~ Day before Ceremony ~

"Mom, can I just stay home today?" I ask. With her eyes still on the TV she answers with a 'why?' "Because, I don't really feel like going to school the day before the ceremony." Mom blinks a few times.

"Oh... Is that tomorrow? I didn't even realize." She says, holding the remote tightly in her hand. I get up from the couch and take it from her.

"Be careful, you're gunna break this thing one day." I say and give a little chuckle. But she doesn't.

"... Y/n..."

"Yea?" I ask in a quiet voice.

"... I've been thinking a lot about this. With the ceremony being tomorrow. Us having our doubts that you'll live... And I just thought that maybe..." She takes a deep breath and turns to face me. "You need to run away." My eyes practically bulge out of my sockets.

"I'm sorry, what?!" I shout. "Mom, do you know how dangerous that is? Not only will I be killed, but you will too if they find out you helped me." She shushes me.

"Honey, I'd take that risk. I've already lived my life. And a life without you in it isn't a world I want. If I die helping you, then that's a risk I'm willing to take."

"But that's not a risk I'm willing to take. I don't want my last few moments with you to be last ones permanently." Angry tears start to form in my eyes. How could she want to give her life for my own? "Can't you leave with me?"

She shakes her head slowly. "No, I'd only slow you down. Besides, the day I gave birth to you is the day I committed to making sure you have the most fulfilling live. You can't have that if your journey ends here. The day your father left us was the darkest day of my life and I made a promise to myself that I'd never leave you alone. But, in order to save your life I have to break that promise."

"Mom, you can't be serious."

"When it comes to making sure you're safe and well, I'm always serious. Y/n, I know you don't like this idea, but please, you can't really be ok with giving your life away that easily?" I sigh and sit down next to her.

"Mom... Of course I'm not. But, there's not much I can do."

"Run away." She offers. I frown.

"I can't leave you alone. Sooner or later they'd find out you helped me. I don't wanna live knowing you'd die because of me." She places her hand on top of my own. I slip my hand into hers and give it a squeeze. I look up at her tears in my eyes. "And if they don't, who'd take care of you? I don't want you to be alone." She gives me a sad smile and places her know on my face, wiping away the year that fell from my eye.

"Knowing that you'll be ok is good enough for me. I don't mind being alone in this house. Besides, I know you'll come back for me."

~ Day of the ceremony ~

I straighten out my shirt and fix my pockets. I grab my bag in begin piling in clothes that I'll wear outside. After, I put in a small first aid kit, a knife, a few water bottles, and a few granola bars. I zip it up and sling it over my shoulders.

"Y/n! Are you ready?!" My mom yells.

"Yea..." I mumble. I take one last look around my room before stepping outside and closing the door. I walk down the stairs where my mom is waiting. She sees me and starts fiddling with her sleeve.

"Here, " She says as she hands me a folded piece of paper. "It's a map. It only shows so far outside the city, but it should help a little bit." I take it and slip it in my back pocket.

"Thanks mom."

"You're welcome." She brings me into a hug. "Oh, I'm going to miss you so much." She breathes out.

"I'll miss you too." She releases me from the hug and fix her shirt.

"Ok, let's go... We can't be late." I hum and walk with her out the door.

~ Time skip ~

As we pull up to the place where the ceremony is being held, I see many of my mom's friends there with their own kids. Even with them introducing me to their kids, they never liked me.

Mom puts the car in park and unlock the doors but doesn't move. I see beads of sweat begin to form on her forehead and her hands begin to tremble.

I grab her hand. "I'll be ok." I whisper.

She looks at me and shakes her head. "I know you will. I'm just worried whether or not you'll come back." I let out a little chuckle.

"Of course I will. You're my best friend and my mom. I could never leave you alone." She smiles at me and let's out a breath.

"Ok," She says. "Let's go."

"Should I leave this in the car?" I ask, holding my bag in my hand.

"No, take it with you. If you leave it in here, I don't think you'd be able to run back here to get it."

"Ok..." I open the door and step out of the car. My mom does the same and closes the door. I slam mine shut and sling the straps on my shoulders. We begin our walk into the building where the ceremony will begin.

On our walk there, my mom's friend and her child catch up to us.

"Oh my god! Bev, is that you?" She screeches to my mom. My mom flinches. She's never really liked this women, she just doesn't wanna be rude.

"Oh Selena, what a surprise. I figured you'd be inside already." Selena waves her off.

"Nonsense! I didn't want to miss you. I just knew you'd take your time getting here because I knew you want to spend as much time with Y/n as possible, just in case." She explains, subtly throwing shade at me. She knows I'm going to die. Her focus shifts towards me. "Oh Y/n! Look at you, you've grown so much."

"Not really." I say. Her smile almost falls until it's like she suddenly remembered she has a child of her own.

"You remember my son, Tobio right?" She asks, gesturing to her son who's just standing there awkwardly. I give him a little wave and he does the same.

"How could I forget? You tried setting us up when we were 10." I tell her. Only reason she stopped was because as I got older, she could just tell I wasn't gunna make it through.

