Awake-Chapter Two

AN: So I finally got my lazy self to write this chapter! It probably will need lots of revisions, but whatever! Here it is anyway!
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Chapter 2

I wake up with a hand in my mouth.

It takes me a while to figure out what's going on. I sit up quickly and spit out the hand. I scream. I am not in bed. My eyes dart like my frightened kitten. She lays curled on my sholder, and I relize what's going on. Next to me, Dust mumbles in his sleep. On the other side, Cres has twisted herself into a knot. Maris laughs.

"Rise and shine scavenger!" Maris smiles as she cooks one of my food packets over the fire.

"Ah, stealing from a scavenger. Nice." I laugh and join her. "Pretty sure the Sci wouldn't like it."

"Scavenge talker." Maris rolls her eyes. She looks a bit disasterous today, but her eyes are still empty. 

All of a sudden there is a scream from behind us. Maris and I both jump at the sound and I whirl around to face Cres. Somehow, she managed to get my kitten stuck to her. Maris and I laugh, as Cres's wide eyes narrow into a glare.

"Kyri." She sounds like she's in a bad mood. "Get. It. Off." I run over to detangle them. As I do, static electricity runs through my fingers shocking my poor kitten. It squeals and runs off into the distance. Cres sighs.

"Why don't you get it Kyri?"

"It knows where it's going to get fed." I laugh. Maris and Cres join in, and Cres elbows me. A bit to hard apparantly. I fall over onto Dust, who sits up and groans.

"It is to early for this." He groans. I laugh as he pushes me off. 

"Come on guys, the train will be here soon. Stop fooling around." 

"Liu," Maris begins. "Shut up."

I watch the two of them glaring at eachother. I think it's pretty interesting. Liu is the one who gives in.

"Fine, but when you all miss the train, I won't wait for you." Liu turns around and begin packing up his things.

"I'm sorry," Cres says. "I don't believe I was informed we were going anywhere."

"Me either. No one ever said what our plan was." I snap.

" I have a plan guys. I'll tell you when the train gets here." Maris speaks up. Everyone sighs and rolls their eyes. Fetuu. I have to listen to Maris. Great.

Either way we all begin to pack up the few belongings we have. I brought a few things in my beg. A bunch of food, some useless coins, a blanket, my Shot, my dagger, and Nova's necklace. As I put these things away, someone places their hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see Cres. I put my stuff down and sigh.

"What do you want, Cres." I say, not wanting to deal with her bad temper right now.

"I just want to know what you did with my necklace." I don't hear anger in her voice. I almost hear kindness or sadness.

"I gave it to my," I pause for a minute to think. Sould I tell her the truth, or the lie I have lived my entire life? "Sister. Nova."

I trace her name in the gravel. I miss her. Cress opens her mouth to say something snappish, but changes her mind. 

"I-she isn't awake is she. I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have asked." Cres looks away and I feel her pain, her sadness. She has family too. We all do. I see it in everyone's eyes. Except Liu. He turns when he notices me staring. I quickly look away.

"I know you see emothions scavenger." He tells me. "I have no family. I never have. That's why I don't care."

I can't think of anything to say. I know what it's like to have no one. I forgot my family. I forgot how they died. I forgot everything. I let them down. I choke back a sob.

"Kyri, are you okay?" The next thing I know Maris is by my side. She wipes the tear from my eyes. I see worry in her eyes.

"I-I'm fine. I'm sorry, I don't know what happened." I turn around and finish packing my things. I may be able to read people's emotions, but I will not let them read mine.

"Train will be here in a few minutes." Dust says once we're all packed up. It looks like we were never here.

"How do we get up?" Maris says, clearly used to the gate being open. Everyone else looks a bit wary as well. I smirk. Somethimes being a scavenger pays off. 

"Follow me," I say. "If you can."

Cres rolls her eyes at me. I grab part of the support beam and pull myself up. The second I do, I feel the pain again. I wince but keep climbing. Everyone watches me in disbeleif. It hurts, but I make it.

Cres is the next one to follow. She slips a few times but makes it up safely. The others follow our example. Maris actually does fall once, but she manages. I soon hear the train on the tracks, and I run far from the others. They move to follow, but I shake my head. I feel the move past me, but my eyes are closed so I don't fall. Once I feel steady, I open my eyes and run after the train. I make the jump and land on the ladder of the train. I fling the door open just as the others come into veiw. 

"Jump!" I yell. They probably can't hear me, but I think they get the message. I watch them spread out along the tracks. One by one they land in the empty car. And then we get to Maris. She trips. I reach out and grab her as the train passes and manage to get the two of us inside. We all sit there for a minute, trying to catch our breath. 

"Kyri," Cres begins. I'm in for it. "What the heck was that?"

"Yeah, just tell us if you're going to almost get us killed again." Liu graons. Dust and Maris nod.

"Sorry." I mumble. "It's just instincts. At least I got us on the train."

"I-I'm sorry." Maris says, tears in her eyes. "I-I fell, I almost ruined-"

"Nah, don't worry about it. It's all Kyri's fault." Cres smirks. I roll my eyes at her.

