Away From Eden

Prologue

The great war that destroyed the world has been long over. The rest of humanity that survived struggled to bring society back again in order. People said they learned much from that long-time war, and that they never would want it to happen again. People said that the human race was to blame for the catastrophe that fall upon themselves. And that now because everyone had learned their lessons, humanity is no longer placing their confidence on the world leaders alone, and would never want to follow the same government structure that the world has before the war. The world has now reached its perfection. That's what the Castellan said. And to maintain that, certain social structures and systems must be followed. In a new world order, a kind of new life system was introduced, dividing the people into classes.

The Castellan is the richest and most powerful and rests at the top of the hierarchy. Their duty was to ensure the world's finances is running well, and they were bound to produce and control resources for all. They are the richest. Their positions are the dream of everyone. But in this time, plans and dreams are not for the Newmans and the Flocks. They are those who are at the third and bottom of the hierarchy. Those who were at the top suggested that people in the middle and bottom classes, the Newmans and the flocks need would maintain a status quo, that their role in the society was not to ascend to a higher rank but to stay where they are, all the resources they need is freely provided by those who are at the top. Thus, the bottom need not work. And the middle need not aim of getting rich. Contentment, that's what the Castellans and Lords said.

Sit back and be content, give the wheels to them, and it's them who will run the world. All the Newmans and flocks need to do was wait for the free food, shelter, and everything they need. Yeah, wait for what is available for the Newmans. And wait for what was left for the flocks.

There was never abundance for them.

But in this new world order, abundance is only for those who can handle it. It is only for those whom they deemed invincible to greed and were illuminated with compassion for the common good, only for those who are willing to live their lives producing and giving much. Only for the heroes. Only for the castellans and lords.

But a such generation of heroes must continue.

And to do that they must continuously search for the deserving. That's how they regard those chosen participants in the reunion games.

The high school reunion at Stanford High was not the usual and expected. This time, parents and teens even dream of studying at Stanford in the hopes that one day in their adulthood they will get an invitation for a reunion, that they'll be an alumnus.

To go back again to Stanford for a reunion and to participate in the party games...

That's what every graduating student always wrote in their yearbook.

Who would not want of being the school's alumna? The reunion and its party games are like a lottery ticket to the common people. Their straight and quick resource into ascending to the top hierarchy. The party games were their tool for choosing who will be the next Castellan.

It's their ticket to money and influence, but more than that it's their only way to freedom.

And so people crave to be invited to the reunion, that being invited means great honor because that would mean you are one those whom the top has deemed deserving. They don't care about the murders that are taking place at the party. For the common public, it was for cleansing. Society must be cleansed to maintain perfection.

That's how it was viewed, but not for the outsiders.

For the outsiders, the new world order is rotten. It was never perfect but corrupt and exploiting. And thus, their mission was to destroy Standford High, its reunion and the party games, and eventually this social structure which is controlled by the Castellan and lords.

Houses in El Rotosi was the nicest of all the free stuff a Newman could have. Wide yard, like that in the countryside, porch, and comfortable beds. One that's enough to be contented for someone who's got no ambition.

Lily started setting aside the budget she got from the lords for her visits to the secondhand bookshop. A copy of the previous edition of any sort of book which she think would be useful to his son someday was typically inexpensive when a new version was released. That would do.

And now he got another second-hand book for a seven-year-old Carsen Adams. Lily gently grabs the toys away from his son's grip and excitedly exchanges them with old books she got from the bookstores, whispering to his son about how he got a high score for his IQ screening, and how he's gonna change the world one day. While, the kid Carsen was just looking at his mom's face with eyes wide open, trying to understand what her mom was saying.

" So even the second-hand stuff has a free mark?"

It was Carsen's uncle.

He just came home.

Lily smiled.