She gives a little giggle. "Oh, yes, I just thought you two would make a cute couple." Again, we were 10.

"Uh huh." I say, not really caring what she thought. My makes takes a deep breath.

"Well, we better get inside." She says grabbing my hand.

"Oh, yes! See you guys later." I roll my eyes. I lean over to my mom.

"When I come back she better be dead or you are no longer her friend and you make it clear." My mom laughs.

"Please, I'd love to, but the women can't stand being told no. Might have to wait until she kicks the bucket and the devil can have her." We both laugh, as the people around us state at us strangely. Because how dare us have a good time before I leave?

We get settled in our seats and I place my bag on my lap. As more people come pouring in, I become more nervous.

What if they catch me before I can make it out of the city? What if they find out my mom helper me and I have to see her die? What if-

"Everything will be ok." My mom whispers. "I'm sure of it." She adds.

In that moment, the lights are dimmed and single light is on upon the stage. A man walks up on the stage and clears his throat. He takes a microphone from his jacket and taps on it.

"Welcome, " He says. "I know none of you want to hear me talk and just want to get on with it. But, you must be patient. For several of you, this will be your child's last day. Others, your child gets to live. But, no matter what happens, you will not blame anyone else but yourself and your child. Now some of you may not know how our system works."

"This guy talks too much." I mumble.

"Yep."

"Your child will get into a line that goes with their gender: boy or girl. And then when they get up to the front, a guard will ask them their name. Once they give their answer they will be looked up on our computers. Parents, if you remember, you were supposed to write down your child's accomplishments down. If you didn't, oops, kiss your child goodbye. We are a city, a country where slackers do not have a place in our world. So, they must be eliminated." He continues to talk about how this is for the good of humanity. What a bunch of bullshit.

"Is he almost done?" I whisper to myself. My mom grabs my hand.

"He can speak all he wants..." She says. My face relaxes and I give my mom's hand a squeeze.

"Alright! It's time!" The man announces. "Children, please say goodbye to your parents than please get into two lines."

I stand up and so does my mom. Teary eyed, she open her arms.

"Come give me one last hug." I smile and give my mom a hug. While hugging her I watch as other kids part from their parents and walk up to the desks they have set up. I release my mom from the hug. "I love you, Y/n." She says with a sad smile.

"I lo-"

"Come on we don't have all day!" Someone yells and roughly grabs me by my arm. I turn around to see a man in a uniform with a gun on his hip. I trying to pull my arm from his grip but his grip is too tight. He throws me into the girls line and walks away.

I stumble and run into someone.

"Watch it!" A voice yells in irritation. I look up to see Ashley glaring down at my figure. I roll my eyes.

"Whatever."

"Oh it's you." She says with a grin. "I don't know why you're going throughout the line. We already know you aren't going to make it. Might as well make everyone's jobs easier and kill yourself right now.". I narrow my eyes at her.

"Aren't you funny? Y'know if you make it through this you should become a comedian. Considering your life's a joke. You could tell people about that, make everyone laugh." I snarl. She glares at me and flips her hair, almost hitting me in the face. "Do that again and I'll rip you hair extensions out."

"Please, my hair is all natural."

"All natural ingredients? How lovely." She scoffs and turns back around.

"Let's see who's laughing when you're told you're gunna die." She says, folding her arms over her chest.

The line quickly moves and during that time I saw more kids run back to their parents with tears. I'm guessing they get to live because no one tried to stop them. Ashley is up and she tells the man her name.

"Ashley Sano." She tells the man, making sure to push up her boobs to make them appear bigger than they actually are.

The man types sometimes into the computer and after a few clicks he looks up. "Head out back. Sorry kid, but you haven't done enough." He tells her. "Next."

She freezes and stands there. After awhile she begins to shake uncontrollably. Tears fall from her face as she grips her hair.

"No, no, no, no, no, this can't be happening! There must be some kind of mistake!" She yells and slams her hands down on the desk. "There is NO way you've got the right profile! Do you know who I am?!" The man just sighs and motions for someone over.

Another man walls over and the man at the desk points to Ashley. The man nods and walks to her.

"Ma'am, I need you to-"

"No! Don't fucking touch me! I'm not going anywhere wi-" The man pulls out a taser and uses it her. She falls down. The man then picks her up and throws her over his shoulder, finally walking away and out the back door.

"Next," I turn back to the man at the desk. I slowly walk up to him.

"Uh... Y/n L/n." I nervously tell him. He begins typing away at his computer. After a few minutes looks up at me.

He nods his head. "Please head out back." I begin to tremble as I make my way to the back.

I always knew I wasn't going to make it, but actually hearing it is so much different. I grip the straps of my bag tightly. I push open the door and almost run into someone's back. I look ahead and see its a line... A line to their deaths.

Sweat begins to run down my face.

When is a good time to run? Now? Ehh.

I look to the front of the line and see a boy hit over the head with the butt of a gun. He falls forward, but instead of falling on the ground he falls into a pit. I can only imagine what's inside.

The boy in front of me jumps and trembles. His black hair drenched from his sweat. Wait..