"So, why are we on this train?" I ask.

"I have a plan." Maris says. "There are two stops at the capitol. The one we were at last night, and one that is right at the Capitol Building. We can use their lab to figure out what is going on. It is on the other side of the capitol though."

"Hold on," Cres interupts. "What tests can we do."

"I was just getting to that." Maris continues. "On our way we'll stop at each of our homes to get a blood sample from someone with the same blood. Then we can take it to the lab to compare them with ours. Then we can figure out what to do from there."

I wince. I have no one. This plan will never work. Nova, she will sleep forever. I let out a cry. Nova. I'm sorry.

"Kyri," Mais begins. "What is going on. You are not okay."

"I-my family," I manage to choke out. "I have none. They died. I live with my aunt."

No one says anything for a moment. I detangle Nova's necklace from my hair and push it twoards Cres.

"Take it." I barely whisper.

"I can't. It means more to you." I see a tear slip from her eye as she ties it around my neck.

I fling my arms around her, and whisper thank you so many times I loose count.

_________ 

"Kyri please!"

I blink my eyes open. I am under my stairs, Nova clinging to me like her life depends on it. Nova. This can't be real. Nova is gone. Asleep. Forever.

"Kyri save me! They are coming. Please!" Nova crys. I hold her tighter.

"I don't know how." I whisper.

Sudenly, the door is opened. Nova crys out as light floods the small closet we're hiding in. It takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust, but when they do I see the person standing in front of me. I know her. I don't know how, but I know her. Her perfect posture, her long blonde hair, her emotionless black eyes. She waves a pair of Gaurds forwards. Nova hugs me tighter. One of them tears her from me. I cry out and try to take her back, but my body won't allow it. They throw her, kicking and screaming against the wall, where she slumps to the ground. Dead. I scream, which calls the attention of the Guards to me. They pick me up and throw me into the back of a truck with three others. Everything goes black. 

"Kyrim Reeves of Shoquer."

I feel a sharp pain and open my eyes to see myself standing on a platform surrounded by water. Lot's of water. I see Nova standing across the water, waving. Nova. I got her killed because of my inability to do anything. I want to be with her. I need to be with her. I take a step into the water, ignoring the people around me. To me, it's just me and Nova. I continue to walk ito the water. It reaches my knees. I don't care. I want Nova. I continue to walk, my eyes glued to Nova. Soon the water swallows me. I feel electricity surge through my body. Nova dissapears and I can hear the people around me. Everthing goes black.

"Kyri." a weak voice says.

I open my eyes to see a girl laying in the gras in front of me. She is covered in blood and dying. I know her. She is my friend. Her blue eyes stare into my golden ones. I have to save her. I have to. I look around frantically, and some distance away I see the black eyed girl. On her knees crying. I look between the two girls I can only save one. I hear a beep in the distance.  I have to save her. I pick up the blue eyed girl and run as fast as I can while holinng her. I whisper reasuring words to her, telling her she will be all right. Once I think we're safe I lay her down and search through the bag at my waist for something to help. I need to save her. For Nova. I can't let anyone else die beause of me. Before I find anything. I feel something burn through my sholder. I scream in pain and fall to the ground. Everything goes black.

"Kyri!" Someone wails.

I snap my eyes open. I am at the window of the very top of a building. The capitol building. The window is smashed. There is a man standing next to me. He has sharp blue eyes and dirty blond hair. Again I know him. I don't know how though. He saws at a rope frantically with a dagger. My dagger. I follow the rope down to see it tied around a girls waist. Her brown hair and eyes seem so familiar. She is a friend. And she is going to die. I turn around to see the black eyed girl behind me. She is ordering the rope to be cut. I hear a scream as the rope breaks. I grab onto it in an attempt to save her. She pulls me over the side instead. We both go screaming over the side of the tallest building in the world. It stops. Everything goes black.

"Kyri."

I feel an arm around my waist. Two arms. I open my eyes. Instead of chaos, everything is peacful. I am sitting on a bench on the highline surrounded by people. Friends. On one side of me is Nova. On the other is the brown eyed girl. I also see the blue eyed girl, the black eyed girl, and the blue eyed man. I see others as well. One of the people from the truck is here. The blue eyed girl is another. But one is missing. I see my world, the place I have lived forever. But it is different. It is better. I close my eyes. I hear someone say my name. Then another and another. Over and over untill it is all I hear. I want to scream. I want it to stop. And it does stop. Everything goes black.

________

"Kryri" I hear Maris' worried voice.

I open my eyes slowely to see everyone crowded around me. There is a wet clothe on my forehead. I am covered it a cold sweat and my clothes are sticking to me. My jacket has been removed and I am freezing. I feel cramped from laying on the hard train floor. I notice it is night out. The stars and the moon are the only light. No, there is something else. I notice a fire nearby. In the train? Are they crazy? No, we are not in the train. We are underneath the tracks again.

"What happened?" I manage to choke out. I am scared. I'm not sure why but I'm scared.

"You were clinging to me crying one minute. The next you were out cold." Cres says.

