We've lived in this town our whole lives. Nuvema's walls have protected us from the monsters that lurk outside. Within these walls, we are safe. Within these walls, we are protected. No harm shall come to us as long as we remain in these walls.
Cheren and Bianca have never wanted for anything more, and I'm content just being with them. They're my best friends. We are protected and we live as protected. So, this is our lives: days go by without incident; the regular becomes the mundane; time passes ever so slowly; the sun rises and sets.
And life goes on.
Are you a boy or a girl?
Excuse me? I'm clearly a boy.
What is your name?
They call me Tangerine.
Where is the girl?
I don't understand.
There is a voice speaking in the distance. If you're a Tangerine, then I suppose that that makes me a Cherry. The voice is both strange and familiar at the same time. I try to call out to the voice but no sound comes from my throat.
I feel a tightening in my chest and a pain in head. A shriek is suddenly heard and I awaken with a start. What was that? I wonder.
The morning light scatters in through the curtains. Beside me is the sleeping and naked body of Aurea Juniper. At only nineteen years of age, she's the town's resident Professor and expert on the creatures. That's her title by day, but at night she's all mine. I run my fingers over a few strands of her hair on her forehead and I admire her soft and natural features. Her nose twitches. She's slowly waking up.
She stretches her arms out and calls: "Good morning, sunshine."
I smile and kiss her gently. "It is a good morning," I decide, putting the thoughts of the dream aside for another time.
We toss around in bed for a while, aimless in our caresses. When we finally get up, it's a little past eight in the morning. Aurea heads straight for the powder room, as per usual, to fix her light-brown hair; to put in her contacts over her iridescent green eyes; and to apply the bare minimum amount of makeup to cover those blemishes that only she can see.
She quickly grabs some toast with jam on it and, dressed for success, heads out the door, wishing me a good day—and, just like that, we're back to being the daytime versions of ourselves.
After a good breakfast—some scrambled eggs, toast and milk—, I decide to head out in search of Cheren and Bianca. Cheren is eighteen years old (a year younger than me) while Bianca is seventeen. Cheren isn't a stand-out guy; his black hair is of medium length and his red-rimmed glasses mask his blue eyes. Bianca is voluptuous: she wears a white dress that accentuates her curves, and her medium-length blonde hair is always topped with a green beret.
It doesn't take long to find them; Bianca is arguing with her father—again. He's the overprotective type; he doesn't want her going out or straying too far from home while she wants all of the freedom that being a teenager—and nearly an adult—demands. Cheren is bearing witness to this spectacle with his face planted firmly in his palm.
"You don't understand me!" shouts Bianca. "You never listen!"
"How can I listen when you're always yelling!"
Ah, the things that we say when we're angry. They don't always make sense, but it's the thought that counts.
"Why can't you just let me do what I want!"
"What you want is irresponsible! No, no—a thousand times no!"
I sidle up beside Cheren and ask him what they're arguing about this time.
"They found an injured creature near the gate and brought it back to the lab," he says. "Bianca wants to go see it. I think she's worried about it. It's either that or plain old curiosity."
"Why worry about a creature? They attack us."
"This is Bianca that we're talking about. It's how she is. I'm curious, myself. This is a fantastic opportunity to study the creatures up close. It looks like they're done arguing."
Bianca stomps her way over to us, pouting all the way.
"Come on," she orders as she marches on by.
"Where are we going?" asks Cheren, knowing fully well the answer.
"To the lab."
The laboratory is just a block away. Yes; we live in a small town. It doesn't take long to get there.
In contrast to the simplistic residential scenery of the town, the laboratory is a majestic, futuristic and awe-inspiring piece of architecture. Plainly: it stands out like a sore thumb. Getting in is rather easy as the security is lax. (The guards are only there in case of a creature attack.) Immediately, we spot myriad media sources; reams of reporters; a collection of commentators, all there to cover the story of a captured creature, no doubt. At the helm of the press is Professor Aurea Juniper, trying her best to inform the public of the find. She seems to be struggling.
I wave at her from the back of the crowd. She notices me immediately and a sense of relief comes over her.
"... And that's all that I can say about it at this time," she concludes.
Promptly flooded with questions and requests for statements, she makes her way through the crowd toward me. I do my part and push on through until I meet her halfway. I reach out and grab hold of her hand.
"Come on," she says as she waives to Cheren and Bianca, who waive back. "Let's go to my office."
"Thanks for coming," exclaims Aurea as we arrive in her office. "I was actually just about to call you."
"Why me?" I ask.
She pauses. "There's something that I need to tell you. It's something that you can't repeat to anyone else."
I look over to Cheren and Bianca. "Is it okay for them to be here?"
"Yes; I think that this will end up involving all four of us."
"Is this about the creature that was captured this morning?"
"It's about more than that."
I suddenly feel like I'm about to get involved in something way over my head.
"This isn't the first creature that we've captured," Aurea continues.
"What!" Cheren exclaims.
"Then why didn't you tell anyone?" questions Bianca.
"We knew so little about the creatures—whether they were a true threat to us or whether they could be beneficial to mankind—but in the public's eyes, they're dangerous. Letting the public know about our research would skew it; we wouldn't be able to do our work impartially and come to a real result. We wouldn't have been able to come up with what we have."
"Wait a minute," I interject. "What have you come up with?"
Aurea takes a deep breath before continuing. "It's a device that can be used to capture and control the creatures."
Cheren and Bianca look at each other incredulously. I stop to think for a moment. Isn't this a good thing? Can't we use this device to drive back the more violent creatures?
"I know what you're thinking—and yes; we can use it to the effect of protecting ourselves. This device has so much potential for the betterment of mankind. However, it's also terribly dangerous."
"How can something so good be dangerous?" asks Bianca.
"Think about it," starts Cheren. "In the wrong hands, people could use the creatures to do their bidding. They could topple cities; enslave masses; become kings among men."
"That's right, Cheren," concludes Aurea. "This is a great power that we have in our hands."
I get it. We're effectively at a turning point in history—but there's one thing that I don't get.
"Why are you telling me this, Aurea?" I ask.
"Because this creature—the one that was captured this morning—, it can talk, and it's saying one thing: Tangerine."
