Sector 27- Assignment

by J J Pasinella

  Aaron had pressed too hard against the door, and it made a slight creaking sound.

  "Quiet!" the Guardian in a direct line from the door said harshly, "Did you hear that?"

  "What?" asked the man from the side.

  "Shh. Look. Up there, there's smoke coming from the chimney. Someone might be inside."

  Aaron stared through the crack in the door and saw the Guardian in front of him issue hand signals to his left and right. Footsteps began moving slowly again, this time closing in around the cabin. Aaron quickly and quietly backed away from the door. He moved across the room, back over toward the fireplace. Just beside it was a small woven rug. It looked old and had rips and tears throughout the fabric. He pulled a corner of it back, revealing a square panel with a metal hook in it. He lifted the hook out of the notch where it lay and gave it a tug. An opening appeared from underneath, and he quickly slipped inside. Once within the crawl space, he reached out to pull the rug back over the wooden hatch door as he slowly lowered it down just above his head, concealing it once again. After momentary silence, he heard the front door break apart, as pieces of splintered wood showered the floor above him. He heard the sound of rapidly moving footsteps just overhead. One set went in the direction of where the bedroom would be, another kicked one of the stools across the floor as if it had been tripped over. Then he heard the cabinets fall to the ground and smash to pieces. The water bucket was tossed over in the direction of the fireplace, saturating the tattered rug above and sending water dripping onto his head. The footsteps stopped and came together near the middle of the room, directly above Aaron.

  "Well. What do you think?" one of the voices asked.

  Another man grunted. "Nothing here. There's no sense waiting around to see if anyone comes back. It'll be dark soon. We should start heading back to the Dragon."

  What's the 'Dragon’? Aaron thought, as he listened in silence.

  "Roger that," another voice boomed. "Let's burn it to the ground first. If anyone has been staying here, they won't be when we’re through with it."

  As the footsteps began to make their way back outside of the cabin, Aaron stayed on his hands and knees and began to crawl through a pitch black, narrow tunnel. He crawled for fifty yards or so and exited the other side, pushing a large pile of branches, leaves, and pinecones away from the opening. He stepped out into the forest behind the cabin and watched from behind the trees. He could see one of the Guardians with a large tank on his back. A flame thrower. The cabin shot up in a roaring blaze, making the fires that had been lit inside pale in comparison. A thick gray smoke began to rise into the air. Birds scattered from within the trees closest to the fire, and flew away overhead. Aaron slowly turned and sat against the trunk of a large tree that he had been hiding behind, watching.

  "Alright, that's good enough. There won't be anything left of it. Let's move out," a voice yelled from back near the roaring flames engulfing the cabin.

  Aaron peeked from around the tree and saw eight men in black body armor walking back into the tree line. He began thinking about Caleb and Alice. How far were they from the cabin? What if they ran into the Guardians in the forest? He knew that if Alice took the normal route back from the stream, they wouldn't cross paths with the Guardians who seemed to be headed in the direction of the country road. It hadn't been long since the Guardians had disappeared into the forest when Aaron heard in a high, chilling scream, "Daddy!"

  Aaron's heart started pounding in his chest. He looked out from behind the tree and saw Alice on her knees screaming, "Daddy!" over and over again above the sound of the roaring blaze.

  In his mind he was screaming at the top of his lungs, "Alice, please! You have to be quiet! They're right near you!"

  2.13 (Beyond)

  Alice was sobbing on her knees. She had stopped screaming out for her father and just stared into the burning cabin. Caleb was frozen in place. ‘How did this happen?’ he thought, ‘Where's Aaron? Is he alright?’ He snapped out of it when something lodged itself into the back of his arm. He quickly grabbed the area and pulled out a large splinter of wood. He looked behind him and saw bullets tearing into a large tree directly beside him. "Alice! Run!" he shouted as he grabbed her by the arm with one hand, and picked up the shotgun with the other.