"We were letting you sleep when you screamed your name." Dust adds.

"I freaked out and almost fell out of the train." Liu says, blushing. "And we decided to get you off the train because we though something was terribly wrong with you."

"We were so worried! What did you do?" Maris says.

"I-I think I had a bad dream." The truth is I don't remember. I don't want to admit that though.

"Well if that's it then let's get some sleep." Liu says.

"You idiot!" Cres yells. "Don't ever make a person that scared again."

"I'm not the one who chooses to have a bad dream or not." I grumble.

"Can anything ever happen without you two arguing?" Dust groans.

Cres and I both roll our eyes at him, but everyone lays down to sleep after that. I can't sleep. I lay awake listening for somethin, anything. Silence. I sigh. I secretly am glad this happened. I am glad I met these people. I just wish Cres didn't hate me. I wish Dust wasn't always sad. I wish Liu had a family. I wish I could understand Maris. But all the same I'm glad I met them. I'm glad this disastor happened. But I still miss Nova. I can't help it. I just do. I wish I could wake her up. I also wish I could sleep.

I always thought hope was pointless. It wasn't even a thing it's just an idea. I thought it was stupid. But now hope is all we have. Isn't it? Hope that something good will happen. Hope that we can save everyone. A new thought crosses my mind. What if we can change this world we live in? Make it so everyone lives a better life. I quickly shake the thought away, though. We are probably the most unwanteds in the world. A self-consiouse crazy scavenger, an emotional wreck of a theif, a girl from Eau that hates everyone, a miner who cares about nothing, and a rebelious girl from the capitol. I laugh. We are very messed up.

I lean back and close my eyes for a minute.

"Hey scavenger, are you awake?"

I snap my eyes open. Maris?

"I need your help." she whispers.

"What do you want from me?" I whisper trying not to wake the others up. What is she doing awake in the middle of the night.

"I can't sleep. I keep thinking about the train earlier." She sighs.

"Me having some bad dreams, or you falling aon your face?" I ask, smirking.

'Okay, it wasn't that bad," she says. "But yeah, me falling on my face."

"It was that bad." I laugh quietly. "But seriously, you aren't here for me to sing you to sleep are ya?"

"No. I need you to train me." She says. I laugh. But when I see her face I stop. She is dead seriouse.

"Look," I say. "I'm no expert, but I'll help you best I can."

"Thank you!" She throws her arms around me.

"Well, it's now or never." I tell her.

"Then what are we waiting for?" She whispers back.

Climbing seems to be hard for her. We try many times, but she can't quite get the hang of it. I see her shoes. Fetuu. She has just about the worst climbing shoes in the world. 

"Go scrape your shoes." I say.

"What?" Maris looks confused.

"Take your shoes, and rub them on the ground over there. And don't start a fire." I explain.

Maris does what I say. She still looks confused, but when she comes back it looks lik climbing might be easier. We try again. I pull myself up, feeling the pain again. I ignore it. Next to me, Maris mirrors my actions. The two us make it to the top safetly. I give her a thumbs up. I hear the train. Perfect. 

"I'm going to teach ya how to jump trains. You ony have one shot though." I tell her. "Do ya think you can manage?"

Maris nods. I spot an open car and point. Maris nods again. I shut my eyes so I don't loose my balance. I feel the train rush past and my eyes snap open. I case after the open car, Maris straight behind me. My feet pound on the ground, keeping me near the open car. I jump. For once, I stumble when I land, earning myself some more bruises. I turn around just as Maris lifts herself off the ground. Her feet catch the edge of the train and she falls face first into the car. Okay. She made it. That's a start. Right?

Once she catches her breath I stand at the edge of the car. I jump flying through the air without warning. The surroundings rush past me as I land at the edge of the station. I put my hand down to stop my sliding, and stand to breath. Maris flys out after me, missing the station compleatly. For a second, I stop breathing. But I quickly spring into action, crouching on the edge of the platform and grabbing her arm. I feel her grip tighten around my arm, and I swing her up onto the platform. She stands there in shock. I breathe a sigh of relief. She is safe.

"Maris," I begin. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yep! Perfectly fine." she says, her voice happy, but also a bit shaky. She smiles. I smile back. 

I teach her many of the things I learned. I am a terrible teacher. 

I'm glad I don't have my coat on. About an hour later, I am drenched in sweat. Maris is too. That girl has some seriouse determination. She will not let us stop. She follows me in my every move, mirrors my every motion. I have somewhat successfully taught her what I know.

"Maris, we can train more tomarrow, but I can't do any more." I tell her. She nods and heads off to get some sleep. I do the same. 

Once I am laying down semi-comfortably, I can relax. I remeber when I had to learn all this. I shiver at the thought. I almost got myself killed. Like Maris. I smile. I never thought a scavenger and a scientist could have anything in common. Turns out I was wrong. 

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AN: This chapter is most likely going to be the worst written one. I kind of figured out what I wanted to happen in this part of the story while I was writing this. Some parts might be confusing. Also, I thought I was going to get hit by a plane while I was writing this. Don't laugh. It sounded like it was going to crash on me! Enough of me and my stupidity, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. More coming not so soon!

