Chapter 1
Strange as it may be, it was the quiet that woke Nathan up earlier than usual. He rolled his head from side to side, studying the room and trying to figure out what had woken him up. Everything seemed exactly as it had always been. The walls were plain, gray concrete. There was a grey desk across from the foot of the bed. His friend’s bed (also grey.) Vivian was tucked under the blanket in a little ball, while he lay on top of the sheets. It was not unusual for them to share a bed and was actually almost an every night occurrence.
Her blonde hair fanned out on top of her head in locks that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be wavy or curly. He loved her hair when it was down, but alas, it was only like that when she went to bed. Nathan pulled his gaze from her to other things around the flavorless room. He frowned, unable to find the cause of what had disturbed him. Nothing, as far as he could tell, was out of place. He concluded, it must all be in my head. Vivian stirred, maybe sensing that he had woken up.
With Vivian getting up, that meant the day was starting even if the alarm clock hadn’t gone off yet. So Nathan tossed his long legs over the side of the bed, ready to get it over with. He took a moment to stretch and shake out his limbs. Normally he felt groggy when he first woke up, but today he was alert and feeling fresh. Perhaps the only odd thing about today is I finally got a good night’s rest? He pondered a bit further. This pleased him enough to dismiss the strange wake up all together. He pushed it to the farthest part of his brain and promptly forgot about it.
Nathan strolled over to Vivian’s desk where his uniform, a blueish gray unitard made from thick, waterproof material, lay neatly folded. Insulated, with rubber grip soles that prevented slipping. The outside felt rough in his hands, but inside it was smooth and temperature regulated.
Behind him, Vivian sat up as he shrugged his arms and shoulders into the sleeves. It took him a second for his fingers to find their place. Once they did, he closed and opened his fist until the uniform settled. Then he zipped it partially closed in the front. Leaving the top of his black T-shirt visible. Vivian did the same behind him, though quicker and much more efficiently.
“Morning.” He said to her, combing his fingers through his sandy brown hair until he felt it smooth out toward the front.
“Morning.” She replied dryly. She zipped her uniform up completely so the zipper rested against the middle of her neck. Two years ago the adults changed the dress code so no one had to do that anymore, but for whatever reason, Vivian still did.
Vivian sat down on her bed and reached into the small draw underneath, “Are you going to do my hair today?” Vivian asked, pulling out her hair brush.
“Pft. I don’t even know why you ask anymore.” Nathan scoffed, exerting a deep and overly manly tone. He was hoping to get a chuckle out of her, but alas, he failed again. Not even a smile cracked her rosy pink lips.
He strode over and took the brush from her. Nathan worked quickly, having done this with her almost every day for years. Nathan’s mom loved to have her hair played with and braided. Having only a son, and no sexist qualms about boys and hair, she taught her son Nathan started braiding Vivian’s hair as a coping mechanism when they were first brought to the compound. Now it was tradition.
Nathan brushed out her hair and started to braid a single thick lock from the side of her head toward the back and into the dress code appropriate ponytail required by the school. That simple braid made her look drastically different. It added character to her otherwise bland personality. Vivian, pretty on the outside but plain on the inside. If Nathan let her, she’d pull her hair back into a regular, boring ponytail like the rest of the girls at their compound.
Though Nathan never thought she was bland or cared about her nose. He just thought she was… well, okay—maybe he did think this. But in his defense, he thought this only a little!
He handed Vivian her brush and she put it away.
“Alright. Quick run to the bathroom.” He hopped up, happy.
Vivian gave a single nod.
Nathan was already at the door, holding it open for her as Vivian grabbed her tablet off the desk and crossed the threshold into the hallway--where heavily painted stone walls engulfed them both.
“Thanks.” She murmured in politeness rather than actual appreciation.
“No prob.” He sang, preening under her gratitude.
~**~
Vivian and Nathan had been on a school trip to see a farm and how it worked. At this time, they were eight years old. Nathan had been jerk to Vivian and her sister up until that day. Then suddenly, and he couldn’t remember why eight years later, he wanted to be her friend. There were a lot of things they couldn’t remember. They didn’t remember stealing away from the rest of the group with some other kids to run in a field of dandelions. They no longer remembered Vivian dancing with another boy for a ballet recital to imaginary music while Nathan watched their performance. They didn’t remember marveling at the dandelion seeds floating straight up into the air around them—such a beautiful sight—and not noticing the darkened sky in the distance… growing nearer. The wall of unidentifiable black encompassing the farm or the flash of purple lightning dancing inside the black, lighting up the largest tornado they’d had ever seen.
