Aiden: The Towers, #1

Chapter 1

I t's time to get up, it's your day! My sister says to wake me. I roll over slowly, opening my eyes. As they focus, Rachel beams at me. Her radiant smile, with those pearly whites of hers, always brightens my day. Her golden locks dangle, covering part of her face.

I roll out of my bed, groggy, wishing I had slept more during the night. I walk over to the window, peer out, and see the falling rain. She didn't need to remind me. This is a day that I have dreaded for a long time now. It's my Coterie's Proving day. A day we must face once we turn sixteen; it happens once a year, in April. Each Coterie is made up of people born in the same year, starting and ending with the Proving. Thank you El, that's what I needed to be reminded of this morning.

I aim to please, you know this. She grins, but her smile fades as quickly as it appeared. You can't go outside. Why do you enjoy staring out the window? It's a bunch of destroyed buildings.

I like to dream I'll be the one who makes it possible for us to live outside again, besides the Farm, she scowls. Mentioning the Farm was a mistake; it makes her even more nervous for me. We can no longer step foot outside without dying because of the war. It polluted the air. When I look outside, the brown of dead plants fills my view. Our country, along with several others, had the foresight to plan for this. They updated many of the biggest buildings in some of the largest cities. They gave them upgrades that would allow us to live in them indefinitely. We call our home the Tower.

We live in Detroit, in the Renaissance Center, the tallest building in the city. It consists of seven interconnected skyscrapers.

I know the Farm scares you. I'm not going to fail my Proving, I say to reassure her.

You have to do well. You can't go to the Farm and leave me alone, Rachel says to confirm how scared she is. She's right to be afraid. The Farm is a dreadful place. I think back to when I was younger, to a conversation with our leader, Jameson, about the Farm. Jameson has been our leader for the last twenty years. I was a little kid with a curious mind, wondering what the Farm was like. One day I worked up the courage to ask him about the Farm. Unsure how he would react to my question, I approached him with caution. He is a sturdy man and looked even bigger to me as a child. His distinctive, dark purple uniform made him stand out.

Mr. Jameson, can I ask you a question?

Of course. You can ask me anything you want, he said with a smile. I didn't think he would be such a good man. He always looked so scary to me.

I was wondering what the Farm is like. You're the only person besides the Drivers to go there and come back, I said. My hands were trembling, my knees rattling. It made it hard to get my question out.

That is a good question Aiden, and I get it a lot. So don't be so nervous, he said. As he talked, his voice calmed me. The Farm is a dreadful place. Sending people there isn't something I like to do, but we need to send them in order to survive. He paused, seeming to contemplate how to say this to me without scaring me too much. "We are lucky enough that the Elders before us were able to build domes over some land so we could grow food. I wish I knew how the Elders constructed the domes, but sadly, that information was lost some time ago.

The one time I traveled there, Aiden, it shocked me, I couldn't believe my own eyes. The dome structure has been diminishing over the years and has some cracks that allow some of the polluted air in. The air is adequate to live in, but it does make you sick after you have lived there for a while. The Science Division, with the help of the Health Care Division, came up with a serum to fight the poison. However, it leaves the person in a tranquil state. The Elders decided it was tolerable. It broke my heart to see all the people living emotionless. He choked up a little while talking about it. It was evident seeing the people at the Farm had had an impact on him.

I couldn't stand seeing all the people tranquil, and I don't think it is worth the risk of going outside. It is the reason I haven't been back. How the Drivers go there all the time is something I'll never understand, Jameson sighed. I guess that is why it takes an elite person to become one.

The memory fades with me hoping I don't end up there.

I'll be back tonight. We'll be down in the Common Area later tonight celebrating together, I say. By the end of the day, I'll know if that is true.

Soon after we moved to the Tower, the Vanishings began. We can't figure out why the Vanishings started. It's hypothesized that it's nature's way to help keep us from over-expanding the confines of living in the Tower. A few people spend their lives trying to figure out who will Vanish, but no one can answer this question. The most significant knowledge gathered so far, is babies Vanish the most. It's a fifty/fifty shot that your child will be taken within a year of being born. The older children become, the less of a chance they have at being taken. However, it still happens until you take the Proving. It's rare for someone to be taken after they pass their Proving. The general rule is if you pass, you're in the clear.

I make my bed. This is part of keeping our life in the Tower in line. I get ready for my Proving, thinking to myself the whole time that I must pass, so Rachel isn't all alone. Both our parents Vanished. It's so uncommon for people to lose one parent that we are the first in 150 years to lose both. After my parents Vanished, I had a strong feeling Rachel would end up Vanishing too. It's hard for me to fathom what I would have done if she were gone.

