It was late in the morning when Brooke Silver's finally woke up. And when she did it was not to pleasant thoughts. Today would be the day of the choosing. It happened every 100 years in the colony's. Each of the ten colony's would randomly select 10 of it's young. They would go to a 'special training course' only 25 would graduate, the best of the best, and the rest were never seen again. But it wasn't over once you graduated. Once, if, you graduated you would be sent back to earth. Brooke hoped against hope that she wasn't picked. But she was 14, the age you could be chosen, so the possibility was always there. She didn't know what would happen to her family if she did get chosen. The government would provide some sort of compensation for the lose of an able bodied family member, but with her grandma getting older and older and her sister moved out of the house and stuggling to make a life for herself she didnt know who would take care of her younger brother."Brooke! Brooke Silvers get up right know!" Her grandmother's raspy voice called as she pounded on the door of her small room. "Coming Grandma!" Brooke yelled back as she climbed out of her mattress and got dressed. Her alarm clock bepped 10:00. The chossen was at 11:00, she better hurry. When she decided the stairs to breakfast she saw her younger brother waiting for her. "Your sister stopped by to wish you good luck" Grandma said as she hurrierd to make breakfast "But you were sleeping" "she's so lucky" Brooke complained as she took the dried cereal container from Grandmas shacky hands. Carmen was 19, just over the age of being eldigibe for the chooseing, and had moved out of the house. While she certainly wasnt rich Brooke was jelouslsy of the freedom her older sister had. "Stop complaing and eat" Grandma commanded as Brooke placed a bull in front of her younger brother Cody. When Grandma tried to get Brooke to take a bite she waved her away "I need to go get dressed" she said waving the bowl away as she flew up the narrow stairs. Her closet was small, it only contained 3 dresses, one for work, all members of the community did some, one for school, and one for 'fancy events' like the choosing ceremony. "Hurry up Brooke!" Grandma shouted from below "I'm coming!!" Brooke yelled back as she ran down the stairs. Cody and Grandma were waiting by the door as Brooke ran to greet them. The wouldn't want to be late, the force field only opened form 10:55-11. They joined the group of people from the colony to the edge of the force-field that separated their air filled livable habituated from the harsh environment of mars. Brook could just make out the barely visible force fields that sorunded the other 9 colonys. She lived in one of the smaller colonys, making it all the likely for her to get choosen. She looked around and couted the other kids who looked elidgable. 30 mabye 40 at most, not good odds. In front of her the force field started to flicker expend so that in the middle thier was a narrow force field surronded tunnel that led to a larger bubble in the middle. It cost to much engery to keep the tunnels up for long so the colienest were expected to move quickly. She joined the crowd moving towards the center bubble. The reached the center group, already crowded with people, and Brooke walked foward towards the regestration and got in line. The line was pathetically small, a good percent of teenage children had been wipped out during the sickness that killed her parents, and the colony's were still recovering. She reached the front of the line were a table loaded with paper's stood and a lady behind the desk "Name.." she said in a bored tone "Brooke Silver's" she said shackily "Age?" "14" "Colony?" "Acses" She ansered. The woman nodded and wrote her ansewr down on a a slip of paper and added it to the bowl with names in it. "Next!" The woman called as she waved her along to the other kids who were joining up with thier family's. She wove throught the crowd to were her brother sat and joined him and her Grandma. That was the one good thing about all of this, Cody was only 9, he would never have the chance at being choosen "Your not going away, right?" He asked her his bottom lip trembling, he was to young to understand, one day mabye, but not today. "No I'm not going away" she promised, though she knew this could be a lie but she didnt want him to worry. Thier grandma reached over to quite them. Brooke looked foward, the cermony was starting. The offical walked toward's a table that held 10 small bowls. Slowly he selceted 10 names from the first "First up" He said rebotically "the Jupitor colony." The jupitor Colony was at least twice the size of any other colony, thier bowl was noticable bigger, and the likly hooded of going from the colong was small.
"Nico Dawn" a tall boy in a milatary suit walked up to the platform from were the Juipter colong was gathered. He took his place behind the Offical. After ten names from the Juipter colony were called the ten kids choosen walked off the stage and the next colony was drawn. Brooke wasnt paying attention as the colonys flew by until they were on the Saturn colony, the 9th colony, when "Amere Ludo" and "Azni Ludo" were drawn. Sibling's problay, no suprise, the Saturn colony was pitufully small. "And finnaly" The man said in his robtic voice "the Acses colony." The names flew by and Brooke could make out few of them, she heard "Michelle Grover" The name of one of her classemates "And Lupin Clearwater" one of the boys who had joined the work force erley. The 9th name was called "Lily Marker" a small pudgy girl who would never survive training and the tightness in Brooke's chest begain to realase. One more name, what were the odds it would be hers? The offical picked up the last name and read it out loud. "Brooke Silver's" Her grandma gasper. Cody cried with confusion. Brooke's world collapsed.
