Every once in a while someone tried to escape, and in my 17 years of life, only one had ever succeeded. I couldn’t blame people for still trying though. Life inside the colony was anything but ideal. There was never enough food, people starved to death every day. All the homes and buildings were old and worn out, most were unfit to live in. People were sick a lot, because everything was so dirty, we didn’t have a sewer system, so everyone’s nasty stuff was thrown out into the street. The colony itself was awful. But what made life inside the colony truly unbearable was our leader.
I thought about my family, my sweet mother and adoring father, and my twin 10 year old little brothers, Matt, and Robbie. I couldn’t bear the thought of them dying; I also couldn’t bear the idea of ever being Cain’s wife. I pray that I would never have to go through that kind of slavery and torture. There were, after all, hundreds of girls he could pick from…
I was currently in the small barn that we had in the back of our house milking our cow. My family did relatively well all things considered. My father had somehow stayed on Cain’s good side, and while my father hated him every bit as much as everyone else, it was important to be in Cain’s good graces if possible. If you were, you could keep your own property, you could have extra rations, and you could have a cow in the barn behind your house. Cain had every crop animal and farm on record, growing extra or raising without informing the government would lead to execution.
I could hear my brothers playing soldiers outside the barn doors, which normally ended in some sort or injury. Their laughter always felt so out of place in this world we lived in, where there was so much misery and suffering. But they were somehow always happy. It was bazar. I don’t remember playing so happily with other children, then again I’ve always been one to keep to myself.
My father was my best friend as a child; it wasn’t until I was 12 and met Garrett, Cain’s nephew. I still remember the first time we met, I can still see my mother’s panicked look as she saw the spinners swarm around us. I wasn’t paying attention to how far I had wondered until I saw a boy my age at the edge of the pasture, and I remember his face jubilant, and his careless attitude it seemed unusual to me. It had me inquisitive, I wanted to know why on earth this boy could be so immune to the fears that the rest of us possessed. I began to creep forward towards this unusual boy, but as I approached his face went pale as if he’d seen a ghost. I realized the alarm in this boy’s face was not from my presence, but the presence from the spinners drawing closer, they all wore the same black and black pants, heads shaved with no emotion shown on their faces.
“Follow me fast!” the boy exclaimed. Without giving much thought I allowed him to grab my hand and guide me away from the spinners. The alfalfa wasn’t making for a good cover either. We ran hard and fast for at least ten minutes, I could finally see our farm. We both ran into the entrance but that was as far as we made it.
Surrounded by spinners that weren’t at all tired, but still emotionless, all I could do was stand there with this boy I didn’t know and listen to my mother franticly screaming, “She’s only twelve, she’s not of age!” Little did she know the spinners had chased the boy and myself from the cutoff.
With great courage this boy no older than me laughed at them… my thought was what the hell are you doing laughing at spinners, oh he’s dead, way dead.
When he had finished his chuckling the spinners gave him a harsh look and replied with, “You may be under your uncle’s protection but the young lady is not.”
He laughed once more and spoke with no humor in his voice at all, “I asked her to come with me to play, I’m sure my uncle won’t mind, but we can ask him on the eve of his new bride if you’d like.” Nothing but smiles with this boy, it made me uneasy how disrespectful he was being towards the spinner, but it seemed as if this happened often.
With a glare he nodded, “You are to come with us then, must get you cleaned and fit for this joyous occasion of the great leader.”
With that the boy, whose name I still was unsure of, spun to me and smiled. “I will be back soon. My name is Garrett, just in case you were wondering. What is yours?”
I was trying to remember my name, when it finally came to mind it sounded more confident than I felt. “My names Brittany, and if you’re coming back you better not bring your friends with you, they freak me out.” He smiled his cunning rebellious smile and was escorted with the spinners towards the village.


Since that day we’ve been inseparable.
That was five years ago, and we have become best friends. That’s all that we have ever been, but recently, things have been different. Sometimes, I will catch him looking at me the way people in love look at each other. I don’t know how I feel about it. A part of me is attracted to him, he’s not a little kid anymore, he’s handsome, well built, strong. But he’s also my friend, what if we got together and things didn’t work out between us? Our friend ship would be ruined, I would lose my boyfriend, and my best friend, all in one blow. I don’t know if I could handle it if that happened. I needed a friend to take on this world, and Garret is the only person outside of my family that I trust.
Despite my fears of losing him, the alternative might be worse. We were both done with school now and Garret is training to become a spinner, by order of is uncle. At the end of his training he will be expected to choose a wife. I was scared of him asking me, because I was unsure of how it would affect our relationship, However I was absolutely terrified of him asking someone else. I didn’t like the idea of him being with someone else. Actually I hated it. If he married someone else, I would lose him for sure. He would have her, and eventually kids to look after. He wouldn’t have time for me anymore.
The very thought made my heart hurt.
And then what if someone asked me before Garret got a chance to? I would have to say yes. Women who were unmarried past their 20th year of life were more than likely going stay that way until they died. If you were proposed to, you said yes, because there was never any guarantee that you would be asked again, and being an unmarried women promised a hard, short life. For most women starved to death after while. There was no work to be had for women, except for field work, and even then you were only able to work part of the year. The winter was dangerous for unmarried women. There was no work. No work meant no money, and no money meant no food. There were men who took advantage of that.
I couldn’t let that happen to me, so I would accept the first offer of marriage I received.
Hopefully that offer would come from Garrett.