"Kageyama?" I ask, unsure. He turns around. Yes, it's Kageyama!

"L/n?" His eyes show relief and he gives me a smile filled with fear. "I'm so glad to see you." He says, which is something he wouldn't normally say.

"Kags," I say sternly. "I need you to answer this question honestly, ok?" He slowly nods his head, beckoning me to continue. "Ok. Do you wanna run away with me?"

His eyes widen. "L/n, we can't! We could get killed!"

I roll my eyes and grip his shoulders. "If we stay here, we will still die!" I tell him. "Do you wanna stay and have a 100% guaranteed death or do you wanna try to run and escape?"

He looks at me then turns around just in time to see a girl get hit with the butt end of a gun and fall into the pit. He watches as gasoline is poured into the pit.

They're gunna burn the bodies? So our families can't even give us a proper burial?

He turns back to me, determined. "Ok," He says. "I'll go with you. But, if we die I blame you." I grab his hand.

"Jokes on you, I can deal with that because I'll also be dead." I give him a wink. "Ok, so from what I know, there are guards on the end of the city. All guards are 10 feet away from each other give or take."

"Ok? What does that-"

"Well if you'd shut up and stop questioning me and let me finish you'd know." I snap and then sigh. "Sorry, I'm just a little nervous... Also kinda scared."

"... It's fine, I understand." I give him a weak smile and then continue.

"So, since the guards are that far apart we need to make sure we aren't so close to them. I know this sounds stupid and doesn't make sense but trust and hold my hand the whole time. Ok?" His grip on my hand tightens. "Fucking go-" I wheeze.

We run out of the line which gets everyone's attention.

"Hey! Stop them!" Someone shouts. Soon after that, gun shots are heard. I can hear them hitting the things around us which makes me run faster. Kageyama has a bit of trouble keeping up with me but I make sure he doesn't let go.

- Mama Bear's P. O. V -

As I open the door to leave I hear the sounds of gun shots and shouts. I clench my fists.

God dammit Y/n, gunna give your poor mom a heart attack.

I quickly rush out of the building and head to my car. I unlock it and swing the door open and sit down, sitting down and closing the door locking it. I sit there for a second and chuckle.

"Y/n, don't stop running." I say and start the car. I drive back home and when I arrive I get out of the car without parking it in its correct spot.

I hustle into the house and lock the door behind me. I head straight to Y/n's room. I swing the door open and begin going through everything.

Everything that I feel that has sentimental value to her I pick it up and set it in a pile. I pick up a stuffed dog her uncle gave her before he died and smile weakly at it.

You would be proud of the women she is today...

I place it in the pile and continue to go through her things. I find an old diary she kept when she started middle school. I opened it and I saw all the words she felt that day.

Sadness, happiness, excitement, and nauseous.

She was so nervous to start. I chuckle at the memory and place it in the pile. After a while, I find all the things I feel she'd want to see again I get up and go to my room to grab something.

I grab paper and a pencil and begin to write. When I'm done, I fold it up and put it in my pocket. Next, I head down to the basement to get a chest we kept. I don't remember when I got it or why I have it but now I'm glad it's here. I have trouble picking it up and carrying it to Y/n's room but I manage.

I set it down and begin placing the things inside. And then with the last item, the note, inside I shut and lock the chest. I push the chest out of her room and down the stairs without damaging it. I unlock the door and swing it open. I push the chest out the front door and into our backyard. I take deep breathes then go to the garage to grab a shovel. I dig a hole but enough for it to fit and deep enough where it won't be found. I throw the shovel down and push the chest in it. It falls and lands with a thud. I walk over to the dirt pile and begin covering the chest with it. I dust myself off when I'm done.

Oh the key...

I look around our yard, thinking of a place where Y/n would find it and no one else.

I know...

- Your P. O. V -

As we continue to run, I could see the end of the city limit. As in, that's how far anyone could go. I make sure I have a good grip on Kageyama's hand and make my legs go faster.

"Stop! Stop them now!" Someone from behind us shouts. The guards at the city limit don't hear their comrades shouts and we run past them. More gun shots go over and then I hear Kageyama scream in pain.

"Ah, shit!" He yells. I turn to look behind me to see blood soaking in his pant leg. My eyes widen and pull him closer to me as we run.

"Don't give up now Kags, not yet. We're almost there." I wheeze out. My lungs burn and my legs feel weak from running so far and for so long.

Once we get to the point of no return, we both hide behind a busted and broken down car.

I can still hear shouts from the guards, telling each other to spread out and find us. I place my hand over my mouth to keep my breathing quiet. I lean my head on Kageyama's shoulder.

"C... Can you walk or run any further?" I ask, still cat hung my breath. He slowly nods his head. "Good." I get on my hands and knees and crawl away. "Let's get away from here. Be careful, there's broken glass and rusty pieces of metal laying around." He gets on his hands and knees and follows me.

That went better than I expected...

***

I'm so sorry it's so long. Over 3000 words dear lordy jesus i-

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed!

Bye❤💛