The Calling

“I don’t even know why we even have to go,” I said dramatically.

“If we don’t, every single one of us knows the consequences of not going to the Calling. You know that we don’t have a choice in the matter, Nadia,” Rebekah said with dismay. Even though she didn’t want to go, everyone in our village knew what the Calling meant and how dreadful it was.

Rebekah walked towards the town hall with a grim look on her face. With her long, silky chocolate hair and caramel skin, she kept her head held high as we tried not to think about what was lingering ahead. Rebekah was the only person in the world that I trusted and she knew me better than anyone else. I always considered her my sister, even if we weren’t actually related. Our parents knew each other from when they were younger and everything seemed to click together. We knew from the beginning that Rebekah and I would become great friends, and even sisters.

“Come on Nadia. We can’t be late and I don’t even want to know what would happen if we were,” Rebekah said hastily.

I hadn’t realized that I was standing still until she looked back and ushered me to move forward. Sighing, I picked up my pace up to a more moderate walking speed until we stood in front of our town hall.

While looking upon the building, I had noticed that it was slowly crumbling piece by piece. Slate colored shingles had fallen off the roof over the years and the silver trimmings had slowly peeled away from the harsh storms that has happened in previous years. Even the brick stones leading up to the doors were chipping away, too. It’s difficult to see what would happen if the town hall had clasped, but we all knew it was going to happen sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.

Inside the town hall was the main courthouse. It looked like any other courthouse; with tables, chairs, a podium, et cetera. Within the walls, were many doors that led to different areas of the town hall. Each one had specific names of whom they belonged to and we knew what pertained each one, but one in particular didn’t have one. A door with no handles with only a select few knowing what the passcode was. As far as I was aware of, only the elders knew and would only reveal the code the officials only for the Calling. Only through this door would we be aloud to enter the Calling Chamber.

It seemed that enough time had passed to where Heather was dragging me up the stairs. I could see the rows of teenagers and young adults standing in different lines while officials check to see if everyone was in their correct place. When the Calling happened, every person from the ages of 17-25 had to wear a pure white night gown without shoes. This was to make sure we didn’t take anything with us if we got chosen. It was a dreadful process, but it needed to be done. And to make matters worse, we had no say in anything that was going on. No say in what the officials can do to us. All we can do is just stand and watch. If it was any other given day, we could and would be able to do whatever we need to do to stop any offense from happening. But not on the day of the Calling.

The Calling can be described as a ‘Veil to the Unknown.’ Every year on May 31st, we are randomly selected by the luck of the draw in different villages to partake various difficulties and challenges that one could imagine. Or so we are told. We never know what can happen because all we know is that who ever is chosen just suddenly vanishes. Like they never existed in the first place. No one knows what happens and quite frankly, everyone is scared to know what could happen.

With being only 22 years old, I knew I had a couple of years left until I didn’t have to do this yearly process of agony and anticipation. As I stood in my white nightgown, I slowly moved in the line of depressed young adults. We all knew what consequences we could have if we stepped out of line. Never once would we dare to do so. With my chestnut hair swaying behind slightly and my golden brown eyes looking forward, I soon realized that I was up next.

“Nadia Winters. Age 22. Step forward.” Officer A said sternly.

Taking a few steps forward, the authorities grabbed my arms a little too tightly and brought me towards the nurses stationed at the front. I never exactly understood why there were nurses, but I can only assume that it was to make sure no one going into the Calling was ‘damaged’ or had any sort of injuries. It took a couple of minutes, but shortly I was able to go forward and go find a seat.

“I always hated doing that,” Rebekah commented.

“I know, but you know we always have to do it,” I stated remember her comment earlier. “Like you said, we don’t really have a choice in the matter.”

“That’s true, Nadia.” She sighed slightly. Shaking her head, Rebekah turned to face me seeming really excited. “Anyways, what did you want to do after? Maybe grab a bite at Mama Jones’ Cafe?”

“Yeah! And we can have her delicious hot chocolate with chocolate chip cookies!”

“Of course!” Nodding in agreement and anticipated the end of the Calling.

I could feel myself drifting away into a day dreaming haze and wondered why all of this was happening. Why would anyone want to put young adults through trials to the point of not knowing? Not knowing what’s around the corner. Not even knowing what we can do. Those were the questions I heard the officers say to one another but they didn’t even know why and what could happen. They were just following the rules like everyone else and didn’t question it.

I looked over to see Rebekah staring at me with concern. I never knew why she did but it has been happening more often than before.

“What?” I asked her.

“Why do you do that? Stare off into space? It’s like you don’t even know what’s going on anymore.”

I shrugged silently. I didn’t know why either. All I knew was that I wanted to get out of here and not have to worry or stress about the Calling until next year.

Suddenly, the lights turned off.

I could hear multiple people reacting in various ways through the darkness. Some screamed; some were frightened; and others prayed. Prayed that nothing would happen and that everything would be alright. I had to roll my eyes at that one. Praying wouldn’t help when it came to the Calling. We all knew what was going to happen, yet they seem to think that praying would help. With one flick of a switch, one overhead light came on and there stood a man on stage.

From looking at a farther stand point, I could tell that this man was dressed very modestly for such and occasion. He had a navy blue suit jacket with white dress pants that suited him very nicely. Pairing the outfit with some chocolate loafers, he was pretty put together. With his tan hair slicked back and beard groomed to perfection, I could tell that his emerald eyes were gazing over every single person in the auditorium. Like he was either judging or thinking about what would happen next. Looking down his physique, I could tell he was built for protection. If I wasn’t in this current situation, I would be swooning over him like a lost puppy dog.

Without hesitation, I had a sickening gut feeling. It seemed like he was staring right at me, even though I knew he wasn’t. I just knew that I had a bad feeling and I couldn’t shake it off. Rebekah and I just looked at each other in disbelief because we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know what was to come and knew that there was no way to escape our fates.

“Welcome!” The man belted out. “I know that you are anticipating about what is to come, but before we get started, there are some tiny and minor details that I have to go over with you.”

That had never made me more nervous in my life.

“The first item on the list is about the Calling. As many of you know, each year authorities bring you in this very room and commence the very much anticipated meeting. And at the end, it seems like you don’t remember what happened during the meeting due to our serum that we inject. Well this year is going to be a little different. This year will start the year of having none of the serum. Nothing will hinder you from what has happened in the past or what actually happens during the meeting.

“The second and last order of business the discussion of what is going to happen today and going forward. There shall indeed be a Calling, but it is not like the ones we have had in the past. In the past, we would randomly select people from each age group to participate. However, with people not knowing what was going on, we had to switch things up just a little. Instead of selecting certain people, we have decided to select every single person in this room. As of right now, you all are part of the Calling.”