Child of Destiny

Once a year, a Celestial comes to our village. Once a year, a boy or girl under the age of eighteen is selected. A yearly sacrifice in exchange for our freedom, whatever that means these days. Last year, they chose my cousin. The year before, they chose my best friend.

This year, I could only hope they would not choose me.

On the last night of the festival, I stood in line with twenty-three of my peers. We ranged in ages from 12 to 17. Our heads were bowed in deference as the robed and hooded Celestial slowly walked past us. Dark energy rippled through the air, nearly taking my breath away as I felt his gaze fall on me. Though we never saw the faces of these Celestials, it was easy enough to tell if they were male or female by the way the velvety white robes hung from their tall bodies.

I held my breath and prayed. Please don’t choose me.

His footsteps faded down the platform. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. It wasn’t that I was not grateful that the Celestials had saved mankind from extinction. I was. I just wasn’t so grateful I wanted to sacrifice my life and future for mysterious beings who I didn’t fully trust, despite what they had supposedly done for humanity. What kind of benevolent beings demand a yearly human sacrifice in exchange for our continued survival and freedom?

Sweat trickled between my shoulder blades as I waited for the ceremony to end. My palms were sticky and my throat dry. Any second now, he would choose, and it would be over. My eighteenth birthday was in two weeks and I’d not be eligible as a sacrifice anymore. No more dreading these yearly festivals. Well, at least, not until I had children. I couldn’t think about that right now, though. One step at a time.

Without warning, I felt a cold chain being placed around my neck. God, please, no. I cracked open one eye to glimpse a delicate, heart-shaped locket dangling from a silvery thread between my breasts.

My eyes darted frantically up at the tall figure standing before me. I wanted to look my doom in the face. Though his features were shaded by the hood, I could make out two glowing eyes that peered at me with keen interest. I felt him prying at the recesses of my mind as his kind were known to do. 'Telepaths' is what my Mom called them.

In the background, the crowd cheered and applauded his choice. Every parent, save for mine, would be thanking the fates that their child wasn’t the one chosen. I glimpsed my parents hugging one another, their cheeks wet with tears. They were not tears of joy.

My heart sunk in my chest. So, this was to be my destiny after all. This was my cross to bear, and I should do it humbly and reverently. After all, it was the highest and noblest calling to be chosen as a sacrifice. I was supposed to be honored to be among the chosen. But damn that honor and nobility crap! I wouldn’t accept this without a fight.

I was escorted off the stage by the chief magistrate of Nightvale. The crowd of onlookers reached for me, patting my shoulders. They grasped at my waist-length, rose gold curls reverently as they chanted my name. “Astra.”

“Blessed one.”

“Thank you for your sacrifice.”

“We will never forget what you’ve done for us.”

The words were hurled at me, piercing my heart like arrows. I didn’t want to be anyone’s sacrifice. I wanted to be free. Free to live. Free to love Destry.

As if summoned by my thoughts, a warm presence materialized at my side, his strong arm supporting me. “Astra, I can’t accept this. You have to run. Remember our plan? Meet in the cave just outside the outer perimeter.” Destry’s warm breath tickled my ear.

Destry reminded me of what summers must have been like before the ozone was destroyed. He was warm and golden with his sandy blonde hair and cinnamon brown eyes. His muscular body was kissed with the slightest hint of a tan, though where he'd acquired it I’d never know. Ever since the Final War, when the Russians had detonated the Decimation bomb in the Earth’s atmosphere, what remained of humanity had become a nocturnal society. We could not thrive in the daylight hours as the harmful rays from the sun were no longer filtered through the ozone. Hence, the world slept during the day and came to life at night. It was the only way of life I’d ever known.

I squeezed Destry’s hand, nodding my head. I would excuse myself to the restroom during the feast held in my honor. No one would suspect what I was going to do because it just wasn’t done. Not once had anyone ever tried to escape their fate as the Sacrifice. The people’s naivety would buy me time to escape.

An hour later, I was stealthily climbing my way out of the deep canyon where Nightvale had existed for the last sixty years. I had abandoned my ceremonial robe and the cursed locket in the dimly lit bathroom stall. Now, I carried only a small knapsack (which Destry and I packed every year in anticipation of just such an event) and was able to move quickly away from the village. Furthermore, I had memorized the path the sentries took and knew which areas to avoid.

A fiery red glow burned along the eastern horizon. Dawn was rapidly approaching, which meant I had maybe thirty minutes to make it to the cave on the outer perimeter. A mere thirty minutes in the daylight would reduce the average human to a withered husk.

