Aries

Announcement: Today is the Choosing Ceremony. All residents are required to gather in the town center where the Rector Magnus will give the test results to each of our citizens now ready to start their new lives serving our communities. We conviene in ten minutes.

I button up the buttons of my maroon jumpsuit, turning and twisting to view my slim body in the mirror. The dark material fits me perfectly, though staring at my body for too long brings a wave of dysphoria. I turn away, swallowing hard even though the high collar of the jumpsuit makes my neck feel trapped. It has to be the nerves.

I pull out my suitcase. The CRA left it out for me last night while I was asleep. I know more CRA members will come later and look through what I've packed. I put the diary CRA member Tombs gave me, my mentor. It's blank save one entry "Name: Aries of Secter 71." Tombs later came by with a red pen and spelled "sector" properly for me. What else do I bring to the City?

The device. I glance outside, seeing citizens starting to trickle towards the town center. I turn, eyeing the television embedded in the wall. It's watching me. I can't pull it out here. I try not to look at the stuffed bear it's hiding in, only tossing it into the suitcase as if I don't have a care in the world. It is the one thing my birth mom gave me before giving me to the world. People don't belong to people either. I was raised by the community, never met my parents. Not that people get married anymore. Toxic sexuality took care of that. So now having children is a job. Men don't want to do it and neither do women, but sex is a necessary evil for society. That's what they always said anyway. I never thought about it much.

Bong.

Shit. I'm late. I quickly toss a pile of clothes into the suitcase, zipping it as fast as my grayish fingers can handle. Glancing around my empty room, I rush out, slamming the door shut and locking it. The CRA member in charge of this children's house, member Tombs, has a key, but the other underlings don't. Kids rush all around me and I stumble down the stairs, stopping by a mirror to make sure my eyeliner and lipstick hasn't smeared. I look okay, chin a bit too stubbly but I don't have time to fix it. Groaning, I charge out the door, running face first into CRA member Tombs.

"Aries," they say in a low rumbling voice.

"God, I'm sorry," I back up, bowing low, "Salve. I'm sorry I was in a rush I mean no disrespect."

Those glowing red eyes narrow. "You should have been at the town square already."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I can barely breathe, "I was packing."

"I'll take care of that," Tombs tilts their head, hood blowing. "Go."

The way Tombs says this shows there is no room for discussion. I just nod, rubbing the back of my neck. "Sorry again!" I say, dashing down the road.

Tombs shakes their head at me as I walk as fast as I can to the center of the town. Past the dispensary. It's been closed for days now, just a sign on the door to go to the grocery store. All my food stamps are useless. Luckily Tombs gets food, I don't know from where but I don't ask questions.

The library blurs by, lights also dark. I just tell myself it's closed for the Choosing. "Story of a free dog," I mutter to myself, kicking some long needles and wrappers out of my way. No one cleans up this place.

The dog who was different than everyone else but no one cared. Because he was equally different. The dog who had friends. Unlike me. When I reach the stand for the Choosing Ceremony, a long line of residents my age stand at wait, jumpsuits all like mine. We're all equally the same.

Some of them talk amongst themselves but none of them look at me. I'm a bit of a weirdo. Once they found out that I chose to go to the library to try to read, they laughed at me and went back to smoking behind the school. I shift my weight, looking out at the crowd of our community.

The glowing red eyes all blink back at me, hundreds of them, all smiling. Oh shit I forgot to smile. I immediately squint and try for my biggest smile. It's too big, stretching my face, jaw ready to unhinge. I stop smiling. I don't want to look like the demon about to eat someone's child. The kind of thing Upside children are scared of.

Announcement: the Choosing Ceremony is beginning. Make your way to the center of Town immediately.

I can't stop fiddling with my fingers, looking past the crowd at the CRA vans that will take us away. A few members are loading up our luggage. I swallow hard, looking back at the crowd as a screen flickers on behind us. We all turn.

The Rex Magnus stares at us, glowing white eyes seeming to stare into my soul even though it's pre-recorded. They play it every Choosing. The RM smiles big, rows of perfectly white fangs gleaming. "Today you have been chosen. Chosen to serve our global nation. Chosen to help maintain our way of life even as the Upside continue to bear down on us. Each one of you will play a greater part in keeping our nation running smoothly, from the smallest task to the biggest, it takes our villages. From central planners to school teachers, all of us, together..."

The RM continues but I can only focus on the long line of CRA members walking towards us. Each one with a folded piece of paper in their hand. Test results. I already know what mine says... I glance up at Rex Magnus. I'm going to meet the RM and one day... I might replace him.

My heart starts pounding in my ears until that's all I can hear. My hands shake as I grab the paper from the CRA member, not bothering to open it. Breathe.

"You have been chosen!" The voice of the RM blares throughout the whole village. "Now you shall leave to your new lives. Your new adventure."

The screen goes dark except for the symbol of the Underside. I try to walk down the stage but I am ushered away. The world seems to go quiet except for my pounding heart as the CRA members drag me towards the van. Pounding, pounding, pounding. I want to scream. I want to run away. But there's no place to go that they can't find me. No patch on the bottom of the earth that hasn't been claimed by the Underside Order.

I'm shoved into the van, door slamming in my face.

I'm alone.

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