"Austin Stone! Where is Austin Stone?" the Announcer, a short alien human woman from the council, said with a smile.
Xander looked up at his much taller older brother, expecting to see a look of terror, but instead, there was a slight smile creasing his face.
"No!" Xander cried, "Austin, no! Please, no!" The 14-year-old Xander began to cry, not wanting to lose his older brother.
Austin, hearing his little brother cry, looked over, smiled even bigger, and, knowing he didn't have much time left before he was taken, said, "Xander, don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself. Promise me you will take care of yourself."
"But what about you? You... you got picked for the Tower of Death. You're… you are going to die," Xander sobbed.
"No, I won't. I'll be fine, and remember, just because people around here call it the Tower of Death doesn't mean that it is. It's called the Tower of Fate for a reason. This is my destiny. It has to be, and if I can climb to the top, I'll be able to change not only our fate but the entire world's," Austin said calmly.
Just as Xander was about to plead with him, a council guard grabbed Austin by the arm and started pulling him away.
"Nooo! Please, no!" Xander yelled, but he was just backhanded by the guard, and his small frame was knocked to the ground. As he lay there, he watched as his brother was taken away, walking between the kids who watched on in fear that the next name that would be called would be their own.
***
Xander suddenly felt a kick to his stomach and then a second one.
"Wake up!" the guard yelled, kicking Xander as he lay on the ground outside the canteen.
Xander, who had passed out due to hunger while sitting outside the canteen, took a moment to gather himself, earning another kick in the stomach.
Xander was forced to swallow the bile that the kick forced up as he looked up with anger at the guard.
"If you don't have money to buy food, get a move on. This isn't a place to take a nap," the guard said, ignoring his angry glare.
"I… I know," Xander stuttered between coughs.
"If you know, then get a move on!" the guard raised his voice, tired of talking to a random kid from the outskirts.
Xander stood up slowly and began to walk back to the bridge he had been sleeping under for the past 2 years since his brother died.
***
The Galactic Council first became known around 500 years ago. It is a group of humans from all over the galaxy, spreading across countless universes.
One day, they came and made contact with the world leaders, practically forcing them under their thumb. They talked about uniting humanity, but they treated the people of Earth terribly.
Before them, the world was thriving; new technology was being developed every day. But now, the Council has taken most of the technology, and the world has basically been sent back to the Stone Age.
Every couple of years, the Council issues an order that shakes up all 100 divisions worldwide.
The Council discovered this tower, which they call the 'Tower of Fate,' and they can send a person's soul into this tower and they will undergo trials of life and death.
If they can survive the tower, they will come out stronger than ever, with magical powers, but most of the time, they simply die.
The Council says that all can be found in the tower: power, wealth, knowledge, life, death, and more.
But everyone on the planet is terrified that they will be selected next.
At first, every time they came down, they would select thousands of people. But now that the world population has thinned out due to starvation, war, and so many people entering the tower and never returning, they usually only select a couple of kids.
Once you turn 16, your name is entered in the draft, and you risk being selected until the day you turn 22.
The council also made the world a promise: if Earth can produce a representative that can stand tall at the top of the Tower of Fate, then the council will stop forcing the people of Earth to go into the tower.
***
He and his brother had been on their own since their mother died when Xander was 4. They had always lived in the outskirts of Division 97, barely getting by, and they had even started to do well for themselves until 4 years ago when Xander was 14. The Galactic Council forced the capital to pick another group of kids to send to the Tower of Death.
This wasn't the first time the capital was forced to pick kids to send to the Tower of Fate, or the Tower of Death, as everyone in Division 97 had always called it, but this was the first time he and his brother Austin had been old enough to be picked.
Xander still had nightmares every night about the moment his brother's name was called.
He still remembered how happy he was when his brother managed to be one of the very few that came back from the tower. He had never been happier; his brother was alive. He was actually alive, standing and breathing in front of him, and if his brother chose to, he would never have to go back to the tower. He had survived somehow, some way.
But that isn't what fate had in store for the two brothers. Austin had never been content with their sorry excuse of a life, barely getting by in the outskirts, so much like the day he was picked, he said, "Xander, I'm going back. This won't be our fate. It can't be. I promise I'll get strong enough to climb to the top of the tower, and when I do, I'll come back for you, and we will never have to worry about another thing for the rest of our lives."
Two days later, he decided to return to the tower, and that was the last time Xander saw him.
One year later, a council representative brought news of Austin's death.
The worst part was that to this day, he didn't know what killed his brother, why his brother was no longer here with him, and he likely never would.
***
Xander was now 18 years old. He still had a smaller frame thanks to consistently going days without food for his entire life. He wore clothes that looked more like rags, and he had messy black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. But even with his scrawny look, he still had a well-defined face that wasn't perfect but couldn't be called ugly.
As Xander walked back to his bridge, starving, the sirens started to go off.
'What now?' Xander thought as he turned around to head to the front gate that led into the city.
He slowly made his way there.
Once he got there, he began to ask around to see what was going on.
"Do you know what's going on?" he asked an older gentleman who seemed to be well off based on the fact his clothes only had a couple of holes in them.
"No clue," the man said without looking in his direction.
After waiting for another ten minutes, the speakers were finally turned on.
"Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming. Division 97 welcomes you!"
"You all might be wondering why we have called you here today!"
"The Galactic Council has once again graced us with their presence!"
There was an immediate murmur of dissatisfaction that ran through the crowd.
"You all should know what that means. We will once again be selecting who has the honor to go test their destiny against the Tower of Fate!"
"The Tower of Death!" someone yelled in the crowd.
"Tower of Death!!!"
"Tower of Death!!"
The announcer ignored them and continued.
"So, we will now be allowing you into the city. So be on your best manners!"
The gates began to creak open, and the crowd was corralled through the streets.
Xander looked on in fear. The last time he had been in the city was when he was called forward to be told that his brother had died.
The city looked just the same as it did that day. It was old, worn down, and rusty. It looked like it would fall apart at any moment now, but still, every person here from the outskirts wished they could call it home.
***
Xander stood in line with so many other kids, who were all terrified as they waited for the speaker to begin.
"The council welcomes you!" The same woman who called Austin's name said.
"We are happy to announce that more spots to the tower have been opened, and you are very lucky that 5 of you will have the honor of being selected here today!"
"So, I won't keep you waiting. We shall begin!"
"First!" She reached into the glass bowl and pulled out a small piece of paper.
"William Reid! Where is William Reid!?" The crowd immediately parted away from William as if by being close to him meant they would be forced to take his place.
A small kid, clearly from the city, dressed in nice clothes, stood with a shocked look, tears streaming out of his eyes.
"William Reid, congratulations. You are the first here in Division 97 to be selected. Everyone, give him a round of applause."
As always, it was dead silent.
One of the guards walked up to William and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him to the stage.
"Ok, next is!" She reached back into the glass bowl, "Laura Park!"
The same scene took place.
Now, two kids in tears stood on the platform next to the short council woman.
Two more kids were called up, and now Xander had his fingers crossed, praying to whatever god was out there that he wouldn't be picked.
'Please, please.'
"Ok, for the lucky last pick," she slowly reached in and grabbed the piece of paper.
"Alexander Stone! Where is Alexander Stone?!"