Everything seemed so bland and boring the day I had to leave for my Aunt’s It was gloomy and as the rain fell against the car window I knew that this was the start of a terrible summer. Why couldn’t I go to Hawaii or on a cruise like all my friends were doing? No, I have to spend two months with the worst cousins in the world while my parents go to London for an international meeting for Earth sciences. I knew they would be at meetings all day about how to save the Earth and to talk about where humans would live if the planet became inhabitable. Yet, even up until the day I left I was pleading for them to take me with them. Never had I wanted something so badly, but I knew that nothing was going to be changed. I was to spend my summer completely bored in Nebraska.
As we pulled up to the house, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I would not be staying in a house I would be staying in a mansion. For some reason I would never expect my Aunt Louise and Uncle Richard to live in a giant house. From the front of the house you could see magnificent windows and the entry way had the tallest most elegant wood doors I had ever seen. You could catch a glimpse of a garden with green rolling hills behind it. My aunt then came out to greet us and she looked absolutely perfect as always which seems hard to do because of the way her children act. All of a sudden I was reminded why I didn’t want to come here. I heard a shriek and a howl. When I turned my head I could see my two cousins Eric and Paul who were wrestling on the lawn. If you can imagine two nerdy boys wearing sports glasses, cat-fighting, those were my cousins. They are two of the geekiest and most annoying people you will ever meet. Paul and Eric looked over at me and you could see that both of their faces were smeared with various foods. You might be thinking that my cousins are probably little kids but no they are 9 and 10 years old, they just choose to act like two year olds. If you say one wrong word they will either start attacking you or cry for about three hours straight. My plan was to sit in my room and wait for my mom to come pick me up. Everything about my plan was perfect. I didn’t have to see my cousins, I had a bathroom in my room, and I was guessing that I could get food taken up to my room.
However my aunt had other ideas. We were going to do family bonding. I could have just said I’m not participating but no one disagrees with my aunt. One time at a restaurant when she asked for a table near the window and even though it was reserved my aunt got so angry she almost flipped a table, then the next thing we knew we were being seated where she wanted to sit. The only exception to this were her sons and husband because they were perfect. Every Monday thru Friday I was to spend six hours with my cousins. Most of it would be babysitting, because my Aunt and Uncle still had to go to work. Yet, I couldn’t just let my cousins play I actually had to stuff with them, because there were cameras all over the house. I didn’t want to figure out what would happen if she didn’t see me doing family bonding. I guess you could say that my aunt was a little bit of a control freak. The only sanctuary I had left was the weekend. I could spend it on my phone in my boring room. Yeah! I was going to have the best summer ever.
Today I woke up in the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in. My guess was that this would be the best part of my day. As I walked downstairs it was quiet, but just as I thought the little monsters were still asleep I heard the sound like of a herd of buffalo coming from behind me. Before I could even turn around to see what it was, I was hit square in the nose with a firetruck, plowed over by both of my cousins, and then began to fall down the stairs head first. When I looked down at my hands I could see red blood dripping from them. Then an intense pain flared through my face. Great! I already wasn’t the prettiest girl and now I had a broken nose.
Walking into the dining room my aunt immediately saw me and rushed me to the sink. I was surprised by this, because I didn’t think my aunt actually cared about me. Then I realized that my aunt didn’t actually care about me at all, she was just worried that I would get blood on her carpet. She called over a nurse (there must have been a lot of injuries in the house) and left. The lady was kind as she washed my face and bandaged it but I still couldn’t get over how those boys behaved.
When I looked in the mirror my nose looked like a lightning bolt. The area around my nose was all the shades of blue and purple you could imagine. I was now stuck with a bandage over my nose for the next month and a half. Maybe now I wouldn’t have to participate in family bonding, because I was hurt. The one thing I knew for sure was that I needed breakfast.
The dining room was empty when I walked in and the only thing on the giant mahogany table was a plate of food and a note. It read:
Dear Rachael,
Sorry we had to leave so early. Make sure to eat well! Family activities start at 10 o’clock sharp.
-Louise
I chowed down my omelet and bacon. Then I raced up the stairs, thinking that I couldn’t feel more pain than I already was. My room had already been cleaned and my suitcase was emptied and neatly but into the closet. I grabbed my favorite t-shirt and shorts to wear. Right before I left, I suddenly felt tired and collapsed on the bed. I stayed there for two whole hours.