They didn’t remember any of it or how it would land them in the very school they were now in for the remainder of their foreseeable days. Hell, they barely remembered their life before the school. But they also didn’t think about it, so they were never bothered by anything other than trying to make it to class on time.
Nathan came out of the bathroom, wiping the water from his mouth. Vivian had already past him, walking at a brisk pace and wasting very little time heading towards her locker. Nathan jogged up just a little behind her to catch up then slowed into a relaxed walk, holding his hands behind his neck just to give them something to do. He knew they had plenty of time before class started and didn’t see why she rushed every morning to get there. It’s not like the teachers gave them brownie points. Or brownies.
A shy voice called out to him. “Hey Nate!” Ashley, the girl of the week for him, smiled at him as she passed with her friends.
Nathan’s eyes widened. Her classroom and dorm were on the other side of the hall. So if she was here, that meant it was just to say hi. Recovering from his initial surprise, he quickly spun on his heels and walked backwards to keep his eyes on her, “he-e-ey!” he gave Ashley a smoldering smile, eyes flashing flirtatiously. Ashley blushed, leaning into her friends and they all giggled about it. Nathan finished the turn with a cocky smile on his face.
“Tell me you’ll ask her out yourself this time.” Vivian stopped at her locker, punching in the 4 digit code onto the touch screen. Blue lights dancing along with each of her fingers cutting across the pad. Nathan leaned against the neighboring locker and shrugged a single shoulder. His cocky smile simmered down to a smirk, but the gleam in his eyes never left. Ashley was, again, the girl of the week for him. Maybe he’d ask her out, maybe he wouldn’t. It depended on how he felt at the end of the day. Tomorrow he might like her friend instead, after all. Or someone completely different. He liked to keep his options open.
Nathan was standing as one of the tallest boys at the compound at 5’6’’. When he was 14 he was gangly with a lanky build. Now, just a mere 2 years later, he’d pretty much grown out of his awkward phase. His lanky limbs had filled and began to broaden. His sandy brown, hair and sandy colored skin made his golden brown eyes pop.
Vivian was two inches taller than him. She had her pretty, heart shaped face with big, brown/green hazel eyes. Though you could only see the green if you got real close. Sure, her hips were widening and her breasts budding. But unlike Nathan, she still looked like a kid. She was still just a little too tall skinny for her straight nose. Personality wise, they were also opposites.
She was quiet, didn’t smile often. She had been like that since they were nine and he accepted that was just who she was… most of the time. Sometimes he just wanted her to react for once. So there were times he purposely pushed her buttons and if he did it enough, he could get her to snap at him in anger.
“That was one time.” Nathan exclaimed, pretending offense. “And it worked out didn’t it?”
Vivian gave him a look, “it was not just one time.” She slid the locker door up.
Nathan leaned in close, pushing her off kilter with his chest just as she was reaching for the Tablet stacked inside her locker. His tablet, actually. Her locker was closer to the class. “Okay. So I’m not good at asking girls out? Sue me.”
“Consider yourself sued then.” Vivian grumbled, her voice thick with annoyance. She lifted her chin stubbornly, letting him know she wasn’t getting his tablet for him anymore.
Nathan laughed, happy to have gotten a reaction out of her so early in the morning. He grabbed his tablet. “Thanks.” He wiggled it affectionately next to her irked face and earning an eye roll. “Besides I’ve gotten a lot better.” Now he wriggled his eyebrows at her suggestively at her.
Vivian slid the locker shut, the lights around the numbers flashing to let her know it locked automatically.
It was at this time a group of boys walked by. One, a guy named Joshua, noticed Vivian’s ass. Appreciating the view, he got the attention of his friends and they all looked. Joshua closed the distance quickly and slapped her tablet out of her hands. His laugh came from the chest. “Oops. I guess you’ll have to bend over and pick those up.” this earned guffaws from the other boys.
Nathan leapt between them and grabbed a hold of the front of Adam’s uniform, cutting his celebration short. Nathan snarled through gritted teeth. “Motherfucker!”
