And tonight was going to be the night. After weeks and weeks of torment, I was ready to make my escape.
I silently crept out of the door carrying a bag with all of my surviving supplies. I tied my black hair into a bun. I swiftly made my way down the stairs and into one of the gyms. I stole one of the skateboards, broke off its wheels, attached my anti-gravity ring to it, and ran outside into the dark night. I passed a couple of soldiers like a ghost. As soon as I was completely alone and out of sight, I laid the board down, turned on the ring, and jumped onto the hovering skateboard. I headed toward the forest’s edge. I was finally going to be free!
As I passed the principal’s office, the school’s alarm went off. I sped straight ahead toward my freedom. Red lights beamed around the campus, while bright, white lights shone everywhere. Students emerged from their dorms and got into their battle positions, searching the campus. My heart was pounding. I was terrified. I couldn’t be caught. Matthew would torture me if he were to catch me escaping from his grasp. I had to get away. The nightmare had to end.
As I approached the laser beams, I jumped off the hover-board and held it under my arm. I carefully crawled between every ruby beam; the slightest contact would send a signal telling the whole school where I was. Sweat pearled on my forehead as the beams skimmed my eyes when I passed between them.
As I crossed the last laser, a weight had been lifted, but my heart skipped a beat when I made eye contact with a student, who then rung the alarm. I raced into the forest as fast as I could. Without turning around, I was certain that everyone was chasing me. I could feel the earth trembling under my feet. I heard a gunshot and felt as if the world had fallen apart. I froze, then slowly turned around. The students, soldiers, and robot-like instructors all had their backs to me. They were taking orders from someone who was standing in the center of the crowd. I recognized the voice; it had been engraved in my mind.
“Circle her!” Matthew yelled. “Bring her back alive! Do not come back without her! Take down anyone who stands in your way!”
Matthew was furious. Those who weren’t capable of finding me would surely be struck down without hesitation. Something worse would happen to me if I were caught. I had to get away.
I started to run, and when I thought it was safe, I saw someone move in the distance. I was encircled—doomed!
I collapsed to the ground and crawled behind a bush. Fear crawled beneath my skin and clawed at my heart. I was terrified, but I couldn’t confront Matthew again. I had the strength to stand up to him, but he would surely destroy me.
Someone passed in front of me, which meant that the circle was closing in. I had nowhere to go. As their night goggles skimmed over me, I closed my eyes. I imagined my hands tied behind my back, struggling to get away as my “colleagues” brought me to Matthew. I refused being caught, especially when I had already crossed the line.
“I see footprints,” someone said.
I waited silently, and then the commotion seemed to move away. Once it was clear, I quietly stepped onto my hover-board, leaned forward, and sailed into the dark forest.
The dark forest was alive. Neon green fireflies danced in the black of night. Bushes rustled in the weak wind. A few animals rushed by with glowing, yellow eyes. The soil was cold, and a few drops of water started to fall from the sky. The trees were tall and blocked out most of the stars. I could hear people running and talking from afar, and the howl of an owl sang to me. It was peaceful, but fear pierced through my heart when another gunshot rang through the air. I heard Matthew’s voice calling back all of the students. Blood was most likely going to be shed at my escape.
After about five miles, I stopped and decided to rest. As I reached for my backpack, I realized that all of my belongings were gone; they had fallen off of my board while I had run away, but I couldn’t go back.
My eyes felt heavy, and somehow, through it all, I managed to fall asleep.
Chapter 6
I woke up to someone tapping my shoulder. I quickly sat up, terrified that I’d been caught. A young man in his late twenties was standing over me, looking confused. He had beautiful, green eyes and rose-colored lips. His dark, brown hair framed his square but elegant jaw. He wore brown, ragged clothes the color of dirt.
I didn’t recognize him, and I had never seen him at H.S.H.S., but for whatever reason, his presence brought me calm. I wanted to blurt out everything that had happened last night, but I was afraid. I didn’t trust him completely.
