In my world, I am not allowed to chose parts of who I am. The government chooses for me. I have been living my 17 years as a person who cannot be my own. At birth, the government assigns everyone a disorder that will be ours until death, and there is nothing we can do to reverse it. We have these disorders because of a war between the people and the government that destroyed everything. After the government won, they decided to rebuild our nation for us. They also gave us these disorders to control us. That was 146 years ago.

However, one day an association called Step Closer to Independence, also known as the SCI, contacted my friends – Grayson, Emily, and Oliver –  and me. The SCI is an organization that has been discreetly plotting to overthrow the government since the day the war ended. They said that the four of us work very well together and our closeness would be perfect for breaking into a building. My government issued disorder is that I always do what I’m told, good or bad. Grayson is kind to everyone, so I’ve never seen him be rude to a living thing. Emily has a perfect memory, and Oliver, her twin, knows everything that happens in our world: past and present.

According to the SCI, we are an elite group of kids with disorders that are very compatible with each other. We have been at the same level at school for a long time, so we also know each other fairly well. However, nobody ever expected anything special from us – well, except for the twins, Emily and Oliver. They started school a year early because of their intelligence. Currently, we are completing our last year in school, and following graduation, we will choose the jobs that we will hold until our retirement. Everyone seems to have their lives put together; they already know what they are going to commit their lives to. Grayson and Oliver want to be teachers. Emily wants to be a lawyer. And me? I’m the exception to that statement. I don’t know what I want to be.

When the SCI contacted Oliver directly, we didn’t know what to think. The SCI doesn’t usually just reach out to a student They eventually asked all four of us to complete a task for them. They needed us to enter the offices of two of the government officials and use clues that had been collected by the SCI to delete a hard drive that housed the codes identifying and categorizing all of the citizens. By deleting this hard drive, we would be able to finally live normal lives without being forced into a specific job our whole lives and the government issued “disorders” would also be deleted from within us when the drive was destroyed. The SCI gave us a week to respond to their request for our services, and today our answer is due.

Grayson, Oliver, and Emily think we should do agree to work with the SCI because then we could have normal lives and jobs without being monitored all the time, but I don’t exactly trust this group. Why would they ask a bunch of underage kids to break into the world’s most secure government building and destroy everything they have worked on for 146 years? Don’t they have capable adult agents? They claim our unique “disorders” make us especially qualified for the task, but I also don’t see how that could be true. Regardless, I know that I have to agree, for others may be too weak or afraid to accept this challenge.

Emily, Oliver, Grayson and I all gather in the cave that we claimed when we were younger, an escape for kids who wish to step away from the constant surveillance in our world. Much taller now than we were when we first gathered here, all four of us cram inside the miniature cave with barely any space to move. We’ve all been collecting here since we were 6 years old. However, this meeting carries more weight than any of our childhood gathering; this time we need to contact the SCI and give them our answer on whether or not we will go into the government offices and delete the codes. We all sit on the rocks in the cave and discuss the problem at hand Oliver, Grayson, and Emily all vote “yes” without hesitation, and soon I say “yes” because I know that I have to; there is no better choice despite my uneasiness.

“Who’s going to call them?” questions Emily. “Oli, do you want to?”

“What do you think?” Oliver retorts sarcastically. “No, I don’t want to talk to them.”  

“Okay, what about you Gray – since Oli is too chicken to talk to the SCI?” Emily responds, only to be jabbed in the rib by her brother.

“I can’t. I’ll be way too nice and if we’re going to be doing such a hardcore task, I don’t think my disorder will show how well I can handle the gravity of the job” Grayson says, looking to me.

“Fine,” I scowl, “I’ll do it.” Oliver tosses me his phone, and I dial the number. “Hello, this is Samantha Sparks. I’m calling in regard to the task you want my friends and me to accomplish. We’ll do it,” I say, and my words or confirmation echo throughout the cave.

“Perfect! You are to begin the task tomorrow by breaking into the Parrington Government Office and searching for David Smith and Elizabeth Reyes. The receptionist will tell two of you where to go. The other two will listen-in through the provided wires until you hear the signal to go to the offices, where you’ll meet the other two. We will also give you the key needed to bust into the safe where the hard drive is kept. Get the hard drive and leave immediately with our assistance – we will be in contact with you throughout the process through the wires.” The line goes dead immediately after the woman is done speaking. I look around the cave where the puzzled faces of my friends question what happened. I tell them what the woman said, and we decide that Grayson and I will ask for the offices of Smith and Reyes while Emily and Oliver will go straight in. At seven o’clock, we leave the cave and go to our homes to get a good night’s rest in order to have the right headspace tomorrow. As soon as my head hits the pillow, sleep overcomes me.

The next morning at six in the morning, I dress in a flexible all black business outfit in preparation to ruin our government. I go to Grayson’s house first, and then we pick up Emily and Oliver. I’m the only one in the group that has a license, though Grayson will be getting his soon, so I drive. When we finally reach the building,  Grayson and I get to work right away. We go into the building and pretend to be important government officials who need to find David Smith and Elizabeth Reyes. When the receptionist explains the directions to their offices,  I discreetly signal to Emily and Oliver to enter. They blend in with the employees and sneak around to get to the offices. Emily and Oliver heard where the offices were and headed in that direction, not daring to look back at the people who worked here.

“Thank you,” Grayson says to the receptionist. We catch up to Emily and Oliver and go with them to the offices of Reyes and Smith. Emily, Oliver, and Grayson would do most of the talking in an attempt to locate the hard drive. Emily and Oliver would outsmart David and Elizabeth while Grayson would charm them with his kindness disorder. When the three of them walk into the offices and start speaking with  David and Elizabeth, and I sneak around a corner where I won’t be seen and listen to their conversation to try and get the hard drive that contains what we need to give to the SCI. Grayson charmed the guards in order to find where the hiding spot of the safe is with the help of compelling arguments claimed by Emily and Oliver. The hiding spot is in an underground building the government uses to hide important war weapons and historical findings.

When I turn my head around the corner, I duck behind a desk only to see armed guards coming towards the offices, towards my best friends. The guards pass me without noticing my hiding spot, and they continue to the offices. Seconds later, I ran towards the underground building Grayson got directions to with the key in hand. Then, I hear roaring shouting and thuds from the other room. I know what is happening, my childhood friends are being attacked. I freeze, unable to decide what to do. Should I save my best friends from the attack, or save the people in this nation from our corrupt government?

Part two of “The Safe” will be out in five weeks!