Drift

by Goldenpetal

Taylor and three other girls have been chosen as candidates for brides to the House Governers. A fatal virus kills females at 20, and males at 25. They are carted away to California, where they will live for the rest of their lives. Please read, I'm not very good at summaries.

1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This may seem extremely like the original text, but it is not. I will be publishing/updating this whenever possible. Please do not flame/criticize I do not like when those comments are posted. I do not own the Chemical Garden trilogy, that series belongs to the Author. I do,however, own the words of this story, the characters, and the storyline. Oh, and just a quick warning, I do have all my stories on Carbon Copy Alert, so not wise to copy, unless you give me partial credit ;D. Enjoy the story.

1

I WAIT. They keep us in the dark for so long that we lose sense of our eyelids. The only way one of us can tell that a girl has reached a wall is that she starts to bang against it, screaming in frustration as she pounds her fist against the wall. There is a slight ringing as she pounds her fists against the wall; I suppose there is metal in the wall.

The doors open.

Light shines in on us, like a birth canal. It's so bright that there are squeals of pain and most of us duck into the shadows. Our eyes are no longer used to the bright light of the outside world as we are herded out. The sky waits in its usual place.

Men in long gray coats come out to inspect us. These are the Gatherers, and they regularly patrol the streets, looking for ideal candidates to kidnap. I've heard rumors about girls that disappear from their beds, or from the streets. It happened to a girl in my neighborhood. She disappeared from her bed in the middle of the night. Her family moved away shortly after her disappearance, either to look for her, or to acknowledge that she was gone, and wouldn't come back. Then, the lucky ones will appear on TV, scared, but gorgeous brides in the arms of rich men. The ones that don't make it get sold into prostitution or are found murdered on the side of the road, rotting under the sun's bright rays, the Gatherers too lazy to return the body to her family.

One of the Gatherers notices me, and comes over. I look up immediately. He notices my beautiful eyes and mesmerized calls to another of his fellows, who comes over immediately. I have one green eye and one blue eye, a condition my mother called heterochromia iridium . As soon as they walk off to inspect the other girls, I quickly look back down to my shoes. Stupid! I think to myself. I should not have allowed the Gatherers to see my eyes,now I will surely end up in the girls that are not chosen. After a few minutes of hushed whispers between the Gatherers, they pile into an elegant-looking vintage car, 4 of them remaining behind to sort us into the cars that we will be going to, either the elegant-looking coppery gold limousine that stands parked with its back doors open, or a rickety, old white van. I hold my breath as they begin to push girls toward one of the two vehicles.

I continue to hold my breath, as the line gets shorter and shorter, until finally, it's my turn. I have to try not to act nervous as I look between the two vehicles, trying to see what vehicle I might be destined to go into at this moment. My eyes finally lock on the dreaded white van, but then, to my surprise, I feel a small shove, pushing me toward the coppery gold limousine. I have to try to control my shaky legs as I walk toward the open back doors. Two Gatherers are already there waiting for me, and they help me into the limousine, making sure I am comfortable before they turn back to the business that is on hand now.

I can hear the swoosh of air being forced into the limousine, and I feel refreshed as I take a big gulp of the cold air. Two other girls climb into the limousine shortly after me, but I feel as though there is something in the air. I am slowly growing drowsy, as I take in more and more of the air. They help one more girl into the limousine, and that is when I notice the solid glass sheet that separates the driver's seat and the seat beside it from the rest of the limousine.

Then, I hear it. The sound I was dreading to hear since I turned sixteen. The crack of a pistol emanates from the rickety, old van, and the situation dawns on me. They are shooting the ones that did not make it, that did not become candidates for brides. That is the last thing that I hear before I slip into a medicated dream.

Hope you enjoyed it ;D, next chapter coming soon. This first chapter may be a little short, I'm not very good with making very long chapters, so bye for now!