My heartbeat rang in my ears. They could never come home no matter how much they wanted to. Maybe they wouldn't live at all. When was I going to join them? It was going to happen sooner or later.
Father would snap, even if he loved me. He did it to others many times before, sometimes not meaning to thrust his anger at them. Someone’s small mistake would cause him to remove any restraints on his anger. I hoped he could forgive me for what I was about to do.
The time was drawing near before we would attempt to locate Aurelia. I had to check on Ambert, Enya, and Wes, but I didn’t want Father to be suspicious. I wrote a letter to him:
“Dear Father,
Today I am going out to search for Ambert myself and I'll alert you if I find him. I also will be busy searching for some fresh air and training this afternoon. I know I would be missing school today, but I think the cause is more important than school right now. I hope that you’ll understand my intentions and see how The Regime would approve. If you need me, I promise to be home by six tonight.
Love,
Calista”
What else could I put? He wouldn’t let me go if I put anything else. My concern was that Ambert, Enya, and Wes didn’t make it through the night, and they were already captured like my dream had prophesied.
That was if I took the dream literally. It could always be a metaphor for something that will happen later... if Wes was telling the truth about Dreamers seeing visions. What was I saying? There was no way I was a Dreamer!
Still, my friends needed me, and I needed them. Anything beat staying at my house alone. I changed my clothes, put on my scarf, coat, and backpack and headed out the door.
I slipped on the ice as soon as I walked out and hit my head on the pavement. So much for getting to my friends quickly. I was bleeding in the upper left corner of my face, the pain throbbing.
Nausea overtook me and I puked my breakfast on the ice below. I couldn’t see where I was going, couldn’t remember what I was doing, or walk in a straight line. My ears picked up a piercing, high pitched whistling, and it made me feel as if they were about to bleed out as well.
After sweeping another piece of hair away from my mouth, a familiar voice rang in my ears carrying a regal and caring tone.
“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word…” the voice said.
‘What?’ I was confused. The voice’s softness was like Mom’s, yet I could tell it wasn’t hers.
“And if that mockingbird won’t sing…” she said.
Wait, the voice wasn’t talking. She was singing. Who was she? She wasn’t my mom. Mom didn’t have such a calming voice.
“Mama’s gonna buy you a looking glass…” the voice sang.
“Mama…” I whispered.
I looked into the eyes of a green-eyed lady. A bright smile crossed over her face, caring, filled with protection and love. Although I couldn’t recognize her, something about her was familiar as if I had known her for years.
That couldn’t be right. My mother was always grumbling about The Regime, but she would never rebel. She never loved me as much as this voice sounded like she did. It was as if someone was reaching out to me, trying to tell me something important that I had forgotten long ago.
“And if that horse and cart fall down, you’ll be the sweetest baby in town…” the voice faded.
Baby? That couldn’t be right! Not at all! Mom would never sing me to sleep. She knew it would put us both in danger. Yet, this voice was sincere, filled with unconditional love. If this wasn’t my mother, who was it?
A cold sting touched the corner of my head, and the smell of an antibacterial cream filled my nose. I was laying down, that was for sure, in a warm environment. Voices whispered to me as the ice was pressed against my face.
“What…” I lifted my eyelids to reveal Wes, Ambert, and Enya.
“Are you alright, Cal?” Ambert asked.
I sat up and winced at the slight pain.
“What…what happened?” I asked.
The three looked at each other.
“You were screaming ‘Mom’ Calista,” Enya explained as I looked at them astounded.
“What happened, Cal?” Ambert asked as I rubbed where I had cut myself. There was a bandage covering the bloody wound.
I explained to them what happened: the song, the voice, and how disoriented I was— I even mentioned my afterthoughts. All I got were blank glares from Ambert, Wes, and Enya.
“Cal, that can’t be right. Mom would never do something like that…” Ambert began.
I sighed, “I know it doesn’t make sense, but that’s what I heard.”
“When I painted you laying in the snow, I thought you were hunted for treason, not seeing things,” Wes said.
“It was as if the voice was watching over me,” I replied.
“Like the voice was your Guardian Angel?” Enya questioned.
Ambert laughed. “That position is already taken.”
“But which one of us has it?” Wes raised an eyebrow.
“Are you up to finding Aurelia?” Ambert asked.
I smiled. “A promise is a promise, after all.”
“She’ll be okay if she doesn’t hallucinate anything else,” Enya said.
I slowly got up and looked in the mirror.
