Reborn

Reborn(kk) July 12th, 2073

My name is Adeline Forrest. I will turn 16 in 13 days.

In 13 days, I will be Reborn. In the Federal Americas, everyone is Reborn on their 16 birthday. They will be brought under the knife, injected with dozens of concoctions, and when they reemerge, they will be different. The same, but different.

Once you are Reborn, you will be stripped of your emotions. The Federalites say it is to protect and shield us from outer influence, international propaganda, and crime.

Once you are Reborn, you will become your own person. You will be assigned living quarters in a different sector. Always a different sector. The Federalites say it is to promote diverse genetics throughout your city, throughout the sectors.

Once you are Reborn, you will be assigned a career and a partner. The Federalites take your Test scores from the week before your Rebirth, and give you a career that is best suited to your strengths. They take your genetic traits and place them in a database, match you with a person who they think is best. It is the only way there can be a next generation. After all, love will be eradicated once you turn 16.

I don't know if I want to be Reborn, if I love it or hate it. But the Federalites say it will improve our society. So I suppose it is a good thing.

Still, I can't help but dream, at night, of a life where we remain ourselves, even after 16.


July 13th, 2073

Today was our last class before the semester ended. We will all be taking the Test in 2 days.

Emma is stressed. Both her older siblings did not do well on the test. Jack, at least, was lucky, he managed to pass because of his crafting skills; he was sent to Coal Sector 5 years ago. Emma hasn't heard from him since.

She never told me where Leon went, simply because she doesn't know. No one knows what happens to those who fail the Test. The Federalites say they are taken to a rehabilitation camp, to be trained and educated as lower-class workers or soldiers. But they don't tell us which sector they are sent to, or if they are ever released. I have not seen anyone who failed after they are taken by the Federalites.

I do not think I will fail. My teachers have always said I am talented in biology. Perhaps I will become a teacher, or a lab scientist. If I do well enough, they might even send me to the Elite Sector to work with the Federalites.

I can only hope that they will treat me well after my Rebirth.


July 14th, 2073

I saw a girl watching me today, on the way home from the beach with Emma. She was watching me from behind the trash cans, with pale purple hair. She was definitely older than 16.

Emma says I am going insane. There is no one on the streets, she said. Especially if she was older than 16. You know no one dyes their hair after they are Reborn; it's forbidden.

I know, I replied, but I swear she was watching me. Maybe she was a Forbidden, an escapee from the law. Maybe the rumors are true.

Emma just laughed at me. You know the Forbidden don't exist, Addie. No one escapes the Federalites. They are just stories created by rebellers, the delusional.

I can only smile and nod. Perhaps I am going insane, after all.

There are no Forbidden.


July 15th, 2073

10 days until my birthday.

I took the Test today. I think I did well. I answered nearly every question on the subject papers. I didn't fall during my physical.

Pleasedon'tfailmepleasedon'tfailmepleasedon'tfailme.

I saw the girl again, clearly, on my way home. This time she was watching me from around the block, hidden in an alleyway. I chased after her, but by the time I reached the alley she was long gone.

She may be a figment of my imagination. But I don't think so.

I can't help but be intrigued. Even as she ran away from me, there was a freedom to her that disappears once you are Reborn. I have never seen a Reborn run so freely, in all my life. And her hair, a brilliant hue of lavender, flying in the wind. For a single, splitting moment, I want to be her.

I expel the idea immediately. Even thinking about things like this can account to treason. And I don't want to be sent to prison.

I remember what Emma said to me. There are no Forbidden, Addie.

There are no Forbidden.


July 16th, 2073

She spoke to me.

She spoke to me.

The girl with the lavender hair.

Spoke to me.

I must be out of my mind.


July 17th, 2073

Her name is Liah, she said.

She ran away from home 3 days before her birthday, with the help of her friends.

The Forbidden are real.

The Forbidden are real, and I am standing in one of their hideouts right now.

There are 4 others. All of them have multi-colored hair, grey and pink and green and purple and black. Anna, Cassia, Elle, Liah, and Sakura.

The Forbidden are real.

They said that they are just one of hundred of groups, scattered across the sectors. They hide right under the nose of the Federalites. Always watching.

We've seen you around, Adeline. We've seen the terror in your eyes every time someone mentions your 16th birthday. We've seen the disgust you feel when you look at the Reborn. We've seen the longing in you, for a chance at freedom.

We know you don't agree with the Federalites.

Come with us, they said. You won't ever be touched by the Federalites.

The Forbidden are real.

I shake my head furiously. This is a test. Everything is a test. There have been stories of Federalites pretending to be rebellers, to root out those disloyal to them.