I was finishing up in the barn, when I felt someone’s presents behind me. I turned around and of course it was Garrett. I smiled at him and walked over to him.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I asked, he was normally still at his training at this time of day.
“Oh, we got done early today. You busy?” He said, seeming a bit on edge.
“No I’m not, I’m finished in here.”
“Good, come on lets go for a walk.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the barn.
“Alright.” I said laughing.
I wonder what was with him; he was acting out of the ordinary.
We walked to the east of the compound. There were fewer buildings and less people over here, he led me behind one of the abandoned buildings and sat down against its wall. He patted the ground next to him. I went over and sat next to him. I waited for him to say something, but he doesn’t. He does this when he’s preoccupied. He zones out and forgets that I’m there. Sometimes it’s annoying; other times its kind of cute to watch his mind race.
“So what’s on your mind Garrett?”
“My training is going to be over in a few weeks.”
I say nothing; I know he will continue when he’s ready. I don’t know where he’s going with this. His uncle may be having him go on another one of his power seeking trips. Garrett always acts funny right before those trips; he gets nervous about being with Cain on his own for long periods of time.
“I’m going to have everything made for me. I won’t have to worry about how I’m going to feed myself…or my family…eventually. My uncle promised me that if I continue to prove myself a leader but I must continue to continue his training and trips. ”
I still say nothing. I wonder why he was thinking so much about it.
“I’m going to have to choose a wife soon.”
Oh. Did he bring me out here to tell me he had picked someone to be his wife, or maybe, to ask me? My heart began beating hard and unsteady, I could feel myself start to clam up and my stomach flutter with anticipation.
“I don’t want to marry someone that I’ve never met, Cain thinks it’s a good way to get variety. But that’s not me .”
My heart continued to speed up.
“So, Brittany… I was wondering if maybe, you know, when my training is over, and it’s time for me to pick my wife, if you might, well you know, if you would marry me.” He said nervously, looking up at me now.
I was so relieved that he wasn’t going to ask someone else that I couldn’t even answer him at first. I just sat there looking up into his gray blue eyes. I smiled, and I nodded my head,
“Yes, Garrett, I will marry you.”
“Really?” he said it like a little kid that couldn’t believe his luck when his mom tells him he can have an extra piece of candy.
“Yes, really.” I whispered smiling at him
______________________________________________________________________________

All marriages in the compound had to be approved by Cain. More often than not this was not a problem. It was the only thing that Cain was good about. He always approved marriages, the only time that he would drag his feet about it is if he didn’t like you. If that was the case all you would need to do is bring him some kind of gift and swear your unwavering loyalty to him.
Garrett and I would not have that problem. Garrett was Cain’s nephew, and my family was in good standing with Cain. Garrett and I had decided to go ahead and ask Cain for approval now, so that once Garrett’s training was over we could get married right away.
We were waiting for him now, I was a little nervous, I had no reason to be, but I was always nervous around Cain. We waited for what seemed hours, but eventually he did come. He marched over to his thrown and sat. He beckoned for us to approach him. We did, and waited for him to give us permission to speak.
“Hello, Garrett, how are you on this day?” Cain said to Garrett, ignoring me completely.
“I am well uncle. My training is going smoothly and I will be finishing soon. Thank you for the opportunity.”
“I knew you would do well.” He said nodding his head as if all the credit was his and not Garrett’s.
“Yes, well it’s because my training will soon be done that I come to you today my sire. As you know I will soon be expected to choose a wife, to take care of my home and to bear my children. I have asked Brittany, for we have been friends for many years now and I believe that we will do well together, and she has accepted my proposal. I come to you today to beg permission to marry Brittany once my training is officially finished.” Garrett said this all with much respect, gesturing to me whenever he said my name.
Cain said nothing for a time. His attention had switched from his nephew to me, and he was staring at me now. He stared at me for what seemed like hours. He still said nothing. I was beginning to get nervous. Had I done something to offend him? I couldn’t think of what I could have possibly done to do so, I kept to myself mostly, keeping out of trouble.
“No.” Cain said calmly
“Bu- but why… my sire?” Garrett said trying to sound calm and respectful, but I knew that he was anything but.
“Because, I feel she was a better purpose elsewhere.” I didn’t know what Cain could possibly mean by that. What other purpose could I have other the being a wife?
“May I ask what you mean by that my sire?”
“Yes, I feel that she would do better as someone else wife, she is quite beautiful, and belongs to someone with a higher status in the compound then you my nephew.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He wasn’t going to let me marry Garrett; he wanted me to marry someone else.
“Who my sire, do you wish her to marry then?” Garrett said trying to keep his cool but he was quite visibly anger now.
“Why myself of course.” Cain said with a wicked smile on his face.
I couldn’t believe it. Cain wanted me as his next wife. He wanted me and there was nothing I could do about it. Nothing at all. Not if I wanted my loved ones to live. I couldn’t handle this. I didn’t know how to handle this.
I felt the blood rush out of my head, and everything went black…