My hair was redder on the left side from the blood, and what I thought was a little scratch was much more serious than I thought. My chartreuse eyes squinted in pain from moving my facial muscles.
“You need to rest, Calista. Doubt you would feel any better otherwise,” Enya ordered.
Wes nodded. “Enya’s right, Calista, especially if we plan to find Aurelia in the next couple days.”
“I wouldn’t like to stop us from…” I started.
Ambert smiled. “It’s okay, Cal. You’re safe now. Besides, this just gives us more time to plan.”
I paused. The others smiled back at me as if I hadn’t stopped them at all. It was nice to have such good people to rely on.
“Okay,” I agreed.
Wes pointed towards the back of the warehouse. “There are sleeping bags in the back of the store. We should figure out sleeping and living arrangements before anything else.”
“Enya and Cal can sleep in the back room. You and I can take the other side if you would like,” Ambert suggested.
“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll keep an eye on Calista with my Onlooker magic,” Wes said.
“Look, secret religions exist, but no magic. You’re a child if you think otherwise.” Enya looked away.
“You don’t believe there’s magic?” Wes asked.
“I lost all faith in magic a long time ago. A cruel world like this has no room for magic… if it were real,” Enya paused, “I’ll watch over her. Shouldn’t be too hard I think.”
“We work pretty well together.” I smiled.
Enya chuckled. “Don’t get your hopes up, Wallflower. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet.”
She was right. In those twenty-four hours, we had to remain hidden from The Regime, come up with a plan to search Aurelia’s name, and get along. There was a lot ahead of us.
Nineteen:
I tossed and turned, my body living in a new dream during that night’s sleep. Breaths were heavy. Sweat poured down my face. This dream was different than any other I experienced so far: so gripping, so real, so life-like.
“I can’t believe The Regime’s doing this…” a voice quivered.
Though their face remained a mystery underneath a hood, I could tell their face was filled with disbelief and fear.
“I know, but The Commander has changed over the years. Without love guiding him, darkness and hatred have filled his heart,” a feminine voice said.
This figure was also hooded, but she placed a dainty hand on the other person’s shoulder.
“Is it my fault?” the other voice asked.
“No one’s to blame but him and the dark forces he tried to wield. It was never your fault.” the feminine voice sounded rea
ssuring, calm.
“Then was it because of my gifts?” the other voice questioned. They held out their hands, letting a glow surge from them, almost flowing from their hands like water.
The glow refracted off of the crystals in the area, lighting up the room in an array of dark blue, silver, white, magenta, and violet. Shapes and specks floated all around like constellations, forming all kinds of patterns— a lion, a bull, an archer, a lady chained to a rock: there were so many! I never saw anything like it in my life, and I would never forget how breathtaking it was.
The display swirled around the room being taken by the wind before fading and dissipating to the earth below. Left in its place was a chuckle by both of the cloaked figures. Whatever it was, the ‘gifts’ were vibrant, brought alive even. The area below the figures’ feet was a lush green with tons of flowers. The landscape or people weren’t dead like the snow and dreariness in Fortress.
The feminine figure placed some sort of instrument with strings and a long stick with the same strings in the other’s hands. “Your gifts make you who you are. Jealousy of those gifts is a poison that isn’t your fault, child.”
“What does The Regime intend to do to those people?”
“Not even the minor oracles can tell. They’re relying on you to figure out. To find her and align the people’s broken dreams.”
“... I understand…”
I woke with a jolt. Who were those two figures? What did they know about The Regime? They talked about The Commander a lot. Did they know anything I could…?
No, I couldn’t focus on that. I let out a deep sigh and lowered my head.
“Can’t sleep?” a voice asked beside me.
Eyna looked into the lantern’s fire like it was a life-line. She sat upright, letting her slightly chubby and curvy physique show. Taking a piece of her hair, she twirled it in her fingers.
“Aren’t you tired?” I asked.
“I can’t sleep. Not while The Regime could find us here.” Eyna yawned.
“You’re still worried about that?” I asked.
Enya sighed. “Look, Wallflower…”
“My name’s Calista,” I argued.
“A little boring don’t you think?”
I paused to think about her proposal. I didn’t think my name was boring.
“No one calls me by my name directly. Gran called me Missy, Mom called me Darling. Even Ambert and Father call me…” I paused, “Did your parents ever do that?”
“No,” Enya forced a smile, “Never needed to with a name like Enya. Means fire you know.”
“I can see it in your eyes,” I agreed.
“What?” Enya asked.
