by Karin Dahan
I don’t move or make a sound, trying to determine my best option. The voice continues, talking to me like I’m a scared animal. “We know your uncle Edward.”
I’m scared to death and images of the Scully gang flashes in my mind. At the same time, a sense of hope fills me like a hot cup of tea. Going against all my instincts to run, I instead turn around the tree trunk to face a pair of familiar blue eyes.
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Chapter 5
The woman that was following me in the village is here too. I recognize her short blond hair instantly; the way it’s perfectly combed into staying behind her ears. She stands to the right of Mr. Blue Eyes. I don’t stop to study them much closer. Instead, I’m distracted by the other people walking out from behind the trees. My heartrate picks up again as I count five people in total. Five against one. All of them are dressed in perfectly matched colors to the forest around them, in shades of brown and hints of yellow, showing the season of fall. Their guns scream of army, but their clothes say something else; different types of garments put together as a means to stay hidden, not the perfectly square camouflage uniforms the government workers prefer.
My eyes glance backwards to the tree behind me. I should’ve taken my chances and climbed it. Maybe I still can if I’m quick enough? It doesn’t look like these people would be good climbers with the guns they’re holding.
“Eddie, you can drop the idea of outrunning us. It won’t happen.” One of the men from the group steps forward, his voice is annoyingly calm and steady, with a hint of boredom to it. His brown
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eyes are locked on me, studying what my next move might be. His face looks young, around the same age as me. But his military stance and confidence makes him look older.
“How do you know my name?” I try to keep my voice steady. I don’t want to show them how scared I am. I take a small step closer to the tree, feeling a sense of calm to at least have somewhat of an escape route planned. My actions seem to annoy the brown-eyed man and I can see his jaw tensing. “Look, we don’t have time for you acting like a scared animal,” he says as he moves forward, closing the distance between us. “My name is Ryker and we’re from the Rebellion. Our orders are to bring you in to headquarters. If we wanted you hurt we would have done so already.”
“Headquarters … Rebellion … what are you talking about?” My breath is coming in faster now as it seems parts of the group have spread out, surrounding me, blocking off my possibilities of running away.
I take another step towards the tree, making sure I’m angled perfectly under the branch. A quick image of the Scully gang flashes in my mind. I will not be caught again. I can’t let them take me. My mother’s letter seems to burn in my pocket. I have to figure out what it
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means before I go anywhere. I jump up, grabbing the branch with ease, as I lift my legs up toward the stem of the tree to give me more power to climb. But, right when I lift my left leg off the ground, a strong hand takes hold of my ankle, not with force but a steady hold to keep me from moving my leg. I look down to see Ryker below. He moved much faster than I had anticipated. I panic and try to kick him off with my other leg. I hear him curse as he loses his grip on me and a satisfied grin spreads on my face as I feel a sense of accomplishment. But, it doesn’t last long. The others have run up now, ready to help their friend. Soon I’m pulled down from the branch, landing in the arms of Mr. Blue Eyes.
“Get off me!” I scream as I struggle to get away. Surprise flashes in his eyes and he drop me to the ground, the hard hit knocks the air out of my lungs.
“Look, Ryker might have come off a bit harsh, he does that.” He crunches down to my level and smiles at me. His eyes are warm and speak of kindness. “I’m Phoenix; pleased to meet you.” He winks at me. The others are all standing around me and I don’t try to get up, knowing my feeble attempt at running away is over.
“How long have you been following me?” I say as my eyes dart between Phoenix and the blond girl. Do they know about my treehouse?
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Did they see me pick up the note in Uncle Edward’s house? “I saw you in Hope the other day.”
“We were in the Village for the same reason you were, to trade. Right when we were heading out, we saw a girl fall to the ground. You looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place you. Gwennie was the one that recognized you from the photograph we got from headquarters. We have been searching high and low for you for two years. Who knew all it took was a visit to the town square to find you.”
I don’t know why but I trust Phoenix instantly, he looks like a giant from where I’m lying. His tall stature is towering over me. His eyes are warm, and his smile genuine. It’s a bit of a clash against his hard exterior.
“If you wouldn’t have been so panicky, we would have been on our way to headquarters days ago. Instead you had to sprint off before we could even talk to you,” Gwennie says, her annoyance seeps through every word.
“What do you want with me?” I sit up, brushing the dry leaves of my palms.
“Well like Ryker there said, we’re from the Rebellion and we have been trying to find you for a long time.”
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“What is this Rebellion you keep talking about?” I interrupt before he can get any further.
“Dude, have you been living under a rock or something? How do you not know what the Rebellion is?!” The girl is looking at me like I’m from outer space. My cheeks are getting warmer.
“Ignore Gwennie there. She’s a bit cranky because she’s hungry.” Phoenix shoots a glance behind his back to quiet her down. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work, as Gwennie stands her ground, meeting his glare with a deadly stare.
