The Choice
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
I jump awake from the sudden noise. I look over to my clock that rests near my bedside, 2:53 A.M. A groan escaping my lips as I turn on my lamp. The light, a warm yellows blinding me for a second. As I try to regain my sight I leave my bed for the door. Who could possibly need me at this hour? I open the door to find Jaxsk standing there, a look of panic standing in place of his usual calm demeanor. It wasn’t helping that the rain from outside made his gold colored hair plaster against his forehead. “Oh uh, hey Jaxsk…can I help you? It’s late y’know.”
I only received the same look of terror as a response. “Oh uh, ok. if you don’t mind…I don’t want you to get hit with the door.” I point as I slowly begin to close the door.
“Wait!” he yelps as he places his foot in the doorframe.“Let me in please.”
“What?”
“Let me in. Please.”
As I try to piece together what Jaxsk Rabisison could possibly want inside my dorm I feel a gentle push, nothing that could make me fall but just enough to move me out of the doorframe so that he could slip inside.
“Uh, what are you doing? Jaxsk, don’t you know the time?”
“Yeah, I do. But this is important, I have no where to go and I knew you would be up.” I noticed that even with him trying to hide it, the look of fear was still written on his face. He has always been terrible at hiding his anxiety.
“But I wasn’t up, you banging on the door is what woke me!”
“Either way, you’re up. I need your help.”
“With what?” I asked, confused and annoyed by the actions of someone I used to know. Jaxsk stood silent, staring at me again, but this with a look of disgust mixed with disappointment. “Jaxsk, tell me or I’ll call security to kick you out, it’s 2:53 in the morni-” “We were selected, Marisol.” The sentence made me stop dead in my tracks. “What?” I somehow manage to say with a soft laugh, but it doesn’t sound real, not even to my own ears. Jaxsk has now begun pacing my room, explaining his plan or maybe it’s the planet we were assigned, I’m not sure. I stopped listening, how am I supposed to listen after learning that I could die? While it’s supposed to be an “honor” when you're selected as a trainee to fulfill one of NASA missions, in reality it’s a death sentence. Time and time again, trainees have disappeared or been killed while on these missions. Even so, NASA still sends two “lucky” trainees they believe will have the best chance of survival each year to a planet they need more information on, these planets are always planets that no human has ever stepped on due to dangerous circumstances. I’ll forever be seventeen. “Marisol! Hey! Hello? Snap out of it! Are you listening? This is serious, we need to get out of this or we die!” “How do you even know this? We weren’t supposed to learn this until the morning!” “I couldn’t sleep, I was too worried about my name being called out during the selection ceremony.” He paused, seeming to debate whether or not he should tell me the information that seemed to be the most important. “I broke into Head Ravank’s office.” “You what? What made you think that was a good idea?” “I thought I hadn’t gotten selected. I needed confirmation!” “Yeah well, you got the opposite.” “So did you! We’re in this together Marisol, the sooner you understand that the sooner we can get out of this death trap!” He did have a point. If we don’t do anything, we would die, but running away would disgrace my family. I had to make a choice, one that no matter what I choose will end badly. Jaxsk is staring at me expectingly, as if this is the easiest decision he’s ever made. He doesn’t have to worry about dishonoring his family, his father can just pay someone to erase his history, as if he had never ran away. I on the other hand am not as unfortunate. “What are you waiting for? Are you in or are you just accepting death?” “I don’t know, either way I lose.” “Lose! Because escaping this program is such a terrible thing!” he remarked sarcastically. “It is when you can’t have daddy paying off the world to hide your history!” “Excuse me? Marisol, you have no idea what I-” BANG BANG BANG The door shuts us both up. The bangs getting continuously louder.. BANG BANG BANG. “If you do not open the door in the next minute, I’ll use the master key.” It was security. “I’m sorry sir, one moment so that I can tidy myself!” I call out loud enough so that I can be heard through the thick wood that my door was made out of. “What are you doing?” Jaxsk answered, the fear he was trying to hide showcasing on his face for the world to see. “Under the bed. Now. You know the rules, no guests in dorms after midnight.” I whisper, careful to try and not make any alarming sounds. “You’re going to get us killed!” He shouts as I try to cover his mouth while pushing him under my bed. “Keep talking and you’ll be the reason we get killed.” I announce. I lower my blankets so you can’t see the gap between my bed and the floor, you can’t see Jaxsk at all. I walk over to my door and brace myself for whatever is with the security guard on the other side. As I open the door I see the security guard, whose name I never learned, standing with a gem on a cushion. “Hello. Is something wrong?” “Uh yes. Mind if I come in for a little?” Crap. “Of course not, why don’t you take a seat at the table.” “I’m sorry to wake you in the middle of the night, but no one can know that I’m here.” “Why?” “It’s complicated,” his voice broke, but only for a second “you’ll need this on your journey.” I look at the gem he’s gesturing too, it seems to be emerald. “What journey?” “You and a boy named Jaxsk were selected. You two will be leaving for the planet Persa tomorrow. This year they’ll be placing you both on the rocket after the selection ceremony. They’re not waiting this year like they usually do. They’re scared you both will run away.” “What’s stopping me from running now?” He stands at this question.“Cameras. Everyone is watching your every move.” As he talks, he slowly moves away from the table and towards my bedside, “For example, I know that you’re hiding Jaxsk under your bed. He was trying to convince you to run with him, and you considered it.” Then the security guide whose name I wish I remembered lifted the blankets to reveal Jaxsk, curled in a ball with an expression mixed with fear and anger. “Don’t worry, I already erased the tapes as well as temporarily shut down the cameras. You both won’t live if you run, they’ll shoot you. What you have to do is take the mission just like everyone else has. But-” “Are you crazy? Why would we go on a suicide mission?” Jaxsk yelled, demanding answers crawled out from under the bed. “I’m not going to sit by and let them take my future away from me! Neither will Marisol!” Why is he involving me? “If you don’t listen, you’ll ruin your own future kid. The only way to survive is to do the mission.” “But how?” I ask, frozen in my seat at the table. “The gem. You can’t let anyone know you were given it, they’ll take it from you.” “What’s so special about a stupid emerald?” Jaxsk questioned. “It’ll just save you kid, especially with the planet you’ve been assigned too. Take it with you onto the rocket and you’ll survive the mission.” “And how do we know you're not lying?” “You don’t, but I do. Cameras will return to normal in five minutes. Better get back to sleep.” Without another word, he left. I walk over to the gem, larger than any gem in a ringy but still compact. The green of it was deep, with lighter shades of green swelling inside of the emerald. I had never seen anything like it before. “Jaxsk, go back to your dorm.” “You really believe him?” “What other choice do we have? Go before the cameras turn back on.” Jaxsk glared at me before moving to the door. “I hope you’re making the right decision.” “You were never here.” managed to slip off my lips before he shut the door. I stand alone in my room, suddenly aware of the weight of my situation. As I look up I see the cameras that fill my room, none have the red blinking light on. I rush over to my bed and place the gem under my pillow. After turning off the lamp and getting myself back to bed I notice the small red light of the cameras begin to blink again.