Eli thought taking me to the markets would be the best point of call. 

I'd actually remembered and reminded him to bring the aforementioned thing. He'd given me a backpack to hold which he'd later slung over one arm. I'd made sure to rug up tightly, trading Eli's jacket for his scarf. Although the jumper was warm I appreciated it as we moved quickly through the snow. Our destination? A building that appeared to be another network of houses, connected by large canvases and planks of wood to keep out the snow.

"This does not look safe," I managed a laugh as we ducked inside. The snow had stilled though it still peaked my excitement.

"Well it's been here for a little while and it's still standing," Was Eli's half-hearted response. 

The network of houses, once inside, was more of what looked like a horse shelter. Wooden walls let drafts slip through, open stalls were taken up by men and women displaying their goods; root vegetables of every kind, hand knit items, bags, potatoes, wheat, bread, handmade canola oil in clay jugs, sunflower seeds, woody spices, socks, hats, jackets, normal clothing from the outside world, iron, gold and silver ore, syrup, furs of every kind, logs and kindling for firewood and salmon, lots of salmon; smoked, fresh, skinned and many other variants. That was in the first row that we walked through, there had to be at least three more!

"We work on a barter economy. You'll learn quickly what works for what quickly enough," Eli whispered to me as we walked through. I saw blackberries perched on what appeared to be granola yogurt parfaits.

"What do you have to barter with?" I asked Eli, interested.

"Well I'm a Scout, that's what they call it but that pretty much means I go into the outside world and get what people need and like. Sometimes I'll deliver stuff. In the meantime, I'm usually training and work the borders, hunting and the like. There was one time that we had a cougar moving into town and I killed it."

"Really?" I asked aghast. My experience with cougars was pretty much summarised with my Grandmother announcing 'If you're being hunted by a cougar, you're pretty much dead'! "That wasn't counted as your first test?"

"Not really," Eli spoke, "the first test is more catered to the individual, it's supposed to test boundaries. Almost like an aptitude test. Would you like anything from here?"

I shook my head, "Not like I need anything, what will training be like?"

"Hard," Eli didn't like glossing things over, "it'll test your limits, but the more work you put into your training, the easier the final task will be. You'll be with them for the week and then back at mine on the weekends,"

"Nice," I managed. We'd come to a quieter part of the marketplace. My stomach was flipping in knots. I wondered if I should even breach this question so I started slowly, "Eli... Is there, is there ever a chance that I'd be able to see the outside world again?"

Eli stopped, I guess he'd been waiting for this question too. He gave a quick glance around, almost as if to check that no one was listening. Then he turned to me, his face full of sadness. I braced myself for the bad news.

"Yes," He whispered very softly, "yes, there's a chance. But you'll have to work really hard. Prove it to them that you can be trusted. Prove it to them that you can manage it. Work hard during the training, try harder during the final task. Then there'll be a possibility that they may even let you be posted with me,"

He sighed again, almost internally cursing himself for his next words.

"Assume every act, every decision is a test. They'll often never tell you when you're being tested. Choose your time wisely, make your decisions even more carefully. They're almost always watching,"

His words sent a chill down my spine. Somebody passed by, draped in heavy clothing.

"Posted with you?" I spoke brightly, as if starting a new conversation, "so like, after training, do they choose jobs and stuff?"

"A little like a career yes," Eli and I began walking again, "during your training you'll do a lot of jobs around the community. They'll give you some recommendations for what they think you're best from but if there's an opening, you should be able to take it!"

"Awesome!... What kind of jobs are there?"

"They're pretty much all summarised into what they do- so I'm both a Hunter and a Scout, there's farmers, nannies, lumberjacks, watchmen; they're tasked with keeping the community safe, fishers, builders even though a lot know how to do their own sometimes there's just not enough time, cooks, artists, physicians, herbalists... pretty much anything you'd find in a normal society!"

"True," I said absentmindedly, nothing really spoke to me as such. Back home, I was a writer, I wonder if they had any use of those here?