Buzz buzz. That was the sound coming from underneath my bed.
“What now!” I said groggily.
Why did my cousins have to annoy me? As I looked under my bed I saw a spherical purple light. It was probably another toy Fred and Paul hid in my room to get my attention. When I touched it the ball began to glow and then it shocked me.
“Owe! You know what I am done with this.” I yelled. As I was walking towards the door I collapsed. All I could see was a kaleidoscope of colors and everything around me.
When I opened my eyes I was staring at a bright green sky with blue clouds. What was this place? What was this place? Why was I here? After I got up I could see people walking all around me. I was in a building that was blue all over and a sky light above me. All of a sudden a voice came over an intercom.
  “Hello Rachael Len. I know you may be confused but everything will be answered soon,” said the woman. All of a sudden men came and took my arms. They started walking me done a hallway.  “Don’t be scared and just know that you are in good hands. Finally I would like to give you a warm welcome to Gouse.” 
Thoughts were racing through my head. I was in this weird place that I knew nothing about and all I wanted was to go home. In no way was I special and I did not even know why someone would take me somewhere. Then before I could struggle to get away, we entered a large room with chairs around a triangular table, where the men forcefully sat me down in an uncomfortable metal chair. All of a sudden a woman popped up on the screen. She had golden brown hair tied up in a tight bun and wore yellow like everyone else I had seen so far. When she spoke I realized that she was the same woman from the intercom.
“Hello, my name is Julia Sem. You have been taken to Gouze. For years we have taken humans from Earth to help us in the future. As it appears you are one of those people. We picked you due to your age and high intelligence. You will be trained to use your brain for the good and to help save the future.”
“By future do you mean where I am now or does it mean to help the Earth?  Is everyone on Earth already gone?” I said panicked.
“Gouze is a different planet one very far away from the home you call Earth. All inhabitants have died and the planet is no longer the way you know it. Our new world was founded by my ancestors many, many years ago. We have created a diverse and efficient new world. Everyone wears the same color as to make everyone equal but let there be some diversity. You will be taken to your room now and we will speak again in the morning.” Her face disappeared as quickly as it had come and all that was left was a symbol. For some reason all the fear and panic I had was gone. Her voice was somehow comforting even though she was telling me what I didn’t want to hear.
Before I even knew what was going on three of the men who had escorted me before took me to my new bedroom. As they were walking to the door I said, “Do you know if I can get any food.” One man turned around but didn’t speak. He looked at me with apologetic eyes. Why couldn’t he tell me anything? I had clearly seen him taking to all the other guards a few minutes ago. Then they all just left like nothing had happened.
The room was a light shade of grey with hints of yellow. They certainly needed to rethink the interior design of this place. On the left side of the room was a queen sized bed and a small desk with a lamp. To the right was the closet and the bathroom. I just stood there for I don’t know how long trying to process what had just occurred. Was I supposed to be freaking out? How was this possible? But all I could get my mind around was that I needed food. The last thing I remember was finishing eating breakfast. That seemed like only a few hours ago but when I looked outside it appeared to be night. Like someone had read my mind a knock came at the door. When I opened it there stood a boy about the same height as me. He handed me a tray of what I guessed to be food. He said, “I hope you have a nice meal and don…don’t forget you are in go……good hands.” The way he said everything was strange like he was being forced to say it. When I looked into his eyes I saw fear.
Once he left I sat down at the desk. Was this some sort of test? I knew that I was going to be training my brain but was this something about not trusting others. NO! I couldn’t think anymore. I knew that nothing was going to make sense and I might as well just give up trying to figure it out. When I looked down at the plate all I saw was color. The first thing I dug my fork into was a blue piece of what looked like meat. When I put it in my mouth it tasted like candy. Everything else was just the same confusing and obscure. Once I was finished I got ready for bed. In the drawers were all grey clothing and a picked out what looked to be pajamas. I guess I really was different then everyone else here.
At last I laid down. When I looked at the ceiling I realized that it showed a real life view of all the constellations. It was beautiful and scary at the same time. The sky I was looking at was totally different to the one I had always known. I began to realize that now I was completely alone, but I knew I couldn’t leave because they chose me and I had a purpose. Finally I closed my eyes and all I could think about was what would come in the morning.