Ryker is pacing now, his patience running out. Phoenix continues with the same calm and glint in his eye, “The Rebellion is the group that works against the government, trying to bring this dictatorship to an end, to save the people. We are part of them.” He gives me a hand and helps me up to my feet. I try to make sense out of what Phoenix is telling me, but the more I hear the more questions keep popping up in my mind. Ryker must be reading my reaction because as soon as I’m about to open my mouth to ask more about this Rebellion he interrupts me, “Your parents worked for the Rebellion and when they disappeared we got orders to bring you into headquarters, to keep you safe; to do that, we have to get moving. We can answer more of your
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questions in the car. It’s a long drive.”
He nods his head, and everyone moves at the same time, walking south. Their pace is slow, still not trusting I won’t try to run away. Ryker stays put. He crosses his arms in front of his chest and looks at me like a parent watching over a disobedient child. “If I must, I will lift you up and carry you over there. It’s your choice.”
Anger bubbles up in me. What right does he have to give me orders? He can’t be much older than me and he is acting like some kind of an almighty leader. Well, he isn’t my leader. I copy his stance, crossing my arms in front of my chest, “You can’t boss me around. I want some answers before I go anywhere. How do I know I can even trust you?”
We stand still for a few minutes, and to my annoyance I can’t help but notice how he reminds me of the ancient Greek statues, stoic and strong with a perfectly shaped body and a chiseled jawline. My cheeks are getting warm again and Ryker gives me a small, almost unnoticeable grin. I quickly look away. The tree to his right is a much safer object to observe. Suddenly, his arms are around my waist, and before I can even react, he lifts me up and throws me over his shoulder, like I weigh nothing more than a bag of flour. “What are you doing?!
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Let me down!” I yell while I hit his back as hard as I can, trying to force him to drop me.
“Stop yelling, otherwise the guards or the army will hear you and I promise, they won’t treat you very nice.”
It makes me quiet down, but I don’t stop fighting.
“I gave you a fair warning. I would pick you up if you di
dn’t move on your own. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
I clench my teeth and mutter with anger, “What is your problem.” Could this Rebellion not have sent any nicer and more polite people to bring me in?
I don’t get a response, instead I hear a low chuckle which only infuriates me even more.
Ryker finally lets me down when we reach the destination. I forget my anger for a second as I’m distracted by what the others are doing. They have started picking up branches from a large pile and tossing them away, which seems like an odd thing to do. Why don’t we just walk around this pile of branches and leaves instead? As I look closer, under the giant nest of vegetation, I can see glimpses of metal shining through.
“Don’t look so surprised, we told you we were driving to
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headquarters.” Phoenix is looking at me over his shoulder while struggling with a heavy branch. A blond strand of hair falls in his face and he blow it away with ease.
“Kind of hard paying attention to all of the details when you surprise me like you did,” I say as I walk towards the car. Phoenix seems like the person who will be most willing to answer my questions. “Did you know my parents?”
“Nope. No one here knew your parents,” Phoenix says as he finally gets the branch loose, “Sorry.”
Before I can figure out what question to ask next, Ryker gives the commands. “Let’s get in the car. Boston you’ll drive.”
A man with chocolate colored skin and short curly hair walks past me and gets in the front seat behind the steering wheel. The girl named Gwennie takes the seat next to him.
The car is big enough to fit seven. Everyone except me and Ryker gets in. I turn around and see him standing behind me, “Do I have to carry you into the car as well?” He lifts an eyebrow and waits for me to answer.
He can’t be serious. I give him my best scowl while trying to copy the deadly glance I saw Gwennie shoot Phoenix before. I suspect
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that I’ve failed as I see a small grin spread on his lips.
“I still don’t know if I want to go with you. You told me your orders are to take me in but the decision to go is still mine.” He takes one step towards me, ignoring my statement.
“You can’t force me to go with you …” The last statement is more of a plea than the previous one. I know I can’t outrun these people, but I’m not ready to leave with them. I want to go back to my tree house, my safety zone. I need to survive for my mother. I promised. I need more time to figure everything out. But Ryker doesn’t seem to care, instead he takes one step closer.
“Ugh…you are too much!” I spin around and climb into the car. I have had too many humiliating moments for one day. Being lifted into a car like a child will not be added to the list. I will just have to figure out what my next move should be during this car ride. How can these people just show up and take me away against my will because they have orders? This is kidnapping, plain and simple.
The car comes to life and Boston maneuvers the big vehicle with ease. He drives on the uneven ground and I focus on keeping my balance. Not having anything to hold onto makes it more difficult. Hitting a big rock, I’m thrown to my left, right into the lap of Ryker
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who looks at me with surprise. I curse in my head as I straighten out as fast as possible. Could this day get any worse?
