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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781466934191 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Trafford Publishing |
| Publication date: | 04/08/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 280 |
| File size: | 279 KB |
| Age Range: | 13 - 17 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
UTOPIAN HELL
By FELICITY MIKKEL NACHT
Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2013 Felicity Mikkel NachtAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4669-3421-4
CHAPTER 1
It was a simple day. The sun was bright, the sky was clear, the temperature was high, and the air was heavy. The simple town was busy about its daily business. School was in session. Businesses were slow during this time. House wives were just sitting down to take their mid-day break.
In the school, lunch had just ended and kids were sitting down to class. The halls were empty and there was still a minute before the bell rang. In the middle of this all, a lone student walked the halls of the school testing a theory.
He looked up to the clock as the bell rang. He smiled and pushed his long black hair out of his face. His theory was being verified. The teachers never walked the hall during class because they never thought that any student would actually disrupt the natural order of the town.
The boy sighed and wondered how the town had become so orderly. There was no crime and there was no one that worked past seven. Everything closed and families were together for dinner. It just didn't make sense. The town was so boring, but no one had any problems with that, except for him.
He pushed the bathroom door open and stepped inside to catch his reflection in the mirror. He was the only person in the town that thought that there was something wrong. No one could maintain the peace for so long. People always wanted some excitement in their lives. He needed some. The only excitement that he got out of living in the calmest town in the world was when he hacked into the school computers and found a way of contacting outsiders.
He stared at himself. He wasn't exceptional, just average, with long black hair that grazed his shoulders and constantly fell into his emerald eyes. On this day he was wearing a black long sleeve button up shirt over a black T-shirt that had the letters CKY duct taped across it and a pair of loose black stonewashed jeans that looked like they had seen better days.
A light sigh escaped his thin lips, "I need to get out of here," he looked over to the door and shook his head. There was no way out of there. One road made its way in and out of town, but it was always patrolled. A person would have to have a pass to leave the town and they were normally only given to delivery men or higher up officials.
He opened the bathroom door and froze as he saw his third period teacher. The teacher to the class he was supposed to be in, "Aaron."
He rolled his eyes, "Mrs. Hinin," he leaned against the doorframe, "Do you really trust your class to behave while you're gone?"
The woman nodded, "Yes, I know they will. They are good students and the only one I have to worry about is you."
Aaron smiled as his next comment came out dripping with sarcasm, "And why would that be?"
Mrs. Hinin gave him a droll stare, "I dislike sarcasm."
"Or any type of emotion," came Aaron's mumbled response.
Mrs. Hinin crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you want to see the principal?"
Aaron shrugged, "He's become a good buddy of mine. Do you think he'll want to see me today?"
Mrs. Hinin sighed, "Let's get back to class. We have a very important lesson today. I will be teaching you about our town's role in World War II."
Aaron's eyes lit up in feigned excitement, "Really? I can't wait! Do we get to find out how we sat on our asses so there would be people here to reproduce just in case the rest of them were wiped out!"
Mrs. Hinin's eyes grew wide, "Aaron Henly!"
Aaron smiled, "Yes?"
She narrowed her gaze on him, "Go to the office. I am really not in the mood to deal with you. This is not the job I signed up for."
Aaron rolled his eyes, "Nice to know," he smiled then stepped away from her and waved, "See you tomorrow."
Mrs. Hinin watched him as he walked away. She didn't understand that boy. He was so smart, maybe a little too smart, but if he would just settle down he would be a valued member of the society. If he couldn't settle down they would have to deal with him in another way. The boy was only sixteen. He had a few years before he would be brought in front of the city council to deal with. That meant that she had to get through to him before then. She just hoped she could ...
* * *
Aaron looked up at the ceiling in his room. It was the same room he had when he was a kid. The same pale blue walls that they had painted when they found out he was going to be a boy. The same cream textured ceiling with the same domed light fixture that came with the house. The only thing that had changed was the contents as Aaron changed.
"Aaron! Dinner's ready!"
He sat up and looked towards his door. He knew exactly what was waiting for him beyond the door. A long hallway that had two doors on the right and three on the left that led to a staircase. At the bottom of the sixteen stairs was a hard wood landing that was exactly three feet square. Surrounding the hardwood floor was a beige carpet that was the basis for their living room. Sitting in the living room was a quaint nineteen fifties couch and loveseat set with a maple coffee table. Sitting across the room from the couch was the TV that hadn't been moved since it was bought back when he was two. Behind the loveseat was the doorway to the dining room where a square table with four chairs sitting around it was sat.