“The fire,” I smiled, “That fierceness was the first thing I saw when I looked at you.”
Enya chuckled. “Interesting discovery… for a Wallflower.”
“Why do you call me that?” I questioned.
“It means you’re… excluded and left out, shy even.”
She nailed me down, and we just met. Did she need a sixth sense to do that, or was I that easy to read? Maybe Ambert mentioned me to her? I would never know.
“So, what did you dream about?” Enya asked.
She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a sigh. It showed how tired she was.
“Me?” I paused, “There were two strange figures talking about The Commander. One of them had some sort of stringed instrument...”
“The Commander? Do you think they knew him?” Enya asked.
I sighed. “I wasn’t sure. It’s hard to tell.”
“And the instrument… I haven’t seen any like that since I watched a burning. A vio— vio-something. Oh, what did they call it…?” Enya placed her thick hand to her chin, trying to remember.
I nodded slowly. “Interesting… most of the time I can’t even tell what these things mean. Vio-something must be interesting.”
“You have a real gift. You know that, right?”
“Well, I…” I began.
“Don’t deny it, stupid. Vivid dreams are rare, especially for people like us who drink vials their entire lives. Besides, your dreams helped you learn my name, right?”
I laughed. “Guess you’re right. I’m just used to gifts being forbidden.”
“Did anything else interesting happen in your dream?” Enya inquired.
“I thought I saw magic… but that’s impossible, right?” I asked.
“Magic’s an old wives’ tale meant to scare little kids into obeying their parents. The Commander banned it to stop people from coming up with creative excuses.”
“Guess you’re right.” I let out a sigh.
“What is it?”
“I need a little magic now. I lost my Gran, Mom… and now I’ve run away from home. Father will get worried,” I uttered.
“The Great Mr. Knight worried about his daughter?” Enya chuckled, “I doubt that.”
We paused, letting silence seep in.
“Hey, Wallflower? If you could, you know, find your Mom by looking it up on a supercomputer would you do it?”
“Of course. Why are you asking?”
“... If I knew where I came from, maybe I could find some family out there. It would be nice to find someone who understands my passion for music.”
“We promised Wes we’d find Aurelia first.”
“I know that,” Enya paused, “But breaking a few promises is better than not taking any risks at all. We all agree The Regime’s gotta go.”
I nodded.
Someone knocked at the door.
“Come in,” Enya yawned.
Ambert opened the door and entered the room. “Nice to see you both are awake.”
“Please, we’ve been awake all night,” Enya chided.
“You’re still having trouble sleeping?” Ambert asked.
“I was about to ask you the same question,” Enya said.
“What are you doing up so early, Ambert?” I asked.
“Oh, well… I was going to make breakfast. Do pancakes work for both of you?” Ambert asked.
“Sounds okay to me.” Enya produced a small grin.
Ambert smiled. “I’m glad. I’ll let you know when they’re ready.”
We met back with Wes during breakfast. After devouring our pancakes I checked on my wound. Undoing the bandage, a garnet clot covered the spot where I bled. A smell rose from the bandage as I threw it away, the dried blood still a sign of my injury.
Ambert rubbed some more ointment on my wound and reapplied bandages to it. Every once in awhile, dizziness came back, but drinking fluids helped my system recover.
Wes tilted his head. “That’s looking a lot better.”
“I’ll say. She’s tougher than she looks.” Enya laughed.
“The cream’s really helping, Ambert. Thanks.” I smiled.
Ambert hummed to himself before nodding. “No problem.”
He seemed a little off today.
“You seem a little distracted,” Wes noticed.
“Me? Oh, it’s nothing.” Ambert smiled.
BANG! A gunshot sounded from outside. All four of us jumped in alarm. Wes pointed to the boarded up window. Enya, Ambert, and I followed him to the front of the store to gaze out.
An officer held a young girl at gunpoint, an older woman’s dead body at the girl’s feet. The girl’s face reddened with tears, and her face was cut in several places.
“We have to help her,” Ambert said, running off towards where the crack was to get out.
“No, you can’t. Ambert, that’s suicide.” Wes bolted after him.
“Ambert! This is stupid. Just come back!” Enya shouted.
I stared frozen looking out the window.
The young girl’s lip quivered. “Please…”
“No can do, Radical…” the officer spat in her face.
The girl closed her eyes and let tears pour down her face. She moaned, tensing her muscles. My heart pounded.
I could be her… She could’ve been any one of us...<
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Breaking Order: Book 1 (Breaking Order Series) Page 10