In the morning I was taken to training. There were nine other teenagers there. They all wore grey clothing like me. It was as if all of us blended into our surroundings. One of them was the boy I had seen the night before. He walked over to me and said, “How was your first night.”
“I didn’t get much sleep. Everything is just so confusing”
“Most people have the same reaction. I arrived a few weeks ago but I assure you it gets better.”
Then I heard a ding. Everyone stopped and sat into chairs looked like they were hooked up into some sort of machine. I followed and immediately after I sat up I was strapped in. Then my body filled with fear. A loud ring went through my ears. It was unbearable and like no pain I had ever felt before. All of a sudden it was over. Everyone got up and walked out like nothing had happened. Still in shock I just stayed there until I finally realized I needed to stay with the group. I ran up and caught up with them just as we entered what looked like a classroom. Once again a signal sounded and everyone sat down in a desk. I was mesmerized by the teacher in the front. When it was all over I didn’t remember a single word he said. The only thing that was different was that I felt a love for the woman named Julia Sem. It was like she could do anything and I wouldn’t hate her.
The way back to my room was a blur. When I got back there was a note on my bed. It said:
Dear Rachael,
Meet me in the kitchen at midnight.
P.S-If you didn’t know already it is down the hall to the left.
L.M
I crept along the dark passage turning left where the note told me to. I came to a door with light seeping from it. Was this the place? Then I put my head to the door to listen and heard voices. Opening the door just a hair to see inside. There was a group of teenagers sitting on the counters in a circle.
One of them spotted me and said, “Hey! Come on in.” I walked over to them and noticed that they were the same kids I had seen that morning. Something was different however, they all seemed happy instead of like zombies.
“Welcome!” The boy I had talked to shouted, “My name is Liam Michaels and I am the one who wrote you the note. I am also really sorry about the first time we met I was kind of forced to say that, but you should know we are here to help you.”
“We all were brought here just like you. Every morning that we get are getting brainwashed. For some reason or another they are going to make us do something for them and once that’s done we believe they will get rid of us. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but no one is allowed to talk to us because they don’t want us to find out about what they are going to do with us. Our plan is to leave next week,” said the girl sitting to my right who had a badge that said Alyssa.
“So, how do you plan on getting all ten of us off this planet?” I asked.
“As you know we are pretty intelligent and that is why they picked us. We have figured out that they are sending people back in time around the same time they took us off of the planet Earth. What many people that live here don’t know is that they are running out of resources. This planet is a lot smaller than Earth and when it was discovered there were only six people to make it. They believed that Gouze would only be a resting point and that before we had a big population we would have already found a new home. That hasn’t happened and the search for a new planet stopped a long time ago. Now Julia Sem is running into problems. People are starving and the peace that once thrived here is ending. Their purpose for bringing us to Gouse is to make us persuade over ¾ of the humans on Earth to come here and for the citizens of Gouse to take over the planet. Julia believes that the Gousians are superior humans and that we had our chance to fix our planet. Long story short they are trying to kill everyone on Earth and make us the ones who did it. Our plan is to get on one of those rockets and stop it from getting to Earth,” Liam told me.
“You said we are all getting brain washed so how are we going to carry out your plan when are minds are being controlled?”
“That actually brings me to our next point,” Alyssa said, “The rest of us aren’t getting brainwashed anymore. We changed our individual systems to stop controlling our minds. The rest of us were just acting. What you have to do now is fix both of the chairs that you were sitting in this morning. Once you do that we will start planning our mission day.”
“We better hurry, because the guards are switching out right now. That means we only have 30 minutes,” Liam stated, “Now come with me.” He took my arm and we ran out the door. When we reached the first room we got to work immediately. I quickly caught on to what he was doing and grabbed tools out of the bag he had brought with us. Then we ran to the next classroom. Inside we started again and worked together even faster than I could have imagined. As we were just about to leave we saw a light through the door window. Liam dragged me over to the teacher’s desk and crouched down.
“They have scanners to detect people,” He whispered, “Hopefully the metal of the desk will conceal us here.” I guessed it had, because the guard didn’t enter the room. We swiftly got our things and left. Liam escorted me back to my room and reminded me that we had meetings every single night. After I closed the door, I put my head on my pillow and immediately went into a deep sleep.