It's been ten years now, and we are still here. She's all that is left of my immediate family. She looks up to me for everything, and I would do anything for her. We are different because of the loss of both our parents. It's been hard on us growing up without them. The Elders (the leaders of each Division) have done whatever they could to make it easy for us to survive. They moved us into the room right next to our grandparents so they could take care of us. It wasn't long after that when my Grandfather died, which left my Grandmother to raise us on her own.

Oh, Aiden, I hope you do well, Rachel says, looking up at me, I can tell that she is praying that I make it back. She sits across the room watching me make my bed.

I'll do my best El. I don't want to leave you all alone. I love you, I say, hoping I will be here for her.

I try to appear different from the others in the Tower, but that is not possible. My blonde hair and blue eyes make me look like a third of the people here. All the males here keep a similar hairstyle, a crew cut. Our leader talks about how unity will help us survive. We need to be one. At least I'm bigger than most my age. I've filled out my six-foot frame.

We wear the same uniform: a jumpsuit. The color of the uniform tells people what Division you are in. Rachel and I currently have school uniforms, light blue. Mine is a little small. I'll get some new uniforms after the Proving. I need them.

Stop looking in the mirror, you look the same as you do every day. We need to get going. We can't be late. If we are late, your Proving won't matter because we both will get sent to the Farm, Rachel says.

Things can be strict around here; if you break even a minor rule, you can be ordered to the Farm. This doesn't happen often, but it does happen. It always keeps us on good behavior for a while. It is tough watching a person being dragged to the tunnel against their will. The tunnel leads to the Drivers' trucks. These people kick and scream the whole time. It's never a good scene. The last two people sent there as punishment got into an altercation in the Common Area. This scene was enough to scare us into following the rules for quite some time.

Just a second, El. One last look outside for luck, Turning back to the window, I take in what is left of downtown Detroit. Splintered stadiums where people once played baseball and football line the landscape. Watching the old replays of games played there is one of my favorite things to do. We can't play sports inside like those, not enough room.

We leave our room on the forty-eighth floor of the main building. We walk past the door to our Grandmother's room. (She shares it with another woman like her, older and widowed.) Grandmother is already at work. We walk to the elevator to take us down to the Common Area and the main dining hall. The trip down takes less than a minute. Rachel and I head into the room and get in line for our food.

After we gather what we want from the buffet line, I search the room, looking for my friends, Mason and Philip. We eat together every morning, along with Philip's little sister, Sydney, who is friends with Rachel. Once I locate our friends, we join them.

Good morning, I say. Philip greets me with a grunt.

I'm not too sure how good it is, Mason says. Rachel sits between Sydney and me. They start up a conversation about how to plan for tonight's gathering when we all pass. I realize Rachel is doing this to help her friend. She's playing at being strong. That's what I love about her.

I turn to Mason and Philip, We have nothing to worry about.

I sure hope so, Philip says. Trying to be strong as my legs jitter, I force a smile. Mason leans forward and grabs both Philip and me. He brings us in tight for a huddle.

We are going to kill this Proving, I know it, he says.

As the five of us walk out of the dining hall, I see the ever-present orange uniforms of the Compliance Division. They are everywhere. We can't step a foot out of line without them knowing it. As we near, a big, burly one, stands out. He's important, you can tell in the way the others interact with him.

The walk to the school isn't far from the main dining hall in the Common Area. While we walk, someone is mumbling around the corner. It's old man Jeremiah in his well-worn red uniform. He is the Tower's most eccentric person.

We continue to the school, to drop off Rachel and Sydney. The school is in Tower 500. The stroll takes us a few minutes to reach the passageway that will lead from the Common Area.

Goodbye, Rachel, I say. I love you. I give her one last hug, not wanting to break it before she leaves and walks into the schoolrooms.

We turn back to the main Tower, which is where the Proving will take place. The Proving is on the seventieth floor of the main Tower, converted a long time ago for the event. During the war, Detroit was attacked several times. Much of the area was left beyond repair. Even the Towers took damage; they needed endless man-hours to make the Proving floor safe again, and the top floor is still uninhabitable and blocked off for our safety.

