Chapter 1: Lindsay

Lindsay Lassiter stood in the empty courtyard of her high school. Snow fell quietly from the sky, blanketing the cracked concrete in white. The weather was strange for this time of year, unusually cold for March. She stared at the ashen gray sky and became lost in her thoughts.

I wonder if more people will die tonight because of the cold, she thought. She really didn't want to think about tonight.

The date was March 22nd and in four hours, the 12th annual Purge would begin. Lindsay never participated, no she and her family would never be caught "Purging" their sins. A night of death and violence? The New Founding Fathers were full of shit. The Purge was not a night to "cleanse onself of the hate and anger inside." It was a night where many, many innocent and unprepared people were mercilessly slaughtered.

Yeah, maybe it had stimulated the economy to the point of unemployment being at 1% and maybe the country was prospering. But what good was prospering when it was fuelled by the bloodshed of the poor?

A voice pulled Lindsay out of her thoughts.

"Lindsay! Yo, Earth to Lindsay!" the voice cried out.

Lindsay smiled and waved. The voice belonged to a pale, rail thin girl who, despite the bitter cold, wore only a purple cardigan and skinny jeans. The girl waved Lindsay over to a nearby table.

"Thank God," Lindsay whispered to herself. She starting to think Whitney wasn't going to show. It wouldn't have been the first time.

She crossed the courtyard, snow crunching under her feet. Her skin rippled with goosebumps, from the cold or from the nervous excitement about tonight, she did not know. Lindsay slung her bag off of her shoulder and sat beside Whitney, who handed her a steaming hot coffee. Whitney's lack of clothing astonished and worried Lindsay all at the same time.

"Okay, so like, your parents are cool with you having this Purge Party, right?" Whitney asked, fiddling with her iPhone.

Lindsay took a too big of a sip and choked a little before answering, "Oh, yeah," she coughed, "they're going to the Macready's across town. We have the house to ourselves for the whole night."

Whitney squealed with glee, "This is so awesome! You invited anyone yet? Well, I mean besides me. Because let's be real, this party would be great with just me there."

Lindsay rolled her eyes and said, "I got replies from Harper, Erik, Trish, and Davis. Oh, and Mitchell asked if he could invite Elias Locke."

Whitney raised her eyebrow, "That faggot? Why does your brother want him there?"

Lindsay slapped Whitney's hand, "Watch it, Whit. And I dunno, I didn't ask."

Whitney smirked and turned her attention back to her iPhone. Candy Crush saga had never fallen out of favor, even 10 years later.

Lindsay sighed and looked out across the icy courtyard. Whitney was a great friend, no doubt, but she was also full of herself. And while Lindsay was not so perfect herself, Whitney drove her crazy some days. Something was up with Whitney. She'd never said anything that harsh about anyone before.

As she waited for a lapse in the excuse of an attention span Whitney had, she spotted a figure moving quickly under the awning beside the classrooms. The girl had flowing red hair and tanned skin, so golden that it glowed against the backdrop of white.

Marta Locke's heavy boots thumped loudly on the slick sidewalk. Lindsay called out to her and caught a quick glimpse of her mascara streaked face. She turned to Whitney, who wasn't paying attention and would no doubt throw a fit after what she was about to do, then turned back to Marta and ran after her.

"Marta, Marta, hey are you okay?" Lindsay asked, breathless. The cold air stung in her lungs.

"What do you care?" Marta hissed, attempting to step around Lindsay.

Lindsay caught her arm and stopped her, "Look, I need to ask you something. Your brother's coming to our Purge Party tonight and I wanted to know if you wanted to come."

Marta's hair covered her face, but she pushed it back to look at Lindsay. Her face seemed to question Lindsay's authenticity.

"You're serious? This isn't some prank?" Marta asked.

Lindsay chuckled, "No! No way. This is totally sincere in every way, shape, and form. Plus, you know you'll be way safer at our house tonight."

Marta nodded, "Okay. I'll ride with Elias. But if you pull any shit, I'm leaving, even if it is the Purge."

"No shit, got it. Make sure you and Elias bring some movies or music. I don't like to watch the Purge Feed." Lindsay said, grinning.

Marta nodded and walked away to her car, speeding off from the school.

Lindsay turned around to see a fuming Whitney standing behind her. Her face was a deep scarlet.

Whitney scoffed and said, "You didn't really invite that freak, did you?"

"Yeah, I did. She and Elias are probably safer at my house than at theirs," Lindsay told her, picking her bag up from the table, "and besides, since when do you care? Marta's never done anything to you."

Whitney's face turned to shock, "That's the whole point of the Purge, Linds! They're supposed to die! Rich people like us, we stay safe in our homes, but them? Well, you know what happens to them."

Lindsay's jaw dropped. Where did this come from? This was not the Whitney she'd been friends with since middle school.

"Whit, please tell me you didn't say that." Lindsay said, clenching her fists.

"Oh, don't act like you don't believe it. That "purging sins" bull? Yeah, this is to get rid of the poor. The ones who don't contribute. The ones like Marta and her family."

"Whitney! Just because her family isn't rich like us doesn't mean they should die!" Lindsay realized she was shouting and bit down on her lip to calm herself. She knew she needed to stop.

"Yeah, okay," Whitney snorted, "Tell that to the thousands of crazies getting their knives and guns ready for tonight. Who are they going after? The poor. I'm sorry, well not really, but it's true." Whitney picked her up her backpack.

Lindsay knew it was true. She hated it, knowing that all of these people would be slaughtered just because they weren't able to afford security systems and because of their financial status. The whole system was screwed up.

"Look," Whitney said, sighing, "It's cool that you invited them. But remember, it's the Purge and not everyone will be happy to see them at the party." Whitney tied her platinum blond hair in a ponytail.

"Whit, that's why I had to invite her. Marta would be a target."

Whitney walked over to her, embracing her in a hug. She leaned over to Lindsay's ear and whispered, "You can't save them all. It's us or it's them."

She left Lindsay in the parking lot, mouth agape. The Purge was still four hours away, but Lindsay felt as if Whitney had driven a blade through her stomach. But, it was her words. Lindsay could feel something in Whitney's word.

It was something that, en mass, was a dangerous virus. The drug of dictators, the precursor to genocide.

It was hate. She could feel the hate permeating from those around her. Lindsay ran to her car and sped home.