From Heaven to Hell

It was a pleasant day in Villaviva as usual. The white picket fences gleamed in the sun and the trimmed maple trees lining the sidewalk swayed in the zephyrs. The crystal blue lake that stretched for miles was glistening and the leaves of the lush green forest rustled gently.

Kelly Tate balanced a straw basket on her hip as she picked some fresh peppers from The Grove, a garden where food was everlasting, ranging anywhere from bread to cherries. A couple of peppers fell to the ground but Kelly ignored them. Someone who works here will pick them up, she thought. But as soon as she flipped her strawberry blonde hair behind her, her arm started to tingle. She glanced at the moral compass attached to her forearm and noticed the tiny copper needle was slowly moving from GOOD to BAD. Suddenly Kelly had a revelation. She realized she should clean up her own mess and should not waste some perfectly fine peppers. She bent down, put the peppers in her basket, and the tiny shocks stopped.

At the moment a new born baby came out of its mother’s womb, a moral compass, the size of a quarter, was stitched into their skin. The government created these devices to always have their citizens aware of their scruples. The worse one’s deed was, the stronger the shock. If a person committed a crime, the shock would kill them. Because of the compasses, crime ceased to exist in Villaviva.

Kelly’s green eyes widened in temptation and her mouth began to water as she spotted an apple pie bush. She looked for the sweetest slice and eagerly placed it in her basket. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice behind her. She reluctantly turned around and internally groaned when she faced Luke Sanders.

“Kelly, I know you don’t believe me but it’s gotten worse!” he p...

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... cadavers on the sidewalk. Black government cars drove up to the bodies and a bald man in black sunglasses shouted to her, “ Don’t worry miss, they just fainted in the heat.”

Liars, she ruefully thought. Kelly sprinted faster and adrenaline pounded through her head. She reached the familiar Tudor house that she had spent most of her childhood in and banged on the red door. Luke yanked open the door and his jaw dropped. The last thing he expected was to see a panting Kelly at his porch after 2 years. He felt a tinge of happiness; he missed her. Kelly hugged him tight and said into his shoulders with her voice breaking, “I’m so sorry. You were right Luke. We’re next, what do we do?” Luke awkwardly patted her back. They abruptly pulled apart and Kelly’s eyes searched his face for an answer.

Luke snapped out of his daze and grimly smiled, “Come on in, I have a plan.”