Three people would be sitting around the table waiting for him. His little sister would be sitting in the chair closest to the door. Her long auburn hair would be in two braids that rested on her chest. Her large crystal blue eyes would be curious as she looked around the room. To her right would be their mother. Her long black hair would be pulled back in a low pony tail that would show off her beautiful face. Across from his mother would be his father. His short brown hair would be combed back nicely and he would be staring at his wife.
Sitting on the table would be their usual Thursday evening meal. On a large plate would be a pile of shaved roast beef. Sitting in front of his mother would be a tray of raw vegetables with a ranch dip. Sitting in front of his sister would be a dish of freshly cut pears. Sitting in front of his father would be a bowl of rice. Sitting in front of his spot would be a cup of barbeque sauce. Sitting to the right of all four plates would be a tall sixteen ounce cup of cream soda.
Aaron shook his head, "I'm not hungry!" he laid back down and sighed. He was tired of the normal routine. He would go days without eating if it was the only thing that mirrored some semblance of excitement
"Aaron! Please come down here. We need to talk to you about school today."
Aaron rolled his eyes. His mother and father knew that he had a hard time accepting the fact that life was so dull, "Nothing happened at school!" he closed his eyes and tried to picture a better place. He wanted to have the life of a normal teenager in the world. He had seen many pictures and knew that there was so much more. The girls were more interesting. Homemakers just didn't seem like the type of woman he would want.
He pictured a young girl, about his age, with long brown hair and large brown eyes. Her complexion would be a creamy bronze and she would dress risqué according to the town's standard. She would wear tank tops and expose a little bit a cleavage. She would wear skirts that went above her knees. She would wear pants that would barely be clinging to her hips. She would wear darker make-up and strange jewelry. She would be inquisitive and want to know everything around her. She would be smart and be able to make a life for herself by herself.
He sighed and rolled over onto his side. He was alone in a town with a population of about six hundred that had never changed since the town was founded. People were only allowed two kids. One boy and one girl.
He opened his eyes and looked at the computer that sat across the room. It was the only thing that didn't follow the rules. All computers were supposed to be checked once a week to make sure that there weren't any inappropriate files on there. He had all his music that was hidden from the town officials. He had all the pictures that he had found of normal people living their lives. He had different stories about how teens were arrested for drugs and how teens would be at school while pregnant. He had stories about numerous murders that were all unsolved. He wished he could get out and help them find the murderer.
He stood up and stepped over to his computer. He sat down on the swivel chair and turned his computer on. He waited for it to load as his door came open. He spun to see his father standing there with his mother hiding behind him.
"Aaron, didn't we tell you to come downstairs for dinner?"
Aaron nodded, "Yes," he gave his father a droll stare, "Didn't I tell you that I wasn't hungry?"
His father's green eyes lit up with the fire of his anger, "What are you doing on your computer. You don't have a report due."
Aaron rolled his eyes, "I don't have to have a report due to get on the computer and mess with things."
His father glared at him, "Your mother spent two hours on this dinner. I will not let you ruin it."
Aaron shrugged, "I will not go down and eat because I am not hungry."
His father grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, "You will do as I say!"
Aaron bent his head forward and looked up through his hair at his father, "I will do as I please!" he pushed his father away from him, "I will stay up here and spend the rest of the evening playing around on my computer."
His father glared at him again and reached for him again. Aaron grabbed his father's wrist and twisted it behind his back. His mother's eyes grew wide as Aaron pushed his father out of his room. He slammed the door shut on them and locked the door.
Aaron leaned back against his door as he wondered what the repercussions of his actions would be. His parents could report him to the city officials and he would be in bigger trouble than he ever imagined.
He slid down his door so that he was sitting on the floor. From that point he could hear his parents' voices as they drifted through the crack under the door, "Gabriel, what are we going to do? If he keeps this up they will put him in the special program. I don't want them to do that to him. He's my baby."
"Samantha, relax. He'll shape up here soon. We'll just let the city officials know about his computer. They will get rid of everything that is on his computer and then he will learn his lesson. He'll me more compliant then."
Aaron's eyes grew wide as he looked over to his computer. His parents weren't going to turn him in, but they were going to turn his computer in. He crawled across the room and shut his computer off as he pulled it off the desk. He unclipped the case and stared at the hard drive. He had to find a way to save his hard drive and yet make the computer look functional.
