It has divided us. Humanity against technology… and we are losing. Few remain as the taken advance on the survivor camps. Taken, the ones who have been chipped, the ones who were corrupted, the ones who have been lost to The Awakening. We have a camp made up of a few dozen survivors; however, I only trust five.
Alyssa (Aly), my little sister, the kind spirit. She is 8 years old and would never hurt a fly. Her tight brown curls and gigantic smile always have the ability to lighten the mood. She is the sweetest, kindest, most caring person I have ever met.
Keaton, the tech expert of our group. He warned us about The Awakening just in time. We wouldn't be here without him. He has hazel colored hair and green eyes. His round glasses are always resting on the edge of his nose. He is always the realistic one, never afraid to tell us the truth, good or bad.
Tristen, the group’s protector. He would give up his own life to save us. He almost did once, but we will get to that later. You never see Tristen smile any more. He always seems sullen with his black spiky hair and dark brown eyes. This is probably do to the fact that he lost his family in all the madness. We all did, but at least I still have Aly.
Sahara, our healer. She pours her heart into her work and sees an opportunity for a better life in the future. Her bright red hair is always pulled back in an old rubber band, allowing her to work without her long hair getting in the way. She is always spending any spare time healing the injured of the camp. Her mother was a healer in our district, one of the best. Sahara definitely inherited her passion to help others. No matter how little hope there is for the person, she always tries her best. My sister admires Sahara so much and hopes to be just like her someday.
Derek, the leader and my best friend. We always stick together. Derek has been my best friend since we were little. The past weeks have only brought us closer. His short brown hair and hazel eyes have become a familiarity. I always feel safe with him. Derek was never named the “official leader” but when everything happened, he stepped up and took charge. We have followed him ever since.
And then there's me, Eliana (Ely), the huntress. With my bow and arrow, I never miss. My wavy blond hair flows down slightly past my shoulders. You would never know because I always have my hair twisted up in the clip that belonged to my mother as a child. She would always clip my hair up when I was younger and sing to me in the mornings while helping me get ready. This is my last good memory of her. My mother is one of the taken. She has been chipped, turned into one of their mind controlled zombies. Just thinking about what happened infuriates me. I feel a tear roll down my cheek, but I quickly flick it away. There is no time for crying. There’s no purpose either. Crying is going to fix nothing.
The world wasn’t always overrun with technology. The year is 3008 and I am currently a senior at Intel High in District 38. Our districts are made up of one or two “states” from the Old America. They also include similar grouped areas in the Old Mexico and Canada. District 38 is around the area of where Ohio and Indiana used to be.
North America has been “United” I guess you could say. After America took over Mexico in 2784 in the North American war with Canada joining America in the war, North America then was divided into two countries. In 2982 a famine hit North America. All of the crops died, many water sources dried up. The rain stopped. Millions of deaths, thousands of robberies, and one continent. To preserve the life on the continent, Canada and America became one, working together to create technology that could solve their natural problems. The company that took charge was Google, wanting to be the first to achieve artificial enhancements. They wanted to give people chips to be able to obtain knowledge faster and enhance physical abilities. They hoped that maybe with these they could also be able to change the human body to be able to adapt to the effects of the famine. Little did we know that in just twenty-six short years they would have achieved what they thought to be their goal.
Just as they had hoped for, Google had created artificial enhancements, technology that could improve the human body and mind. Little did they know that maybe artificial enhancements might not be a good thing. These were the first to be chipped, taken over by the Awakening, the first of the taken. At first, it wasn’t very noticeable, only a few. Only slight behavioral changes. People might notice that the taken weren’t acting like themselves. Over time the effects got worse, until you had no control over yourself.
At this point in time, the project seemed like a success to the public. Everyone was so excited that we had created artificial enhancements. This amazing moment was all over the news, being talked about in school, and even talked about around the world. Everyone was talking about our new accomplishment. Nobody seemed suspicious of the strange behaviors of the creators.
Now, back to my school. Intel High is one of three high schools in District 38. All of them are highly secured and patrolled by armed men. We all had to wear fancy uniforms so we would all look the same. Nobody could stand out in our new society. We had to show that we were all “united”. Personally, I think it's stupid. But in this new North America, I didn't get a say. Nobody really did. We had an oligarchy. The highest government officials joined together to rule our new nation. Only they get a say, no one else.
Everything seemed normal at the time. I walk into school adjusting my uniform and brushing off imaginary dirt just in case. I can never be too cautious. Hunting is not allowed. You have to purchase the food kits at the market. Everyone eats the same amount of the same thing. This is another one of those “united” things. I always took the precautions just in case someone saw something and got suspicious. I walked through the technology filled halls to my locker to get my things for my first class of the day, advanced algebra. Everyone at Intel High had to be highly educated in math, science, and english. History had kind of lost the importance through the years and became an optional class. Only few took the class and the school systems are discussing getting rid of it totally. When I got to my first class I took my regular seat next to Keaton. We always sat next to each other in math.