Awake - Maris Thane

Maris Thane of the Capitol

Name: Maris Thane

Origin: Capitol
Age: 20

Profession: Scientist

Height: 5'4"

Personality: Secretive, worrisome, caring, serious, kind hearted, peculiar

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Black

Known Family: None

Special features: White hair streak

Awake - Cres Yanslai

Cres Yanslai of Eau

Name: Cres Yanslai

Origin: Eau

Age: 19

Proffession: Fisher

Height: 5'9"

Personality: Emotional, rude, arrogant, excitable, harsh, liar

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Blue

Known Family: Nerea (Mother)X Ser (Father)

Special Features: Multiple earings

Awake-Chapter One

AN: So, I hope everyone enjoyed the prologue, and hopefully you will enjoy these other chapters as well. As I said in the last chapter, this one will be longer.
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Chapter 1

"Go back to sleep Nova." I said softly. "It was only a dream."

I brushed the hair out of my sisters frightened eyes. I love Nova but she has nightmares so often I rarely get sleep. She always thinks our leader will send Guards out and take her. I can't promise they won't.

"But the Scientist is going t-take m-me away." Nova sobs. I try to stifle a laugh. For a twelve year old, she is quite the chicken.

"Nova, the Sci doesn't give a care in the world about us scavengers. What would he do with us?" I try to comfort her.

"I..." Nova thinks for a minute. "I don't know." she sighs, giving up.

"Go back to sleep," I glance at her timekeeper. "It's almost midnight." I get up to leave.

"Oh, one more thing Kyri," Nova calls. "Stop being such a scavenge talker."

I laugh. Nova always give me a hard time about using scavenge talk. I don't get why. It's the same meaning as the real terms, just shorter. And I am a scavenger. I live in Shoquer, where the rich are inventors, and the, well, not so rich are scavengers. We steal and go through junk piles, and turn around and sell them for money. I'll admit we aren't exactly dignified people. But here, pride will kill you. Nova always says I have a lot of pride for a scavenger. I tell her that she has a smart mouth for never having been on a scavenge. Not that I think she'd want to. Nova acts like she has a family of inventors. I act like I have a family of scavengers. In reality, I have neither. My family is dead. I live with Nova's family. I love Nova like a sister, but really she is my cousin. My family was taken by the Sci. I was found in a chest, severely injured. If it weren't for Nova's mother, Gala I would have died. It was twelve years ago, and I still have not mentally recovered. Nova never heared the story.

 I think about telling her for a moment, but I quickly shake the thought away. I bend over and kiss her an the forehead. She closes her eyes, and as usual, falls asleep in record time. I walk over to her door and turn back, to make sure she is really sleeping. She is. I'm not sue how she does it. I take a few hours to fall asleep. 

I sigh and press the close button on her scanner. Her door slides shut, and I cross the hall to my own room. I press my wrist to the scanner and the door opens. I keep my room on chip lock at night. I always take extra precautions. Although I am eighteen, my room is smaller than Nova's. My bed is cramped in a corner of the room, on top of some crates that hold some unsold artifacts. Above my bed is a small window that I keep unlocked in case of a power cut. Everything is electronic. Across the room from my bed is an old shipping crate that serves as my closet. Being a scavenger, I don't have a lot of clothes, so it fits them well enough. Next to that, I have a desk with a pretty old computer, a bunch of papers, and few artifacts laying around. I don't really remember to put stuff away, and my crates are certainly an example of that. Next to my desk are some crates teaming with papers. I organized which papers go in which crate, but not where they go in the crate. I honestly don't understand how I can find anything. Somehow my timekeeper fell in one of the crates. I pick it up and insert it back in the wall. I wince when electricity sparks at me, as the timekeeper is reconnected to power. 11:43. I still have time. 

I quickly pull on a black tank top and a pair of old jeans. When I look down to grab shoes I laugh. My pants are up to may knees and my shirt doesn't quite fit either. I grow pretty quickly, and currently stand at five feet nine inches. Nova is pretty tall too, but I think these clothes will fit her. I pull on a pair of black pants an a cream colored tank instead. I throw a green coat on over them and begging searching for my scavenge belts. Scavenge belts are really just belts with loops to attach artifacts to. As with everything else, I'm growing out of them quickly. Once my belts are in place, I grab my dagger off the wall and tuck it in my shoe. It's surprising how many ropes we scavengers need to cut, so I always keep a knife handy. I found this one on my very first scavenge.

_________

I was only a few minutes away from my first scavenge. Me. A scavenger. It was all so exiting. I was thirteen, so I had to go on group scavenges until I understood. I already understood. But the adults didn't seem to think so. Well, I was about to prove them wrong. I waited as our transport halted abruptly in the center of Shoquer. As the door lifted I breathed in fresh air. Back at home the air is clouded with dust. I'm not sure why though. I tried to keep up with my aunt Gala's pace. She was to watch over me on the scavenge. I didn't need to be watched. I kicked up dirt as we walked creating clouds around me. I eyed the dagger on Gala's belt. It glistened in the sun, and seemed to call my name. The blade was black and the handle grey with inlaid emeralds. She had taken it on a scavenge. At lest that's what I thought. Gala suddenly jerked to the side knocking into the woman beside her. Her quick fingers loosened the pearl bracelet from around the woman's wrist and placed it in her pocket. But what she wasn't focused on was her dagger. In one swift motion I unclasped the dagger from her belt, and clipped it to my own. I smirked. I beat a scavenger at her own game. This will be easy, I thought.

