I say we should get going, but as we are walking towards the range, I hear someone screaming loud, and quite panic-like. Michel and I run to the sound. It is an old man. He is getting beat up by some guards for some reason; Michel and I hide behind some trees and watch in silence. It is horrible. They are killing the man. The whole time we watch in silence, it reminds me of my dream and the horror I felt. Did it have something to do with this?
We watch as they kill the man and haul him away. This seems to be happening more often for people aren’t able to pay their bills or they break a rule.
When you break a rule, no matter how big or small, you are punished. After three times of being punished, they will kill you, for you aren’t able to live in the community without being able to sustain the same amount of work ethic everyone else has, or at least that is what the capitol men say. I never really have understood that rule.



We finally leave the trees, as soon as we know the guards are gone, and go into the range. We aren’t talking so much anymore, just in silence, but what could one say? When you see a man killed, it scares you. We go to our professor who told us what to do. How many times to shoot, and our workout. One day, we may become guards. Now, I’m thinking I don’t want to be a guard. I don’t want to kill innocent people for little mistakes. I want to tell Michel this, but it’s against the rules to talk badly about any jobs. When we finish, it is time to head home.

We go to my house to eat. My parents are out working still, and probably won’t be back until dark, so we make our own dinner. Sitting there eating our ham and bread, I know I have to tell Michel about my dream, but I can’t find the right words to tell him, so it never comes out. Finally, Michel breaks the silence, “Hey Luke, why do you recon the killed the man?”
“I don’t know, I guess he broke a rule.”
“ I was so tempted to run out and stop them, but I didn’t want to die.” I know Michel was too, but we couldn’t have done anything. We would have been dropped right there and then, like the Jason brothers four years ago, when they tried to be brave. Michel didn’t say another word.

After dinner, Michel left to go home, he had to finish his nightly chores. So did I. Working, I couldn’t help but think about what had happened today, and why things went the way they did. Why did they just kill him? He was an old man and might not have been able to think correctly. That’s how strict our lives are. You can do nothing wrong or you’re done. That’s why there are very few older people here. After I finish my chores I was pretty tired, so I go to bet with a troubled min

Its dark. I’m sweaty and horrified, yet again. I had the dream, but this time I remember something. I remember being in the library, the section where only the most important people in the community can go, but nobody was stopping me. No one said a word. I had a book. I remember the feeling of the book, how it was of such importance and so old, I had such urgency to do something. I wasn’t scared in the dream, so why am I now? I can remember nothing else. Eventually, I drift back into sleep.

I wake up the next morning, exhausted, with the same feelings and remembrance of the dream. I know Michel won’t be able to come today. He is off helping his father with work. Today is a big day. It is the day of the hunt for food, so we may all survive. Mother never allows me to go. She always says it is too dangerous. I might mess up and get myself killed. I never question her.

I do my morning chores, and then come in for breakfast. I have to hurry today. I have to be at my schooling early, we learn something extra, I think is what he said. I finish and am off to the schooling today. I am sure if I see somebody that is in need I won’t s top and watch. That causes too much pain for me.

I arrive at the range just in time to watch my instructor being executed. I sprint over to the range and ask the head guard why. I know I won’t get an answer, they aren’t allowed to talk to civilians unless told to. I desperately try to stop them, yelling, screaming at them to stop, that he is a good man, until Mr. Cross tells me that he deserves it, that his crimes are unforgivable. I try to ask what he did, but just before the words get out of my mouth, he is shot dead, laying there in the range where he has taught me so much
I run over to him just to make sure he is dead. I am going off of lost hope that maybe he still lives………..nothing. There was nothing. No pulse. No breath. He is dead, gone from our lives, and into the next. I stand up and sprint out of the range, pushing anybody who is in my way down. I run. I don’t know how long I am running, but when I stop, I can’t even see the smock of the town I am so deep in the forest.

I just sit down. I can’t go farther. I can’t even breathe. I’m crying so hard I vomit. I cry until I can’t any more. My mother and father never pay attention to me. They just go their way and let me be. Mr. Cross was the only person I trusted, the only one I could go to for anything. He’s taught me so many things I couldn’t count them. What did he do? What crimes did he commit? I had never even seen him yell before, and today he was killed for a crime. The only way to find out would be to go to Bryan. Bryan was the man who kept track of everything that had happened in the whole community, from who eats what to who killed whom.

Bound and determined to go and find out I go to town again. It takes me a very long time to get to town. By the time I get there, it is past lunchtime. I don’t care. I go straight into the library. He sat at the desk.
“Sir Bryan,” I called out in almost a whisper. He answered.
“Luke what can I do for you on this day?”
“Sir Bryan, can we go somewhere private to talk?”
“Sure lad, sure. Give me a minute. I just got some bad news not to long ago about Mr. cross being killed for horrible crimes. You think you know a guy! I guess people change.
“Sir, that’s what I came to talk about. What did he do?
“Luke, come with me,” said Sir Bryan. We walk through two big doors where the Holy Library was where nobody is supposed to be, unless of high authority. We hurry along. I know I will be punished severely if I am caught. I don’t care. I need to know. We go through a little hallway, and down a huge flight of stares that seems to never end. Then, we are down where the war council always talks and plans for emergencies. We go even deeper into the building than that, and finally go into a room. This room is tiny and very dull-maybe a supply closet? I wonder when I see the broom and cloth in the back corner of the room. In the middle of my thoughts, I see Bryan walking into a little room I could have sworn wasn’t there before. I guess I wasn’t paying attention, so I follow.

