The Testing Guide

I c**k my head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Dad’s eyes meet mine. “There are things outside the safety of Five Lakes Colony that you don’t understand. That you aren’t prepared to deal with. You’ve only seen glimpses of the damaged world that exists out there.”

“Whose fault is that?” Frustration storms through me and punches through my words.

“Mine.” My father shouts back. “I take responsibility for keeping you sheltered, and I will not apologize for making choices that have kept my children safe. There is more than poisoned water, rabid animals, and a lack of food waiting lurking outside Five Lakes.”

“Like what?”

“Promise you won’t run off in anger. That you’ll stay in Five Lakes and let me help prepare you for what exists beyond our colony’s borders. If in a couple years you still want to leave, I swear I won’t stand in your way.” Before I can answer, he adds, “Don’t give me your answer now. Sleep on it. The world will still be waiting tomorrow.”

With that he’s gone, taking my anger with him. All that remains in its place is the weary ache of misery.

Stay home and hope to find answers?

Leave and on my own discover the secrets my father hints at?

Fatigue jumbles my thoughts together. My head pounds. Bitterness churns my stomach as I try to focus. When I can’t, I am forced to admit Dad is right. I cannot make the decision now. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll be rested. If I choose to, tomorrow is soon enough to leave.

My brothers are still sleeping when I wake and carefully slide out of bed. Cia’s bed is empty. Not a surprise, since Win is snoring. Carefully, I slip out of the room and smile as I spot the tiny body curled up in front of the fireplace. In that moment, my choice to leave or stay is made. While I love my parents and brothers, Cia is special. I’m the one she comes to when she’s worried or confused. She’s the one person I know needs me. So for now, I will stay and learn what Dad has to teach. Once Cia is older and Dad has shared what secrets he knows . . .

Who knows.

I’m so focused on my own problems that I barely notice the booklet clutched in Cia’s hand. The same booklet I studied yesterday morning. Cia must have found it on the floor in our bedroom.

Careful to step around the floorboards that squeak, I cross to where Cia is sleeping. When I reach to take the booklet from her hands I notice how tightly she holds it. As if it is as important to her as it was to me.

So, instead of retrieving it, I go in search of my father to tell him that I will stay and leave the study guide clutched tight in my sister’s hands. After all, what harm could encouraging her dreams do?

Malencia Vale

TEST 1 - HISTORY

Authorized by THE TESTING

for

The United Commonwealth

Q: Explain the First Stage of the War of the Nations.

A: The assassination of Prime Minister Chae fractured the Asian Alliance and sparked a power struggle among the other nations and a civil war. During the civil war, bombs were dropped on the Korean States, destroying most of the population and causing the meltdown of two nuclear reactors.

Q: What were the first two genetically altered crops to be cultivated successfully in the fields outside Tosu City?

A: Wheat and corn.

Q: Explain the cause of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Stages of War and their impact on North America.

A: Use of nuclear and biological weapons increased the pressure near fault lines. This sudden rise of pressure caused earthquake swarms and aftershocks that began in what was once the state of California and traveled across the continent. Earthquakes also disrupted the ocean floors, triggering the first of the floods that signaled the start of the Sixth Stage and submerged what remained of the coastal states, destroying most of the population. The Seventh Stage was marked by a shift in the weather patterns. Tornadoes, radioactive windstorms, and droughts caused the population to decrease even further and tainted all but the hardiest of plants, animals, and food sources. When the weather calmed, those who survived could finally begin to rebuild.

Q: Why was Tosu City chosen as the site for the United Commonwealth capital?

A: Because of the non-strategic nature of the state of Kansas, the city of Wichita was not targeted during the first four stages of war. While earthquakes and tornadoes ripped apart the north side of the city, the majority of the city was untouched, making it the ideal site to start the rebuilding process. The city name was changed from Wichita to Tosu to symbolize the hope of a people set on rebuilding what was lost.

Do you think you have what it takes to pass

THE TESTING?

CHAPTER 1

Graduation day.

I can hardly stand still as my mother straightens my celebratory red tunic and tucks a strand of light brown hair behind my ear. Finally she turns me and I look in the reflector on our living area wall. Red. I’m wearing red. No more pink. I am an adult. Seeing evidence of that tickles my stomach.

“Are you ready, Cia?” my mother asks. She too is wearing red, although her dress is made of a gossamer fabric that drapes to the floor in soft swirls. Next to her, my sleeveless dress and leather boots look childish, but that’s okay. I have time to grow into my adult status. I’m young for it at sixteen. The youngest by far in my class.

I take one last look in the reflector and hope that today is not the end of my education, but I have no control over that. Only a dream that my name will be called for The Testing. Swallowing hard, I nod. “Let’s go.”

Graduation is held in the colony square among the stalls filled with baked goods and fresh milk because the school isn’t large enough to hold all the people who will attend. The entire colony attends graduation, which only makes sense since everyone in the colony is related to at least one of the students crossing over to adulthood or celebrating their promotion to the next grade. This year is the largest graduating class the Five Lakes Colony has had. Eight boys, six girls. A clear sign the colony is thriving.