I soon learn that finding someone to pickpocket is not easy. 

If you pick the wrong person it could cost you your life. Though soon enough I found someone. She had short, straight, jet black hair, olive skin, and blue eyes. She looked to be around my age, wore lots of blue, and from one look you could tell she was not from Shoquer. I mean, how could anyone look more like they were from Eau. When she noticed me staring she looked straight into my eyes. Fetuu. Rule number one of scavenging. Never look someone in the eye. I quickly looked away, but I still felt her gaze. I hoped she hadn't gotten a good look at me. Either way, I had seen her feather necklace and I wasn't giving up on that chance. It was pure gold. I ducked through the crowed, weaving in and out of people like I had been told. Soon I was walking right on her heels, hoping she couldn't feel my breath on the back of her neck. This was going to be easy. I unhooked my new dagger from my belt, and swiftly cut the string holding it on. It fell straight into my hand, and I ran for my life. I had cut her. Not bad, but just enough to let her know I was there. I had made a huge mistake. Even as I ran, I felt her eyes following me.

_________

I tied a piece of string around the end of my chestnut colored braid. My fingers were quick, having mastered the art of tying and untying things from scavenges. So what if I messed up sometimes? I was the best scavenger I knew. 

I climb up onto my bed and level myself with the small window above it. I place my wrist on the small scanner. I pull back my arm as electricity sparks me, letting me know I have been cleared. I unlatch the window and thrust it open. When I was younger, there was always a small breeze that I loved. I used to climb up on the roof every day after a scavenge. These days, I don't always have time. Now the air is still and musty. I don't know why.

I hoist myself  up to the small window and slip through, hoping no one noticed. I climb down the side of the house, which I think was originally some kind of wood. It has been repaired so many times that there are metal scraps and random wood planks all over the side. This makes it much easier to climb. I grab my twenty story long coil of rope from the wall and clip that to my belt as well. I look around a few times before running. I am out way past curfew. If I'm caught I'll be thrown in a dungeon for sure. I suddenly feel eyes on my back. Fetuu. When I turn around, though, I have to laugh. It's a stray kitten. My friend Mina has a pet kitten. Nova always loved it. I pick up the kitten and loosely tie the end of my rope around it's neck to keep it with me. I want to give it to Nova, since she always wanted a kitten. I don't care that Gala won't like it. Gala doesn't like most things I do. Don't get me wrong, she is doing the best for me and I am thankful for her, but we don't really have a mother-daughter relationship. I understand, because I am not her daughter. I am just an extra worry, an extra mouth to feed.

I duck under part of the electric fence that separates Shoquer from the rest of the world. Each section of our world is surrounded by an electric fence. The only way to travel is by air train. Unfortunately, it's not a flying train. It just moves on tracks suspended above our heads. There are three tracks. One goes one way, and another goes the other way, but I'm not sure where the third one goes. I never really felt the urge to know.

My feet pound against the dry earth. The land around Shoquer is not known to be very alive. To be honest, neither is the land inside of Shoquer. The ground is dry and cracked, and where it isn't, it's a mixture of dirt and sand. Not exactly what I call alive.

Outside of Shoquer is dry, dry, and more dry. And sandy. I hate sand. The only reason I come out here is because it is very filled with peoples junk. Which is good when you're a scavenger. My eyes dart quickly across the piles but nothing catches my eye. I begin to climb the mountains of stuff that people tossed over the fence, slipping when an artifact falls out. I finally reach to top, but the moon is too dull to reflect anything of value. I press a button on the screen of my wristband and a small beam of light finds something shiny on the next pile over. I begin to jump to the pile, when the light on my wrist turns green. Behind me, all of Shoquer does as well. The light reflects on the shiny artifacts and shoots straight into my eyes. I scream as it does, but no noise comes out. A cold feeling spreads through my body making me want to shiver and scream again. But I can't. I am almost off the ground only my toes touching. And that's where I will stay. I am paralyzed. I can't move.

Suspended in air, I feel the cold reach into my head. The green light only lasts a second, but it feels like an eternity. As it fades, so does the memory.  Gravity yanks at my body puling it down. I tumble down the mountain of artifacts, getting pretty banged up as I do. I wince as pain floods my body. How did I possibly trip? I do this every night. I press the button to turn my light on, but nothing happens. Dead? I had just charged it before I left. I yawn as I check the time. 12:00. I should head home. Some scavengers will be waking up soon, and those are the scary ones that won't show anyone mercy. They'll turn me in to get paid and I'm sure of it. i jump out of the junk piles and fly through the air. My feet hit the ground, causing dust to swirl up around my feet. The second they do I run.

