WE STILL EXIST

Prologue

NOAH BLAKE (NO-AH BLAY-CK)

"We need to move this before the storm comes, tonight."

I lift the old rocking chair from the yellow spot on the ground and place it on the front porch. My brother sits on the grass looking at me like I am stupid.

"Get up, Zach," he never listens to me.

Kicking his shin I say, "mom needs us to help her while she is busy with dad."

He rolls his eyes and helps me move the chair inside. The stone floor cools my feet from the hot grass I was just standing on.

We shuffle carefully avoiding the narrow walls of the house and place it in my parents' room near the window. My dad likes watching the rain and when he gets home later he will love to watch the rain come down.

"Can I go back outside now?" I nod at his desperation to leave me by myself.

Zach has always been a good kid, but sometimes I worry about him. He doesn't really have any friends or people his own age around here. His brain is super smart, I mean very smart.

I hope he can get out of here and do something with his life someday. The idea sounds perfect to me, getting out of this small deranged town will make me a happier person that's for sure.

However, I am needed here in the middle of nowhere. Keeping an eye on the little ones and preparing myself for graduation.

Just one year left and I can leave. If the captain allows it, I will be the happiest person alive. My dad would love to see me live my life, but I know that is just a silly dream.

About three hundred years ago, there was a ginormous storm that set a chain of unfortunate events. Our land, people, and government went into chaos. People from all over the world died and most people were abandoned by the government sworn to protect them.

Only a few hundred people from each country were left alive. There could have been more, but sector A decided to save themselves rather than the working class.

But as I said, that was three hundred years ago. Things are much different now and we have immersed ourselves in civilization.

We have three sectors that divide our group. Sector A is the rich owners of businesses who make all of the grand decisions for our group. Sector B is the one that plans and makes all of the connections between the sectors. Sector C is the workers and the people, and sectors A and B, use them for cheap.

Sure, we are a family and we count on one another, but the order of importance runs high. My family and sector will never be important to them. 

I do have a few friends, but my best friend in the entire world is, Maddie. She is in sector A and her family is the ones in charge of our group.

She is not like them. Her drive to help others is genuine and her life choices defy her father's wishes for her. That is why I like her so much... I think.

Maddie is a smart talented girl, but she wastes it all on partying. She always finds herself cuddled up next to one guy or another. Even she messes with girls sometimes... I'm not judging her.

Her brother is two years older than us. He is twenty and a sophomore in college, he is studying business. He is planning on taking over his father's real estate business one day along with the government control of the three sectors.

Coden is the prime example of daddy's money and daddy's power. Always doing whatever his dad tells him to do and always bringing trouble everywhere he goes. He has double the standards of men and women.

Last time we had a group meeting, each family who represents each sector goes to the temple and shares anything we think needs to be discussed. I went with my dad and we brought up the fact that fewer women were being hired out of the workforce because of the gender role.

Coden said that women were being hired less because of the work ethic that was not being produced. How would he know? He isn't even here half of the time.

It was embarrassing, to say the least, and my dad didn't even back me up. He normally stands up for me, but I don't blame him. He has become sick over the past couple of months, we think he has cancer. We don't know for sure, he refuses to get checked out.

My mom is a healer as we call it. She works for the sector and sometimes does over-nights for other sectors if they need help.

There are crazy things that happen here. Since the apocalypse all those years ago, things have dramatically changed and there have been many casualties because of it.

At least now, I have only a year left before I can get out of here for good.

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