The main character always seems the most troubled. They always appear the most lost. Eternally hungry for beauty, success, popularity – anything that takes them from being troubled to untroubled. Now let’s get this straight, we all know that if the main character doesn’t get what they want, if they don’t win that war or get their almighty trophy, then they are easily forgotten, and easily buried. I was never the main character though, I kept my head down, avoided the stares, and remained silent. I didn’t want to be one of them. I wasn’t in search of being the light. I was only watching as other people shined with theirs. Even the girl with the pitiless eyes didn’t want to shine. Even the girl with the mask on did not want to leave the comforting arms of the shadows. We don’t all live long lives or die a heroic ending, but once you’ve emblazoned with your light, you know you’ve lived. We are all oblivious to the match for the light, but once it is struck it spreads quickly. That one strike brings all of the awaited joy of being the wick to the light.  I guess you don’t get to choose your story, but here’s mine…

Pain is the first thing that I feel. It’s urgent and heavily excruciating. Blood is the first thing that I see. It’s dark red that runs in droplets down my leg. The droplets fall to the floor in an off-tune rhythm. Drip, drip, drip!

I can’t look away though. I cannot let the pain overtake me. This is my life. I didn’t choose it, but someone else did for me. The speaker blares again, Eye contact has been lost at 1763. With that statement, another lash is hurled at my leg. Again, I wince in pain. Drip, drip, drip! I’m losing so much blood at this point that my posture is faltering. I can tell by my reflection that I no longer look like the show princess they wanted. We all know that we must respect their rules, or else punishments will be thrown at us, but I’ve always had this urge to rebel against them. Why do they automatically get to claim me as their own? Unfortunately, today was not the day for me to rebel, with a last hurrah I collapsed to the floor, landing in my own blood. 

Men in black uniforms carry me to the infirmary, which can be seen as even more of a punishment. The workers who keep the infirmary working track every single move in which you take. Every single bite of food is placed into a catalog, along with your bathroom visits and steps. They breathe down your neck, making no room for suspicious activities to interfere with their medical integrity.You are inferior to them.You are just a subject for their little experiment.

I am in the infirmary for only two hours, but believe me those two hours were enough. For the next four days I am to be stationed in my bed. However, they still want me to continue my studies. They believe that even though the body is injured, the mind is still at its best. They take your injuries as a sign to promote academic challenges. Although my studies will confine me to my bed for hours on end, this now gives me the time to make my rebellious plan. 

Exactly 1, 322 days ago was the day that we were all taken. I don’t know if taken was exactly the right word to use, because technically we were chosen. Me along with 1,999 other females, and 2,000 males were chosen to be the subjects of the supposed new society. My name is 1763, and with my time here I have had over fourteen infirmary visits, seven interrogation talks with the head, and four fights. We, being the future society, were selected by a group of scientists who foresaw the end of the world sooner than everyone else did. They kept this information private, to not arouse mass panic.

This group of scientists formulated a plan which involved the 4,000 people that are down here today. They selected us based upon our academic, athletic, and communicative performances. Letters were sent out requesting our enrollment in the so-called “gifted school”. Our parents were informed that this gifted school had been functioning for years, and was to pave the road for future ivy league students. They initially selected over six thousand students, and only four thousand of them are present today. 

These tactics that were taken were inhumane, they treated the other humans as if they were livestock. The scientists knew what would happen if they didn’t find the proper protection, so in their ignorant acts, they left the remaining human civilization to die. We are stationed in bunkers underground to prevent us from being exposed to the outside air. Our studies consist of studying the current biology of the outside world, to find better ways for we humans to survive above ground. 

Every single day, for exactly one hour, we are all to stand in front of our own reflection. The scientists claim that this is to eradicate any vanity or insecurity that might be within us. They say that these two components are what caused the human race to be demolished. Eye contact must be given for the entirety of the hour, and if lost the horrid punishment will occur. 

I have witnessed hundreds of people be brutally murdered and beaten by the leaders of this program. I have watched them let those millions of people born in the outside air. Their actions are cruel and disgusting – I plan to change all of this. 

From the beginning, I knew that their main weapon to herd us into their subjects was brute force. However strong I might believe myself to be, I cannot overpower a man in combat, let alone a whole army. That is why when I formulated this plan I made sure to keep in mind that my pure power was intellect – something that they lacked. The information in which I bear is enough to change the minds of all of the subjects present in this bunker. 

It is with great despair that I admit with my time here, I have not accumulated many friends. They all see me as a threat, they think that simply being friends with me will cause them to be harmed too, but I will not apologize for being superior to them. I take my position with pride, and use this to motivate me through my whole mission. 

My plan was finally formulated and complete. This was a solo act that must be completed in the utmost delicacy and precision. The intelligence base is located in the center of the bunker. This location has the most guards stationed there, meaning I have to be believable and quick. I am now at the head of the intelligence base, “1763, and I am here to continue my research on the contamination chamber,” I say. This is classified information, only the people with real authority would be able to know about the experiments that are happening with the contamination chambers. To be honest, I have no clue what these experiments consist of, I just overheard one of the lead members talking about it. 

This experiment must have been pretty important, because the guard looked at me in approval and opened the door for me to continue. As I had expected, the intelligence base was filled with technology, especially computers. The computers were what I was aiming to hack into, and might I add it was not difficult to attain one of them. They did not require a password and dozens of them were left unoccupied. I sat at the computer for at least an hour and found none of the information that I was hoping to confirm. That explains why it was so easy to enter into the intelligence base and claim one of the computers. 

Seeing as this mission had been hopeless, I left the intelligence base and returned to my quarters. It did not take long for me to formulate another plan. I have had theories about this plan since the day I arrived upon base. As I stated before, our studies revolve around the current outside world. Meaning that we have technology and equipment that is stationed out there, and these doors in which send the equipment out there are almost never guarded. 

They basically engraved the fact into our brains that the outside world would kill us. We are never allowed to leave the bunker to maintain our own safety and others. This fact had been so vital to our lives that we never doubted the honesty behind it. It is now that I am seeing that this may not be a fact after all. Why would they leave the doors unguarded if they knew the danger that laid behind them? None of it was making sense to me, and I needed answers. 

Scared was an understatement, I was horrified. I am standing in front of the door in which the other side could hold my death or my new perspective. There was no point in continuing to live a life that wasn’t decided by me. I didn’t choose to be trapped down here. I didn’t choose to be beaten almost every day to the point where I had to be hospitalized. I knew that their ethics were wrong, and that is what pushed me to open the door to the outside world.