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

We took the elevator, not the stairs, and zoomed past the levels our class had spent most of the day traipsing through. At the top level, the elevator doors opened and I stepped out, followed by the Officers. The woman kept a hand on my shoulder to guide me, but I felt as if it was there only to keep me in place.


There was one other door, at the end of the hall, and it was there the Officers led me. The door was blank, nondescript, and white like everything else. When we stopped in front of it, the man raised his hand and knocked.


A moment later, the door unlocked and inched open.


I pushed the door open farther and felt the hand on my shoulder fall away. I looked back, but the Officers had turned and stationed themselves on either side of the door as guards. They obviously weren’t going to follow me inside. Taking a deep breath, I stepped in alone.


Chapter 46