This world consist of two types of people, the commoners and the Exceptionals.

The commoners each have a number and a time limit to find their partner, if you fail you die.

The Exceptionals are government children who are an exception to this rule, they have a number but no time limit. They don't ever have to find a partner, some even run away and leave their partner to die. However, they then live a life of loneliness and that is the last thing you want to do. 

After the nuclear war the planet was barren, nothing was alive, except for only a handful of people. After centuries they rebuilt the human population well beyond where it had been, the planet became over crowded. Cities were built on top of the oceans in order to create more space, that didn't work though. A man   named Albert Ross created a bomb and a timer. 

Once a child is born a timer and a bomb is implanted into their skin, this is for the sake of the population control. Once you reach the age of twelve you get a number, then everything is activated. You are then left to go out on your own to find the person you are to be with the rest of your life. If you find that person the timer is shut off and you get to fully live your life without any fear. Though, if you fail the bomb injects a type of poison through your body and it shuts down form the inside out, it is a slow and painful death.

If you are born inside the government you get none of these. Because in the government you grow to learn how to control what needs to be controlled for when the present people pass on, they hold the pair of numbers you need. Usually it is very rare for an Exceptional to leave the government to find their partner, because once you leave you can never go back. And the government is the best place to live in this dirty world.

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"You must hurry and get out of bed Shi! The scanners are coming!" 

Your mother pulled you out of bed and threw some clothing at you, "Now hurry!" she ran out of your room to let you dress.

You sighed and put on the pale yellow dress, the same thing you've been wearing since you turned twelve. Once you were dressed you took a look around your room, it was nothing special, nothing was. The floor was wood, it was covered in scratches and part of it was coming off the dirt ground. Your bed was a matress made up of the feathers from dinners you had been so lucky enough to afford. The window glass was breaking and there was nothing to cover yourself with to save you from the blistering cold winds during the winter months. You sighed and opened your door to meet your mother. 

"You took too long!" she said as she shoved you outside the front door to meet the scanners. 

The scanners were workers for the government, they came around every so often to tell you how much time you had left. They did not feel bad for anyone, only because they did not have to go through the same thing you did.

"Arm." the tall man commanded as he held out a gun-like peice of machine. 

You held out your arm and closed your eyes. You felt a small poke in your index finger and sighed.

After a few beeps the man wrote he time on a clipboard before walking away. "Wait!" your mother yelled after them. You put your head down and walked back into the house, leaving your mother to make a fool of herself to the world. 

"Shi!" a small voice exclaimed, you turned and saw your little sister running up to you. You bent down to give her a tight hug, she was only eight and her timer wasn't activated the only thing you could do every time you saw her was give her a hug and either hope you'd find your partner. Or at least she would.

"Are we having dinner tonight?" she smiled, her face was so thin she almost looked like a ghost. you felt a lump in your throat start to form. "You stupid beautiful girl." you said as a tear fell onto your cheek. You gave her one last hug before the door slammed open, your mother walked in lagging behind your father. 

"Well?!" he boomed. 

"Well what?" you asked with a straight face. "What did the scanner say?" you could see the water start to fill his eyes. 

"He didn't say anything dad, and I don't want to know anyhow." you picked up your bag and walked out the door.  You got to the end of the town and stood still. You town was surrounded by a think forest of pine and oak trees. Not very many people went through and made it to the other side, only if they were desperate to find their partner. 

You took in a deep breath and walked a few steps, "Shi!" you turned around and saw your sister running to you with a bag of her own. "Kyung, you have to go back to the house. You can't come with me." you brushed a peice of her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead.

"Go back home okay? I'll be alright." you smiled and turned back to the forest. You took a big breath as you walked into the thick brush, about halfway through you could hear your sister yelling for you.

The fact that doing this was against the rules did not stop you. In your town it was not permitted to walk into the forest alone, and you certainly were not allowed to leave by yourself.

Infact you were breaking many rules, it was not to break any. If you wanted to live without ever getting into trouble youwould have to live in your house and if you ever walked out you could never say a word.

This was a risk you were willing to take to save your own life, you always told people you never cared if you died or not. But in truth you did, your future was so murky it scared you to the point of you making yourself so numb to everything and everyone around you. All so that if something were to happen you knew that would were going to die, everyone was, so it never mattered.

But there was always something that made you keep going through all the hard times, it was a necklace. Your best friend gave it to you before his timer ran out. It was a key, his house key that he never left alone. He gave it to you and you never saw him again, you cried a lot those months he was gone. And once you got word of his death you ran a string though the key and have never taken it off since. It was your most prized possession.

"I can do this." you grabbed hold on the key one last time before traveling deeper and deeper into the forest.

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