Status: Trying to upload a chapter once a week, possibly more than once.
Stay Alive For Me
One
It was the 31st of December 2010 when the explosion went off. The explosion that separated us. You could say that my parents--our parents--were ready to finally take a stand against the government and the higher members of society. The mayor had been obvious allies with the upper class for years, and Blythe was becoming a place where the poor was constantly getting poorer, and the rich was constantly getting richer. That's what my dad tells me. So, this town, Blythe, is split in half by a river and connected by a bridge. Apparently, years ago, both sides of the river got along and lived peacefully, always interacting. They were equals. However, as time passed, the water between the East Side and the West Side wasn’t the only thing separating them. The East Side became a home to the richest people in the town, while The West Side was the complete opposite. While the East Side was made up of beautiful suburbs, the West Side was more of a ghetto. It became home to the less wealthy. Home to me.
So I guess The West Siders had had enough, and they rallied themselves up. My dad says they even got help from some of The East Siders who saw how unfairly the West Siders were being treated. They planned their attack for months. The only solution they could come up with was a massacre—an explosion in the town square which would hopefully be big enough to take out everyone on the East Side. Though the East Side’s best engineers were too loyal to sway, the West Side was able to get help from some of the younger engineers who were less skilled and lower in the rankings on the East Side, or something like that. 11:00 pm was when the explosion went off, taking out almost all of the East Side, and even some of the West Side.
Obviously the remaining East Siders were furious, and even some of the West Siders were. The West Siders who weren’t in on the plan teamed up with the East Siders. They moved across the bridge and helped to rebuild what was lost, and a new government was formed. A new mayor was elected and new rules were created. Now, the West Siders aren't allowed to step foot on the East Side without punishment. Rules are stirct for us on the West Side, and you'd be an idiot if you couldn't tell that the East Siders put themselves above the law.
It's 2030, and the West Side has been living by the East Side’s rules for the last 20 years. We have this thing, they call it The Truce. Every year on January 1st at noon, ten of us West Siders either volunteer or are chosen at random to be sacrificed on December 31st at 11:00 pm. This is their last year to live. Once the ten have been chosen, the selections are set in stone. People have tried to give their lives for their loved ones, but it never works. The ten that are selected are the ten that must die at the end of the year.
This is where I come in. My name is Darcy Owens, I'm sixteen years old. The last year has been one of the craziest of my life. My father is dying because the two of us can't make enough money for rent and food, and he insists that I get enough to eat before he does. It's sweet, really, but I can't let him wither away to nothing anymore. He's been losing weight, losing sleep, and he barely talks to me anymore. I can hear him tossing and turing at night, the paper thin walls of our house don't keep many secrets. Ever since my mother walked out on us to marry an East Sider, life has been tough. He's been falling apart, and I've been doing everything I can to keep him going, but he barely goes to work anymore. Luckily, I have a plan.
Tomorrow is the 1st day of the month. January. Tomorrow is the day of The Choosing. Ten West Siders will be chosen at random, but not me. My name will not be random. I'm going to volunteer. It's the perfect plan. If I volunteer, that's one less person being forced. My dad can't support two people, but I know he can support just one. He'll be healthy, and maybe this will save him from being chosen. It’s unfair for them to be doing this, I think we all know that, but I refuse to let them have that kind of power over me. If I die, it’s going to be my choice, not theirs.
So I guess The West Siders had had enough, and they rallied themselves up. My dad says they even got help from some of The East Siders who saw how unfairly the West Siders were being treated. They planned their attack for months. The only solution they could come up with was a massacre—an explosion in the town square which would hopefully be big enough to take out everyone on the East Side. Though the East Side’s best engineers were too loyal to sway, the West Side was able to get help from some of the younger engineers who were less skilled and lower in the rankings on the East Side, or something like that. 11:00 pm was when the explosion went off, taking out almost all of the East Side, and even some of the West Side.
Obviously the remaining East Siders were furious, and even some of the West Siders were. The West Siders who weren’t in on the plan teamed up with the East Siders. They moved across the bridge and helped to rebuild what was lost, and a new government was formed. A new mayor was elected and new rules were created. Now, the West Siders aren't allowed to step foot on the East Side without punishment. Rules are stirct for us on the West Side, and you'd be an idiot if you couldn't tell that the East Siders put themselves above the law.
It's 2030, and the West Side has been living by the East Side’s rules for the last 20 years. We have this thing, they call it The Truce. Every year on January 1st at noon, ten of us West Siders either volunteer or are chosen at random to be sacrificed on December 31st at 11:00 pm. This is their last year to live. Once the ten have been chosen, the selections are set in stone. People have tried to give their lives for their loved ones, but it never works. The ten that are selected are the ten that must die at the end of the year.
This is where I come in. My name is Darcy Owens, I'm sixteen years old. The last year has been one of the craziest of my life. My father is dying because the two of us can't make enough money for rent and food, and he insists that I get enough to eat before he does. It's sweet, really, but I can't let him wither away to nothing anymore. He's been losing weight, losing sleep, and he barely talks to me anymore. I can hear him tossing and turing at night, the paper thin walls of our house don't keep many secrets. Ever since my mother walked out on us to marry an East Sider, life has been tough. He's been falling apart, and I've been doing everything I can to keep him going, but he barely goes to work anymore. Luckily, I have a plan.
Tomorrow is the 1st day of the month. January. Tomorrow is the day of The Choosing. Ten West Siders will be chosen at random, but not me. My name will not be random. I'm going to volunteer. It's the perfect plan. If I volunteer, that's one less person being forced. My dad can't support two people, but I know he can support just one. He'll be healthy, and maybe this will save him from being chosen. It’s unfair for them to be doing this, I think we all know that, but I refuse to let them have that kind of power over me. If I die, it’s going to be my choice, not theirs.
♠ ♠ ♠
Darcy Owens is portrayed by Nina Dobrev.Thanks for reading this, if you did! I've had this idea for so long and I'm finally putting it into writing, which is so exciting.