Joshua, embarrassed in front of his friends, tried to save face by fighting back. Nathan and Joshua struggled for a second before Nathan outclassed him in size and strength. He slammed the other boy against the lockers so hard it was surprising none of them caved in. Joshua lost his breath and gasped several times to get it back. Nathan, eyes clouded in red, reared his fist back, aiming for Joshua’s jaw.
The crowd erupted. Indecipherable yelling exploded in all directions. Everyone packed around the two boys, hands pulling at them. “Stop! Stop! You’re going to get us all in trouble!”
One of Joshua’s friends managed to pull him away from Nathan in all the chaos and dragged him to safety down the hall. Some of his other friends grabbed his tablet off the floor and disappeared after them.
“You’re going to get us all in trouble.” another teenager, Harvey, accused from the safety of the crowd.
“Shove it!” Nathan barked back at Harvey. Everyone turned away from the trouble as fast as they could and rushed to their classes all the faster before the orange warning lights could flash.
Watching the crowd scatter, Nathan heaved a sigh of remorse. “Sorry.” he said, turning his back to the crowd and moving to pick up Vivian’s tablet but finding she already had.
“I was going to get those for you.” Nathan pursed his lips in disappointment.
Vivian adjusted her tablet neatly in her arm the way they had been before Joshua showed up. She turned and walked toward their class. “You’re going to get in trouble with the teachers.”
“The lights didn’t go off.” Nathan pointed to the ceiling.
Lined on either side of the main LEDs were medium sized circles. These were the announcement lights. They lit up in various colors to display a message. Orange was a warning. Typically used to announce when students had 2 minutes to get to class, get to bed, or lunch was about to end. A single orange light flashing wasn’t scary. But sometimes, it was used in a succession of three flashes before the red lights. Once the red lights flashed, that was it. Everyone in the whole building would get gassed and knocked unconscious. From there no one knew what happened, or how much time had passed. They would all just wake up in their beds feeling like someone had taken a sledgehammer to the sides of their heads and like their bodies were noodles.
“Cameras.” Vivian pointed out, her eyes darted up to a spot on the wall before she looked ahead with a hard gaze.
“C’mon he was a dick! Can I get some thanks for sticking up for you?” Nathan threw up his hands with exasperation. Frustration twisted inside his chest. Seriously, he could understand the other students giving him a hard time for starting a fight. But VIVIAN? Could she not appreciate him defending her even in the slightest?
As his rage grew, Vivian looked over her shoulder at him and gave him the smallest of smiles that she could muster. A quirk at the corner of her lips. It had been forced, he knew, but she tried and seeing the effort immediately calmed him down. “Thank you.” she said. Her hazel eyes danced to the floor then back to him, her smile becoming more genuine.
Nathan blew out some air in an effort to appear nonchalant. “It’s fine. Whatever. Would do it again for my girl.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close then let her go before she could complain. She wasn’t a ‘hugger’ type person (go figure) but after years of friendship she’d slowly let him get away with it here and there as long as he didn’t push it too far. He never did.
They went into their first class. Already full. A wave from Jason and Tyler, Nathan’s two best friends, indicated the saved seats for them. Nathan and Vivian settled down and swiped their tablet screen to the appropriate document number. Jason and Tyler had to ask Vivian for the number, since she was the only one who remembered. She didn’t supply the answer verbally but Nathan peeked over her shoulder, ignoring her rolling eyes, and passed on the memo.
“Heard you punched the fuck out of Joshua.” Tyler leaned over Jason to blurt out to Nathan, drawing a high pitched “the fuck?” from Jason, who promptly shoved Tyler back into his own seat.
“If you want to switch just say something. Don’t gotta sit in my lap to talk to him.”
“I’m cool where I’m at.”
Jason rolled his eyes, “whatever, trying to catch me with that gay shit.”
“Shut up.” Nathan slapped Jason on the back of the head. “And no, Tyler. I didn’t punch anybody.”
“That’s not what Harvey said.”
“This literally happened less than five minutes ago how has it already gotten so twisted?” then, under his breath, he added. “Harvey’s a bitch anyways.”
