The fake light inside the Canals woke me up for another endless, exhausting day.

My hands were still scratched up and bloody from the altercation i had with the ravage boar yesterday afternoon. I have no friends here, only aquantences so i didn't ask for help because then they'd expect some of the meat in return. I also don't want the doctors, who watch us twenty-four seven to think I've gone soft.

Its been exactly 476 days since I've been locked away in the Canals. The Canals, surrounded by a dome, belong to the government, where they place children and teenagers who arent wanted anymore by their families because they arent perfect. If the doctors see improvement, they will let you free.

Unfortunately I'm not one of the perfect, my parents got tired of me 476 days ago, I saw it coming. They were fed up with my teenager-like ways. Now I'm here to rot for eternity, fending for myself because I could never do that at home.

Family for me here is closer than anyone knows. I can never tell them or they may become envious. My aunt is one of the doctors. Before my connection with the Canals, we were best friends. She was the cool aunt that you could talk to like a best friend, only 13 years older than me, 29. Now, its just to awkward to make eye contact with her.

The door of my dirt-floored hut was swung open by one of the guards, their only around when you need escorting to the health facility. "Miss Emerald Elliot, you have an appointment."

Rule number one, dont try to fight off the guards or kill anyone. Rule number two, dont die. Rule number three, never try to escape.

A lump formed in my throat. I hadnt had an appointment scheduled, but I assumed it was to check on me after the doctors saw my beat up hands from the boar.

The guard clicked the handcuffs on my, too tight like always and dragged me by my elbow length hair. I knew my aunt hated to see me being due to her aunt instincts, but she never said anything. I had the urge to give myself a haircut with my knife so this hair pulling would stop, but i couldnt find the heart to do it.

He pulled me to the large glass building, not to far from my hut, its always surrounded by men with machine guns. It proves that theyre scared of what we could be capable of. One of the men scanned my wrist and opens the sliding doors, the one who always appears to be intrigued by me.

Like always, it smells like an actual hospital. I swear that they have hospital scented candles to make us believe its actually real. They even have a waiting room.

"The doctor will be out for you in a little while sit tight and behave yourself." The guard grunted out. My scalp hurt.

"Yes sir." The 6 foot man of pure muscle trotted off, he'd be back for me later.

I could see the disgust from the ladies at the desks due to how i smelled and how dirty I was. I remember now that I couldn't go to the stream to bathe or wash my clothes because the boar was surrounding it, thats how the fight started. I was lucky that i had my knife along.

Rule number four, carry a weapon at all times.

"The doctor will see you now." My stomach did the flipping thing like it always does when I come face to face with my aunt. Even though I see her once, sometimes three times a week, its still strange.

I walked down the same pure white hall that I always do. Her room is at the end of the hall. I felt worse than i ever felt before, my stomach was sloshing around more than it ever had.

Rule number 5, be brave.

Her door was wide open, which met i could walk in. If it were closed, i would have to knock. Thats one of the lesser important rules.

She was standing by the bed, searching through tools and putting a new lining of paper on. I surprised her. She had that look she always puts on when she sees me, like shes trying to hard to hold back tears. "That boar got you pretty good." Her voice was shaky with worry.

"Yes Dr. Elliot, it did."

Rule number 6, always be polite to the elders.

She inspected my hand, lightly poking at the cuts, measuring how deep. "Well, the good thing is, you wont need stitches. The bad thing is, you need a shower for me to be able to fix them up. Theres dirt in the cuts, and we wont want them to become infected."

We were allowed actual showers here at our appointments, this is would be my second this week. I stripped my dirty clothes off, she assured me that she would try to clean the muck off of them. The rest of the washing would have to be up to me.

The warm water felt so good against my freezing body. Even though the Canals are located in Texas, they have the temperature set to about 50 degrees, sometimes lower. The water in the stream could kill you if you sat in it completely naked long enough.

The visions of the horrifying boar began haunting me. Its like it was right in front of me all over again. I was walking toward the stream, and boom there it was. As big as ever, and charged at me immediately. I was its newest victim. I ran backwards and then tripped on a rock hidden under the ground. It was coming for me. Before i knew it, i slipped in the shower and passed out from replaying the motions.

I was beginning to regain consciousness, but not full brain activity. I knew that who I was seeing wasnt real, it was my head playing with me. "Mom?" It slipped out without any thought. "What happened?" My voice was hoarse and the world was spinning.

"You fell in the shower, smacked your head pretty hard."

My eyes snapped open, revealing my Aunt Magi. She was trying the best she could to conceal all worries by looking at my chart. "Why didnt they bring me back to my hut? Thats what usually happens when someone passes out."

"Usually, but sometimes I let the ones who I care about most stay for a while longer." She whispered quiet enough for only me to hear. It was against the rules as a doctor here to care about anyone in the Canals.

Half of a smile spread across my aching face. Just half, they'll never get a full one as long as im locked up in here.

Im back at my hut now. My body is beginning to become cold again after being out of the hospital. I can hear the dangers of the night walking around, snooping for a victim. You should never leave your hut at night, youd be killed immediately.

I laid down on my rock hard bed, trying to soothe myself to sleep. Its been a year since I got a full eight hours. "Psssst." My body jumped awake. Someone was outside my tent.
Whoever it was made the same sound again. I grabbed my knife thats always beside my bed for times like this.
I crept toward my door. 3,2,1 i yanked the door open. Standing there was Chad Carpenter, looking terrified at my raised knife. Like I said, Idon't make friends here so I don't know why  he is even bothering me. "What do you want?" I growled at him for waking me up.