She understood what her brother means. Ever since after the war, all the stuff they could buy has this mark indicating that it was a free item from the upper hierarchy, in a sense that it won't be available in the store if the people on top weren't giving them a budget to buy their needs. Also, here in El Rotosi, all the houses look the same, even the furniture, up to the toothbrush they used. They all have the same designs, the same brand, and products. It goes this way for the Newmans. They can't have variety because all that they have are just given to them for free. Olf folks would always say that life was much better to be in this way, at least they're toiling the soil in order to eat. But for Lily, life didn't get better, much more for the Flocks who were at the bottom, feeding only on what was left by Newmans. It was actually the Castellan and Lords who were living the life of perfection.

Not them.

"What's this stuff for little Carson huh?" his brother asked picking up one book on the table.

" Shhh!!" she hissed.

" You don't want him to be an outsider?" her brother asked again.

Lily gives him a darted look. Mentioning the word " outsider" within this vicinity is dangerous. Outsiders are those people regarded as out of the social structure, like an outcast. A group of people who do not belong to any of the hierarchical levels, and are viewed as much worst than the Flocks. This new world only has one enemy, and that's the outsiders, whom the Castellans say as the threat to perfection. The criminals and rebels. That's what they were known for.

" What?"

Lily's brother was waiting for her reply.

She shook her head, " No, of course not!"

Her tone was defensive.

" He's going to Standford High when he grows up," she said.

Years after, It was another regular day in school. Carsen was late again. If his classmates will notice, for sure he'll be bullied again. So, he hurriedly climb up the school's high walled fence.

" There!" he chuckled as his feet landed on the ground.

That was just an easy climb. He's used to doing this. Carsen grinned wide as he looked around. No one notices him. He's glad. And so he decided to head to his classroom when weird noises suddenly caught his attention.

What was that? He asked herself.

And moved in a different direction to find out. Until he strangely got out of the school area. Carsen couldn't believe how events could unfold fast. It was like he was transported into another place.

Or was this just some kind of weird vision? A dream? He thought to himself while he continued to dive in.

From what appeared to be a cosmic flowerbed, the 12 years old Carsen Adams, could smell a wonderful aroma. He observed enormous craters that had been dug two miles below the surface. The thick amethyst smoke was cuddling at his feet. He was in the middle of a sprint when he abruptly fell into a pit of bright green slime. Despite his efforts, he continued to sink deeper. He shut his eyes in the vain hope of surviving. Then, he came to a thudding stop.

He once again opened his eyes to discover a cave. The walls were even more pitch-black than the darkest piece of obsidian ore. He eventually came to a mossy wall with vines climbing it that went to the surface. He went back up and made it to the opposite side. The silvery water reflected the sun's rays. Trees with magenta trunks and butterscotch yellow foliage stood hunched over and cast a shadow. A star-filled swirl glistened and sparkled. A beacon-like light sprang out of nowhere in an instant. A star-filled swirl glistened and sparkled. A beacon-like light sprang out of nowhere in an instant.

" Whoaaah!!" Carsen grinned wide as he behold the magnificent view.

A small insect-like figure flew out from the light. The kid Carsen not knowing about what could be harmful or not, extended out his hand to reach it as if inviting the metal-like creature to come to him. And in a split second, as if charmed by the kid's innocence, the mysterious figure flew unto him but as soon as it landed unto the child's flesh there has been some kind of unusual reaction in Carsen's human flesh. The next thing he knew it was as if there was some kind of force that was melting his consciousness away.

"Is he the one?"

"The mark was attracted to the kid."

"Yeah, the mark will be waiting for its right time to be revealed,"

Those were the last thing he heard before he finally fell into sleep.

The next thing he knew, he woke up in the school clinic with his mom on his side. They told him that school personnel found him unconscious on the ground. They said that he had an accident, that he might have fallen from the fence while climbing.

Did I? Carsen asked himself, wondering.

He shook his head then, trying to erase that unusual event he had encountered a while ago.

Maybe that's just a dream. He convinces himself.