On the off white, smooth wall in front of them, the projector turned on, revealing a black screen first. The room went still. A second later their teacher appeared, replacing the black. The teachers never showed their faces except for their eyes. This teacher, though none of them knew his name, was the same one they’d had for a while now-- they recognized him by his gray eyes—and they had learned several times he did not like any of them enough to give warnings.
“Kids.” The teachers’ booming voice draped heavily across the room. “Today’s class has been canceled for a field trip.”
Everyone gasped. “Field trip?” they questioned.
“But we’re not allowed to leave the compound!” One kid pointed out. Earning a few angry looks from some of the others who didn’t want to question such an opportunity.
“We’re making an exception today.” the teacher replied.
“Where are we going?” another excited kid blurted.
The teacher sighed. They could only see his gray eyes through his mask, but those eyes looked very annoyed. No one spoke for a good 20 seconds before he continued on in confidence that his authority would not be interrupted again.
“During this trip,” he started, “we will go outside and do a test. A ‘field test’ if you want to call it something. More will be explained at the drop off sight. I will release you for an early breakfast and to drop off your things at your lockers. Then you will follow the green lights to the buses. That’s all for now. You are released.” The face disappeared in shrinking black light.
Chairs screeched against the concrete ground as everyone race to the door. Nathan, with his long legs, jumped over tables to be the first one there. Reveling in his triumph he turned in the threshold to beam a dimpled grin onto Vivian. A Vivian who wasn’t right behind him.
His grin morphed into confused frown. Nathan searched wildly for his friend. He didn’t have to search very hard, she was barely getting up out of her seat at her usual pace, pushing her chair back under the desk and taking the time to arrange her tablet neatly in her arm.
“VIVI!” Nathan cried desperately, a herd of clustered teenagers shoving and elbowing each other were closing in on him, “VIVI! PLEASE!” he shouted. Not even two seconds later he was shoved out of the way and the teenagers flooded into the hallways, whooping and hollering.
Tyler and Jason slapped Nathan’s shoulder as they passed, “hurry man!” Tyler said to him. Neither Jason nor Tyler could wait and were out the door with the rest of the crowd.
“I’m trying, hold on. VIVIAN!” Nathan sprinted back to their desks. He grabbed her things for her. “Let’s go! Let’s go! Is it too much for you to show even a little emotion for something?”
Her eyebrows furrowed briefly, glaring down at the desk.
“I meant excitement.”
“I know what you meant.” She murmured.
Nathan grabbed her hand, getting her to jog next to him. When they entered the crowd, he encircled one arm around her to keep the crowd at a distance and propelled through them using his other arm.
They weren’t the last out of the classroom but their place in line had severely altered. Once through the door the crowd dispersed, everyone running in different directions to put their things away and get to the cafeteria. The same went for Nathan and Vivian, who stopped only briefly to put their tablets back in Vivian’s locker.
Nathan took Vivian’s hand again and darted past people.
Nathan found Tyler and Jason. “Phew. We made it” he said to Vivian, huffing and sweating from the exertion. Vivian, having put up no extra effort and merely letting Nathan drag her around, agreed with a simple, unbothered nod. Tyler grabbed Nathan’s shoulder and shook him roughly back and forth. “Oh man. We’re going outside!”
“Dude, I know. Wha-at the fuck!” Jason blurted in front of them. It wasn’t a question, just the only way he could voice his growing excitement, his voice rising several octaves until he was singing.
Nathan laughed, giddy with excitement just as much as his friends. It was like tiny, happy bubbles were popping up and down his back. It’d been years since any of them had been or even seen outside. Could he even remember what the wind felt like? What was the air going to smell like? He tried to scour his mind for memories of smells he liked, but couldn’t think of anything but the stale ventilated air the compound always had.
The boys continued to chatter in undisturbed enthusiasm about the possibilities that awaited them. Vivian showed her enthusiasm by staring at the trays of food being released from the shaft further down the line.
A girl stomped up to Nathan and Vivian with a sour expression. She stopped and set a hand on her cocked hip, “Are you two going out now or what?” Waiting for a reply was apparently offensive to the girl because she then crossed her hands over her round chest and loudly scoffed. Nathan, bemused, followed the girls’ glowering eyes and looked down to see he hadn’t let go of Vivian’s hand.
“No.” Vivian answered without hesitation; but she didn’t attempt to pull away from him either.
“Right. Sure.” The girl marched off.