"I need to talk to you about something." He sighed. "Please let your old best friend in. Remember me from about a year ago?"

We were best friends before I got taken to here, and I figured id be better on my own. When I found out his parents gave him up too, I almost went to find him to say how bad I felt, but then my conscience kicked in.

I opened the door wider, letting him through. Chris was fidgeting with his thumbs, trying to conjure up his story. Conjure wasnt the right word to use, remember is more like it.

"Your probably going to tell me to ignore this, that it wont help any of us to worry, but I don't care." I raised my eyebrows, motioning for him to continue quickly. I need sleep. "I think the doctors are intentionally trying to kill us. First your boar attack, then this afternoon, Finn was mulled by a coyote. And Grace was just bit by a venomous snake." He took a breather. "Theyre trying to wipe out of the strongest of us for good."

He was going crazy. That was a crazy assumption, my aunt would never allow something like that. If she knew, that is. "Why would they want to do that?"

"Because were the cause of our perfect society plummeting. Maybe our parents werent the ones who had us sent here." Chad had a good point, so I wasn't going to argue with him yet.

"Im tired, for all I know, you could be a figment of my imagination. If your real, meet me by the single white birch tree when the suns at its highest." I dont even remember him leaving, I collapsed that fast.

The next morning, Chads arrival last night felt just like that, a dream. I actually had been wishing it was, but the note outside my door proved it not to be.

There were a few human souls here and there running a muck, some in their small packs messing around, some carrying breakfast to their hut. I had a few hours to do a few errands before I had to meet Chad. One of them was to wash my clothes at the stream, which I was now sort of terrified of. The boar that attacked me, is now in my stomach.

When I walked outside to do my errands, I noticed that they cranked the heat up to about 80 degrees. In the real world it was winter, I keep track. Christmas is right around the corner, except for us here.

A girl was at the stream as well, she appeared to be at least 14. I wasnt going to be rude and not talk to her. "Hey, use a rock to help scrub the stains out." I made the stupidest remark ever. She probably already knew that.

"Thanks." Her voice was super soft that I could barely hear her. "I heard about you getting mulled by that boar. You must have been here awhile because you knew how to fend him off." I then realized that this girl wasnt from around here, she has a thick southern accent.

"You could say that."

"I should be going. I need to go hunt some fresh meat." A sigh eloped from her throat. She grabbed the things she was washing and trotted off down the trail.

Back to what I came here to do. Taking my own advice, I grabbed a rock to scrub the stains out. My hair could need another washing to, but i dont feel like making a guard angry when I ask for more soap. Yet, thats one of their requirements when hired, to bring more supplies when asked.

My mind wandered into thought. About that super young girl, mostly. She looked like she had no idea what was gone and how she can survive here. Today was the first day that id seen her around, even though i dont keep track of people. She probably feels lost and afraid, just like i felt when I was being given up. Tears stung in my eyes at the very thought.

A year ago, giving or taking a few months...

Today we got our report cards and im to ashamed and scared to show my parents. They said this would be the last straw, that if i had a single bad grade on it theyd send me off to The Canals.

I wouldnt be the only one sent away, a lot of families threatened that. My parents went down hill the night I came home after curfew a few weeks ago. The thought of your own parents actually giving you up breaks your heart into a million pieces. Some kids would rather be there, only if they knew how bad it is.

My aunt works there as a doctor, in fact shes picking me up today. I couldnt bare giving up my best friend either.

As I walked out of the school, i spotted my aunts Subaru. My dad detested that car, said a doctor should be driving something much more luxurious. I thought it was better to have a simple car because you could buy another in the event that something happened.

"Hey!" I said as I yanked open the door and got in. Her face was as straight as a board. "Are you going on a vacation?" I spotted purple luggage sitting in the back of her car.

"Im sorry." Tears streamed down her face and anger fumed in her eyes. Before I could reply, she jabbed me with a sedative and I was out. "Your parents are no longer your parents." She said through the tears.

Back to reality...
A loud scream errupted from the wooded area, causing me to throw my soap a short distance. I scrambled around for it in the water. Then the scream happened again.

Whoever it was, I needed to help them. Giving up my quiet period for bathing, I ran over to the path in the woods, following the screams. I noticed a short blonde ponytail in the distance, jumping around for dear life. And the girl behind that ponytail had been the one I had just spoken to not that long ago.

Without hesitation, I began running toward her and the unknown predator. Then the growls emerged and she hit the ground, oozing out with red blood. There were no tigers here, ever. My eyes almost bulged from my head as I looked at the young girl quivering on the dirt. It was too late to help her.

"They're trying to destroy us all. Get out of here while you still have time." She was dead, those were her last words. The tiger leaped away from her and ran to the wooded area.

There in the wooded area, stood a man in a lab coat. He was a man that I'd remembered seeing in the glass building. My heart dropped. She was right, they're trying to kill us all. The man stared back at me and smiled.

We're not the crazy ones, they are. I need to leave this place if it's the last thing I do.

Then the man in the lab coat and the tiger disappeared into thin air. Her blood was on my hands, all over my clothes. My knife was bloody and grasped tightly in my hand.

I did what they told me. "Kill the biggest threats", they said. Now I'll be okay, but Chad will be better off dead as well. 

Once I killed Chad by the tree, the ticking clock in my head stopped.