He shook his head. There was no way to do so. Civilians were only allowed a single hard drive so they couldn't do what he wanted to do. He leaned forward and laid his forehead against the cool metal. He couldn't lose his life. This was all he had and he was going to fight for it.
* * *
Aaron stood in his doorway as the city officials stood in the hall. There were two of them. The same two that came to his house every Friday at exactly 7:09. One was older and dubbed what was appropriate or not and the other was younger and scanned the computers.
The younger one sighed, "Just move, kid. This needs to end as soon as possible. We have other things we need to do today."
Aaron shook his head, "I will not let you touch it. This is my room, my privacy."
The older one glared at him, "I am not in the mood to mess with a spoiled little kid. Now move!"
Aaron crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, "No."
The older one stepped up to him and punched him in the stomach. Aaron doubled over and was pushed back onto his back as the older man stepped into his room. Aaron looked up at the men as they sat down at his computer.
Aaron's eyes began to water as the younger one hit three buttons and his computer began resetting itself. He was losing everything that was him. He had to do something about it.
He jumped to his feet and tackled the older one. The old man cried out as he made contact with the window sill. The younger one stood up and pulled Aaron away. Aaron lost his balance as he was pushed away and fell to his knees. He stood up quickly and tackled the younger one. The younger one caught him and pinned him against the closet door.
Aaron looked in the dark brown eyes of the city official, "We can't wait to judge you," he let go of Aaron and sighed, "You are too troublesome."
Aaron glared at him, "I have just begun."
The older one sighed, "Let's talk to the parents and then figure out what to do with him."
The younger one nodded and followed the other out of the room. The door was closed behind him and he heard a lock click. He didn't know how. The only way to lock his door was from the inside. What had they done?
Aaron stepped over to the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. What were they going to do? What was the special program that his parents had talked about the day before? Were they going to punish him? How were they going to do it?
Aaron pounded on the door, hoping that they would open it, but he knew better. He had ruined it and he was going to have to live with the consequences.
He stopped abruptly and looked over to the window. There was only one way out. He was going to have to escape. He had to devise a plan before night fell so he could use the cloak of night to get him out of town safely. His only problem was how exactly he was going to get down to the ground ...
* * *
Aaron watched as the city lights went out and the whole city went to sleep. He figured he had approximately ten minutes before they would check on him again. He needed to get down to the ground and make his way across town to the road out of town. Then he had another obstacle. He had to sneak past the guards on the road and run to freedom.
He took a deep breath as his door opened. His father looked in at him and thought he was sleeping. Aaron sighed as the door closed and he sat up. He had to dangle from the outside window sill and drop to the ground below. He knew that there was a chance of being hurt, but the most that would happen could be a twisted ankle and he could live with that.
He sighed as he opened his window and leaned out. There was no one around. He had his chance. He climbed out and dangled for a few moments then closed his eyes as he let go. He withdrew upon himself as he hit the ground and grunted as he made contact. He was fine, a few bruises would appear, but he was fine.
He raised his head and looked around. The coast was clear. The street lights were out. All house lights were out. The sky was overcast and he could barely see his hand in front of his face. He took a deep breath as he stood up.
He was not ready for this, but there was nothing he could do. He took off at a dead sprint across town. He knew he was going to make it to the road, he just wasn't too sure he was going to make it past the guard.
He stopped when he heard footsteps up ahead. No one was supposed to be out at this time of night. Maybe they were the ones that were supposed to be getting him and taking him to be judged. He jumped into some nearby bushes. He took a deep breath to steady his breathing and listened to the people as they made their way past.
"Do you believe this place," it was a man's gruff voice with a hint of a southern accent, "All the people are controlled. I heard that there is this kid in town that isn't going with the flow and they are going to brainwash him."
"Really?" it was another male voice, but he seemed younger and little more sophisticated, "Why would they do that? What exactly is he doing?"
"I don't know. I just heard that he really messed up and they are going to take him in front of the city council. I really feel sorry for that kid. He is going to be living in a hell for a few months until they are satisfied that he's fit for society again."
"Wow, this place really is messed up."
Aaron sighed as their voices faded and he could no long hear them. He had lost at least three minutes trying to stay hidden from them. He had to hurry now. He stepped out of the bushes and began running towards the road again. He had to make it before they notified the guard.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from UTOPIAN HELL by FELICITY MIKKEL NACHT. Copyright © 2013 Felicity Mikkel Nacht. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing.
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