As I neared the outer perimeter, what little foliage that existed within our zone became sparse until there was nothing but scorched gray rocks and naked, steep mountains. This area had once been known as North Carolina, before the collapse of America. What few people had remained of the decimated cities of Asheville and Charlotte had all gathered in Linville Gorge Wilderness, one of the last oases on the eastern seaboard. Hence, Nightvale had been born.

There was no life in this barren wasteland. Scattered among the stones and sand, I glimpsed the occasional corpses of mutant coyotes and disfigured mountain lions. The ripe scent of their decay was almost more than my stomach could handle as I hastened to the place where a small cave was hidden away in a narrow ravine. A few clandestine trips into the wilderness with Destry had revealed this hiding place years ago. As far as we knew, no one else was aware of its existence.

The faint sound of footsteps reached my ears as the ravine came into sight. I paused, listening. Was I being followed? Destry wasn’t supposed to meet me until the sun set this evening. Surely it was my imagination.

After a solid minute of standing in frozen silence, I decided my ears were playing tricks on me and scurried into the cave just as the blazing, angry orb of the sun peeked over the horizon, scorching everything kissed by its light.

“If someone was following me, they won’t be for long.” I muttered as I slumped to the smooth cave floor, allowing the weariness of the last week to finally catch up with me. I pulled a canteen of cold water from my knapsack, savoring the icy liquid even as it stung my parched throat.

I had no plan beyond waiting for the Celestial to leave Nightvale. I suppose it was rather foolish of me, but Destry and I had always figured we’d return to the village once the Celestial had chosen someone else and was gone. Worse case scenario is we’d make the journey to Stormgarde, a bustling labyrinth of cities tucked away in the caves of what was once northern Georgia. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, though.

Sleep claimed me and for a time, I drifted in blissful unconsciousness, free from my burdens and fears. I’m not sure how long I slept, but one thing I was sure of when I awoke is that I wasn’t alone in the cave.

I opened my eyes and sat up, aware of a presence by my side. As my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the cave, I was able to make out a person sitting next to me. Before I could jump to my feet, a hand fell on my shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“Don’t be scared, miss. I’m not going to hurt you. I, too, am a weary traveler seeking refuge from the daylight.” His voice was deep and pleasant, tinted with an accent I didn’t recognize. A lantern powered on in his other hand, casting a soft glow over his features.

I eyed the man suspiciously. He wasn’t anyone I’d ever seen before. While I couldn’t tell anything about his height, he had a slender, athletic build and shoulder-length hair as black as midnight. Eyes the color of sapphires gazed at me nonchalantly, as if finding a girl hidden away in a cave in no man’s land was a perfectly normal occurrence.

“I’m Tiran, by the way.” He offered as I scooted away from him. “What are you running from, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“I’m Astra and how do you know I’m running from anything?”

“Ok, I’ll play along. You’re not running from anyone. Are you on vacation?”

“Vacation? What is that?”

“Ah, yes, I forget vacations were before your time. That’s something people did in another lifetime.” His voice grew wistful.

Disarmed by his friendliness, I found myself confiding in this strange man. It felt good to unload my burden on someone else’s shoulders. Tiran listened eagerly, not interrupting even once to ask questions.

Once I finished my tale, he finally spoke. “I shall wait here with you until your Destry comes. Time passes by more quickly with good company.” He produced a thermos of hot tea, a luxury in our world, and a tin of butter cookies, which he happily shared with me.

I lost track of time as the hours passed, regaled by stories of the world as it was before the Final War. Tiran knew so much about everything. It was like talking to a history book. It never occurred to me that he’d not revealed anything about himself at all during this time.

The sun set and Destry did not appear. As the minutes ticked by, I grew restless. I began pacing the cave, anxiety gnawing at my insides.

“Perhaps he can’t get away from your village. Why don’t you let me escort you back there now that the coast is clear?” Tiran offered as he watched me pace.

“No, no, we have to give him a little bit longer.”

An hour passed and then another and still no sign of Destry. Desperation threatened to consume me. I felt like a wild animal trapped in a cage as I paced the cave. Finally, unable to take it any longer, and convinced that harm had come to Destry, I relented.

“Alright, let’s go. I’ll let you walk me back to my village. You can rest there for a few days if you like.” I grabbed my knapsack and started to make my way out of the cave.

“Astra, wait, you almost forgot my gift for you.” Tiran called after me.

“Gift? I drank all my tea…” My words trailed off as I caught a glimpse of the silver, heart-shaped locket dangling from his hand. My heart froze in my chest. “You are the Celestial?”

He nodded, his eyes grave. “Yes. And now it’s time for you to fulfill your destiny. With me.” He stood to his feet and held out his hand to me. “Let’s go, Astra.”