As usual, at exactly 8:05, the announcements came on. The principal went through the usual daily information about the lunch menu, dress code regulations, etc. However, at the end of her usual speech she added something new. She said, “I have an important announcement, as you all surely have heard, our nation has achieved artificial enhancements. And might I add that we are the only nation to have achieved this. Our beloved government has decided to test out these chips, which they have decided to call The Awakening because they are a sign of hope and a chance for an awakening in all of our lives. To our great honor, they have chosen the schools of district 64, 38, and 24 to be the first to receive the new program. In five days time, they will be coming here to improve our school. I hope that you will all be cooperative as they get The Awakening settled. Thank you for you attention and have a knowledge filled day.”
With that the announcements end and class begins. This was going to be interesting.
Just as the principal had said, in five days, The Awakening was here to “improve us.” Talking to Keaton, I knew that it gave him bad feelings too.
It has been just about two weeks since The Awakening came. Things were pretty interesting. I was starting to notice a weird feel about all of the teachers and staff. Ever since The Awakening came, they have been acting strange. It’s like they’re in a trance or something. I was so consumed in my thoughts that I didn’t notice someone coming up behind me. I gave a high pitch squeak when someone grabbed me around the waist. I turned around and came face to face with a pair of beautiful hazel eyes. I unintentionally smiled at the familiar sight. It was Derek.
“Hey.” he said as he took the seat next to me. We were in lecture hall and as always I was 20 minutes early. I had an open period before this and I hated to be late.
“You scared me!” I accused, making my face into the best pout I could manage. However, all I managed to do was make him laugh.
“You’re cute when you try to be angry,” he whispered. I hoped he couldn’t hear my heart speed up.
Before I could answer, the professor came into the room and began to speak, “Today we will be talking about the benefits of artificial enhancements. Please pull up the lecture page on your smart tabs….”
I zoned out. I really didn’t care about the whole technology thing, but that was the world we lived in. I looked over at Derek. He had his full attention on the professor. I looked down at his smart pad and he was even taking notes! Of course he was. He was always trying to do his best, follow the rules, and get great grades. So, I guess the talking option was out. I sighed, starting to zone out.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard my name. I looked around me and people were leaving.
“Did you pay any attention to the lecture?”, he asked me, smirking
“Not really.” I confessed, “Do you think I could borrow your notes?” I gave him my best puppy dog eyes, trying to get him to cave.
“Fine,” He sighed. “But just this one.” I had won.
As we walked out of the lecture hall I decided to change the subject. “So,” I started “What do you think of the idea of having a chip implanted in you?” I asked.
“Sounds… interesting,” He replied slowly, “Definitely different.”
“That’s one way to say it.” I said, smirking.
“What do you mean?” He questioned.
“It just give me a weird feeling. Everyone who’s had it done is acting strange,” I replied.
“I agree. The future seems unclear since their arrival.” A voice said from my other side. I turned to see Sahara and smiled.
“I’m glad someone agrees with me.” I said, giving Derek a slight smirk.
“All I’m saying,” Derek argued, “Is that maybe we should trust the government in what they think is best.”
There he was, being the good student, the good citizen. He never questioned anything coming from an authority figure. He always said yes and moved on with his life to do that. This was a great thing if you wanted to go through your life without getting any sort of punishment, but it also meant that you never got to make any decisions. You always had to sit there and do what you’re told. Frankly, I find that quite boring.
The three of us continued our friendly argument all the way to our next class, medical science. This was Sahara’s favorite class. She always had a passion for helping people who couldn’t help themselves and she did that through healing.
As we stepped into class everything was silent. This was very odd because Mr. Hoffman always let us have quiet discussions.
“What’s going on?”, I asked the girls sitting next to me.
“Shhhhh!” She whispered at me, “You’re gonna get us in trouble.”
Just as she spoke, Mr. Hoffman turned round in his desk, scowling at us. “Did I hear someone talking?” He asked
“No sir.” The girl next to me whimpered
“Good. Now, everyone get to work. I want everyone to write me a three page paper on the use of technology in the medical field.”
Surprisingly, I didn't hear a thing. The room was silent, not filled with its usual groans, sighs, complaints, and quiet chatter. What has gotten into this man?
Back at home, I went through my usual routine. I went to my shared room with my sister, setting my stuff down and changing into my hunting clothes. I grabbed my bow and arrows from behind my bed and pulled my dagger out of the loose floor board underneath it. I draped my quiver of arrows over my shoulder and tucked my dagger in its sheath into my boot.
I headed out the back door of my house, towards the forest. This is where I always hunted. There were many wild animals living outside my house and the best part was that no one went back there. Many people these days feared everything natural. The thought of wild animals hidden among the tall tree terrified them. The found a sort of haven within our world of technology. Technology was supposed to be predictable, do exactly as it was programed to do. Humans and animals alike were unpredictable. You couldn’t program them to do whatever you wanted them to. At this moment, I didn’t realise how wrong I was.
As I stepped outside, I felt the wind blow through my long hair. It felt nice to be outside in the wild. Slowly, making sure that I wasn’t seen, I made my way to the forest.