“That was Ashley’s friend.” Vivian told Nathan.
Nathan let his arm drop to his side. “Yeah, I know.” He replied, annoyed from the early feelings of being micromanaged. The bubbles were no longer happy.
Jason got his tray and left to find a table for the group. Then Tyler was next. Nathan waited for Vivian when he got his so they could go to their group’s table together. They sat across from each other.
Today they had a bowl of hot vegetable soup.
“Today is a day for ’Nevers’.” Tyler told the group, slurping up the delicious treat.
Vivian sniffed the soup before sipping it off her plastic spoon, “I agree. Going outside and something hot.”
Tyler’s eyes widened, “oh shit. She’s talking to me.” Vivian cut a side look to Tyler. “What?” Tyler gawked, “It’s true! You don’t talk to anyone.”
“That’s not true.” Vivian replied.
Tyler and Jason shared a glance. Vivian only spoke without being spoken to when she was talking to Nathan but none of them were going to point that out to her.
Vivian, seeming to read their thoughts, actually smirked at them. “A day for ‘Nevers’ it is, then.”.
Tyler swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. His face grew hot and he couldn’t stand to look at anyone or anything other than his tray.
Jason frowned at his friend. He turned to his own food, grumbling irritably over his bowl, “I hope some asshole doesn’t ruin it by throwing this shit in someone’s face.” He remarked coldly.
“I doubt people will be acting up too much before we go outside.” Vivian replied. Jason seemed twice as annoyed by her words.
“Wouldn’t want to ruin today for themselves either.” Nathan added.
“Exactly.” Tyler, who recovered in his excitement, replied; and now couldn’t sit still. “What time of the year do you think it is? Do you think it’s hot outside? Or maybe cold?”
“No one knows, dude.” grumbled Jason.
“My favorite time of the year is fall.” Ashley said, sliding up next to Nathan at the table. Ashley was a small girl with big blue eyes and blonde hair. She had a few freckles splashed across her nose and right cheek. She smiled at Nathan, fluttering her eyes innocently, and he felt himself freeze for a split second before he was snapped to his senses when his spoon fell from his hand into his bowl. It seemed he already forgot about her friend confronting him earlier.
But Ashley hadn’t. “Hi, Viv. How’s your morning going so far?” she asked from across the table. Fluttering her small blonde lashes sweetly at Vivian. Ashley’s so nice, Nathan thought, missing the sharp tone of her voice. Very few men were experienced enough to catch the many undertones women used to communicate. And Nathan seemed to be on the lower part of that ladder.
“Fine.” Vivian replied, unfazed and only interested in eating her soup. Something she did just as quickly and efficiently as she got dressed in the morning.
Ashley turned back to Nathan, smiling before she began eating. “I’m super excited about going outside. You know, my favorite time of the year is fall? Did I say that already? Not too hot, not too cold! Perfect weather. Anyways, what’s yours, Nate?”
Nathan turned a slow smile onto Ashley, stealing her breath and leaving her cheeks aflame in heat. “Same.” He answered coolly.
She pretended her cheeks weren’t a rosy hue, “Oh wow! Really?!” she beamed at him before turning a dimmer light on Vivian, “what about you?”
Vivian shrugged in reply.
“She likes fall, too.” Nathan answered for her.
“Oh great!” Ashley said behind a tight grin, the flames turning ice cold. “Sounds like we all have a lot in common.” Not one to lose control, and extremely keen on keeping Nathan’s attention. Ashley played with her hair, looking up at him. She licked her lips suggestively. Not missing the hint, but caught off guard, Nathan choked on his soup.
Tyler laughed, “Dude, what you are choking on? It’s soup! It’s like, 90% water.”
“Ghost dicks.” Jason gave a slow, mischievous grin.
The three of them erupted into laughing fits. They began miming out the vulgar act of choking on someone’s dick. This lasted a while. Vivian remained focused on her soup. She was used to their antics and behavior. They at least had the respect to leave her out of their jokes. Ashley, on the other hand, wasn’t sure she liked Nathan anymore. While the boys made their jokes she deliberated on the subject for a while before coming to a determined decision—after taking a careful inspection of Nathan’s handsome features—that the problem wasn’t Nathan it was his friends. And once they started going out, Nathan would only hang around her friends from then on.
