The Rat in The Signal

Prologue

Kids were always something even the kindest, most caring adult could never like. They were loud, destructive, and an overall annoyance to the world with their happy cheering and bright smiles.

When they got older, they luckily matured, but it was only after dealing with them for sixteen to eighteen years. It started to becoming more displeasureable news if a couple were expecting. 'Great, new voices to hear screaming in the neighborhood! Way to go, Greg, you weak pull out.'

Eventually, in the last hundred years, the current leaders, or the higher ups as the kids named them, came up with a way to keep the children's numbers down.

As soon as they could preform a basic survival skill, they were to be abandoned. When they reach their late childhood to early teen years, from nine to thirteen, they were to be caught and rehabilitated in schools to becoming reintroduced into the city or where ever their home was.

So, parents started to do it. Kids were left for dead when they could preform one of the necessities for survival: start a fire, kill their first animal, make shelter of their own, or make clean water.

After they passed their test, the adults left. When the Abandonment Policy was first placed, kids were heartbroken when seeing their parents or kin be separated from them. Some kids even desperate enough to follow them home, only to be shot and killed for not being the right age.

In the last fifty years, a young boy had had enough. He had been gifted the name Un, a simpler name compared to the rest of the children.

Un had enough of the constant running and hiding, only to be caught one day and made into slaves for the higher ups. So, he formed the rebellion.

Un's brother, Ten, became his second in command, his shoulder to lean on during the heat of battle, while he dubbed himself as Commander.

With the rebellion, kids had something to look forward to, to having a home where they were surrounded by others who were in the same situation as them and someone to help depend on.

Soon, however, after ten years of serving, Un went missing, as did Ten. Without their Commander, kids were frantic as to what would happen to them. The Commander was gone, who would lead?

A young girl stepped up, she never told her name, but other's just simply called her Fifteen. She came forward, becoming Commander, but was never taken seriously.

No matter how hard she tried to prove herself to the rebellion's inhabitants, no one listened to her. Why should they? She wasn't as smart as Un or as big and strong as Ten, what could she do?

Eventually, Fifteen was over throned by a boy named Siren, a handsome boy with delicate blue eyes. The kids listen to him, much to Fifteen's annoyance.

One night as Fifteen went to blow off some steam from Siren's recent plan, finding herself on the beach right near the forest they were located.

That night, Fifteen heard voices. There were plenty of them, chattering and laughter; but no one was around. She asked who was there, and all at once the voices stopped.

"You can hear us?"

"Yes, where are you?"

"We're up here..."

"Up where?"

"The sky, dear,"

"Wait, am I hearing ghosts!"

"Nah, we're not ghost, kids. We're stars,"

"Stars?"

"Did I stutter?"

Fifteen and the stars started to become closer from that night on. She would warn the rebellion if something were to go wrong, and helped them when times got rough, doing what the stars suggested and told her to do.

Siren grew curious before long, how did Fifteen know all of this? Had she become a spy for the high ranking adults? Surely they heard of the rebellion by now.

Siren followed her one night down to the beach, and was stunned by what he saw. Fifteen talking to herself, looking up at the sky, and seeming to have full conversations. He thought she had gone insane, but when he confronted her, she denied it, telling him about what she had been gifted to do.

Reluctantly, Siren began to believe her as she continued with her messages frequently from than on. She proved to be something special with her gift, soon climbing to the top of her rank.

Fifteen had become the first Oracle, the first closest thing they had towards a priestess. Siren promoted her to stand by his side for whatever was to come, and after a while, the two started to become close to one another.

They had become so busy with being by one another's side, Fifteen had no more time to spend with the stars. One winter, the stars tried desperately to reach her to warn her of a pack of hungry wolves that would attack the rebellion, but couldn't reach her in time.

Death wrecked the camp that night, nearly destroying the rebellion completely. Fifteen was angry at the stars, but was told it was she who did wrong.

From then on, the stars made a rule. Until the Oracle was caught, killed, or excused from her position, she was to never be allowed in a relationship with anyone. Fifteen tried to abolish the rule, continuing her relationship with Siren as long as she could, before the stars had enough and killed her.

Siren, distraught by his loss, enforced the rule, claiming any future Oracle and her partner, were to be tied up and thrown for the adults by daybreak.



So, here we are, the world still a nightmare of a place is was decades ago. The rebellion is growing more restless of doing nothing by being a safe haven, and recent evidence shows that the adults are finally starting to close in on them.

The recent Commander has big plans, big plans that the group is seemingly all for, despite the dangers of this game of Russian Roulette.

It's only time until they have pull the gun's trigger.

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Finished - Jan 28th, 2021

Prologue is done, yaaaay

I think it turned out kinda good, but let me know what you guys think. I just wanted to try and give an explanation for future dialogue and give a glimpse of how this will work.

* Edited Mar. 9th, 2021 *

Only edits were a few misspelled words and fixing a few sentences. Nothing too drastic of a change.

Take care!

-republished cuz the thing said it wasn't-

* Edited May 17th, 2021 *