Eli stopped to chat with a guy who appeared to be some kind of woodworker. He ended up trading a bag of sugar in some kind of deal. They both shook on it and the man gave me a friendly nod.

"What was that about?" I asked Eli when he returned, we continued walking.

"What I needed to do today," Eli explained, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "I'm planning on building an extension... Maybe a study or something like that," he added quickly.

"Nice," I gave a grin, "so what did you give him?"

"It was a kilo of sugar in exchange for a few boards of timber. Sugar's incredibly expensive up here and I'm lucky that I got a few packets. It was just enough timber to secure the frame and make two walls. I wish I'd started earlier," Eli complained, "Winter is the absolute worst for building up here as you're always interrupted by snow or storms or hard grounds and everything."

"True," I admitted, but I had no idea what that implied or how it affected building. "Where are we going now?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Eli laughed.

This, was my first exercise in self restraint. Normally I'd spit a scathing or sarcastic remark based on my mood. However, I had to bite my tongue and manage a small giggle.

"Well... I don't know too much about anything really," I replied in a meek voice. Eli gave a 'true' look.

"Well, we're going to the community greenhouses," 

We weaved through a densely packed crowd for a few seconds. I could feel the stares on me as I struggled to catch up with Eli. He was standing by the door like a gentleman. It was obviously some kind of large looking complex from the outside. The exterior was domed and snowed under a thick layer of the freshly fallen powder and could've easily been mistaken for another niche in the mountainside.

"Welcome m'lady," He crowed gallantly, opening the door for me. I ducked through the lowered door and into the facility. Instantly feeling the temperature change, I was ready to strip off my woollen jacket. Eli would probably enjoy that. I humoured myself with the thought and turned my attention back to the community greenhouse.

It was massive. Probably the size of a high school running track in length and about ten meters in width. My jaw dropped, looking at the operation. A complex network of irrigation systems hung from the roof, spurting water onto the crops below at random intervals. All of the bedding was raised. Some held pumpkins, others held vineyards and I couldn't name what the others had.

"This is incredible!" I gasped, Eli began leading me through the network. Forwards, left, then a little further forwards. At one point, I was misted by a passing irrigation pipe. I didn't mind. In this heat it'd probably dry off eventually.

There were a handful of people working the Earth, their hands dirty and their faces set. Some waved and shouted to Eli as he passed, other kept their attention solely focused on the labour in front of them.

"Some spend their whole day in here," Eli explained. I doubted how, only a few minutes inside and I was already beginning to sweat. "But for us,"

We arrived to a patch closer to the back, it didn't even have a raised bed, just hard and angry Earth.

"This is our patch," Eli had a small grin on his face, "any kind of plant I put in the ground often dies,"

"I can see," I half laughed, eyeing off the remaining sapling that was a mere few days away from death.

"Maybe you can make something out of it," Eli offered and my stomach lurched int he same way every time that he used that kind of language. I sensed a double meaning to his words. 

Maybe we can make something work out of it. I appreciated the sentiment and it made my work a lot easier. I turned to him, letting a small smile dance my face.

"Sure, I'll see what I can do,"

This pleased him. Somewhere in the midst of the greenhouse, we found a bench to sit and eat a snack. Eli told me that it was somewhere closer to the afternoon. We shared beef and tomato sauce sandwiches. As we ate, I was thankful. It could've been a lot worse. I could've been chosen by a guy who liked to pull his weight around and throw his fists. But I didn't. I had Eli. Kind, caring, can cook salmon hash and poached eggs for breakfast, Eli. I gave him a small smile. He returned it.

There was a question on his mind, I could see the gears turning. Should I ask her? Should I keep it to myself?

"What's up?" I asked softly. Eli looked up, a question on his lips, "you look very... concentrated,"

"Yeah," he breathed out, it was partially a sigh, "yeah, I guess I am. I think I wanted to ask, how are you finding everything?"

