I kept running. My feet pounded against the dry soil underneath me. It was closing in on us I lengthened my strides as sweat dripped down my forehead. We needed to get to the town hall.

A few days ago..

Water has been scarce and the heat hasn't been getting any better. What little water supply we had was depreciating. My mouth was sandpapery dry, but we had made sure to ration our supply carefully. We as in mother, Azalea and I. Father died in a fire long ago. Ever since the Glare began, everything has gone downhill. A while back, the Earth got knocked off its course and got bumped right next to the sun. As a result, the temperatures began to rise. As a result, all sources of water began to dry out. The conditions kept getting worse. We kept thinking that the Central would fix it. They should fix it, but I guess there some things that even the Central can’t solve. Next, the rain began. The rain brought signs of hope; a signal that things were going to get better. We should have known that it was too good to be true. The first drop is pure bliss, but right away the poison kicks in. Even one drop inflames all your internal organs and cuts all communication from them. From there your body simply corrodes until there is nothing left. The rain stopped after a couple weeks. But even after then, it took awhile for people to gain enough confidence to exit the safety of their homes. Everything kept getting worse. The trading posts got raided and cleaned out. We only managed to grab a few loaves of bread and a couple bags of frozen peas. Scraping and melting the frost of the frozen peas is the only source of water we have been living off of. Nobody dared to drink from the remnants of nearby ponds, afraid that it might it still be contaminated. I knew I had to go out and hunt. Water wasn't the only thing we were running out of. Father taught me enough to be able to carefully shoot through the eye and clean the body thoroughly. I pulled on the boots that he wore while hunting. It was one of the only things that I had left of him. I still remember that day vividly. Father, mother, Azalea and I had all gone to the building of written texts. Azalea and I loved going there when Father had the day off from working on the farms. It was a quiet and ordinary morning until the smell of smoke was distinct. It began to spread and soon someone shouted something that I already knew, “FIRE!” The commotion began and Azalea, only 7 then, began to cry. Father hushed her and carried her while mother grabbed my elbow and dragged me out. When we made it outside father left Azalea to our care.  He was too noble to let others die without doing anything. We saw him bring out two other workers. Before he went back in he assured me that he will come back. He never did. We waited and waited until the officers brought out the bodies. I don’t think that I have ever seen mother cry as much as she did that day.

“Be back before 6 Blair! “ mother warned. Right, the curfew. Ever since the glare started, the Central’s guidelines started piling up. I ducked underneath the wiring and entered the forest. The forest became forbidden area after the glare began. But, it was the only place I could hunt. By sundown, I had managed to capture a deer and bring home a couple of berries. When I returned home I saw mother tending to Azalea’s wounds. Azalea’s bite from her new goat had still not healed. If it weren’t for the milk and Azalea’s liking towards him, I would have gotten rid of him on the first day.

“Some officials had stopped by earlier. There is going to be an announcement in the town hall next morning. They said that they have a solution,” Mother informed.

“It's true Blair! Maybe they really have found a way to stop the glare!” Azalea exclaimed.

I nodded my head and continued to my room without saying a word. Mother and I both knew that this wasn’t possible, but why bring down Azalea’s hopes? Next morning all the townspeople gathered at the town hall. I saw Derek on the other side with his family and waved at him. Derek’s father also had died when he young. He knew what it felt like to feel truly alone. He was the only one who really understood her when father died.  

“Ladies and gentlemen if I could have your attention. The Glare has brought nothing but misfortune to us. Our researchers have studied this case for a quite a while now and it is unfortunate for me to say this but, I'm afraid there is no possible solution to stopping the Glare,” Randall, the spokesperson for the central, announced. The crowd broke out in commotion. But, Derek and my face remained blank. We both knew that even the Central could not stop this.

“But we do have a method of helping our younger children have a better life. Starting tomorrow all children younger than 18 should arrive at the Central building and from there each one of them shall be placed in individual pods. They will be frozen and will be revived once we have found a solution for the Glare. This way our children will not have to face the same misfortune that we will have to face. The procedure will happen in alphabetical order. You must understand, this is for the greater good,” After Rolland explained he remained silent. Letting everything sink in. Silence. It was almost as if they had actually believed what he said. They couldn’t have, right? Freezing someone has got to be impossible. The Central might be advanced, but they can’t be this advanced.

That night Derek’s family invited us over.

“You can’t possibly be buying all this freezing nonsense,” I muttered.

“I don’t know Blair. Maybe the Central has found a way,” he stated.

“I can’t believe you! You out of all people?!” I exclaimed and rushed out of the room.

“Come on Blair, don’t be that way. I’m sorry if I want to believe there is a slight hope of survival. Maybe this isn’t the happy ending we were hoping for, but at least it’s something. I would give anything for my siblings and I to have a better future,” he pleaded. He waited for me to turn around but I didn’t. No matter how hard I wanted to believe that this isn’t the end, I couldn’t.

The next morning it was Derek’s family, Azalea, and my day for the freezing. We were led to a room and were told to stay there until we were called. I asked a Central officer if I could go use the bathroom. As I lingered through the halls I passed by a slightly opened door and heard two men speaking.

“Oh I must say Mr. Cadwell, I am impressed! How did you do it? Our team and I have been working with the idea of freezing for simply decades,” A man beamed.

“I regret to tell you this, but none of that sort is true. There is no freezing. The children are simply placed in the pods and are given large amounts of shocks. And then…. well you know what happens from there. You have to understand I am doing what’s best for the people,” he explained.

“What exactly are you doing here Ms. Amherst?” I turned around to be faced with an officer. A billion thoughts flew through my head. There was no such thing as freezing. They were leading us to our deaths. I need to get Azalea and Derek and get them out of here. I kicked the officer in the shin and ran to get them.

“Derek, Azalea we have to go!” I screamed.

“Where? What’s going on Blair?” Derek questioned.

“There is no time for that! We need to go! Now! Tell everyone else to go the other way!” they did as they were told and we bounded down the hallways. We encountered a few officers along the way but finally, we made it towards the town hall. I could only hope that the other children had made it out safely as we did.

“I wouldn’t say safe. We still have a couple on our tail,” Derek said as if reading my mind. Finally, we reached the town hall. Luckily all the town members had gathered for weekly town meeting.

“People of Arkney! The Central has lied to us, all of us!” I boomed.

Epilogue

Now if you are looking for some happy ending, something like a solution was found for the Glare and everyone lived happily ever after, don’t. This is life, not some fairytale. I look over to Derek and Azalea and they take my hand. All I know is that, whatever life throws at us, we have each other. This isn’t the end. It is just the beginning.