JAKESSTORYFINAL

by Paige Clendenin

  I caught slack for that sometimes, but it didn’t bother me in the least. I honestly didn’t abuse it much. I didn’t want to be known as the spoiled kid, or the one who thought he deserved it all. Nothing I had was any less than anyone else might have at my age, if they applied themselves and worked hard for it.

  I certainly had worked hard for what I had and who I was… it didn’t come from daddy.

  I headed through the maze of hallways, being careful to avoid getting too close to corners. They had been known to take out a pinky toe a time or two. The hallways wound around almost like a snake, and if you didn’t know what you were doing, you would definitely get lost trying to navigate them in the middle of the night.

  I had a flashlight with me, but I didn’t want to use it. It would attract much unwanted attention to myself. Now that I lived on my own, my father might not be able to get me out of trouble if I were to get caught milling around.

  The halls were not as bright after lights out. They were mostly illuminated by blue light; soft, yet annoying at the same time. It made everything look as though it was haunted, casting a fade of dingy sadness across the floor.

  I had been told that the halls were full of mines and other traps that could be activated by central command if The Elected were to infiltrate. I looked up, and I noticed the cameras lining the wall. That was something that took me a while to get used to.

  I quietly made my way to the kitchen and cut myself a piece of chocolate cake that was left over from supper. I took my cake and climbed to my favorite spot in the entire complex: the roof.

  It was the place I would go to think when I didn’t want anyone else to find me. No one besides Sam ever thought to look for me there, so it was the perfect hiding spot.

  Alone in the silence, I devoured the cake on my plate and sat it beside me. I laid back on the roof and looked at the stars that were peeking out from behind the clouds floating over me. I had always loved stargazing, especially since Cole had introduced me to it what seemed like a hundred years ago. I had brought Samantha up with me a few times before, but she was the only one who knew anything about it. I was sure that my father would disapprove of me climbing on the roof of the complex, risking damaging it just to ponder my thoughts.

  I wondered if my mother had ever had a secret spot to go, to be with her thoughts and hide when she was young. The clouds gathered, making the stars disappear, so I sat back up and looked over the dark horizon. I sat and wondered what it would be like out in civilization. I had forgotten what it was like, and I wished that I would be able to know what it was like again. I knew that would never happen, but then again, I never thought my brother would get kidnapped and then murdered, either.

  I started to think about the dream that had woke me from a very deep and peaceful sleep. I pictured the field of tall grass in my mind, and I tried to see if I recognized it. I thought that it looked like the field the truck was hidden in. Then I thought of the girl, and I wondered who she was. I wondered if I would ever meet her, or if she was just a cruel trick that my mind was playing on me, since I was finally on my own. I would hate to think I had spent all these years waiting for the day when I could be free of people telling me what to do, only to discover that I couldn’t be alone. I chuckled at the thought and pondered what the dream might mean.

  I already knew that something was brewing with The Elected, and I wondered if the girl and I running had something to do with whatever that was. I tried to think of a reason why I would be in an entire Force uniform, but I couldn’t figure that part out. There was no way I would fully join them, especially with what I knew. I would never be a part of their trips to town to collect new soldiers. I hated seeing the scared faces of the new recruits every year, and no matter how many times I explained things to Maxwell, he never seemed to listen to me.

  I stopped short at the thought of my father’s name. I had not called him that in several years since I mostly got over my mad spell and stopped being completely resentful towards him. I knew that my dream could mean something big was coming; it could also mean something completely random, and I wasn’t sure which one it was.

  As I sat on the roof, I heard the loud rumble of our utility vans coming down the road to the compound. I watched as the gates opened, letting them in one right after the other. It was a large caravan; one of the largest I had seen since coming to The Force.

  I knew it had to be full of kidnapped children, scared and wanting their families. I gritted my teeth together and swallowed the anger that welled up in me like bile from my stomach. For a small moment, I wondered if SHE was in one of the vans.

  Would the caravan hold the mystery girl from the dream I had had only hours before?

  I shook my head at that thought. Then, I decided that I’d better duck down before someone saw me up there and reported me to my father.

  I thought about going to my father’s apartment, but I knew he would think me silly if I did that, so I stretched back out on the roof and fell asleep. I hoped that maybe the dream would continue, and I could see her beautiful face again before morning.

  I kept tossing and turning, but the dream never returned to me, and I wondered what it meant. I had always had a knack for dreaming things that came true, and my mother always said that it would make me a great leader one day.