Ashley stirred and sipped at her soup until an opportunity to steal Nathan’s attention arose, but by then the orange light flashed around them, letting them know they had 5 minutes left.
Tyler, Jason, and Nathan finished their soups swiftly, mimicking the sound of pigs in the process. Nathan started putting his tray onto Vivian’s while Jason did the same, sliding his tray under Vivian’s.
“What are you all doing?” Ashley asked.
“It’s so we don’t all have to get up at once.” Nathan explained.
“It’s Vivian’s turn.” Tyler Said as he transferred his tray over to her.
“That’s so smart! Wait, I’m almost done.” Ashley said, hurrying to finish. Vivian helped Ashley stack her bowls on top, then lifted the trays so Ashley could slide hers under too.
When Vivian left, Ashely quickly began her interrogation of Nathan, “so how long have you and Vivian been friends?”
“Since we were 8.”
“So you mean, when you came to the compound like everyone else?”
“No. before then. We went to the same schools.”
“Oh. That’s cool!” She said in an air of over enthusiasm. Nathan’s brows quirked, sensing where she was trying to lead him. The same question always got asked by every girl that tried to get under his arm. And it was, to some variation or another: “But you two never dated or anything like that, right?”
“No. just friends. We don’t like each other like that. She’s just the only person I know from before this place, so we stuck together, is all.” The best time to give a potential girl another 1000 watt smile was always right after giving this practiced speech.
Ashley’s eyes locked onto that dimpled smile. All her blood drained to her lady parts. She managed to look away before all brain functions shutdown, and she’d embarrass herself by literally swooning over him. “That makes sense….” She let out a wavering breath. After a brief moment of silence, she blushed, “so, who do you like?”
Jason and Tyler shared a knowing glance. They turned around in their seats, giving their back to them. Offering the best privacy they could give their bro and waiting on the green light to release them.
“I… uh….” Nathan’s face turned beet red as he wasn’t sure how to answer that question. He was never good at this part of flirting. Just the physical stuff that came after. He didn’t want to be specific just in case he lost interest, but he also didn’t want to be vague and put her off. “Well…I like… someone… she has blonde hair….”
Ashley’s cheeks flushed pink. She bit her plump lower lip expectantly. Then Vivian returned. Ashley took a moment to take in Vivian’s budding chest, widening hips and, most importantly, her bright blonde hair. Instant, physical pain stabbed Ashley right in her stomach, making her feel nauseous. She tried to hide her discomfort by forcing a smile at the boy she desperately wanted to like her, prompting him to continue his description. “And?”
“Ahh.” Nathan scratched at a spot on the table, Vivian reached over and slapped his hand. She didn’t say anything out loud, but her eyes said ’stop that.’
And from that slap a sudden wave of confidence came over Nathan. It spread through him from his hand to his chest and down to his toes and back. He looked down into Ashley’s expectant gaze, a little grin playing at the edge of his mouth, his own eyes smoldering with a heat that could ignite paper. “Blue eyes, of course.”
Ashley turned away, unable to handle the heat and all it insinuated. Though she played coy, Nathan wasn’t fooled at all. His grin widened, knowing full well he said what she had wanted to hear. “There are a few girls here with blonde hair and blue eyes.”
“But none like you.” He hummed. He beamed at Vivian. I’m on a roll. He mentally sent to her. Vivian, not getting the message, raised a single, semi-curious eyebrow at him.
Ashley’s eyes widened and she couldn’t stop from smiling. Feeling too giddy to contain herself, she began to laugh and slap at his arm flirtatiously. “Oh, shut up!”
Vivian smirked at Nathan, who winked at her. Yeah that’s right. His smug expression said, I’m a King. With a shake of her head, she rolled her eyes at him. She turned around in her seat to await the green lights with Jason and Tyler. Followed by Nathan and Ashley. The chatter died down as everyone had turned in their seats, waiting for the signal.
It was so quiet you could hear the rise and fall of bated breaths. The sound of someone chewing on their lips in growing anxiety, the heartbeats echoing in one loud drum and the restless shifting in their seats… it was all so deafening.
The light flashes green once, then the green lines appeared by the exits for them to follow as promised. Each kid lined up like they did a million times before but this time no one said a word; they were too breathless with excitement for what was going to happen next.
