Fire

Chapter Two

"Listen close class," Eval announces at the end of class, grinning. "There is going to be a combat competition. Winner gets an entire bar of chocolate!"

The class erupts into cheers. We live underground, and the food is scarce. Chocolate is a rare treat, even then only given out in very small amounts. We would win a whole bar? My extra training would pay off. 

I will win it, I think to myself. And then I will share it with Orla and Cora. 

 ~~~ 

I flop on my bed, releasing a breath. 

"That was.. way more intense than normal," Cora groans, lounging upside down in a chair. 
Orla changes into a comfy tee and pair of jeans before stretching out on the floor, head in her hands. 

"Yeah no kidding. No idea why-and this might just sound like a conspiracy theory-" we cut her off. 

"If I had a nickel for every time something proved to be more than a conspiracy theory," I start.

"I would be a millionaire," Cora finishes. 

"True," Orla concedes with a laugh, "but doesn't it feel like everyone is pushing us way harder? Even Mrs. Gray was, and she's the most laid back teacher of all. Think something's up?"

I think about it for a moment. "Definitely." All of a sudden Cora falls off her chair. 

"I know what it is!" she exclaims, sitting up and rubbing her head. 

Now  she has our attention. "What??" Orla and I exclaim in one breath. 

"I think," Cora starts, leaning so far forward that I think she might fall, but at the last second she catches herself. "I think," she repeats, "that we're about to go on our first above ground mission to save some people."

I fall back on my bed. "Talk about conspiracy theories! I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

Orla looks far more uncertain. "How do you know?" she asks. 

"Well," Cora looks shamefaced, and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. "I overheard the Five-Kimberly, Drew, Darren, Andrea and Eval talking about it." 

"Oh," I say, because there is nothing else for me to say. 

Once more the bell rings, this time for lunch. I change out of my Combat uniform and with Cora and Orla, walk to lunch. 

Cora took a long time doing her makeup, no doubt hoping to see Eval. 

I sigh, understanding her pain. After all, it is not so different from mine. 

~~~

I was nine the last time I was above ground. My parents were killed by Lennoth's men. The evil in him has kept him alive far longer than it should, and he has changed his name to Viel. 

It is an anagram of evil. 

I can still remember trees. Tall, brown and green things, shooting up into the sky. Sky. Sky I can no longer remember-I can no longer see it. I know it is blue, but colors are pretty much meaningless underground. Apart from clothes, hair, eyes, skin and food everything is just an endless gray. 

I was hiding under a desk, shivering, hating evil, hating Viel, hating everything, as the fire that consumed my parents burned down around me, sparing me. 

I did not wish to be spared. 

It was there they found me. 

Resistance workers. 

I was sobbing and shaking and all they could get out of me was how one day I would repay Viel for all the pain he'd forced me to go through. 

They took me underground to work in the resistance, and I welcomed it whole-heartedly. 

But my pain has never gone away. 

And I am beginning to think it never will.

~~~

So I hope you're enjoying this book and I will try to write/publish at least twice or thrice a week. Obviously that's not always going to be the case but it's my goal-and I'm usually pretty good with my goals. 

Have fun with this my peoples!

--Nani 

*Fun fact- I don't usually like dystopian novels and rarely read them because they're depressing!

*So why am I writing one...?*

Also does anyone actually read these... uh... whatchamacallits? Author's notes?