Young Adult dystopian WIP

It’s been a year since everything has changed. Dad says I’ve been cursed with my mom’s curiosity. I hardly think of it as a curse, or even curiosity. More a need for the truth. The day I lost mom was also the day Gentry introduced himself. It’s why I stand two feet from the shoreline, watching the gentle lap of black water reach for me then tug away. The stars reflect in the waters, disfigured and blurred. The moon is half-hidden behind the woods at my back. Was this where my mom had disappeared to? Did she ever make it to somewhere? Or had she died in those waters, leaving me to figure out her reasoning? To answer for her the question of why? Why did she leave? Why didn’t she talk to me first, tell me her plans, go with someone else so that she wasn’t alone? I would’ve gone with her, she had to have known that.

My sigh melts in the humidity, the hot air pulling out drops of sweat along the back of my neck. A crunch of twigs brings my eyes back in focus and I spin around. Part of my brain knows whoever it is can’t be a threat. White Coats are stealthier, quieter, and never give any indication of their approach.

Rezington emerges from the woods, nods once, then looks past me to the ocean. “Gentry told me you might be out here.” He walks a few paces before he stops to stand at my side. He’s a lot taller than me, and that’s saying something seeing as I’m not short. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and eyes me.

It’s no surprise, the words coming out of Rez’s mouth. Gentry is the oddest person I’ve ever met, so him knowing of my whereabouts is normal. Stranger still is that he’s an outsider. At least, he claims to be. The White Coats say he’s a man full of delusions that’s been living in Caligo all of his life. Just in the denser parts, a recluse to our society. With all the stories and strange items Gentry has shown us, and the fact I’ve started not to trust the White Coats and their unquestionable wisdom of the world outside Caligo, I ignore what they tell me and the others.

Before Gentry, everything in Caligo was always the same. It’s expected to be. No one dares to enter the Ocean That Never Ends. No one questions the White Coats and their stories about us being the last of mankind. We go to school, work on the next best invention, find someone to marry, and spend time growing a family. That’s the so-called natural flow of society.

I shrug my shoulders to Rez, as if it’s no big deal. He cranes his neck to look up at the stars, probably going over all the constellations. Mrs. Rivers has a test about them tomorrow.

“You know I won’t let you go, Levi,” he says, still keeping his attention on the sky.

I’m not sure what to say to this. It isn’t like Rez to keep me from something. He knows if I’m determined enough, I’ll find a way around him. So I don’t say anything, instead trying to figure out why he’s going to try and stop me and not join me. Unless his act the other day was a hoax, he seemed just as eager to tread over the Ocean That Never Ends to see if, in fact, it did.

He pulls out a small flashlight from his back pocket, flips it on, and points it at the water. “Not without me, anyway.”

I can’t help but smile a little at this. “We’re not ready.” I know I don’t need to remind him, that he’s been the eyes and ears of Gentry since the old man took us in to his stories of life outside of Caligo. It’s a death-sentence, what we’re thinking. Whether it’s us eventually dying at sea, or being caught by the White Coats, it’s a for sure thing life will never be the same again the moment we start heading down that path. The fact we’re even here, toes touching the edges of the ocean and no White Coat has come marching for us is more than a miracle.

For me, my life is pointless, directionless without mom. The idea of her being somewhere out there, waiting for me, lost, or worse . . . I have to know. The not knowing will kill me before anything else does. Even with my little sister Lyssa at home needing me as a crutch—her big brother that will always take care of her—I can’t just let life float by without knowing the truth.

The top of Rez’s shaved head gives off the moonlight as he shakes it. “We don’t got time, Levi.” He looks at me now and my stomach clenches at the fierceness in his eyes. “Gentry’s gone.”

“What?” I can feel my face crumple in confusion. “You said he told you I’d be here.”

“Yeah, by voice note.”

My mind races trying to piece together why Gentry would leave after coming to us with all of this information. Either it’s an elaborate trick, and nothing outside Caligo really exists and he doesn’t want us to hate him, or—more than likely—someone tipped the White Coats off. What if they had him imprisoned? What would they do to him if they found out the truth, learned that he really was from out there?

Rez rubs a hand over his chin, a signal he’s probably stressed and his brain is working overtime to find a solution to our problem. “We should go back. Reconvene with the others.”

I’m shaking my head fervently, ignoring the tickle of my hair it as it brushes against my cheeks. I know I shouldn’t be freaking out, but if it’s a matter of them taking Gentry and not the old man running off, then they’d be coming for us next. It’s the part of me that knows we really shouldn’t go back that’s causing my rapid breathing and panicked pacing. My boots sink into the mud with each step. “Lyssa. . . “

“Shouldn’t be involved. Come on, Levi, you know this. You knew this could happen. We’ve got to go. Why do you think no one’s patrolled out here while you’ve been here? What if they’re at our houses already? Waiting?” His voice dropped lower with each word. He’s starting to panic too. He has a family, just like me. Two younger brothers and his parents to think about, but he’s willing to just leave them in the hands of the White Coats.

I stop, one foot still in the air in mid-pace. Slowly, I set it down. The waters rush up around my ankles and drench the bottom of my pants, but I don’t care. In my head, all I see are White Coats, dozens of White Coats, invading my home, terrifying Lyssa, interrogating dad. Several thoughts bombard my brain at the same time, as usual. My first thought is to run, take to sprinting through the woods to home and get the White Coats off my property, away from Lyssa. The second thought, which overlaps the first, is to run the opposite direction, where our hide out and supplies are waiting for us, knowing that going back home won’t save Lyssa and dad, only the truth will. The third thought, which is practically a scream over the others, is to kill every single White Coat that exists.

Mom always did say my strongest quality was lack of rationale.

Only a second or so has passed and Rez still stands there, waiting for me to get through with my thought process. “No. I can’t just let them tear our families apart. Come on, Rez!” I practically spit back at him. My thoughts are zeroed in on Lyssa, though, not dad. Lyssa isn’t strong like mom. They’d break her.

It isn’t until this very moment I realize how hard it will be on her. I’m selfish. That’s my first thought again. I’m going to ruin Lyssa, she’ll never be the same. But my second thought circles my head, reminding me I’m also trying to find mom. If Lyssa has mom again, everything will be okay. We’ll know the truth. We’ll find out, soon enough. The third thought is still yelling “White Coats must die!”

Before I realize it, I’m walking back into the woods, The Ocean That Never Ends wading behind me. Rez falls in step at my side. He snatches a long stick from the ground mid-stride. I know Rez doesn’t want to go back, but he’s a good friend to have my back. The stick is a good idea, so I do the same, and in a matter of seconds, my world has been twisted inside out again. This time though, it might be my whole family I lose. And this time, it’ll be my fault.