Breeder Nation

CHAPTER ONE ~MADDIE~

I'm staring at my fingers soaked in red blood. I almost want to laugh out of pure hysteria. I've started my period, and the impossibility of the situation hits me. A million thoughts fight for the forefront of my mind, yet I can't seem to grasp a single one.

I take a deep breath and try to calm my mind. Lowering my body to the ground, I take a seat on my bathroom floor and close my eyes. I feel my body shaking, rocking back and forth, but the only thing that slips through my consciousness is one thought: What the hell am I going to do? All odds say this shouldn't be happening, yet here I am.

I'm terrified, terrified of what this means for me, for my family. It feels as though my life is slipping through my fingers, and there's no way to hold onto it, because I know...

I know with the conviction of every bone in my body, that my only option is to run.

The Militia will be doing their routine sweeps of our city any day now, and it means I have to act fast. There's no time to think or plan things though, because I can't risk being found out. One quick test and they'll know. They're looking for girls just like me, the ones who can reproduce, the "Breeders." I won't let that be my life.

Some girls go willingly, families sacrificing them for the greater good; others are taken, and a few have even run, but the circumstances don't change the result. None of the girls are ever seen or heard from again. It's a fact, but we've been raised to turn a blind eye. No one wants to talk about it, but I've heard rumors...rumors that the runners don't survive, rumors that the Breeders are locked up, free will stripped away. The rumors that I'm hoping, praying, are true, are the ones of a free nation—a community without government control, free of forced breeding. I have to believe this is true because it's my only plan.

I'm already making a mental list of everything I need to do before I go, what I need to pack, when I suddenly realize I won't be able to say goodbye—not to my family, not even Travis, my best friend. Tears threaten to fall, but I hold them in, reminding myself to be strong. If I'm going to do this, make it on my own, I have to be brave.

The Militia will immediately question my family and friends about my disappearance, and if they know anything, their lives are at risk. I can't do that to them.

But I wish, with all my heart, that I could ask Travis to come with me. He has his mother and sister to look after, though, and putting him in that position, to choose between them and me, is out of the question.

A loud pounding pulls me from my thoughts. "Maddie, are you okay? Dinner's ready," my mom's voice carries through the door.

I tell myself again that this is my only option and force myself to suck it up and bury everything else, because they can't know the life altering decision I'm about to make.

Taking another deep breath, I relax my shoulders. I can do this. I can do this. "Yeah, Mom. I'll be right out." I push myself up from the bathroom floor and get to my feet.

Quickly fixing myself up, I wash my hands, drying them on my pants, but when I move to open the door, my hand pauses on the handle. I just need one more second to compose myself. One more second to wrap my mind around what's happening. My heart is pounding, but I paste on the best smile I can muster and open the door.

My mom is waiting for me on the other side. She wraps her arm around my shoulders, guiding me down the hall, and I take the time to look over at her, really look at her, and observe the things I'll miss, things I realize I've taken for granted. Like the kind smile and loving eyes she's giving me right now. She squeezes me closer, and I wrap my arms around her, hugging her tight as I fight to hold back my tears.