Ah, Frick. "Okay I guess." Go off on a tangent, share some persona info, "I'm good at adapting, I always have been. I moved around almost every year for the first thirteen years of my life because my parents were real estate experts. I guess, in my mind, this is just another move."

"And the community?" Eli prompted.

"It's nice," I admitted, "it's a nice place here. Your house is beautiful, the marketplace was fun and this,"

I gestured around me wildly, sandwich still in hand.

"This is pretty close to a feat of science in itself. It's pretty amazing... But," I paused, the words getting stuck in my throat and my stomach clenching. How do I explain to him that I was abducted? Would he even understand what that's like?

"Yeah?" Eli prompted. If I was going to do this I needed to milk it in every way that I can.

"And I want to be happy," I spoke in a rush, "and I want you to be happy and I want to do well here... But, I just feel,"

I looked up at him through my lashes. If we were closer or on the 'next stage', I would've held his hand.

"I just can't help but the nagging at the back of my mind that I didn't choose to be here. When it really comes down to it, I had no choice in the matter. But, I know the law of the land and I'll work myself out of it if I have to and I'll do better than my best in every way that I can if I can just see that world again,"

My eyes filled with genuine tears. I could care less about the outside world, between Eli's cottage and the location, I probably would've retired in a similar area after many decades of hard work. What I really wanted to see was my family. The heart had grown fond in their absence but now that I knew that me seeing them again was unlikely, it'd turned into an all out stabbing.

I closed my eyes, a tears leaked out, I hastily wiped it away. I shouldn't be crying! I wanted to slap myself for my stupidity. This front is a little too realistic for my liking! My tears had affected Eli. There was an obvious guilt heavily set into his features. It was stabbing into him too.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, "I wish, I wish under better circumstances, or in another life..."

"Yeah," I whispered, "yeah me too,"

The moment was reflective. Frick, it's going too deep, lighten it up.

"But on the bright side, we get to eat beef sandwiches in what feels like Australia," I laughed.

"Is it that humid over there?" Eli asked, aghast. I nodded.

"Yep, and slightly hotter too, especially during the Summer,"

"Yeah you told me," He grinned. That's right, the sluggish midnight chat, slash fight.

"But it's nice, thanks for taking me here," I gave him a small, tight-lipped smile. He returned it in a partial grin. So we sat in silence, nothing for the hum of the power in the room and the occasional hiss of a jet stream. At one point, we saw another couple enter and walk around.

"Popular spot," I noted, elbowing Eli, he surpassed a small smile, "where would everyone else be?"

Eli snorted. "Probably having the same conversation that we did last night,"

A quick memory of throwing Eli's pillow at him.

"I don't know," I spoke slowly, "the other girls are really... invested in the whole process, I feel like some would just bite their tongue and move on." Like me.

Eli thought for a moment, "Not every guy gets his first pick. What you didn't see before was sometimes they'd let us chat and interact with one another. The guys always used this time to see which girls they liked the best. The girls always used that time to see which guy they'd prefer,"

"So why did you choose me?" I asked light-heartedly, "there must've been another girl that you had your eye on before I came into the mix,"

Eli shifts uncomfortably, giving a quick and awkward smile to no one in particular. My stomach drops. I wasn't his first pick.

"Yeah, I mean, not really anyone that I really meshed with,"

False alarm.

"Meshing with, is apparently subjective," I'd finished my sandwich and now the paper wrapping laid in my lap. "I once read this book exploring how you can fall in love with pretty much anyone simply by asking them a set of, I think it was thirty-six questions. I had the book in my bag when I came here I'm pretty sure."

"Really?" Eli asked, his interest piqued.

"Yeah so the whole book was a question of; can love and marriage be quantified into an equation or formula? Are we able to predict love? Or is it just this stupid, crazy magical thing that whisks us away to another world with the sole purpose of dealing with a child? So it had some interesting questions like that and it was pretty good,"

"And at the end? What was the final verdict? Can love be quantified? Or is it still this magical force that whisks us away?"