“What’s your name?” the young man asked, still kneeling beside me.
“I–I’m Alexia,” I managed to say. “What’s yours?”
“I’m David. What are you doing here?” The mysterious man scrutinized me, making me feel very self-conscious.
I didn’t really have an answer; I had wanted to run away, but I hadn’t really thought about what I was going to do next. “I’m not sure,” I vaguely replied.
“That’s always everyone’s response.” David looked away into the distance. The forest was empty. He held out his hand and helped me up. I couldn’t really explain what I was feeling, but it felt . . . different. I felt protected away from Matthew. There was something in David’s green eyes that gave me hope. His soft tone was soothing, and my instincts told me that he wasn’t going to take me back to Matthew.
I picked up my hover-board and followed David deeper into the woods, away from H.S.H.S.
“Where are we going?” I asked shyly.
“You’ll see,” David said in an emotionless tone, and we continued walking.
The forest was extremely calm. The light gently sparkled through the golden and fiery-red leaves. A creek shimmered in the sun’s light, and the trees danced in the breeze. Dead leaves cracked under our feet with every step. The morning dew dripped off the leaves, glimmering in the soft light. The wind was strong but not cold. The morning birds’ song was cheerful. The soil was damp under our feet.
I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. I looked down at the thick layer of leaves covering the rich soil.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I’m following you, someone I don’t know . . .”
Something moved. Someone was watching us.
“I’m over here,” said Matthew’s deep voice behind me. And then I felt the barrel of a gun pressing against the center of my back between my shoulder blades. Matthew’s arm snaked around my neck. I froze.
David stood there, pointing his gun at me and Matthew, his eyes wide with anger.
I closed my eyes.
A gunshot rang out.
I fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Blood dripped down my left knee. The pain burned from my leg to my head. When I tried to move, it felt like a spear piercing through my knee. Through watery eyes, I saw Matthew and David pointing a gun at each other. The tip of David’s gun oozed black smoke. I held my breath.
They were frozen at a standstill, staring into each other’s eyes. David looked scared, yet very confident. But why did he shoot me? I mustered all the energy I could and slowly crawled away from Matthew. My knee bled over the leaves, and I could see part of the bullet in my leg. All that blood—my head was getting dizzy. I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, I heard the charging of a gun. I opened my eyes and saw Matthew standing between David and me. He held a gun in each hand—one aimed at David and the other at me.
“Don’t move,” Matthew said to me, “or you’ll both be hurt.” His icy gaze was fixated on David.
My knee was aching, but I pulled my leg, trying to get away, hoping Matthew wouldn’t pull the trigger.
I blinked.
There was another gunshot.
Matthew screamed.
David ran behind me, wrapped his arm around my neck, and shoved the smoking gun under my chin. What was he doing? I could feel the warmth of the gun against my jaw. I was terrified. Matthew’s eyes were wide, his right hand blee
ding from David’s shot.
“First, put down your gun. Then kick both of them over here,” David ordered. Matthew obeyed. “Pick them up,” David yelled at me, pushing his gun harder against my throat. I leaned forward and picked up the guns with shaky hands.
When I looked up, Matthew was gone, leaving a trail of blood behind him. But I still had a gun threatening my life.
I didn’t move. My leg was still bleeding and sent a paralyzing sensation throughout my body. My throat was starting to hurt because David was pushing the gun right under my chin, as if he were trying to pass his weapon through my jawbone. He was looking around for Matthew.
David suddenly jammed the gun into my back, the burning tip of the barrel pressing against my spine.
“Get up,” he said in a strong voice. I tried to get up, putting all of my weight onto my right leg. I almost fell again, but I pushed myself up. The paralyzing feeling fled from my head all the way down to the ground, as if it were racing against my heartbeat. I was faint. Blood ran down my leg.
“Walk,” ordered David. My original feeling of trusting him had been rendered to dust and replaced with sharp fear.
