Submit (Book 1, The Karyln Trials)

Chapter One

     My light steps on the paved sidewalk sound like the pattering of rain on the roof of my house. Except it's a dry night, the constant cloud cover giving us relief from the long bout of rain. I turn my gaze and look at the glowing street light to my left. The large illuminated ball of metal and plastic hovers six feet off the ground with a clock face on the front of it. The time reads seven-forty-two, I only have eighteen minutes to get back home before curfew.

I hoist my bag up a little farther on my shoulder and pick up my pace as much as I dare, not wanting to catch unwanted attention. I walk down the road scanning my surroundings as I make my way back to my house.

It's about seven-fifty-four when I'm about to turn and go up the steps of my house. But before I can, a hand shoots towards me from between houses and grabs my arm. My shriek is muffled by the hand covering my mouth.

The hands pull me between the two houses and into the dark. It takes a minute for my eyes to adjust, but once they do I can see a pair of familiar brown eyes. I glare at the boy standing in front of me.

He takes his hands back and opens his mouth. "Hello, Ada." A big cheeky grin springs to his face and it takes all of my strength to keep from smiling back at him.

"Lincoln." I cross my arms in front of my chest and shrink into the wall I'm pressed against, trying to add space between us.

Lincoln seems to notice but doesn't move from where he's at. The light in his eyes changes and he smirks. "Do I make you nervous, Adaline?"

My name rolls off his tongue and it sends an army of butterflies through me like it has for as long as I can remember. "No, of course n-not." I clear my throat. "I just don't think that this is appropriate given that you just had your second date with Eve today."

His smile falters before it's back in place, but it was enough for me to notice. Lincoln finally takes a step back and I can properly take a breath to calm my nerves. "Yes, I did." He opened his mouth like he was going to say more, but then closes it.

My heart begins to ache like it always does when I have to think of Lincoln dating another girl. I clear my throat again. "As much as I would love to hear about it, you'll have to tell me tomorrow during tea with our parents because we literally have seconds until curfew and all the doors are locked." The urgency in my voice drives my point and he nods his head walking away. I rush out of the space between our two houses and I climb up the stairs to my door as quickly as possible. I open the door, but hesitate. I look towards the house next door and see Lincoln walk into his house without looking back.

I sigh and walk inside. Roughly,ten seconds after the door shuts behind me, the curfew bells ring throughout the sector and all the door locks shift to the locked position simultaneously. "Curfew has been enacted, anybody out will now be stuck and punished accordingly." The automated woman's voice that plays every day at curfew rings through the house and I slip my plain white shoes off, placing them in their cubby. "The thirtieth of March, twenty-one-twenty-seven, is now concluding. Have a wonderful night with your families." The voice finally shuts off and I walk into the living room.

Father is sitting in his usual chair reading an old book that he's already read about a hundred times. I walk over to him and give him a kiss on the cheek. "Hello, Father." I start walking to the conjoined kitchen and give my mother a kiss on the cheek as well. "Mother."

"Ah, Adaline, cutting it a little close to curfew today, aren't we?" I see Father taking his reading glasses off as he shuts his book, finger holding his spot.

I smile in his direction and nod. "That I was, I would've been back sooner, but I had a run in with Lincoln. He wanted me to tell everybody that he says hello." Though it's not the truth, it's been our goto lie for each other whenever we're close to curfew.