  He had let the backpack fall to the ground. The day's work wasted. That didn't matter right now, he knew they had to get out of there … fast. Alice was still in total shock as she dragged her feet behind Caleb. "What are you doing?!" she screamed.

  "Alice, someone's shooting at us! Come on, we have to move!"

  Alice was able to get herself under control and they both vanished into the tree line to the right of the cabin. They ran as fast as they could, dodging trees, jumping over roots and bushes. Caleb turned his head back and was able make out the figures of several men chasing after them. The distant sound of gunfire could be heard as bullets came crashing into tree trunks, branches, leaves, showering them with pine cones and needles. Breathing heavily, Caleb said, "We need to find a place to hide! We aren't going to be able to outrun them!"

  They ran for what seemed like days, but it had only been a mile or so. They hadn't been able to lose the men behind them, but there seemed to be less than there were before. They stopped, ducking behind a tree, and Caleb peeked out. "They must have split up, I only see one coming. He's still pretty far away."

  "What are we going to do, Caleb?" Alice asked, still choking back tears, but somehow remaining calm.

  Caleb quickly looked around. They had come to the edge of the forest. There was a small ledge directly ahead of them. He took Alice's hand and slowly walked over towards it. On the other side was a gently sloping hill heading down into another, less dense forest. Just below the ledge was a small strip of flat land before the slope. They could drop down and hide up against the ledge. "Down here," Caleb said as he bent over and dropped the shotgun onto the stretch of land a few feet below. "You go first, Alice. Here, I’ll help you down."

  Alice took Caleb's hand and turned to face him as she slowly slid down onto the ground just below. Caleb quickly hopped down after her and they both tucked themselves up against the edge. Alice wrapped her arms around Caleb's, and laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. They sat listening. Silence. Finally they could hear the sound of footsteps slowly moving toward the ledge above them. Caleb's trembling hand fumbled along the ground searching for the shotgun. He wasn't sure what was going to happen. The footsteps stopped directly above them. The sound of heavy breathing sounded like roars of anger from the Guardian. "Where did you go?" he muttered menacingly under his breath.

  They heard the footsteps slowly moving left to right, checking behind trees. They moved closer and closer to the edge and Caleb saw the barrel of a rifle drop directly in front of him. Almost as if by reflex, he grabbed the warm steel and pulled on it as hard as he could with both hands. The gun, along with the Guardian, came crashing down directly in front of them. The dark black helmet dislodged from his head and went rolling down the hill behind him. His face was exposed. Caleb had never seen a Guardian's face before. The man's eyes were filled with hatred and anger. They pierced through Caleb as he looked into them. There was a large, jagged scar running down the man's left cheek, stopping just before his chin. He sneered at Caleb when he saw that he was clearly afraid. Caleb pointed the shotgun directly at the man with shaking hands and said, "Don't move. I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you give me no other choice." He knew in his mind there was no other way this was going to end. It was either going to be the Guardian or them.

  The man slowly rose to his knees, eyeing his gun which was a few feet away from him. Alice sat, clinging to Caleb's leg as he stood over the Guardian. "Look kid, just drop the gun. Nobody has to get hurt here. We can talk this through," the man said in a raspy voice.

  The shotgun quivered in Caleb's hand, but he kept it focused on the man's head. "Don't ... move ... a muscle," Caleb said nervously, but sternly.

  The smi
rk left the man's face and was replaced with a scowl. He stood perfectly still, shooting darts at Caleb with his eyes. With one quick movement, the man tried lunging toward his rifle. Caleb fired both barrels of the shotgun. Alice closed her eyes and let out a shrill scream. Caleb stood frozen in place as the shotgun fell at his feet. As Alice opened her eyes she saw smoke lifting into the air from the shotgun’s barrels. From her place behind Caleb she saw a pair of legs, dressed in black, with thick combat boots, lying motionless on the ground. "Caleb," she whispered.

  Caleb slowly looked down at her as she began to stand and with a shaky voice, said, “Don't look, Alice. He's dead."