I pushed my left leg forward, but as soon as I put pressure on it, I collapsed.“I can’t walk on it,” I said in a trembling voice.
“Try again,” David repeated in a cold tone. His green eyes were no longer reassuring.
I leaned against a tree and used it as leverage to lift my body. It felt like blood was gushing out of my leg, and I was getting dizzier by the second.
“That way,” he said, pointing his gun. I limped, dragging my injured leg behind me. I tripped over a root, but caught myself on a tree. The more I moved, the more pain I felt.
“Don’t think about doing anything crazy. I’m not hurt, so I can take you down in a matter of seconds,” David warned. He flung my left arm over his shoulder, then put his right arm around my hip. He was still holding the gun with his free hand. I limped as he pulled me along. We kept walking as small tears ran down my cheeks and dropped onto the fertile soil.
If I hadn’t run away, I wouldn’t have met David; I wouldn’t have been attacked by Matthew and wouldn’t have been shot. I had trusted a stranger for no real reason, and in return he had put a hole in my leg. I thought he would have helped me, but I had been the one he had taken down. His choice of shooting me over Matthew had planted terror deep inside of me. Maybe I was truly alone in this world. Maybe I was the only one who hated Matthew.
As we continued deeper into the forest, I couldn’t feel my leg anymore. I shut my eyes again—weak and dizzy, the world around me was spinning.
“We’re almost there,” David whispered into my ear. “Bear with me, please.” I didn’t trust him anymore, but I was so tired and in a lot of pain. I allowed him to blindly lead me through the forest until I couldn’t feel the sun on my eyelids.
Chapter 7
I woke up in a white hut. David was sitting across the room, and a stinging, putrid odor invaded my nostrils.
“It’s been fifteen days since your operation to take that bullet out of your leg. No one knew if you were going to make it. You lost over two pints of blood. Andrew wants to see you as soon as possible. If you hadn’t survived, I would have been in more trouble than you can imagine. Come on!” David said. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of bed.
I screamed. It was as if someone had torn my leg apart. I collapsed to the floor. I was wearing a long shirt that came to my knees, so I grabbed a pair of pants that were on the table next to me, slipped them on, and limped to catch up to David who was already outside.
The cool wind brushed the back of my neck. And that was when I realized that my hair was short! I frantically ran my fingers through what was left of my hair; it had been cut above my ears.
I scanned the area around me. White huts were set up everywhere. Men ranging from the ages of twenty to seventy were dressed in rags. Some were picking up wood, while others were making guns, cooking, and setting the table. Everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing and stared at me. And that was when I noticed that there were no girls, not one.
I caught up to David and whispered, “Where are we? Who are these people? What happened to my hair? Where is my hover-board?”
“Don’t worry about your board or your hair. I went back to get your hover-board the night of your surgery. Andrew will answer the other questions,” David replied emotionless.
“Fifteen days?” I asked timidly.
“Yes.”
My birthday had passed months ago at H.S.H.S., and I was now sixteen and a half. I had spent it outside of Tamizeh, far from Matthew.
We arrived at a rocky hill. We climbed wooden stairs that were carved into white stone, and at the top stood a small cabin. David knocked on the wooden door.
“Come in,” said a peaceful voice.
David opened the door, and we walked in.
A young man, about two or three years older than I, was lying on a bed. His arms were propped up, supporting his neck, and his eyes were closed. He had curly, black hair and looked to be tall, thin, and built. He was dressed in brown, raggedy clothes. A thin layer of dirt covered him, as if he had been in a physical fight. His left hand was wrapped in a piece of black cloth.
He got up and walked over to me. I looked into his deep, emerald eyes. He looked oddly familiar, with a reassuring face.
“I’m Andrew. I see you’re doing well!” He shook my hand, then continued, “I think it’s safe to assume that you have met David. What’s your name?”