In this room, there are things I have never seen before. I don’t know what they are or what to call them, but I have to figure out what had happened to Mr. Cross. I sit down in front of Bryan on a chest. Bryan looks long and hard at me. It feels like days before he finally says, “Luke, sometimes a man feels he needs to know more. It’s the way man has been for, well, forever. You could say the curiosity that goes through are bodies sometimes takes over us and we just can’t stop and have to do something. Well Luke, Mr. Cross he, well, he had been working for years on this and what it was,” Bryan said, picking up a book that looks very old that appears to have no cover.
“The book from my dreams!” Luke said. Bryan looked in at me, puzzled, “I have been having dreams that just scare me sir. I am starting to remember things. One day I dreamt and woke up terrified, but couldn’t remember what happened. Now I seem to remember little bits and pieces, Sir.
“Luke, I think, well, I think you have the same problem as Mr. Cross. You see, this book belonged to a man before Cross. He had this idea that how we live is wrong and decided to write about it, about how things were wrong, and how they should be, and what the government really is and how they really work, and why they keep us from doing stuff we think is right. He was killed as soon as the capital found out and tried to burn the book. Mr. Cross, as clever as he was, switched the book and they burned the wrong one. He read the book and figured out what was wrong. He then started getting these dreams’ of terror and stressful, horrible things. He said they got worse as he went on through out the days. He told me the pain he felt was horrible. You see Luke, the reason your parents never pay attention to you or ever seem to like you is because Mr. Cross was your dad”
I sat there puzzled. Why haven’t his parents told him before?
Bryan then says, “Now, we don’t have much time. Soon the capital will know that you know you must take this book and run find somewhere to hide read it and do what you think is best. Now go!” He opens the door for Luke to go. Luke runs out of the room and never stops until he is in the library he remembers from his dream. He remembers the book that he had. He goes over and found an empty spot with gold around. It said “all known”. All known? What does that mean? He soon hears boots coming. He runs around the corner and out of the building. He runs until he arrives at Michel’s house. Michel doesn’t understand why he has to be hidden in the supply room of his house, which is hidden under the table by a cloth, but he figures he will soon find out.

Luke, then in the room, begins to read. He never stops to go take a crap nor to eat food. He just keeps reading until he falls asleep. When he wakes up, he finally understands what the book is telling him. He knew that the government is doing everything all wrong, that they have lied to us all, that they had told us that the only way to live was by perfection. But the truth is nobody is perfect that we are all created equal. I came up and talked to Michel he said they should just grab friends and go. I thought we should take everyone that agreed to us as I moved the book something fell out of the spine of it. Maybe it was from my real father. In the map it said Luke if your reading this it means I’m no longer with you and you need to save the lives of all the people that live in the community there is a secret passage that goes down through the city under your house you’ve never seen it cause it is under the floor boards but you must get all the people you can everyone that agrees to you that your right and take them away from this hell that we have lived in for

I new what I had to do that night I dreamt about very happy things until I woke up I was good happy about knowing but when I went back to sleep I had the horror the terror of everything in the book everything that the capital has ever done to anybody so I then had Michel go and tell everyone he new about everything. For I knew if I were to leave I would be caught because they probably already know. Late that night Michel got back he came to me and said only 32 people actually believed him that you were right. Well I guess we will only save them then What should we do know Michel? Well we should get you to your house. No we should round everyone up slowly. We left the house at the same time. I ran and waited in the horse stall while Michel picked up everyone and slowly sent him or her one by one to Luke’s house.

As I saw them coming I ran into the house and I discovered that almost all of the people were there. I grabbed a few knives out of the kitchen and handed them to all of the strongest men and told them to protect the women and children and hurry them along. As soon as we got into the cave we heard men yelling. The guards were at the other end!!!! We have to turn around quickly. I hurried everyone to the other end of the tunnel and out of the house. The walls of the city were just sod so we could easily break through it. All the men and I ran at full speed at the wall but it didn’t go down soon we saw arrows flying at us the guards definitely new what we were trying to do. They were ordered to kill us or die trying was my guess soon I saw a flaming arrow that hit the wall and it was engulfed in flames. We ran at it one more time hoping that it would finally fall. We hit the wall and it came crumbling down in a heap at are feet crushing the guards at the other side of the wall we ran through the forest with the guards on our heals I figured I should do something in order to save everyone. I had a young man that could through knives very well it was Michel and he already was throwing them at the guards I gave him my last knife and told him to pick the leader he said sure as he laid down flat on his back cutting his arm I yelled what are you doing he yelled back just trust me and run. As we kept running with the children and women the guards stopped coming for some reason finally we stopped. And started to walk feeling safer for we didn’t heir anything and hadn’t heard anything for a few hours. As everyone fell asleep I see someone walk into camp that wasn’t there before. Michel I Yelled I ran to him as he dropped he told me. I laid their acting dead until the leader of the group latterly walked on me… all I could do was lay their and wait till he walked farther then I stood up through the knife at his back and killed him the other guards had no idea what to do they just fled to the community and left us free. Was free Luke!! Those were his last words as he dropped dead their in victory.

Three Months later.


Well Bryan I guess you could say we are just settling in and getting used to our new lives. All thanks to you. If you wouldn’t have given me the book and the knowledge of my true father and how things were then my people would still be in the city and living in hell. Ya everything’s coming along now that we are sure nobody is going to come looking we started to make a small village close by to a river near a great land of flat. We met new people with dark skin and animal cloths they are helping use and teaching us new ways of life. They are a great people. Heir soon they say they will leave for a big hunt and I will go with them along with many other men. We gave Michel a proper burying place. We owed it to him he is the one who stopped the guards. But Bryan everything Is going great hope you can find a way heir in the future so we can meet and I can show you the new people and their new ways of life. Which gives me another thought I always wonder why you couldn’t come why you had to stay but I guess it was your choice. So ill be signing off now. Thanks for everything. So I guess cheers to a new life.