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

Brin and Lyra were friends, so the four of us could pal around without anyone complaining. But if I had suggested to Brin that maybe once or twice she could go somewhere with Lyra and leave Kyer all to me, she would’ve gotten mad. Not only that, but someone else might have noticed then and said something. So I had to keep my feelings to myself. I couldn’t share them with my parents, or my Other, or even with my best friend.


After a few days, I wondered what would happen if I stopped another pill. Not the red one—not just yet, no; if the blue one made me so confused about my emotions, what would the red one do? I didn’t need any more lust in my heart, or love in my soul, and I didn’t need my body to react to Kyer’s anymore than it already did. And the green pill was a vitamin, which I might actually need to take, so that only left one other to try.


Chapter 25