They must be undercover agents.

The Forbidden are real.

No, Adeline, we aren't. We aren't. Please trust us. We know you want to.

Why do I trust them?


July 18th, 2073.

I meet with Liah and Cassia, at night, in the alley behind my house. Anxiety courses through me as we head down the road, darting behind corners, slinking along the wall.

I notice the way they carry themselves, with a certain air of youth that I have never seen before. It looks good on them.

We slip into an old building, quietly, through a window. Head down to the basement.

I am shocked.

The scent of alcohol washes over me. Smoke floating through the air.

Forbidden line the walls, whispering and laughing, with wild, frenzied eyes and carefree expressions.

And for the first time in my life, I feel at home.


July 19th, 2073

My Test scores arrived today. Even though I know I will not be Reborn, I look at it anyways.

I passed with flying colors.

I will be sent to the Elite Sector to study and work with the Federalite geneticists, to enhance and improve the Rebirth procedure.

Doubt creeps into the back of my mind. For a moment, I am content. I will be regarded well as a Federalite. My life will be comfortable. I will undoubtedly be matched with someone who scored well as well.

But then I see my father's empty eyes, the lack of care in my mother's voice, and I know. I cannot live like this, not after seeing what life could be like.

I won't live like this.

I won't.


July 20th, 2073

5 days.

5 days until I leave home.

5 days until I escape the Federalites.

5 days until freedom.

5 days.


July 21st, 2073

I sneak out after dusk again. The girls have news for me.

They don't trust me not to get caught yet, not by myself. So they send Liah to come pick me up. She teaches me how to find the shadows, how to avoid the cameras, how to walk on roofs and climb along pipes.

We reach the hideout easily. And I find out what it is they want to tell me.

There's a party tomorrow, a big one.

They rarely happen, says Liah. These big-scale parties are hard to organize, hard to hide. But they still happen.

Excitement clouds any fear I have. I think back to the hidden basement, the taste of vodka on my lips, smoke filling my lungs, forbidden books and games in my own two hands. Then I look at the girls' eager eyes.

I can't wait.


July 22nd, 2073

We hike along the forest for miles until we reach an old cabin. Head down to the basement, like last time.

A massive crowd of people spinning around in the room, laughing and dancing and talking. The all-too-familiar scent of alcohol and smoke fills my nose, and I think I am in paradise.

And then I am in hell.

Federalites burst through the doors, guns blazing and lights flashing. Screams explode around the room. But there is only one entrance and one exit.

We are trapped.

I am locked in chains almost immediately, shoved to the ground. Fear blossoms through my chest and I think, this is it.

I turn to look at the girls. Were my suspicions true? Were they really just undercover?

Then I see the fear and horror on their faces and I know, I know they were not lying.

I am dragged to my feet, forced out the door and up the stairs and into a massive truck already filled with other people. Soon the truck is loaded. They slam the door.

Smoke fills the air all too quickly. But this isn't the smell of the smoke in the basement, of fruits and burnt air. No, this is sticky, like honey, cloyingly sweet. It fills my lungs and forces everything out of my head until the world is spinning before my eyes and I fall into darkness.


July 23rd, 2073

I hear them talking behind my door. I do not know why, but I was sent back to my house after the raid, unlike everyone else. They locked my in my room, shackled me to my bed, only letting me out to use the washroom and eat.

I am terrified.

And then I hear what the person is saying.

She would have underwent the operation tomorrow, anyways, they said. It would be a shame to send her to prison, especially with her talent.

Dread pools in my stomach. Nononono.

We are feeling merciful. We will allow her to go through the operation anyways. She will be allowed a second chance.

I scream. They burst into my room, slam me back onto my bed as I flail and struggle.

I won't live like that. I'd rather be sent to prison.

Shut up, they hiss. Stab something into my arm. The world explodes in a kaleidoscope of color.

Pleasedon'ttakemepleasedon'ttakemepleasedon't-


July 24th, 2073

I am Adeline Forrest. I am 16 years old.

Tomorrow I will be leaving for the Elite Sector, where I will meet my Partner. I look forward to it.

Being Reborn is refreshing. It feels as though I am looking at the world through a pane of frosted glass.

I cannot remember anything from a few days ago. It is odd. The doctors told me it was a result of the Rebirth.

I only remember a featureless girl with pale purple hair, flying in the wind. But I know it is just my mind playing tricks on me. No one is allowed to have dyed hair after the Rebirth except those who have fled from the law. But they don't exist.

There are no Forbidden.

Long live the Federal Americas.