4522 {The Number Series}

13

The morning bell rang. I sat up in bed, startled and covered in sweat. I had been having a nightmare that I was riding in the truck on the way out of the city only to find that every time we reached an opening in the trees we found ourselves in the city once again. I was never going to escape.

But I had. I had left the city for several weeks at this point and yet I kept having the same nightmare. Archer and I had even developed a daily routine. It was not like that of the one we had in the city it changed here and there with the needs of that day. The basics throughout the day were always the same though. I showered and dressed. My outfit different every day. The colors changed but the three materials stayed the same. Wool, denim, and silk. I chose a loose fitting white top tucked into a pair of slightly over sized light blue shorts. I used some string as a makeshift belt. I put on the work boots I had been given.

In the morning we ate breakfast, sometimes followed by an announcement, where we would then go to the fields. Here we would pick and plant food. Some of it was in large structures they called green houses. From my understanding these buildings let food grow even in the colder months of winter. Inside these were the only times Archer and I had alone time to talk that was actually allowed. Due to the beginning of spring, we had the duty to takes seeds from the greenhouses and plant them in little containers until they began to grow. Once the danger of frost passed, we would then take the ones who had sprouted and plant them out in the larger fields.

"This somehow reminds me of the selections for children they make back in the city," I said to Archer who was crouched down next to me inspecting little seedlings. "Take the strong and leave the weak."

"The weak would not produce food in time," he said. His brows were furrowed as he looked at one who was on the verge of wilting.

"It would if you nurtured it. Once it is dead is when you should give up."

Archer smiled at me. "You believe in everything, don't you?"

"No," I smiled. "But somethings just make sense. Water that little plant. You will see."

He rolled his eyes but put a little water around the plant.

"Once we finish watering all of these carrots we will have to plant some more of the lettuce and tomatoes." I sighed. "It's going to be a long day."

It was earlier spring and, while it was not hot outside yet, it was hot and humid in the greenhouses. The rainy weather outside only added to the humidity. I wiped beads of sweat from my face with the back of my hand. Archer had a darker stain of it forming in the middle of his back. Several rows away from us two girls were fanning themselves with their hands as the looked around at their plants. Archer and I went about out business as we chatted.

"So what's it like being part of the future protectors?" I teased. Archer wasn't a violent guy but his interrogator had seen something in him that the both of us did not.

Archer groaned. "It's agonizing. They keep pushing us. We never get to sit down or think; we just keep pushing forward, rain or shine, day or night. We are currently working on hand to hand combat."

"Where do you go from there?"

"Knives, I believe. The weapons get more deadly the longer you last."

"What happens if you're just not good at it?"

He grimaced. "I've seen what they make the failures do. It's not pretty. How is the role of leadership?"

"Heavy."

"Heavy?"

"Marie is expecting so much out of me. I have to memorize maps of not just the city but also all of this out here, beyond the tunnel system." I hadn't been able to correctly tell her how to navigate from the outside gate to the center of the city and she had not been happy with me. "I am being drilled with their legal system and the legal systems in the city. I have to know their differences and tell why the cities is entirely wrong."