  The color had been drained from his face and his lips were dry. Alice picked the gun up off of the ground and stood looking opposite the direction of the man's body. She slowly opened the barrel, removed two spent shells from inside, and replaced them with two fresh ones from her pocket. "We have to keep moving," Caleb said, finally. "The others had to have heard the shots. We have to go."

  Alice slowly handed the gun back to Caleb, who grabbed it with shaking hands, and they turned to face the ledge. They both climbed back up to the top and headed back into the forest, making their way toward the country road. Aaron had told Caleb how Patrick found the Resistance group so long ago. Now, with nowhere else to go, he would have to look for the place himself. With any luck, the resistance group would still be there. "Where are we going, Caleb?" Alice asked.

  Caleb took Alice by the hand and looked into her eyes. "Do you trust me, Alice?"

  She nodded. "I do, but ..."

  "If you trust me, you just have to believe me when I tell you that we are going to find some people who might be able to help us."

  Tears began to well up behind her eyes. "But, what about my Dad?"

  "If your dad is the kind of man I’ve come to know, I believe he is just fine," Caleb said, smiling. "You know how he is. He's kept you both safe this long."

  Alice nodded, looking hopeful.

  "Plus,” Caleb continued, “I think we’re all going to the same place."

  ****

  Dusk had begun to creep over the forest. Inside the trees, it was beginning to get very dark. There were still flickers of sunlight breaking through along the tree line where Alice and Caleb hurried along, staying parallel to the country road. "Here Caleb, are you thirsty?" Alice asked as she took a small bottle from one of her pockets.

  Caleb looked at her, surprised that she was carrying water. "I always keep one in my pocket," she said with a smile.

  Caleb smiled back at Alice and said, “Thanks, you go ahead and drink what you want, I’ll have a little bit when you’re done.”

  Alice took a drink from the bottle and handed it over to Caleb. He took a few small sips, closed it, and handed it back to Alice saying, “There’s still a little bit left if you want it.”

  Alice took the bottle from Caleb, returned it to her pocket and said, “It might be a good idea to save some. We might not find any more water for a while.”

  Caleb nodded, "Yeah, you’re right. Good idea."

  "When did my dad tell you how to find wherever it is we're heading?"

  "Just a few nights ago. He told me about how Patrick found a group there, and how he left you guys to go help them."

  Alice was quiet for a moment. "I wonder if he's still there," she said, "I had always hoped that someday I would get to see him again."

  Caleb looked at Alice and smiled. "Maybe he is. I hope so ... for you."

  They eventually came to the end of the country road, which widened out onto a large cement roadway with three striped lines on one side, a metal railing in the middle, and another set of three striped lines beyond that. "This is it," Caleb said, "the road your father described to me."

  He walked out into the middle and stood looking up and down the endless sea of concrete. The sun was setting at one end of the road. There were broken cars scattered alongside it, with huge pieces of cement dislodged from their place, and strewn about. "We need to go into the forest there," Caleb said, pointing toward the trees on the other side of the road.

  "Are they in there?" Alice asked.

  "I think so. Somewhere. I'm not sure how far though." Caleb glanced one more time toward the setting sun and then began looking into some of the cars. "Do you want to spend the night here and wait for morning before we go in?"

  "Why? Do you think it's really far in?"

  "I don't know. But I think it will be a good distance from this road. I think your father told me a few miles in, but I can't remember for sure."

  "Ok," Alice said, "Where are we going to sleep?"

  Caleb continued walking from car to car. "How about in here?" he said as he opened the back of a large van that was tipped on its side. It had no windows, other than the ones in the front, and nothing in the back.

  "Yeah, this should work," Alice said, as she crawled in and lay down on the wall of the van.

  Caleb crawled in after her and lay on his back, staring at the side opposite where he lay. "If those people are still there," Alice said into the darkness, "how do we know that we can trust them?"

  Caleb remained silent, playing out different scenarios in his head. "I guess I'm just hoping that we can," he said quietly.