The next week was all a blur. Our group was able to find yellow clothes to wear so that we would blend in with everyone else. Alyssa and I were able to create a map of the compound and planned out were everyone would go when we split up. Together we found out only two guards would be escorting us to our separate ship, so if we all went in different directions it would be hard to catch us. We did endurance practice by running up and down the halls. Benny, a kid in our group, was able to find a manual for the ship and was learning how to fly it. Finally we created a schedule for acting like we were brainwashed. All of us got our own watches so that every movement we made would be at the same time. A pulse would go through your whole body but everyone knew what it meant. I just kept thinking about how fun it was to trick Julia and her minions into thinking we were actually following their commands. It was also great to know that everything was ready when the day came.
I got up at the same time as everyone else and put my clothes on at the same time. We opened our doors and filed into two lines. Just as we got outside one last pulse went through my body and that meant to run. We all spread out to our designated places. Each and every one of us got on our yellow clothes. The only people freaking out were the guards and as we walked normally and unsuspecting no one figured out it was us until one of them recognized my face. All of us had to run into the space craft as fast as we could. Behind us chaos began. People were freaking out as the guards started shooting at us, but for some reason no one stopped us. We all jumped in and closed the doors. I almost think I squished one of the guard’s hands. Benny rushed to the pilot seat as we all sat down. Just like that it was over. All of our planning and training was done, but for some reason I couldn’t stop feeling sorry.
I couldn’t stop saying, “I feel so bad one of us could have been caught. I shouldn’t have even looked at the guards.” Yet, no one was caught and all ten of us were there. We had almost completed our mission. When I looked behind me I finally realized that about a dozen people had already been seated in the ship. All of them looked absolutely terrified. Alyssa reassured them that everything was all right and that we were saving them. Then something hit me. We had planned everything leading up to taking off, but we didn’t know where we were going from there.
The ship just kept flying. I knew we were traveling in the fastest vehicle that had ever been built but for some reason I thought that the journey would be shorter. It took three days until we saw a planet.
From up above you could see that the atmosphere was filled with dense clouds. Flying closer in the planet’s surface was like red and black sand. There were geysers and deep chasms. As the ground came more into focus you could tell a strong wind was blowing across the sand. Yet, it appeared to be very hot on the planet because you could see steam cover the windows.
After Liam looked up records he discovered that this place was considered inhabitable but it was our only chance, because we were running out of fuel. The ship came with space suits for everyone on board with a few two oxygen tanks for each person. We also had a year’s supply of food. It became very apparent though that we might not make it that long, because Benny had a hard time landing the ship. It was the worst pain I had felt as my body was shaken around as we bumped along the planet’s surface until we stopped. Soon we discovered that the oxygen machine was broken and had to put our suits on. It was like being struck with a whirl wind of bad things happening all at once. Was this the end? I wouldn’t even get to see my parents again? Our small little team of teenagers was able to get away from Julia and get rid of her ship along with her brainwashing machines, but we weren’t even able to save ourselves. No! We could get it together. Liam and Benny knew so much about the ship that they could fix it and Alyssa had said that even though we were quite far from Earth, we could find some sort of fuel we could use on this planet and then get back. But, just as I was getting up I collapsed and saw the same purple light I had seen before getting to Gouze.
The only word that come out of my mouth was, “Home……” Everything went black and then my eyes opened. I felt like there was a fire in my chest and I couldn’t breathe. Once I looked around I noticed that I was in an ambulance. My mother was beside me and then agonizing pain hit me in the chest. The next thing I knew all I could see was black. This time when I woke up I was in a hospital room and the pain was now less.
“What happened? I can’t be here! I need to help them I need to go back! They need me! Allyssa, Liam, Benny and the others! They need me!” I screamed as I began to cry.
“Sweetie what’s gotten into you?” My mother said, “Your fine no one needs you to help them. You probably just had a bad dream.”
“What happened?!” I screamed again.
“There’s been a fire. Don’t you remember?” My mom asked.
I learned that while I had fallen asleep my cousins had started to play around by themselves. One of them found matches and they ended up burning the house down. I didn’t know what to think. My mother told me my cousins were ok. My aunt and uncle also didn’t blame the fire on me. 
As I recovered the memory of Gouze began to slip away from my mind. I soon forgot it all together and even lost the memories of my friends there. My life continued almost exactly how it did before. My nose and the rest of my body healed. Mom and Dad decided they would never make me stay with my cousins ever again. I believed that Gouze was just a dream and I forgot about it. Whether it was real or just a dream, Gouze may never be seen again.