Sixteen year old Aine lives in the Colony, and his whole life was decided before he was born. In two years he will marry the girl next door, Brin, who was assigned as his Other at birth. Then he will be given a position in the Colony's workforce that best suits his talents. Each night he takes four pills, like everyone else in the Colony, and he knows the pills keep them safe and their world in order. Everything is fine. Perfect, in fact. Until Aine accidentally drops one of his pills. Terrified, he tries to hide the mistake, but when he dreams for the first time in his life, he discovers all he's been missing. What scares him more than not taking the pill, though, is how alive his dreams make him feel. Because it isn't Brin he dreams of but his best friend Kyer. Another boy. Suddenly Aine's world turns upside down, and he doesn't know what to think or who to trust. All he knows for sure is he's falling in love with Kyer, which is forbidden by the Colony's Code, and he will do anything to protect their budding relationship. Even if it means defying the Overseer and leaving the Colony behind.

The Colony Book 1: Rebellion

“All the way in, please,” the Teacher was saying.


I drifted after her, looking over my shoulder for Kyer as Brin took my hand. 5


Immediately inside the Monitor Center was a large lobby. The walls were white without anything to break up the monotonous color except the thin, barely-there strip four feet off the floor, similar to the one in my bedroom which the Monitor had used earlier to assess my health. The strip was present in all rooms throughout the Colony. It was used in conjunction with the screens to keep us safe, or so we were told. Rumor had it that, in times of warning or trouble, the strip would pulse with a red inner light, directing us to the nearest screen to await further instructions, but in my lifetime, that had never happened. We weresafe, and there was no need to warn us about anything.


Chapter 10