A New Home (Chasing Destiny) Read Online Free PDF Page B

undermine both them and what they were trying to accomplish.  Even though no one knew of Justin’s future with the group, he couldn’t afford to be seen as a slacker in any way leading up to the election that would bring him into power.  “I know,” she whispered back.  “I’m glad I’m already in shape.  My sister Emily was throwing up in the bushes.”
    “A lot of kids were.”
    Jim stood in front of them all to get their attention then.  As soon as he raised his hands for quiet, the talking stopped and all eyes went to him.  He spoke loudly so they could all hear him over the sounds of the birds chirping.  “For those of you who haven’t met me yet, my name is Jim Ryder.  I’m a lawyer, and have been asked to set up the rules for our community.  I met with most of your parents this morning and we’re going to establish some hard and fast rules that each and every one of you will sign.”
    He looked out over the sea of faces.  The children were young, but they had a huge responsibility and he couldn’t pull any punches.  “You all know why we’re here.  The world as we know it is coming to an end, and we need to prepare for the future.  I know all of you have talked to Hannah, the girl who brought us all here, and believe in her cause.  Together, we need to stand behind her, and build a government that will stand the test of time.
    “I have a list of ten basic laws that we all need to agree to keep.  Each of you will be asked to sign your name on this paper, almost as if you were Thomas Jefferson signing the Declaration of Independence.  I’m going to read these laws to you now.  If there are any laws that you cannot agree with, you can tell your parents now, and leave the community.”
    There were a few shocked gasps from the kids, but most of them nodded in agreement with the harsh words.  “Rule number one:  You are here to serve the community, not the other way around.  If you deliberately do something to hurt the community as a whole, you will be asked to leave immediately.
    “Number two:  Community leaders will be elected every four years.  We will have adult leaders for the first four years, and after that, one of you will emerge as the leader of this community.”  He gave his son a hard look as he said those words.  “If you are not willing to follow your elected leader, you have one option.  You can leave.  We are a unit, and for us to survive, we must operate as a unit.
    “Number three:  Every morning you will report for one hour to the general for ‘basic training’.  He will get your bodies in good shape.  He will teach you to shoot and defend yourselves and our community.  You will not use a gun outside of your training unless you are told by him, or one of his successors, to do so.
    “Number four:  You will report for school every morning after basic training.  School will last for three hours.  After school, you will, for the next month, choose an adult to shadow.  This means you are considering whatever career path the adult is on.  You can shadow as many people as you would like for that month.  At the end of one month, you will choose your career.  You will stick with the career you choose.  So choose wisely. 
    “If too many of you want one career type, a decision will be made by the professional.  For instance, if six of you want to be doctors, there will be five of you turned away, and you must have a second career choice ready.  The doctor will choose one of you, whom he feels is best suited for the job.  Do not expect your parent to choose you.  They will choose the best person for the job.
    “Rule five:  Everyone will receive a certain amount of food.  These will be your rations for the day.  You can have as much water as you like.  Food, including milk, juice and other non-water drinks will be part of your daily rations.  If you don’t like some of your food choices for a particular day, find someone to trade with.  You will