As I slide under the fence I get a bit of I shock. I wince from the pain. It is so dark I am having a hard time seeing where I'm going. By the time I get home the moon has begun it's descent. I begin the climb the wall to my room I remember the kitten. I pick it up and put it on my shoulder, its black fur gleaming in the dim moonlight. I feel bad for dragging it around all night. 

My banged up fingers fail me on my way up. They hurt so much I loose my grip more than once. My one finger dangles limply next to the others, which are all as beaten and bruised as the rest of me. But somehow I make it to my window. I pull my worn out body through the window and slam it shut. I push the latch back into place and sigh. Yawning, I change into the clothes I left on the floor. I lay down on my bed, and before I can think about my injuries, I fall into a deep sleep.

_________ 

My vision is blurry as I blink my eyes open. The bright morning sun floods into my eyes, giving me a sense of deja vu. I slam my face back into my pillow, like I always do. But unlike every day, something was gone. I sat up and listened to the silence. That was it. Silence. Every day I awoke to the busy noises of Shoquer. The sun gives me a headache, and I begin to wonder what time it is. I glance over at my timekeeper, but it only adds to my confusion. It reads 12:00. Deja vu again. But usually everyone is awake by 6:00. I finally drag myself out of bed and wander towards the stairs. As I pass Nova's room I hear silence, but when I glance through her open door she is laying in bed asleep. Strange. The same case in Gala's room as well. Suddenly panic hits me. I run outside and bang on the neighbors door. When there is no response I run to the next door. Silence. I run all around my neighborhood in panic, banging on doors and looking through windows. Not a soul is awake. Are they even alive?

I trip over something, earning a faceful of dirt and sand. Pain shoots through my body as my injuries from last night collide with the ground. Tears well up in my eyes and I give up. I lay crying on the ground for a while. Usually I would have been embarrassed, but there is no one to judge me today. Eventually, I sit up and wipe the tears from my eyes. Crying won't change a thing. I stand up and ran back into the house, determined to find a solution. As I enter my room, I press the button to turn on the light. Nothing happens. I sigh. The power must not be working. I confirm that when I notice my timekeeper still reads 12:00. That makes a bit more sense. I sit down at my desk, and turn my computer on. When I try typing, I find one of my finger limp. Right. I rip some fabric from a too small t-shirt, and wrap my broken finger to the one next to it. I have a hard time typing, but it works.  I honestly had no idea what I was looking for. But I found something. It was a blog post titled, "Anyone Else Awake?". I see three comments.

My first thought is, I'm not alone! Then I know it has to be a trick. I sigh. There is no one to trick me. So I open up the post. I scan the names and faces, keeping them in mind. I see a green light next to all of them, signalling that they are all waiting for a response. I hold my breath and take a chance, typing the words, "I'm here". The second I hit send I wince. It's done. No turning back now. Suddenly, a comment pops up after mine. I check the name. Maris Thane. Her comment reads, "We should meet up. Here is my ID number. 8839762.". Ah. She wants to use voice communication. Smart. I hesitate for a minute. 883 means she is from the Capitol. No one from the capitol is poor. She is from a family of scientists. It scares me. They are not to be trusted.

The next comment that pops up says, "How can I trust you scientist." Cres Yanslai. I smirk. Someone agrees with me. Maris responds quickly. "There is no one awake to control me."  She has a point. Nobody says anything for a while. The next comment is from Dust Rinz. "I don't have any other choice. 45708621." Terre. Then from Cres, "Fine. 6329710. This does not mean I trust you though." Eau. Finally, Liu Jon gives in as well, "17596342." Mien. I hesitate, my fingers hovering over the keys. I need to choose. "21066375." I've done it. Suddenly, a spark of electricity zaps me. I press the button on my wristband and I hear connection sizzle. Someone says something but the connection is bad and I don't understand. 

"Be clearer!" someone snaps. Probably Cres. I haven't met any of these people, but Cres has seemed pretty snappish.

"Sorry. I said let's meet at the train station at the Capitol." Maris most likely.

"Fine," I say. "But don't pull any tricks."

We all agree where to meet. I hear suspicion in everybodys voice. No one trusts anyone yet, but I have a feeling we will when we meet. I quickly change into the clothes I was wearing yesterday, and grab my dagger off the wall. I head across the hall into Nova's room. Tears well up in my eyes when I see her. I run over and hug her one last time. Soon it grows into another tantrum. In my sadness, I rip off her gold feather necklace. I had stolen it for her on my first scavenge. I tie it into my braid, my only memory of her now. I would do anything to save her. I would take her place if it would bring her back.

"I love you." I whisper bending over and kissing her forehead. 

I wipe the tears from my eyes and leave. I head into Gala's room and begin rummaging through her equipment. I take her shot, a gun that can create a holo shield and has a very long rope with a knife on the end that you use to reach high places. I have always wanted to use one, but you have to be at least twenty-one years old to have one. Even us scavengers have rules. I also take her belt pouch, which has some coins and some packaged food. This should be enough. I head out the door, turning back to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. Suddenly, the kitten comes bounding outside.