The car finally finds a flat surface as he speeds up onto a small dirt road. “Okay, now that we’re on our way you promised me some answers.” I turn to face Ryker, I will not back down. He needs to give me more information.
Phoenix chuckles on my other side “Wow, you sure are persistent there.”
“I deserve to know why you are taking me against my will. I was perfectly fine without you.” I don’t feel the need to tell them about the Scully gang incidents.
“Eddie, you might think you are safe but it’s an illusion.” Ryker has a serious look on his face as he stares at the road ahead of us. “Your parents wanted to help the Rebellion. They risked their life for the cause. If Tenebris wanted your parents dead, you can be sure he’s looking for you too. He won’t leave any stone unturned. I know the evils he has done and finding and killing the child of a person who was in the Rebellion is nothing he would lose sleep over. He will merely see it as tying up some loose ends.”
A shiver of fear takes hold of me and I can’t seem to shake it. I
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know the name Tenebris; everyone does. He’s our ruler and the founder of the Green Company. I have heard the whispers in town about the tyranny he uses to rule. But none of it matches up to what I learned about his company and his road to success in school or in the history books in our house.
He was a young entrepreneur that came to success in his twenties when he founded The Green Company. Their mission was to work, to fight back the damages climate change were causing. His first invention was a highly intricate tool that could warn you against earthquakes, which were getting more and more common. It was expensive when it first hit the market but well worth the money. It saved lives. He continued to pump out new technology, saving millions of people. Unfortunately, it always came at a price. He was no Robin Hood. Soon, his company was worth billions and he was praised for his innovative thinking, along with his leadership skills. When the depression hit hard, he was the savior everyone needed. He was our shinning knight. His promises ran high.
He had developed a strong chemical to help grow crops again, he ran for president and won by a landslide. Every leader in the world turned to him for help. In my history books it even stated that the
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governing leaders of the world recognized his brilliant ways of running a government and saving his people; so much so, they all decided to come together as one country, joining forces to save the remaining population that had dropped by fifty percent after the world-wide depression. I remember puzzling over this when I read my assignment for school. The books made it seem so easy; all remaining countries gave away their power, ignoring their own laws and governments. But my parents told me not to ask questions, not to make a scene over this in school. So, I didn’t.
I’m lost in my own thoughts, not asking all the questions I had at the beginning of our drive. All I want now is to be alone and look at my mother’s note again; try to find the answers no one in this car can give me. Why would my parents risk everything they had? What could they do?
“Damn it!” Boston curses from his seat behind the steering wheel and I jump at the loudness of his voice. “Those cars look like army cars.”
Everyone in the car turns around at the same time, seeing the small dots in the distance. “It could be nothing. They’re too far away.” Phoenix voice shines with hope.
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“No, I know that shape,” Boston says while putting his foot on the gas pedal. I’m thrown backwards in my seat as the cars jump forward in response. I can sense the change in the air. Everyone around me is on high alert. Ryker even takes out his gun. “Put your seatbelt on.” He turns to me and this time I do as he says, no questions asked.
Just as I hear the familiar click of the metal lock in the belt, everything happens at once. A full-grown deer jumps out in front of our car. Boston swerved to the right to avoid hitting it head-on. A scream escapes me, and I hear the brakes working with all their power as sand and dust clouds our vision. For a moment, it feels like time is standing still. Then, there’s a loud noise and I’m thrown forward. The air is knocked from my lungs as the seatbelt keeps me from flying out the front window. The airbags inflate. The second the car hits the big tree a deadly calm settle.
I cough as air finally reaches my lungs and my hands are shaking from the shock of the event. The voices around me are muffled until a gentle hand touches my shoulder. I turn to see Ryker looking at me with worry in his eyes, “Are you alright?”
I don’t know. Am I? I try to focus and answer, but I can’t seem to collect my thoughts enough to form a sentence. Instead, I nod. He<
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reaches over and unbuckles me with ease, guiding me from the car. “We need to get going, before they catch up to us. You have to run, okay?”
I nod again and look around. Everyone has gotten out of the car, no one is injured except Boston who has a cut on his forehead. Blood is already covering part of his face. It doesn’t bother him. In fact, no one besides me is fazed by the crash. They’re all business, taking out their guns while waiting for me to get a grip.
“Let’s get going. Try to find a place to hide. I’m not sure we can outrun them.” Ryker looks at me as he finishes his sentence.
They all run. I follow, trying to keep up. Luckily my body is working, even though my mind is still reeling from shock.
“Boston, do you know our exact location?” Ryker is not even out of breath as he speaks.
“We passed Hope about thirty minutes ago,” Boston response with ease.
I didn’t even notice we passed the village, it means we must have been driving on the same road my parents used to take when we drove to the treehouse together. I try to look around, see if I recognize anything in our surroundings.
We hear vehicles come to a stop in the distance and muffled
