Neverland

March 15th, 2210. It was almost midnight and the secret service went through every town, examining everyone who could potentially become a secret weapon. My wife and I just put our two children to sleep. When I was about to fall into a deep sleep, someone rang the doorbell and when I got to the door, the first thing I heard was “police, open up!” and of course I opened. When the door was ajar, the police stormed in and ran upstairs.
“What are you doing?” I exclaimed, but two policemen held me back. I could hear my wife screaming and my children starting to cry. The group of policemen took my wife and children downstairs.
My wife and I sat down on the couch while the policemen were holding my children. A man in a white coat (presumably a doctor) walked into my home and the policemen holding my youngest infant child gave him to the doctor. As the doctor examined my youngest son, he shook his head and walked over, handing the baby to my wife and me. I held my wife and tried to calm her down while she was holding our son tightly.
The doctor walked over to our oldest child who would soon be two years old. The doctor took him from the policeman and placed him on the ground to examine him. He then took a sample of his blood and, with a small machine from his pocket, he quickly got the results of our child. He then turned his head towards my wife and me.
“How old is he?” My wife and I kept quiet.
“Take the infant.”
“Wait! He’s twenty-one months. Born on June 17,” my wife said shaking and holding our youngest son to her chest. I could not help staring at my oldest son, being held by a stranger and not understanding what was happening. The doctor nodded to the policeman and the policeman started to walk out the house with my son.
“No!” I yelled, but a force of policemen blocked me. My wife put our youngest son down and started to scream and yell.


All over the country, families were crying for their children to return to their arms. These children were so young, that they were not aware that most of them, no, all of them would never see their families or taste freedom ever again.
Dr. Wagner, one of the scientists who were part of the project stood at the corner of the street, watching the policeman and other scientist gather children who would be selected for the project. While standing, he looked down at the child in his arms whom started to play with his long, white beard.
“You will need a new name, child,” he told the toddler. The toddler kept laughing, smiling, and playing with his beard.
“I have a good name! Samuel, yes, it’s a good name. Samuel.”


The bell rang and all the children left their training quarters and headed to the cafeteria for lunch. While all the children went to the cafeteria to get lunch, one boy stood by the window and stared at the endless ocean.
“Sam! Sam! Come on, or else we’ll be the last ones and you know what that means? It means we’ll get the worst part of lunch, come on!”
“I’m not going to eat,” said Sam. The boy who called out to him walked up to him and stared outside with Sam.
“I guess I won’t eat either.”
“Alvin, do you think there is anything out there?” asked Sam.
“I don’t know,” replied Alvin.
“When we were little, the teachers used to tell us stories, remember?”
“You mean ‘Neverland’? That place where people live in square houses and live with other people?”
“Yeah, the older kids used to say it was a real place, where no one controlled anyone and we could make our own decision, instead of following order.”
“Why do you think about these stuff? You’re the best student of our age. When you leave this island, you’ll be a successful soldier. You’ll be able to go on missions!”
“How long do I have to keep following orders? I want to be free.”
“Come on, at least let’s go outside to the courtyard and play some soccer.” Sam stepped away from the window and followed Alvin to the courtyard to play a game of soccer, but while they were playing one of the teachers came out.
“Alvin! Step forward!” the teacher yelled. Everyone in the courtyard stopped what they were doing and stared at Alvin, who slowly walked up to the teacher and stood in front of him.
“Alvin, last night did you steal something?” asked the teacher.
“No, sir,” replied Alvin. The teacher looked at him dead in the eyes.
“We have on video, a tape of you stealing some food last night. A little midnight snack, did it taste good?”
“Sir?”
“We do not lie here and I’ll ask one more time. Did you steal something last night?” Alvin started to shake, his legs looked like they were going to give out. He started to sweat like a pig and wouldn’t stare at the teacher in his eyes.
“Answer me!” yelled the teacher.
“Yes, sir!” replied Alvin. The teacher stood tall and proud. Alvin knew what was coming next and no matter how hard Sam wanted to help, he could not step in.
“You know the punishment,” said the teacher. The teacher got out his whip and just when the whip was about to hit Alvin, he grabbed it and threw it into the ocean! He threw it so far and fast that no one could see where it landed.
“Sir?” Alvin struggled to say. The teacher got so angry he turned red. Alvin did what was forbidden. He used his “gift,” as the teachers said, of super strength without permission.
The teacher grabbed Alvin by his gray T-shirt and took him inside. All the other kids returned to playing, but Sam was extremely worried. Unlike Sam, Alvin was the youngest of the group and was extremely small and skinny for his age. By 17, Alvin should have been at least five-foot-five, but instead he was only five-foot.
While everyone was walking back into the building, Sam, one of the few with two powers, used his invisibility to find Alvin. Alvin often got in trouble for the stupidest thing, like the lowest grade, taking food because he was hungry, and using his gift, not on purpose, but as a means of self-defense. Using the gifts was as simple and normal as walking down a hallway.

While turning a corner in the teachers’ hallway, Sam was lucky enough to see one of the teachers lock Alvin in a punishment room. When the teacher left, Sam went to the door and whispered.
“Alvin? Alvin? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,”
“You don’t sound fine,”
“I’m okay, really. Sam, do you really believe ‘Neverland’ is real?”
“I don’t know. I want to believe it’s real.”
“They got me good this time Sam, I don’t know if I will ever see you again.”
“What are you saying?”
“You’re a good person Sam, get out while you still can. It’s too late for me.”
“I’m not leaving here without you. And besides, no one has ever escaped before.”
“I believe you will.”
“Samuel!” said a loud and angry voice. Sam stood up and faced a teacher who looked extremely angry.
“Come here Samuel!” the teacher said, but Sam didn’t move. Sam could barely hear Alvin breathing, and before he knew it, he couldn’t hear Alvin breathing at all.
“What did you do to my friend?” Sam said in a whisper.
“There are no such things as friends! You are to be trained to be a soldier, a weapon! Forming bonds is a weakness, didn’t you learn anything after all these years?”
“Why Alvin?”
“On your 18th birthday you will be sent out to the world to work as a soldier. Alvin and you were close, too close. One of you had to go, and since Alvin was the weaker out of the two of you, he was chosen.”
“No!”
Sam was so angry that he used his invisibility and vanished. Sam ran outside, and when he made it out the front door, the alarms went off. Teachers, guards, everyone started to run out of the building and onto the island, searching for Sam.
Sam used his second power to jump in the water and breathe; he made a call to the fish, dolphins, and whales to help him escape. Sam could hear the engine of boats being started to find him. They even used a submarine, but Sam was able to outsmart them by getting out of the water and walking on it instead, while using his invisibility gift. Sam kept walking on the water and even though he had been walking for only ten minutes without being spotted, it felt to Sam more like ten hours. Finally free, Sam collapsed into the ocean, exhausted.


Sam slowly opened his eyes to the sun that was beaming down on him. He sat up and put his hand to the sandy ground. He started to hear noises; it sounded like a celebration. He jumped up and ran toward the sound. He saw people, many people, gathered for a celebration! Sam could have sworn he saw people waving to him, welcoming him to the celebration. Sam was so excited that he could utter but one word: “Neverland!”