"No." I say. The kitten sits down and meows sadly. I sigh, picking it up and putting it on my shoulder.  

After a very long run I make it to the highline, the tracks above Shoquer. I try to open the gate, but it's locked. I look up but it's to high to jump over. I'm not worried though. I head over to one of the support beams and begin to climb. This is the scavenger way. My fingers hurt horribly, but they don't fail me now. I pull myself up over the edge.The train will come even though the power is out. It runs on a generator and has no driver. Soon enough I hear it on the tracks. When it passes me I freeze for a second closing my eyes to avoid falling over. But once I feel steady I run down the tracks alongside it. It almost leaves me behind, but I jump into one of the empty cars and breath a sigh of relief. I stare out the train, watching as I leave Shoquer behind. Leaving it all behind.

 _________

As I spot the Capitol station, I begin to wonder if the others are here. Maybe it is a trick. I have to tell myself it isn't over and over as I prep to get out. The Capitol is the only place where the highline has a platform. As the train passes the platform, I jump out and slide across the polished metal leaving skid marks behind me. I lower myself over the edge of the platform, and begin to climb down the support beams. My fingers are still sore, but they work as well as usual. The middle train passes by and I finally understand what it's for. Passengers. Why did I not think of that before?

My feet hit the ground and I begin to brush my hands off, when something pulls my legs out from underneath me. The ground rushes up to my face, and when I collide with it, it knocks the breath out of me. My beat up fingers claw at the ground as the strong grip pulls me back. I see a small trail of blood in front of me, signalling my nose is probably bleeding. Fetuu. Finally, I catch my breath and push my week body up to standing. I take a long sip from the water pouch at my belt and turn to see my attacker. There are four of them. I breath a sigh of relief as I match them to their cities. Terre, Mien, Capitol, Eau. These are the people I'm looking for.

The first person is a man only a little taller than me. He looks very weak and dehydrated. There is dirt in his long black hair and his green eyes are dull and sad. They are also red from crying. He must have lost someone close to him. His clothes are faded and dirt colored as well, and not meant for the colder weather of the Capitol. He must be the one from Terre. Dust. In Terre the rich are farmers, while the poorer are low ranking thieves. Dust is definitely a thief. He seems quiet, but not cold or unfriendly. I can tell he is in pain. I am too. I lost my family. He probably did too.

The next one is the man who dragged me over here. Mien for sure. He does not seem very high ranking, so it makes sense. The rich in Mien are geologists. The not so rich are miners, which is a very horrible job. They don't even get paid very much. he must be Liu. He puts up a harsh front, but he seems to be afraid. His brown hair is short and dirty, as are his clothes. It seems to be that he wears whatever he can find, because his shirt is practically a dress. I try not to laugh. His brown eyes are filled with worry, as are everyone else's. But he doesn't seem to be upset about anything. Strange.

Next is definitely Maris. She looks worried, but her black voided eyes they tell a different story. They are emotionless. I'm usually good at reading people, but she confuses me. Unlike everyone else, she is clean and calm. Her blonde hair is tied up in a slick high ponytail without a trace of dirt, and she wears the traditional scientist outfit. But for whatever reason I trust this emotionless girl. I trust her. And I believe she trusts me. Her frown slips into a smile when she sees me. I trust her.

The last girl brings deja vu into my mind. She is tall and looks to be around my age, with straight jet black hair and olive skin. She is wearing all blue, and is definitely a fisher from Eau. Fishers don't just fish for fish. They fish for treasure. The higher ranking people are marine biologists. Our entire world is made up of science, and they are no exception. Her eyes stare at me, as if she has seen me before. Her eyes. They are blue and familiar. No. Everyone in Eau has blue eyes. But there is something about her though. I feel her looking at me. It feels like on my first scavenge, when I felt that girl watching me. That girl! I align the two of them in my head. She has gotten taller, and her hair longer, but it's her. The girl I robbed. I see her glance at my hair, but she doesn't seem to notice Nova's necklace. Or should I say her necklace. 

"Kyrim." she says. I wince.

"It's Kyri, Cres." I tell her. I try to get off on a good start, but I don't think she's going to forgive me.

"Sorry." she she says, a smile spreading across her face. "How much did you sell it for."

 "I didn't sell it." I mumble.

"I know you know what I'm talking about." She smirks. I grit my teeth.

"I did not sell your necklace!" I scream at her.

She pauses. Only for a second. She runs straight at me, knocking the air out of me as I hit the ground. Pain spreads through me. Stupid Cres. I get up, but before I can defend myself, she knocks into me again. My legs give up and I crumple into a heap on the ground.

"My mother gave to me!" She screams in my face as she pins me to the ground. I gasp for air.

"So make her buy you a new one when she wakes up! I don't care!" I scream at her as I roll out from underneath her.

"My mother is dead!" she crys getting up. In that moment I freeze. I feel regret. I feel pain. She takes the chance. Cres lunges at me, pulling my feet out from underneath me. I scream. Dust saves me.