  After a while, Caleb could hear Alice breathing rhythmically. She was asleep. The events of the day all raced through his head. The man that was shot outside of the Reassignment Sector, the cabin being burnt to the ground. Then he saw the face of the Guardian, scowling at him right before it was taken from his shoulders. Now that he was completely alone, with Alice asleep, the reality of what he had been through began to fully sink in. He began to feel sick to his stomach knowing that he had taken the life of another person, even if it was to protect Alice and himself. In the silence of the night, he began to cry. It took a while, but he was finally able to drift off into a deep sleep.

  3.1 (Resistance)

  "Alice …? Alice," Caleb said, gently shaking her by the shoulder. "Wake up. We need to get moving."

  "Ungh," she grunted. Slowly, she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Is it morning already?"

  "Yes. It has been for a while now, but I didn't want to wake you up earlier," Caleb said, smiling at her. "I think we should probably start making our way into the forest while we have a full day left ahead of us."

  Caleb swung open the bottom door of the van, which was laying on its side. A burst of sunlight poured in like rushing water. Alice squinted her eyes momentarily, letting her eyes adjust, and then began to wiggle herself forward, feet first. Once she had gotten outside, Caleb pushed the shotgun out onto the street. Then he crawled out, picked it up, and the two of them stood surveying the road and forests on either side.

  "Do you know what we're supposed to be looking for?" Alice asked, brushing the dirt from her pants.

  Caleb peered into the forest, which was in the opposite direction from where they had come. "Your father told me that Patrick found a long brick building with a lot of windows lining it."

  "Ok." Alice stretched out her arms over her head and let out a great big yawn. "Ready when you are," she said, smiling. It seemed as if she had forgotten about the events of the previous day.

  "Are you sure you're alright, Alice?" Caleb asked.

  She became more serious, and answered, “I’m okay. I’m just … still trying to put the horrible things that happened yesterday out of my mind.”

  Caleb put his hand on Alice’s shoulder to comfort her. She wiped her eyes with her shirtsleeve, straightened herself up and said, “We just have to keep moving now. There's nothing else we can do."

  "Let’s get moving then,” Caleb said.

  At that, they began to make their way toward the tree line and disappeared into the woods. Caleb kept a close eye on the sun as it moved from a position behind them, to eventually hovering directly overhead. He wanted to make sure they were moving in as straight a line as possible. After several miles of walking, the two of them came to a valley. Down at the bottom
was a small, gently flowing stream. "Look down there!" Alice whispered, grabbing Caleb's arm.

  Caleb turned and looked down the steep slope below. "Wow. I wonder if that's from the same stream that was near the cabin."

  Alice took a few steps closer to the edge and said, "Let's go down really quick. We could use a drink, Caleb,” she said with pleading in her eyes. “We've been walking for a while now."

  Caleb walked to her side, looked down and then checked for a slope that wasn't as steep. As he surveyed from left to right, his eye caught something across the valley, on top of the hill across from where they stood. "Alice, look!"

  Directly across from them, they saw a brick building beyond a thin layer of trees. Alice squinted, trying to get a better view. "Do you think that's the place?" she asked, crouching down over the ledge.

  They couldn't see the entire structure from where they were, parts of it were hidden behind trees. But what they could see along the side of the building were several large glass windows. "It looks like it could be," Caleb said, as he began walking along the edge of the valley. "Let's try and find a way to get down. We can grab a drink, and then find a good place to climb up over there."

  "Alright," Alice said, "But I think you want to go this way, it looks like the slope gets worse heading over there." She pointed in the direction Caleb had begun to walk. She had explored the forest around the cabin where she grew up quite a bit, and had gotten very good at navigating around landscapes.

  "Yeah, you're right. I see that. Good call," Caleb said, moving in behind Alice.

  The two continued to follow the edge of the valley further into the woods, losing sight of the brick building, but still within view of the stream. Finally they came to an area that looked safe enough to climb down. There was a line of dirt cut into the slope, heading toward the bottom with rocks sticking out every which way. "I'll go first," Alice said, inching her way toward the ledge.