5:45, my alarm goes off. Dazed, I get up and stagger over to my balcony, grabbing coffee along the way. I stand at the edge, taking small sips as I look over at my sleeping city. The “Welcome to Water Sector, 3” sign keeps flicking on and off. I made a mental note to fix that. I glance over to my far right and see my best friend, Fire, step onto her balcony. I wave to her as the other two, Soil and Air, come out onto their balconies. I signal that the Prime Minister hasn’t gotten up yet and quickly get changed. A few minutes later we all meet up at the corner of the air and fire sectors, the only place where there aren’t any security cameras. At least inside the gates. A plane flies over us across the red, rusty sky–which has not turned blue yet because the prime minister isn’t awake yet to turn it on–waving a banner that says “83rd Annual Cleansing, in one week!” “It can’t come soon enough” I sigh.

“Yeah, by this time tomorrow, we would already be at Earth!” Fire exclaims, her bright red hair lights on fire in excitement. Every year, on our planet Reath, has a day where the current four leaders of  the elemental sectors–water, fire, soil and air–go back to Earth and try to clean up the historical event called the “damage” No one knows who caused it, but many people, called the uprising who live beyond the border, suspect that it was the government’s idea to destroy Earth so that they could gain control of another planet for money. They try everything that they can to destroy this word and make it non-profitable. So basically, more like Earth. The four leaders, meaning us, go because we are the strongest ones in our elemental power, due to genetic disturbance in our DNA, which is very rare because it takes a whole year for the medicine that the scientist developed to kick in, and for most people, it doesn’t even work.

On my way back to my mansion, I start the central fountain, which wakes up the entire city. I go inside and start to get ready for my meeting with the Prime Minister. Suddenly, a large boom goes off, somewhere outside. I look outside, and the fire sector was up in flames. Ok I thought nothing unusual. Shrugging, I return back inside. Then I hear shouts from my own people. Racing back out onto the balcony, I scan the horizon. People from my sector were lining up and spraying water onto the Fire Sector. A teleprompter projects onto the government designed sky, stating that there has been a bombing in the fire sector. I gasped and covered my mouth. With no time to spare, I jumped out of the balcony and let my water “powers” create a path for me to get across my sector and over to the fire sector.

Finally, when I reached, the smoke was unbearable. I took my shirt and covered my nose and mouth and continued in. Looking for Fire, I ran past many families stuck in their homes, trying to escape, but I didn’t have anytime to help them. I turned the corner and let out a sharp gasp. In an awkward position, Fire was sitting, her trademark smirk was on her face. But she was not breathing. I let out a sob and went over to her. A million thoughts raced in my head. What about the Cleansing? We can’t go if someone isn’t there! What is going to happen to the people who are currently on Earth? Their food supply won’t last long, they will starve to death. In the midst of my thoughts, I saw something, big and bulky, poking out of her pocket. Lifting her arm, I pulled it out. Unfolding it, I realized it was a huge piece of cloth, but not just any. It was some of the country flags that Earth use to have. Going back to 5th grade, I tried remembering some. There was America, Brazil, Greece, India, Japan, Spain, China and the others I couldn’t recognize. I flipped it over and my stomach dropped. Scrawled across the back were the words “Earth forever.” It was the uprising. It had to be. But how did they get in, the gate it well guarded? I looked at Fire who was laying on her back now, dead, gone forever. Their rebellion has just begun.

It all started on a crisp October morning. My converse slapped the pavement as I hurried down the sidewalk, wisps of my copper colored hair slipping out of my once-perfect ponytail. I turned the corner, to see crowds of students filtering into the school. All at once everything fell silent. The sound tore through the school, leaving chaos in its wake.  The single earsplitting scream that changed everything. It penetrated my eardrums; pulsing through every inch of my skull. My muscles went limp, and my throat was suddenly dry.  My hands instinctively clutched the side of my head, the tips of my nails puncturing my caramel skin.

Even as other students collapsed around me, I faltered towards the sound. Silence settled over the school, and my headache reduced to a dull thud. My vision blurred, and each step begged me to fall. I stared down at my spotless white shoelaces as the rough concrete merged into cushiony blades of grass. I took a shaky breath, trying to remind myself to breathe. I continued to stumble forward, passing students who had fainted only a few moments before. A circle of bodies lied peacefully in the dew covered grass, surrounding a little blonde girl. She was different. Her chest didn’t rise and fall like the others. Her faded blue eyes were glazed over with a glassy film, her once pale skin now the same color as her distant eyes. Her lips were slightly parted, a trail of blood running down the length of her chin. A lump formed in the base of my throat, my bottom lip quivered, and a single tear slipped down my cheek.

It swept across the country in a matter of weeks. That innocent 10 year-old was the first. The first out of millions to die. There are only a fraction of others like me, immune to the virus that claimed 98% of America’s children. There aren’t many of us left anymore, and although the disease isn’t a threat, we’ll never be safe.