The passageways were built before the massive attacks on Detroit. They took minor damage, but couldn't be fixed correctly. It makes me a little scared while I'm in them. The air is not filtered as well here as the rest of the Towers. If you were to spend too much time in them, you could die from the polluted air. We reseal them every month, but it's not enough. The air locks open. I enter the main Tower and make my way to the elevators that take me up to the Proving floor.

Mason and Philip are the same height as me. In fact, most of the men are the same height. Mason doesn't have as much muscle mass as I do. He's built more like a runner, and he's a good one. Mason is one of a handful of people who never treated my sister and me differently after our parents Vanished.

Mason and Philip are in the same coterie as me. They are my oldest friends. Mason and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember, Philip almost as long. Mason's always been there for me. He helped me deal with the loss of my parents as well as the day-to-day pains of growing up. He's even helped Rachel over the years.

Philip is more like me, physically. He's helped a lot over the years. Each of us having a sister in the same Coterie made us close. We are two of the bigger guys in the Coterie. Philip has black hair, in a crew cut. With Mason's brown hair, you have what makes up the majority of the people here.

Hey buddy, I'm wondering since we haven't heard about the genetic test, are we all right? asks Mason. The genetic test is the first test in the Proving. They take your blood on your sixteenth birthday and start up a profile. They do extensive blood work that takes several weeks. They are trying to eliminate hereditary diseases, and any other type of sickness they can find. People who fail the genetic test for one reason or another are sent to the Farm. These people have bad genes, and the Elders say we need the strength to survive. This has hung over my head since they took my blood. Because of the genetic testing, we have a long life span. We eliminated most of the diseases that plagued humans before we started living in the Tower.

I sure hope so. Guess we'll find out when we get to the Proving level. The elevator doors open revealing a blinding white light, and we step in. Our first step towards discovering how our lives will be. To find out whether we'll be living in the Tower and helping humanity survive with science or working out on the Farm. We will learn our fate by the end of the day. My insides are turning all over themselves. I can't keep still because I'm so nervous and I end up looking at Mason's face. A slight smile forms because he's obviously as nervous as I am. Philip is no better. He gives the impression he is about to vomit.

As we ride up to the Proving floor, El comes back to my mind, I recall the times we spent together. I'm hoping to form even more good memories with her, starting tonight.

Mason elbows me to bring me back from my reverie. As we near the top floor, I am about to face my destiny, like a gladiator entering the Colosseum. My body is shaking with fear. I've dreaded this day since I learned the truth of what happens to the people who fail. I don't want to leave my sister alone, but I have no choice in the matter. I have to take this Proving. This is a test that I must pass.

Chapter 2

We step from the elevator into a short, narrow hallway barely wide enough for two people. At the end of the hall, a set of stainless steel doors awaits us. Above them hangs a sign, Welcome to the Proving. I don't know what to do. Do they call us in? Do we go through the doors? I don't want to make a fool of myself, so I turn to Mason and Philip and say, Lead on.

Mason cracks a huge smile as he marches forward fearlessly. He opens the door that leads us to the Proving Level. The Proving has begun for us.

We cross the threshold of the door, the point of no return. Walking through the doors, I see one of the largest rooms besides the Common Area. The vastness of the place relaxes me. We take a few more steps in. On the left, desks are set up, like a classroom. On the right, there is a waiting area with a set of wooden benches; my Coterie fills the waiting room.

As we enter, someone bumps into me from behind. I turn to find Rolan staring up at me with his stern face. Rolan is the shortest member of my Coterie. He doesn’t even reach six feet tall, like the rest of us. His grandfather was a Driver and passed away not too long ago. The rumor is someone in our Coterie will be named to replace Rolan's grandfather. Rolan seems to have his eye on the exclusive spot.

Get out of my way, Aiden, he says.

I step aside not wanting to deal with him today. Both Philip and Mason ignore him, as usual.

Looks like Leah and Kaitlyn are already here, says Mason as he gestures over to a corner of the gathering area.

Yeah seems like we are the last. Guess we're not the only ones nervous about the Proving, I say. I glance over at Kaitlyn with her petite, frail frame and her full, brown hair. Leah is next to her, with her athletic build and her long, blonde hair. Her shoulders slump; she stares at the floor and ignores what Kaitlyn says. Leah hasn't been the same since her sister Vanished.

She sure hasn't. You sure weren't the same after, Mason says. When my parents Vanished, it took me a long time to adjust.

Yeah, but she's a real bit— I say before Philip elbows me. Leah and Kaitlyn are walking towards us.

Hello Mason, Philip, Leah greets us. Aiden. Her chin rises slightly. She must have heard me about to call her