Shymers by Jen Naumann Read Free Book Online Page A

Free Lands and he had even heard of safe ways to cross over the border. Though I wanted that kind of carefree life for my children, I was too afraid of being caught. I was afraid of messing up somehow and having all of you placed in suspension for the rest of your lives. Worse yet, I was afraid all of you would be placed in an orphanage.”
    I gaped at her. My quiet mother never once spoke out against Society, or spoke of her hopes and fears. “Please,” she pleaded. “Don’t do this, Harrison. Don’t go. It’s too dangerous.”
    I balled my fists up and squeezed my eyes tight to stop the tears from coming. “I don’t want to leave you so close to your DOD, but you have no idea how frustrating it is to sit around and count down the days until my entire family is taken away from me. It’s killing me! Maybe if I joined the Rebels…”
    “They won’t be able to do anything soon enough, Harrison. Our time left is very limited, and I want my son to be with me up to the end.” She slipped her fingers through mine and gave me a glowing smile. But there was no hiding the sadness that had settled in her eyes. “I’m asking you to stay—for me.”
    So I agreed to stay. My friend Edgar still left the next morning as we had planned. Days afterward I heard that he didn’t make it to the border before he was caught and placed in suspension. There were even rumors circulating at school that he would be put to death. A new guilt formed with this news—guilt for not going with my friend and for letting him go alone when I probably could have helped.
    Days before my family’s DOD, my parents pulled Simon and Claire from school to work on the things they wanted to do before they died. I refused to make a playlist for myself, only because Society expected it from us. I was not going to do something the very system I hated told us we should do.
    The morning I knew they would die, I begged my mother to let me stay home from school. My parents refused, knowing I would be suspended for doing so. Our goodbyes that morning at the shuttle were laced with tears. I shook so badly I could hardly stand when my father and mother each hugged me. Before the shuttle tore me away from them, my father handed me the pack with Grandpa Red’s book inside.
    “Keep this hidden somewhere safe,” he said. “There is a lot of history in this book that can’t be forgotten. It’s important you don’t forget who you are, Harrison.”
    I was unable to speak through my tears and nodded, clutching the pack to my chest. My mother reached up to throw her arms around my neck, bringing me close. “Don’t run, Harrison. I know you are angry at Society and you have your Grandpa Red’s ideas floating around up there in your head, but I don’t want you to die for a cause that will never amount to anything. Try to live the rest of your life happy, my sweet boy. Be brave.”
    The last time I ever saw my little sister, she was grinning from ear to ear and waving wildly at me. I waved back although my heart was breaking into a million pieces.
    That day was excruciatingly long. It was difficult not to break down during lessons with the reality that I would never see my family again. Once school was finished, I ran the entire way from the shuttle to our home, my heart hammering wildly in my chest and tears blurring my path. When I reached the spot where our house should have been, there was nothing more than a pile of metal and ashes. My entire life was gone. All that remained of my family was the pack I held with my grandfather’s book.
    Since their deaths, I have mostly kept to myself, making only a handful of new friends. Living in an orphanage is the nightmare I had expected. I have very little to look forward to with each day that passes, inching me closer to my DOD. My hatred for Society has grown sevenfold. The only thing keeping me from running is my mother’s final wish.
     
    * * *
     
    I stand in line for the tasteless breakfast I have learned to