Two

ELLA’S POV.

The rest of the night was gloomy, and to think that the morning was even worse. So far, our family has never been selected, but what if we were unlucky today.

Elena was quiet, and mom chewed on her fingers, well that was a nervous habit of hers. Dad was his normal self but, I could tell he was worried. Now, Nichole on the other hand was indifferent. I know he cared about us but right now he wasn’t thinking about it.

I took my shower quickly and wore a red dress, which hand straps were thin. The sun was already shining brightly, and I was the last to join them in the living room. It was a bad habit I had, always coming late. Dad scolds me often, but today he didn’t even spare me a glance.

Seeing that we were now complete, we started our trek to the town hall. Mom walked beside Dad, and they talked in hushed tones. Nichole walked far ahead of us, while Elena and I walked together in the same pace.

The hall was crowded already, so we quietly took the vacant space by the window.

Our leader Dave and his beautiful wife Betty were not here yet. They had three daughters who were below the age of twenty, so they didn’t stand a chance of being chosen.

Elena and I just turned twenty one yesterday and so our chances of being selected were very high. I looked around and took in the gloomy faces of the others, who had daughters as old as us.

The others whose daughters had not come of age had a lighter mood and whispered. Now that’s the nature of humans. They were not concerned, as long as they would not be chosen. They typically cared for only themselves.

“Do you think it’ll be our family?”, Elena asked in a small voice.

I didn’t know how to reply to the question. I didn’t like to sugarcoat things. And honestly, we had a very high chance of being chosen, because firstly, our family had two daughters that were of age. And secondly, our family has never been selected before.

I didn’t want to lie and tell her that we won’t be chosen, when we very well could be..

“I don’t know Elena” I replied.

This was the most honest answer I could give her. She heaved a sigh and looked away. I wished I could make her smile, but she was going to be like this until we left the hall without being chosen.

After two long hours, DAVE decided to make an appearance with his family. I could see the solemn look on their face. It saddened him to send the girls of his pack, but an agreement was an agreement.

The painful part of all this was that we have never heard the full story about all this, just snippets. And from what I know, one of our past leaders agreed with them to stop the beasts from killing us.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Dave said as soon as he climbed the podium. A true gentleman.

He was never late and always made apologies for his mistake. A few members grumbled for a while, until the hall went dead silent. At that moment, I saw Fredo enter the hall. His hair was ruffled and the sunlight caught the golden strands making him stand out from the crowd.

His eyes traveled around the room and finally rested on mine. I gave him a wide smile and waved before he took his seat. He waved back at me, before DAVE cleared his throat to speak.

I realized a lot of eyes were on me and I Blushed. Fredo had made some noise when he entered, earning the all eyes to himself. So when he waved at me, they looked in my direction.

“Let us proceed,” DAVE said and all attention went back to him.

“All the parents, to the left. The men at the center and the girls to the right”, he demanded.

There was shuffling of feet and noise as we rearranged ourselves. Elena and I moved to the right with the other girls.

“Now. The girls below twenty move to the left and let those that are of age remain on the right”, the voice came again. And yet again, there were loud footsteps and the younger girls moved way from us.

When I looked back, I paled. The girls of age at the gathering were significantly smaller than the previous year.

Some people had moved to other cities. And since they were gone, they couldn’t be part of the selection.

I knew a lot of people who were ripe for the selection, but their parents had removed them. Probably when they heard there’ll be a selection soon.

“I’m scared”, Elena whispered.

This time, I didn’t say a word. I was scared too.

Dave’s eyes moved from one face to another while his assistant stood beside him.

“As usual, five families will be called, and we’ll keep eliminating until we get to the last family. So once you hear your last name, please stand”, the assistant said as he began calling out names.

“CHAMBERS, EDWARD, NORTH, CARUSO.”, he called out.

All the girls were already standing. As everyone remained silent as we waited for the last name. His eyes landed on me, and I quickly looked away.

“Don’t call us. Don’t call us”, I screamed mentally.

“ANDERSON”, he finally called.

Time froze. I couldn’t believe it. He called our name.

“ANDERSON. Please stand”, the voice requested.

I was standing while trying to process the information. Elena also stood up as I felt her eyes on me, but I couldn’t look at her. I won’t be able to handle her watery eyes.

“Edward and Caruso you may seat”, his voice said.

Audible sighs of relief could be heard across the room. I shuffled on my feet and said a quick prayer under my breath.

“Chambers. Take your seat”, the voice came again.

I was nervous now. My family had never gotten to this stage ever. From mother’s stories, our family’s name has never been called, so why now.

My heart thumped wildly in my chest and I was sure it was the same for Elena. One look at her and I could see her shaking.

“Please don’t let us be chosen” I prayed.

“ I will be more obedient and respectful. I’ll take my responsibilities seriously. But please let us seat”, I kept on praying.

I didn’t care that I sounded selfish at this moment. But I will be happy if they picked North over us and there was no denying it.