Tacken was nearly eleven when the serum was given to him. He had stood hand in hand with his mother, unsure of what they were waiting for exactly. They stood in a long line outside the newly built community center, near the rose garden and next to the fountain. His mother smiled kindly down at him as they waited with the rest of the newly formed community, ready to receive the serum that would take away his ability to see color. Tacken was unaware of what this meant for him. Which color would be taken away? What would he see instead, shadows of white and grey? He looked around him in hopes to find a familiar face and grinned as he spotted his friend Cole a few people behind them.

"Can I go see Cole?" he asked his mother. She nodded and let go of his hand. Tacken rushed over to his friend and was chastised by the adults around him for running wildly. He apologized as he neared Cole who stood with his mother, father, and younger brother. Tacken's father was helping the volunteers from the community to administer the serum inside the center.

"Hello Cole," Tacken said politely and said a brief hello to Cole's parents who said polite hellos in return. Most people within the community were polite and well mannered. Tacken had lived in something known as a city before he and his parents were selected by the newly appointed Authority to live within the communities that would begin regulating population control and disease, or whatever that meant. Tacken wasn't really sure why he moved, but he had not become used to the strict ways of the community just yet. He grew tired of being told how to behave and the forced apologies he needed to make when he wasn't sorry about anything.

"Hey Tacken, are you scared?" Cole asked, a little fear creeping into his voice. Tacken shook his head and grinned.

"Nothing scares me, I'm invincible."

Cole's mother smiled down at him and shook her finger back and forth. "Remember your lesson about words Tacken? You are not invincible, for that would mean you are not able to be hurt. Remember to use proper words," she said in a kind voice that held a firmness that made Tacken blush with embarrassment.

"Sorry Ma'am," he said and Cole laughed quietly before his father shot him a warning look. Tacken took Coles hand and went over to the fountain. A few people had already told him before that touching another person was not allowed, but from where Tacken had been raised, touching was normal. He often would punch and kick his old friends, or shake hands with someone, or give them a hug. Hugging, he quickly found out, was forbidden. His mother continued to hug him in the darkness of night however, which made him feel good about breaking the imposing rules he was already beginning to dislike.

Cole played with the water and fished out a few pennies. Tacken grabbed one and looked at the face of the coin, which was of the head of the Authority. He had seen the man a few times in the past on commercials and posters that were around the city, but never could remember the man's name. Tacken wasn't sure if he liked him.

"I don't want to lose my vision," Cole said, his voice low and sad.

Tacken shook his head at him and huffed. "They aren't taking your vision away, they're taking away color or something."

"My color? Like my eye color?"

"I don't know, my mom said something about it making everyone on equal dirt or whatever."

Cole rolled his eyes at Tacken this time. "You mean equal ground, it means everyone will be the same."

Tacken playfully punched Cole in the arm and Cole did a mock wince. "You're too smart sometimes."

Tacken was glad for Cole. He was the first person he met when he moved to the community. Cole lived next door to him and had a little brother who was five. Tacken didn't know anyone outside his city, and the move was abrupt. He wasn't able to say goodbye to anyone and he felt lonely before he met Cole. They were each given bikes with their name on the back, which Tacken found exciting, and they rode around the community discovering things together. They each marveled at the new things they were given once coming to the community, but also fretted over what had been taken away.

Tacken and Cole learned quickly that television was nowhere to be found. There were books, however, which pleased Cole since he enjoyed reading, but Tacken was unhappy at the sudden switch. His parents told him it was for the better, but he didn't believe them. He wanted to watch cartoons and super hero movies, but they seemed to be a thing of the past.

Tacken looked back at the line and noticed his mother waving him over. Tacken patted Cole quickly on the back and ran back to his mother who gave him a frown.

"Remember, no running, okay?" she asked and apologized to the people around them. Tacken tried not to roll his eyes but his mother saw and she gave him a sad smile. She had seemed sad ever since they moved, but she hadn't spoken of why. They had lived in the community for five months and she seemed to be liking it less and less each day. Tacken had asked her once why they had to move, and his mother explained that they were given a great opportunity to better their lives. Tacken wasn't sure what to make of it, but he didn't feel like his life were any better off. He missed his city.

