when Hayel felt a hand on her shoulder that stopped her in her tracks. Her heart dropped and she wanted to just ignore the hand on her shoulder and reach out to Mia. But Mia knew the rules and had already run off to find someone else to bond to.

        Hayel knew that there was no point in trying to bond with anyone else, so she accepted her fate and tried to see who had become her Aalum. She turned around and looked at the face that belonged to the hand that was on her shoulder. She looked up into that face, only to find... it was Peter.

        Hayel was confused. Peter? Hadn't  he already taken place in the ceremony? Hayel thought so, but then why was he here? She was about to ask him what was going on when he simply put his finger against his lips, telling her that she should stay silent. Even though she still didnt understand what was happening, she trusted Peter.

        Hayel stopped staring at Peter and looked around at what remained of the ceremony. The crowd was roaring approval as the remaining participants chose their Aalum. As Hayel looked around, she could see people who approved of their new Aalum, and she could clearly see those who were upset with the results. Finally, the Ceremony wound to a close. Hayel noticed that the new Aalum were pairing off, so she decided to look for Peter. She searched and searched, but Peter seemed to have mysteriously dissapeared. Eventually, she gave up as the Director began to speak.

        "Ladies and gentlemen, i welcome you to this year's Ceremony! We had quite a spectacular show this time, and I think that the odd number of participants added some edge to the entire program," the Director said.

        Hayel had forgotten all about the odd number of participants, but now she tried to search for whoever the unlucky soul was. 

        "Unfortunately," the Director called out, "the one who did not get an Aalum will not have another chance because of her age." The Director paused, looked Hayel in the eye, and said the words that tore apart her entire world. "I'm sorry Hayel," he began, "you will have to live life without an Aalum."