Writer's Wednesday || Part One - The Moment

I am so excited about this story!

First of all, I just want to give a BIG THANKYOU! To ALL of you who commented and helped me out so much with the names for this story! I could never have done it without you.

You guys asked me to tell you the names I chose for the characters. Well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out. I don't want to spoil anything. :) But you all gave me so many awesome names that I'm going to be using a lot more of them for other characters.

So, without further ado, here is the first installment of....

- Part One -

The Moment

Sean had fifteen minutes till his Moment.

Four years, eight months, twenty-six days, fifteen hours. Waiting. Waiting for his Moment.

Everyone in Dyterra has a Moment. From the first instant of a child's intelligible thought, the first thing they think of is their Moment. A date and a time.

Thirteen minutes now.

Each person had a different time for their Moment. And every Moment turned out to be the most important moment in a person's life. Meeting someone. Discovering something. Maybe a car crash. A birth. At least, that's what the people had told Sean after he had woken up.

The Ricsen County School bus squealed to a stop, gravity making all the students rock foreword in their seats. Sean rubbed his back, relieved the ride was finally over. As the only orphan in Ricsen County School, he was outcast permanently to the seat farthest in the back of the bus, which wasn't a seat at all. It was a bucket somebody had left their decades ago. It was cracked, and the logo on the side was peeling off, and it vibrated and bounced with every jostle of the school bus, yet it was still Sean's best and only friend.

The students disembarked, filing out noisily onto the sidewalk. They had pulled up in front of an enormous, fancy building. Its windows gleamed in the mid-afternoon sunlight. Sean felt his heart skip with excitement as he took it all in. This was the Institute for Technological Advancement. The foremost leading research and production facility on Dyterra.

Sean waited for the last of the students to get off before making his way to the front and jumping out of the stuffy bus himself. He checked his watch. Twelve minutes to go.

His stomach twisted nervously, fighting to trade places with his throat. A lot of peoples' Moments turned out to be something small, like missing an appointment, or something gut-wrenchingly wrong, like a death in the family. But Sean had realized, when they were informed of the field trip to I.T.A. at the beginning of the week, that his was going to be big.

Eleven minutes. The group of students began moving up the wide steps to the entrance of the building.

Sean had been told that everyone in Dyterra was born with a Moment. But no one had mentioned being born with a Name as well. But, apparently, Sean had.

Not his own. He had known his first name even if he hadn't had any other memories after he woke up. No, this was someone else's name. He just didn't know who's.

Sean was not like the rest of Ricsen County School's kids. And it wasn't just that he was an orphan and had both a Moment and a Name. He was smart. Really smart. But because of his disadvantage of being on the government's babysitting list, there was little chance for him to ever make something of himself.

But today was different. Today he had a chance. An impossible, completely amazing chance.

Just nine more minutes and it would happen. He was certain of it.

The school group was shuffling into I.T.A. Kids were gazing and pointing at the impressive mechanical displays hung up in the glass dome of the ceiling. But Sean wasn't interested in them. He had drawn blueprints for half of them, and successfully built one such machine after rummaging through enough garbage bins to find the necessary pieces. No, his thoughts were flying in all directions, and most particularly towards one man. Doctor Richard Stallings.

Seven minutes.

They were heading for the elevators now, the tour guide in front of them smiling with her bleach-white teeth and speaking about different departments of the Institute.

Richard Stallings was the head scientist at I.T.A. And he would be meeting the students as one of the first parts of the tour. Meeting him would be Sean's Moment, he was sure of it. Meeting one of Dyterra's foremost thinkers and maybe showing him what he could do. That had to be it. The most important instant in his life.

Only five more minutes.

There were two elevators. In one, the teachers and their favorite students piled in. The rest crammed into the second elevator. Sean hurried to catch up, but the last of the students were already getting in. And they just so happened to be the posse of boys that made it their mission in life to make Sean miserable. Their unofficial leader, Drew, grinned wickedly at him and pressed a button on the side.

Sean's heart thudded with dread as the doors began sliding close. He lunged. His hand hit the metal sheets just as they sealed shut.

Sean was sweating now, panic flooding his veins like liquid ice. Running for the stairs to the side of the elevators, he took them two at a time. He had to reach the sixth floor in less than four minutes. He had to meet Doctor Stallings.

First floor. Done.

Around the third staircase, his legs began to ache.

Fourth floor, his lungs felt like balloons filled acid.

Only a minute left now. He had to go faster!

On the fifth floor landing, Sean lurched to a halt, barely managing to avoid tripping over the body.

It was a girl. She was dressed in black jeans, orange converse shoes, a flashy t-shirt and black leather jacket. Her make-up was applied like a movie star's. Her hair was brown and straight, with blue highlights.

Sean jumped back in surprise as the girl's eyes flew open. They were electric blue.

She scrambled onto her feet, staring around in confusion and panic.

"Where am I? What on Aerathyst is going on?"

Sean stared at her, at a loss for words. This was it. The minute had passed. This was his Moment.

September 26th, 3001, 3:17 p.m.

She was his Moment.

No. This wasn't right. He was supposed to meet Doctor Stallings! This was supposed to be his chance to meet someone who could make him into something.

"Who--who are you?" stammered Sean.

The girl glared at him, "First tell me where I am."

"Monsty, Velgan. Institution for Technological Advancement."

The girl rolled her eyes. She had thick eyeliner on. "No, what world, idiot?"

Sean stared at her, again, "What?"

"I said, what world?"

"Dyterra?"

She closed her eyes, "This can not be happening."

"You're exactly right!" Sean threw his hands in the air, "You were not supposed to be my Moment!"

"What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ley lines, idiot."

"Stop calling me that."

"Then give me a name to work with."

"Sean," he said with a scowl, "It's Sean. Now tell me yours."

"Sean? Just Sean?"

"Just Sean."

The girl looked momentarily stricken, like she was about to throw up. Just as quickly, the expression passed.

"Clarity," replied the girl, "My name is Clarity Shaw."

Clarity Shaw.

Sean's mouth dropped open.

It was the Name. The Name in his head! The Name.

She was the Name. 

Hope you liked it!
~The Scribbler in the Attic