Tacken retook his mother's hand and gave a soft sigh. She squeezed back reassuringly but he just wanted to go back home. Tacken was able to see further inside the community center and could see the tall ceilings with sunshine streaming through the large windows. The area was used for recreational sports and public gatherings. The floors were shinning and Tacken could smell the fresh paint and new wood. They began to move closer to the front and he could see his father sitting next to a tall woman in a dark blue dress. His father wore a white lab coat and dark pants, which marked him as one of the doctors. Tacken knew his father did miracles, but he didn't know which kind. The woman sitting beside his father had skin the color of dark chocolate and hair the color of night. She was smiling at his father as he rubbed a cotton ball onto her arm. Tacken watched as his father reached for a small needle to inject her and Tacken winced as it entered the woman's flesh.

The woman's smile was bright before and slowly began to fade as his father pushed in the plunger of the needle. Tacken watched her expression closely. His mother always told him he could be a detective; he always looked for the smallest details in everything. The woman did not look pleased as his father finished and put a small bandage on the wound the needle made. Tacken watched as she rose slowly from the chair, looked down at her dress, and began to cry softly.

A person in a white lab coat, a woman who was similar in height and had dark blonde hair, came to the woman and brought her to a table that held other people who were talking amongst themselves, some crying and others looking scared. Tacken looked up, frightened, into his mother's eyes that seemed to mirror his. Tacken had always loved his mother, as most children do, but he found her beautiful. Most kids he knew spoke ill of their parents, but Tacken adored his mother more than anyone he knew. Her soft brown hair, in thick curls hung around her face and framed her light blue eyes that matched his own. She began to fidget with a necklace around her neck with her free hand, a habit Tacken knew she did when she was nervous. She tried to smile at him again but it faltered. Tacken was beginning to grow scared.

They got closer to the front of the line and his father waved them over. Tacken squeezed his mother's hand as they approached the small seat that the blue dress woman had been sitting not long before. His parent's were not allowed to show affection in public, because it was deemed inappropriate, but Tacken was glad his father gave her a brief hug anyway. Tacken didn't care much about rules.

"Darling, are you ready?" his father asked. He wasn't a very tall man, but he wasn't short either. Tacken looked most like his father, except for his eyes and his nose, which looked like his mother. Tacken's father had dark brown hair, combed back, neat and tidy, and had a build of a man who had not done much physical labor in his life. Tacken had always known him as a doctor, and nothing else. His father used to work long hours in the city but had not worked as much since coming to the community. Tacken had come with him in the months previous to administer new vaccines to people. Tacken had been told there would never be a sick day in his future, for which he was glad, because he hated to be sick.

His mother's eyes looked frantic for a brief second and his father took both her hands, Tacken releasing his grip from his mother so his father could comfort her.

"Remember what we decided? We need this life. It's the best way for everyone, for everyone to be the same. We want Tacken to have a life we didn't get, away from hate and violence. This is one step towards that life," he said and brought a hand to her cheek in a sweet gesture. A few people around them muttered words of annoyance at the public display but Tacken's family paid them no mind. His mother finally nodded and took a seat as his father did the same. Tacken watched as his father cleaned the area for the injection, recognizing the same process from before with blue dress woman and before, months earlier, with the no sickness vaccine.

His father readied the needle, and before Tacken could take in another breath, his father injected his mother with the serum. He watched his mother's face closely. She looked sad before, but a deeper sadness seemed to have crept into her brow. She did not cry, or move, as his father put a bandage over the injection site. She got up slowly, and waited while Tacken took a seat instead. Tacken rolled up his shirt, which was longer since exposed skin was frowned upon except for necks, face, and hands, for children, and he waited for his father to get another needle.

"It'll be alright son, I promise. I've already done it, and now your mother has. We both took it like champs, as I know you will as well," his father said and smiled. Tacken's heart began to race wildly within his chest as his father took the cotton ball to his skin. The cotton ball felt cool, and he could smell the antiseptic on it. Tacken grabbed his mother's hand with his other arm, and looked up at her for reassurance. She did not smile, however, but looked strangely gone. Tacken felt as if a large rock had settled into his stomach, much too big to fit.

He wanted to leave, run away quickly, before whatever was about to happen to him could take effect. As he was about to bolt, however, his father injected him with the serum. As Tacken looked again to his mother, he could feel a deep coldness spread from the injection site and throughout his body. He shivered involuntarily and frantically looked around the room. Everything seemed normal, until it began to seem different. Color began to slowly fade from his sight. Reds dimmed, and blues disappeared into faded black. Grays replaced the vibrant colors around him. He looked at his mother again, before the serum could take full effect, and he saw the blue of her eyes turn gray and her dark curls turn to soft darkness. He began to cry for the first time in a long time, because he understood now what the new community meant. It meant things would never be the same for him again, and it scared him.