"I don't know," I spoke thoughtfully, "I never finished the book,"

"Oh no," Eli jested, "questions that will last a lifetime,"

"Can you get me it then?" I pleaded, "it was a pretty popular book, 'how to fall in love with anyone', was the title,"

"I'll see what I can do," Eli suppressed a smile. I gave him a beaming grin.

"Thank you,"

We spent the next age in relative peace, debating the kind of topics that people talked about at two am in the morning. Eli always took an interest in what I liked and where I'd been because it was worldly. When he described his own experiences, they were often so odd and different that I couldn't help be intrigued. 

He told me stories of late nights in wooden cabins, long days during hunting seasons chasing down bears and deer. He told me about his family; how he has brothers but was actually the first child born of the new ceremonial system and the first child, born in the village. I told him about back home again, early weekend mornings spent at nippers on the beach, about long nights around crazily made tables and chairs, chatting (and occasionally slipping into gossip) about other members of the family. 

I told him about Christmas mornings, my Mum always waking me up at something like five am to go for a walk together before she had to rush off to her job. I told him house I resented ticks, mosquitos and leeches. That maggots were my ultimate hated insect. I told him how I was fine around snakes and spiders and wild dogs were okay as long as you were usually with someone. I didn't gain as much about him as I gave about me but it felt nice to be open and honest with someone, especially since I'd been travelling with people I barely knew.

After I finished up, we slowly made our way to the meeting point. We still had time so we wandered back through the marketplace and then he took me to what appeared to be a playground. We spent some time, like kids on the swings.

When the cold began to stab, we continued our way. I knew that Eli was taking me the long route, doing his best to spend every moment with me. A little part of me wanted to throw him into the snow drift or throw a stick at him in anger but I knew that it wasn't the time. 

I needed to wait. 

I needed to stay focused and with my final goal in my mind.

So I smiled, I grinned and occasionally, I give a slight flirt that I knew always worked in high school. We didn't hold hands, or touch that much either. The only times was when Eli let me through a thicker part of the crowd in the marketplace and when he'd passed me my sandwich earlier. Eli, even though he had every right to according to the unspoken rules of his community, didn't touch me unless needed and was respectful of that. It was odd, someone being so chivalrous.

Even though I knew Eli didn't want to, we made our way to the Training 'District'. I say District because like Eli's house it was on the edge of the community.

"Check this out," Eli grinned. He showed me over to the lip of the cliff face and pointed down the side. It was the edge of the valley- a rather stunning and jaw dropping fall. He pointed out a fixture of stairs that were embedded into the cliff. Probably about ten to fifteen meters in height.

"Wow," I gasped.

Eli drew his finger from the stairs down from the pointing at the stairs to further at the base of the cliff. A small network of dormitories and a clearing laid peacefully, dusted in the snow. "There's the dormitories and training grounds. Every morning, for breakfast and other general gatherings, you'll have to sprint up the stairs before the bell ends, otherwise the close the doors and you'll be left in the cold. Be prepared for that."

"How long does the bell last?" I asked curiously.

"About a minute or two, we could never be sure. But you can usually get up the steps in about a minute if you take them by double. I'm sure they'll be more lenient with the girls though," He gave me a small smirk. I shrugged. 

It's just one of those times where feminism fails me.

"But yeah, a lot of tests, testings and the like. Just keep your head down, try to do what they say as much as possible. Discipline is favoured above intuition though depending on the situation, it can be rewarded. You ready?"

I sighed, "This sounds like it's gonna be painful,"

"Only for those who don't get it the first time," Eli gave a small laugh. "It's only six weeks, you'll be able to get through it,"

"And then it's the final task right?"

"Yep," Eli spoke wearily. He turned to me. "All the best for you, I'll see you at the end of the week!" 

I gave a small nod.

"Thanks," I paused. How was I supposed to say goodbye? A hug was too forwards, a handshake was too formal. We settled for exchanging a small, tight-lipped smile instead. Yeah that worked.