"Stop it Cres." he says stepping in front of me. "She's been through enough today. I mean, look at her." He points at me all bruised, beaten, broken, and bleeding. Dust and Maris help me to my feet. 

"I'm sorry Kyri. I get over excited very easily. Are you okay?" Cres walks over and wipes the blood off my lip. 

"Fetuu." I spit at her feet. "Yeah, I've been though worse." Her eyes go wide."

"Watch you mouth scavenger. And what happened to you?" she sounds pretty worried.

Now that she mentions it, the memories from last night come flooding in. I tell her the whole story.

"I wonder why I forgot about the light." I say.

Everyone one else admits they forgot as well.

"I had it worse," Cres begins. "I was climbing the ladder to get in my house when it happened. I fell about six feet." I wince. that sounds painful.

I always read stories where the heroes never have fun. But that night, as we set up our small camp, I had the most fun I ever had. We laughed and told stories until Maris actually fell asleep on us. I never had a group  of friends before. 

I finally found a place to fit in.

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AN: I finally finished! (I had a really hard time spelling finally) Sorry it took so long, but it took me a few weeks to write. Most books have 20 pages per chapter but this is only 9. But I thought It might be a few to many because this is going to be a veeeeeeeery long book novel thing. And I'm only putting this on my blog. I'll get the bios for the new characters done probably in the next week or so. But I really hope you enjoy this chapter because I certainly enjoyed working on it!

Awake - Nova Reeves

Nova Reeves of Shoquer

Name: Nova Reeves

Origin: Shoquer

Age: 12

Profession: None

Height: 5'5"

Personality: Worrisome, curious, intelligent, excitable, timid, kind

Hair Color: Light Walnut

Eye Color: Chestnut Brown

Known Family: Gala (mother) Kyrim (cousin)

Special Features: Gold feather necklace

Awake - Kyri Reeves

Kyrim Reeves of Shoquer

Name: Kyrim Reeves                    
Origin: Shoquer

Age: 18                                        
Profession: Scavenger

Height: 5'9"                                    
Personality: Arrogant, protective, emotional, insecure, brave, reckless

Hair Color: Chestnut Brown      

Eye Color: Golden                        
Known Family: Nova (cousin) Gala (aunt)

Special Features: Raven tattoo      

Awake

AN: I might not have a lot of time to write this and I know no one reads this blog anyway, but I am going to write this anyway.

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Prologue

The ropes cut into my arms as I struggled. I had to get free. 

"It's no use Kyri. Just give up already" a voice said from across the room. Cres. As doubtful as always.

"Can you stop being so negative," I snapped. I pushed forward trying to loosen the ropes which bound me to the column, but it only reasulted in leaving bright red marks on my skin. "If I don't try, I'm dead."

Suddenly, the large metal door began to open. The Gaurds that had tied me up earlier entered with what looked like some sort of chains. And behind them was the girl who had left us all to die. I gritted my teeth and glared.

"Traitor!" I screamed at her. I tried to kick her even though I was restrainted.

"I am not a traitor if I was never with you in the first place." she said calmly.

She motioned for the gaurds to untie us. This was my chance. As soon as the ropes were untied I slipped away and ran. I didn't get more than a foot before the Guard grabbed me by the wrirst and yancked me back. He snapped a gold collar around my neck, and secured it with a fingerprint lock. I was doomed. 

Nova. My dear sister, asleep. And now it seemed she would be forever. She could never die. And without me she would never wake. The guard attatched a chain to my collar and led me out of the room. I walked slowely, trying to think of a way out. The Guard pulled on the chain, causing me to stumble forward and walk faster.

We passed another group of Gaurds, who were placing bodies into capsules and loading them onto the ship. We would probably never see them again. I winced at the thought. And thats when I saw her.

"Nova!" I screamed, teares streaming down my face. "Nova! Please wake up! No!"

The guared pulled hard on the chain again, and I watched as they loaded my sister onto the ship. I would never see her again.

Soon we reached the white, pearly room. I spat on the floor, just to make them a little annoyed. I defenitely got some death stares. The Gaurd who had been leading me fed the chain into the pole, like earlier.

"Where should we start?" said a Guard who was holding a vial of green serum.

"Let's see," said the Sci, our leader. I glared at him. "Kyrim Reeves, of Shoquer."

I wailed. Why me?

The floor on either side of the bridge we were on opened up to reveal water. I laughed. How could water possibly hurt me. I couldn't reach it anyway, not on this chain. And if they let me go I would just run. The  Gaurd with the serum aprouched me. I winced as he injected it into my arm, which was raw from the ropes. 

Suddenly, I saw Nova, standing across the room of water, awake and alive. I smiled. The Gaured released me from my restraints. She motioned for me to come to her. I saw a line of people three people behind me. They were yelling at me, but I couldn't hear them. Maybe they were trying to hurt Nova. I looked back at her. She smiled. And I took a step into the water, and began walking twoard her, down a slope.

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AN: The prologue is not how the story begins, it is actually how it ends. So don't worry, Kyri isn't dead (yet). The other chapters will be longer, but since this is the prologue, I didn't want it to be too long. Enjoy!