I stood there in front of the 2 bowls. One of them was yellow, the other was white. I saw 7456 sitting with the Sharp. I knew she'd choose them. Now it's my turn to decide. Mike says I could easily fit in to Lion but I've always leaned over to Sharp more. I want to be everything; how can they expect us to change our personality completely just like that? Anyways, I can't face 7456 again after what I did to her. She wanted Choosing Day to be her special day. She wanted to look perfect but I guess she can't with a swollen face. What would she say? She got in a fight? They'd question her loyalty to Sharp!
I look down at the blade and slowly cut my hand making sure not to drop any blood. I looked between the two bowls. I started to move and the worst thing I could ever imagine happened. A drop of my blood went on to the ground. I am factionless. A gasp came from the crowd. I ran to the shadows. There stood the factionless representative. He didn't look older than me by much. Wipe off some of the dirt on his face and he might actually be a bit handsome. I pushed the thought out of my head.
"I'm Jake." He said extending out a hand.
"My name is…" I can't go by 7498 anymore. Should I do it? Change my name? "Free."
"Nice to meet you, Free. Did you mean to choose to be factionless?" Jake asked.
"No. I wanted to join Lion." I admitted.
"That's unfortunate. Get ready to be treated as a lower class citizen."
I watched 7500 nervously cut his hand. He didn't go anywhere. He just let the blood drop on to the concrete. Another factionless transfer but this time, on purpose. Jake introduced himself to 7500.
"7500, I changed my name to Free. You don't have to go by numbers anymore." I told him.
"Free is such a Lion name. I could never be in Lion or Sharp." He sighed. "I don't belong in anything. Just call me Sam for now."
Jake, Sam and I watched the ceremony end. People who walked passed us looked disgusted by us. The Sharp and Lion initiates got in to fancy cars. I looked at our ride. It's a small truck that looks like it hasn't gotten maintenance since it was made and it could break down any minute.
"Babe's been through a lot but she's still going strong." Jake said.
"Babe?" I asked confused.
"The truck. Her name is Babe." Jake said as if it was written on it.
"Oh."
We got in to the car. There was already someone in the passenger seat so Sam and I had to cram up in the back. The woman in the passenger seat introduced herself as Cate. The truck didn't seem to be able to handle the bumpy roads but with some miracle, it did. We approached the factionless fence. The first thing I saw was the fields and fields of corn. The truck stopped at the only building I could see for miles. We got out of the truck.
"Is this the only building there is?" Sam asked.
"Well yeah. They got rid of the other buildings to make way for the crops years ago." Jake opened the door.
"On the outside, the factionless area looks empty. On the inside, it's also empty. Want to know why?" Cate said not waiting for an answer. "Because we are the Allegiant."
Allegiant? Didn't Mike warn me about them? Didn't he say they were dangerous?
"What does Allegiant mean?" Sam asked.
"Allegiant are the people who want to leave this city without violence. We've been growing crops to hide the underground tunnels we've made. Many of the people who join the factionless are people who found out about the Allegiant." Cate said. "We also disagree with many of the laws."
A tall, ginger woman walked towards us.
"Ruby." She said extending a hand.
I took it. "Free. And this is Sam."
"Just a question. Does the 1 child per couple law still apply to the factionless?" Sam asked.
"Yes. This is the group born in 2283, right?" Ruby looked nervous.
"Yeah." Jake answered.
"Hmm…" Ruby said as she touched my dark brown hair. I felt her cold fingers on my neck. I shuddered.
"I'm starving! Let's go eat!" I said trying to escape Ruby. What a creep. As I turned around the corner with Jake and Sam, I heard Ruby and Cate talking.
"That's her!" Ruby whispered.
"You mean-" Cate started.
"Shhh! Not here!" Ruby said in a low whisper.
"Okay, sorry. But how do you know it's her?" Cate asks.
"She looks like her father."
They're talking about me.
"Are you sure?" Cate asks.
"Positive. Don't tell anyone." Ruby says.