Chapter 1

Hey everyone! Today, I wanted to let you all in on an interesting story concept I came up with. I know dystopian stories and novels are all the rage right now, but I’m not judging. I’m totally in on the hype.

Writing stories has always been a particular interest of mine. My big imagination is fueled even more by the amazing books and stories that I read, so I was absolutely thrilled when I came up with this story idea. I’ve written a good bit on it so far, so I thought I’d share the first chapter and see if you guys think it’s any good! Please let me know what you think, and whether or not I should post more chapters after this! Also, go follow my bookstagram (@bookish_annalee) if you’re feeling frisky! :)

**Disclaimer- This story contains mentions of Christianity and topics, such as sex and drug trafficking, that may be sensitive to some readers.

Chapter 1- “Gone From Us”

I stood on the deck with my sister and our parents, waiting for the ship to take us away from this dreadful place. Ever since the economy crashed, the whole country had been in uproar; trying to avoid the explosion of sex and drug trafficking rings and black markets was almost impossible. So, we were leaving, along with three fourths of the country,

There were a few stragglers who refused to leave their homes because of health or just plain stubbornness. Some people couldn’t afford the ridiculous fees the government was charging since evacuation wasn’t required, only recommended. Lucky for me, my dad was a renowned scientist, so we were rich enough the afford the trip and famous enough to board the ship without any question from any soldiers.

My father was praised for being so dedicated to furthering our country’s most significant scientific knowledge while still keeping his faith in check. My parents raised my sister and me in church, and it had always been important to all of us that no matter what, we kept God first in our home and our lives.

I let out a long, wearied sigh.

The past few months had really tested my faith, what with barely escaping the clutches of a disgusting man involved in a sex trafficking ring and trying to make it until the evacuation took place. I looked around at all the people pushing and shoving, fighting to stay with their families in the large crowd. That’s when I realized my sister was missing.

I began searching frantically, instantly worried that she had been kidnapped by one of the trafficking rings circling around. It would make her anxiety skyrocket. She wouldn’t last five minutes before passing out on her captors.

“Clara!” I called. “Clara, where are you?”

I started shaking, my pulse rushing along to the beat of the thoughts racing through my mind. I vaguely registered my parents beginning a conversation with a portly man I didn’t know, or care to know in that moment. My sister was missing and my parents hadn’t even noticed. The man was distracting them when they should have been looking for Clara.

Then, I heard a commotion down on the docks. I craned my head to look past the overweight man to see my sister running around the dock, looking even more frightened and nervous than I felt. She, too, appeared to be searching for something. I ducked past the man and my parents, the only thing on my mind being my sister. I was small enough to climb through the railing of the ship deck, past the soldiers overseeing the boarding passengers. I landed on the dock with a small thud, barely registering the pain that lanced up my ankle. I ran over to Clara and grabbed her by the arm.

“Clara, we have to go. Now,” I said urgently. She was shaking, hyperventilating hysterically, and on the verge of tears.

“Rambo,” she managed to breathe out. “Rambo’s gone, Kella. I can’t find him anywhere.” Tears were starting to spill down her cheeks, and I knew how badly losing Rambo would hurt her. He was a big, fluffy German Shepherd, but dealing with severe social anxieties her whole life, Rambo had been Clara’s only friend besides me. I wanted to search for him, but I couldn’t. The ship’s bell rang, indicating its coming departure. I didn’t have a choice. I tightened my grip on her arm and yanked her hard.

“Clara, the ship’s leaving. We have to get back to Mom and Dad!” She struggled, and I yanked her even harder. After a few more tries, I realized I wasn’t getting anywhere. Clara was only eleven, and I a few years older, but she was already gaining on me in height. Normally, I would’ve been able to best her because of my stockier build, but she was in a panic and desperate to find one of the only friends she’d ever known. “Fine, then. Come on, we don’t have much time.” I let go of her arm and she followed me without hesitation.

My ankle was throbbing by then, but I ignored the pain for my sister’s sake and focused on searching for Rambo. We found him several yards away with his paw stuck in between two slats of wood on the dock. Hurriedly, we went to work on freeing his oversized paw from where it was wedged in an impossibly small space. About that time, my parents started yelling our names and struggling against the crowd while the soldiers were trying to keep them on the ship.

I pulled Clara up. “I’m sorry Clara, we don’t have time. We have to go now or we’re going to miss the ship.” We we’re both crying by then, me from the pain in my ankle and my sister’s sadness, Clara from her anxiety over Rambo’s stuck paw. Our parents kept calling our names as the ship’s bells rang once more. The guards restraining my parents, seeing that the ship was leaving and deciding Clara and I weren’t worth the rescue, clubbed both my parents in the backs of their heads. I let out a scream as my parents’ bodies went limp, and the ship started moving, leaving my sister, Rambo, and I behind on the dock.