the outside

Lukas had never seen the Outside.

Descriptions of the Outside changed depending on who was telling the story. The one favoured by the adults seemed to be that nothing existed. It was a wasteland, land that had long since fell to desertification with the odd rock and mummified tree beneath the barbaric sun. However, the version most favoured by the men at the bar seemed to be that life flourished; animals like the ones in the computers memories ran freely between tall blades of untamed grass. Water flowed through little streams and wide rivers through the earth, twisting and curling like a worm- a paradise for those who escaped to it.

Lukas was sceptical of both stories. One contradicted everything that the teachers had engraved into their minds, but the other just seemed so... hopeless. Lukas refused to believe that there was absolutely nothing outside the fence. He hoped, deep in his heart, that if someone did manage to see the Outside that they would tell of what actually lay beyond the gigantic fence. Was it a paradise or a wasteland? The frustrating thing to him was that he would probably never know.

Thoughts of what lay beyond the fence captured his usually organised mind that morning as he sat with his head rested against the cold glass window of the school bus. His younger brother, Emil, sat next to him on a new gadget that had just been released. The Brain Teaser, they had called it- supposed to be one of the hardest puzzles to solve in this new period of time. Of course, within an hour of its release it had already been solved. Though this was expected; the Government hadn't created it to be unsolvable, merely just a representation of how intelligent the population was.

That reminded him, the IQ test was today.

Lukas shuddered involuntarily. The system the Government used wasn't the best, but it kept the population and the stability of the human race under control. Or at least what was left of the human race. A little over a thousand years ago, on the 28th March 2073, the world had ended. There had been a build up over the decades; increasingly frequent volcanic eruptions and Tsunami occurrences, and then the world had just given up. It was as if the planet itself had had enough and decided to wipe out any living creature that resided on it. No one was exactly sure how it had happened, people could only predict and theorise, but it all ended up with the same conclusion; civilisation had been pushed to the brink of extinction.

However, a number of humans had survived, mainly by hiding in deep underground bunkers constructed before the End- as historians called it- and after at least a few years they resurfaced. Evidence suggested that they had found virtually nothing on the Earth's surface, but either way the remaining humans built a settlement and began to repopulate. During this time, the elders had ordered for a fence to be built around the settlement; mainly to keep the surviving humans inside. They couldn't afford anyone to die.

Needless to say it worked. The settlement grew bigger and bigger until it became what is now known as the City. The ancestors of the elders established a leadership, calling it the Government. The Government was portrayed as a fair system, but Lukas had heard many people refer to it as "totalitarian". He wished he knew what that meant, but you weren't allowed to learn or get involved in politics until you were at least 23. Having only just reached his eighteenth birthday he still had a good six years.

Anyway, the Government had worked well for a century or so until the population and food ratio became unbalanced. There were too many people and not enough food being grown. The seeds and animals only came from that of which the people who had crawled out from the bunkers had had enough sense to take with them. With the less food and ever increasing population, poverty struck. A good 40% of the human race died which was far too many to secure the future of the settlement.

And so the IQ test was imposed.

The IQ test consisted of three stages; a written paper, a mental test and a physical examination. The written test was a series of passages that had to be read, and then written about like an essay. After was the mental test, where the Examiners asked you a series of questions and riddles that you had exactly fifteen seconds to answer. The score you received was added onto your written paper mark. The final- the physical exam- was where you were given different physical tasks to complete. This final score was added onto your two previous scores and then the percentage calculated. The aim of this was to separate what they called the "Ignoramus" from the "Acumen". The level of Ignoramus was below 70%, and those classed as Ignoramus were taken away. Nobody quite knew what happened to them, but much like the divided opinions on the Outside some said that the Ignoramus were put in a separate facility to do the bad jobs around the City, and the others said that the Ignoramus were killed. The latter was quite a popular theory, as it was no secret that the Government only had time for the Acumen. After all, only intelligent people were considered to be able to run the City.

The IQ test began when you were the age of 12 and continued every three years until your brain had fully developed at 25 years old. After that, depending on your level of Acumen, you were given the job you were most suited for. Those in the top percentage went to work alongside the Government as scientists or technicians, whereas those in the lower Acumen levels were given other jobs such as teachers or doctors.

Lukas wasn't particularly bothered by the IQ test. The two times he had taken the test he had received a high percentage. He was destined for great things, his Examiner had told him. Emil on the other hand was terrified. He was obviously distracting himself with the Brain Teaser, as the test made him anxious. The first time he had taken the test he had almost passed out from fear, but he'd still received a fairly good score. At fifteen years old he had only taken the test once, but Lukas was sure he'd get used to the routine of the test eventually.

The bus suddenly stopping jolted Lukas out of his train of thought, and he sat up straighter and looked around. The other kids were getting out of their seats, stretching and discussing plans for the next day- confident that they would pass the test with no problems. Lukas went to stand up and then noticed Emil hadn't moved. The Brain Teasers screen was black, but Emil was staring at it as intently as though it were on. Lukas placed a hand on his brother's shoulder gently, sending him a small and rare smile when he looked up.

"You'll be fine," he muttered. "It's only a test. I'm surprised you aren't in the top percentage of Acumen from the amount of time you spend on that Teaser." That made Emil smile weakly and stand up, stuffing the Brain Teaser in his bag.

"Yeah... I'm surprised that you haven't been labelled as an Ignoramus from the amount of attention you pay in class." Lukas rolled his eyes.

"So am I."

With that, they joined the back of the queue and got off the bus.

A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome to my fanfiction, The Outside! Don't ask me how I came up with this- I have no freaking idea. Well... it was three in the morning...

Anyway!

This will be mainly set from Lukas's point of view, but not in first person. If that makes sense. If there's anything you, the lovely reader, are confused about feel free to ask me. It's better if you get what's happening now in order to understand the story better.

That's all from me for now, so I hope you all enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Hetalia and all the canon characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.

This story belongs to myself (TheAbsoluteNordork) and is also copyrighted to myself ©

Definitions:

28th March 2073- Just to clarify there is no significance to this date whatsoever. I looked at predictions for when the world would end, but there is just so many...! So yeah. Completely random date.

Totalitarian- controlling the people of a country in a very strict way with complete power that cannot be opposed.

Ignoramus- literally means an ignorant or stupid person.

Acumen- the ability to make good judgements and take quick decisions.