"Good luck," Eli whispered. "You've got this,"

I gave one final nod and without a bag or pack of any kind, moved towards the menacing double doors. I paused by the doors, watching the other couples. 

I spotted Lou. 

She was with a guy that looked to be the same build and strength (but with darker hair) as Eli. He had a much angled face and traditionally, would've been a lot more attractive.

Eli was my kind of aesthetic. I insisted to myself.

Lou didn't look too happy and I could tell the mood between them was frosty. She gave him a few, cold words before giving him a nod and storming up to me.

"Let's get inside," She grumbled and I let her lead me inside, sharing one final glance with Eli.

Inside was warm, and like everywhere else, it was made up mostly of wooden paneling. The floor was a surprising linoleum material.

This building must be older than it looks, I concluded. Like almost every other large build I'd been in, this one held a long hallway. On one side was the entrance to a cozy looking mess hall and on the other side was a large, open room where some of the girls were already milling about.

"How'd you go?" I asked, my voice a low whisper. I could already tell how they went but Lou seemed to be in such a mess that she didn't know where to start.

"I didn't know you woke up with them!" She hissed, tears brimming at the edges of her eyes, "And I was fine that Mark chose me, but if it'd been the other way around, he wouldn't have been my first choice. Anyway, I woke up and he was all over me."

My stomach lurched, "Like... all over you?"

Lou paused, stumbling to choose her words better, "Well... not really, but like, his hand was brushing away some of my hair and it was a bit romantic but like, I was so confused that I slapped it away and then he started yelling so I started yelling and then after I calmed down, he explained everything but I'm not too sure if I'm happy about it right now."

"Were you hoping to be chosen by someone else?" I asked. Lou, who was the most delicate and feminine-looking, out of all of us. She was the kind of girls that guys would fight one another to go after. She was the kind of girl that would make a good housewife and a great friend to have around. She was outgoing, honest and had a vibrance to her that a lot of the other girls lacked.

"Yes," Lou hissed, her voice hitching. "I was definitely hoping for someone else,"

"Would you restart the process?" I asked lowly. Sometimes if felt like taboo talking about that in such a way. Lou stopped, thinking thoughtfully, eventually, she shook her head.

"No, I wouldn't want to restart the process," She processed it.

"Then we've been dealt the hand that we've got to deal with," I spoke, trying to lift her up, "and we've got to make the best of it. There's no point being miserable about it."

Lou looked uncertain, I elbowed her slightly.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine. We're safe. We're well fed. We've got loyal guys. Its gonna be okay,"

Lou nodded, taking in a deep breath. She seemed happier now.

"Thanks Mary, I just, I guess I didn't expect that,"

"I know. Its wild,"

Then Anjie entered. Sixteen year-old Anjie looked to be in a mess. Her hair was flustered, her eyes red-rimmed, breathing heavily. He jumper was also on back to front. It was if she'd dressed in haste and then rushed here. We both turn to her. "You okay?" I asked, concerned. She obviously wasn't.

"I don't want to talk about it," She hissed, her tiny hands balled into fists. She threw her unbrushed mop of dark hair over her shoulder and stormed past us into the meeting room. Lou and I shared a look. Oh no.

Anjie was promptly followed by Charlotte. Charlotte was probably the opposite of Anjie. Her hair well done, her features angelic and a large smile on her face.

"Oh we all know what went down last night," I whispered to Lou who surpassed a laugh. I turned to Charlotte, "And how was your night?"

"Good," She sighed, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. "Amazing actually, it was better than I could've hoped for,"

"Great to hear! Shall we enter?" I gestured extravagantly to the door. The three of us spilled inside. It was a well made place; wooden flooring reached into a lowly-set ceiling. Three, very large windows made up most of one wall and sent the light spilling into the room. The place reminded me of a slightly higher budget Baptist meeting hall. 

I took one of the open chairs nearby Anjie and the rest of the girls followed suit.

I repeated Eli's words like a mantra.

I've got this.