“Alexia. Where am I?” I actually felt comfortable around him, unlike David. But I was still hesitant; the last time I’d trusted a complete stranger I had gotten shot.
“This is our small village. We call it ‘The Shadows.’ We’re a rather modest military base trying to fit into the mess of the war. We’ve been waiting to meet you for a long time.”
“Why?” All of a sudden I felt a huge storm fall upon me.
“The Long War. We do no—”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested. I hate this war. So please excuse me, but I’m leaving.” I was disappointed. I had been naïve to believe that I would find peace if I left Tamizeh. But there was a world war going on, and there was no escaping it. I had left H.S.H.S. to get away from the bloodshed, not just join a different camp.
“Wait. We do not wish to fight either. We are trying to end the War without destroying the world around us. We’ve been trying to avoid the War for the last seventy years, since the Battle of Seven. Instead, we have come up with a plan to take away Matthew’s power. I’ll explain the rest another time. Meanwhile, we will teach you everything we know, so that you will be able to fight at our level. In addition to the usual training, you’ll have lessons with me, so that we can focus on what you need to learn. Most of the soldiers here started training together, so the majority are at the same level and probably don’t have the same skill set as you do. Come on, David and I will show you around.” Andrew smiled.
I froze. I didn’t want to fight.
“Alexia,” Andrew said in a soothing voice. “Trust me. We are against Matthew and his war.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat. His green eyes were pleading, and for whatever reason, I trusted him. I assumed he was the leader of the village, so I followed him. I had never heard of renegades living in the surrounding forest, so I figured this small group could have a chance of taking Matthew down. Maybe it was foolish to have trusted David so easily, but I knew how Matthew worked, so I could offer some knowledge and advantage if I ever decided I could trust them enough with the information. I didn’t want to give away the weaknesses of Tamizeh, though. I didn’t want any blood on my hands. I needed to trust whoever would lead the attack against Matthew, and so far Andrew was my only candidate.
“So I just say ‘yes’ and join your resistance?” I asked.
“Basically. We usually run some background checks for security reasons, and you’d have to take a couple of tests, but becau
se we picked you up, we already have a fairly good idea of where you stand.”
“And where’s that exactly?”
“Here. You can fight, and we need good soldiers. Come on, let’s show you around.”
He held his arm out, leading me to the door. As strange as it was, I felt like I finally belonged somewhere. I slowly staggered toward the exit.
“You’re still limping,” Andrew said.“Forget the injury, and walk as if you had never been hurt.”
“I can’t.” I didn’t want to complain, but I was afraid of the pain. It hadn’t been hurting, but that didn’t mean that it couldn’t.
“Yes, you can. You’re just afraid.” Andrew walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. “Extend your leg,” he whispered into my ear. “Slowly . . . you’re fine.” His warm hands infiltrated my nerves, causing me to feel limp and ignore the fear of pain.
I put my foot down, touching the cold floor with my toes. Blood didn’t drip down my knee, and electric shocks didn’t spring up my leg. It felt normal. I slowly put my weight on it and took a few steps. Andrew’s hands slid off my shoulders as I walked away, but I could still feel his warm breath dancing around my neck.
David was leaning against the wall in the corner. He had a dismal visage, apparently not approving what was going on.
I walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out.
“Oh, by the way, you’re the only girl here. We do not allow women this close to Matthew or war. Matthew could attack us at any given moment, and we’re only a small military camp with few soldiers. The women, children, and elders live in Maria, a village on the other side of the lake, where they are safer. You will stay here. Act as much like a boy as possible. No one but us three needs to know who you really are . . . Alexia from Tamizeh.”
I was shocked that he had known my name and where I was from. I knew they were aware of a lot more concerning my community than I had expected. I realized that people outside of Tamizeh would want me dead, but I couldn’t figure out why Andrew wanted to protect me. It meant that I was some sort of asset to them, but they hadn’t pushed me into doing anything I didn’t want to do, so I was willing to see how the cards would play out.
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