  One day, I would be able to use my dreams to lead people to where they truly were meant to be, she would always say. I missed her so much, and I wished that she were here for me to talk to about the dream. Without her to talk to and get advice from, the dream would haunt me forever. I rolled onto my left side and looked out at the stars.

  Sleep was hiding from me, and I knew that I needed to try to find it. I thought about climbing down and going back to my apartment, but all that waited for me there was silence without a view. At least on the roof, I was able to see the beauty that was still in the world when most people had tried to destroy it. In the distance, I heard the soft sound of birds beginning to chirp their happy tune. I knew it must be almost morning. It was still dark, but if the birds were stirring, morning was coming.

  The vans that had arrived in the caravan had been silent for a long time, and no other sounds had come from whoever was in them. The past few times, the children had screamed as they had been unloaded and taken inside to be cleaned and changed into their new attire.

  Sleep would elude them for the first few days. I knew, as I had once been in their shoes, and I pitied them greatly.

  I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the breeze blowing through the trees on the outer edge of the complex and the birds chattering to each other. I felt myself giving in to sleep as the rustling of the wind through the leaves lulled me to sleep. I didn’t understand what the dream meant, but maybe one day, I would.

  Chapter Six

  I found myself in the woods beyond the compound; maybe even outside The Forcefield. I couldn’t be sure. I knew that we were on the side of a cliff, but I couldn’t remember ever seeing one around.

  I couldn’t tell where I was; all I knew was that I was following a small girl who was holding the hand of an even smaller boy. There was a heavy feeling of dread that surrounded them, but it also seeped into me. I looked around to see if I could recognize where I was, but still I couldn’t. Suddenly, the same girl from the other dream was there with me. The sun was shining so brightly that I couldn’t see her full face. The feeling of dread continued to surround us, and I couldn’t figure out why. A loud bang rang out, and I whirled around to see where it had come from. Darkness suddenly took me over.

  The sun felt warm on my face as morning dawned. I knew that it was coming, but I was trying to keep myself asleep as I heard a noise from behind me. A loud bang rang out, like the one I’d heard in the dream that I had just awakened from. I sat up sleepily and turned to see what was making the sound. Samantha came climbing up and sat beside me.

  “How did you know I was up here?” I asked her.

  “I went to your apartment first, and wh
en you weren’t there or at breakfast this morning, I figured that you were most likely up here,” she said as she sat beside me. “Oh, I see what is going on here. You ate cake without me. You know that it is part of our friendship code that you never do that, Jake. What are you thinking, breaking our code?” She nudged my shoulder.

  I smiled and nudged her right back, making her scoot a little, which caused her to jump. I laughed as she grabbed the edge, and she used her free hand to smack me.

  “Make me fly off the roof, why don’t you? What are you doing up here, Jake? I know eating chocolate cake isn’t the only reason why you came up here.” Concern was in her voice.

  “I just wanted to come up and eat my cake while taking in the beautiful view,” I lied.

  Samantha looked at me with that look she gets when she knows that I am trying to get away without talking about stuff. I knew she was going to make me tell her, but I didn’t want to. I knew that deep down, she would make fun of me for my dream, because she always did. Every time I had one that I thought meant something, she was quick to laugh it off and tell me that it was just a dream. But when it came true later, it would scare her. I was tired of her laughing at me every time, and I was going to do whatever I had to so that she would not laugh at me again.

  “Why do I get the feeling that you aren’t being totally truthful with me, Jake?” she asked as she scooted close to me again.

  “It’s nothing really,” I said, trying to change the subject. “Don’t worry about it. You have other things to worry about, like training to be my assistant this year.”

  “Nice try, but I don’t care about my training. Jake, you are my best friend. I want to know what is going on with you. Why is it so hard for you to tell me?” She sounded more concerned.

  “Okay, I will tell you, but you have to promise me that you will not laugh at or make fun of me once I tell you. Do we have a deal?”

  “I won’t make fun of you, I swear. When have I ever made fun of you for anything?” She seemed offended.

  “You’ve been making fun of me for most of our lives, Sam. I know I do stupid things, but you look for things to tease me about.” I grinned.

  “So, what is on your mind, Jake? What is so bad that you think that I am going to make fun of you for it?” She crossed her arms and looked at me.

  “I had a weird dream last night, and I couldn’t go back to sleep,” I started. “That is why I ended up here on the roof with the cake.”

  “When you say, ‘weird dream’, what exactly do you mean by that?” she asked as she gave me a skeptical look.

  I was hesitant to tell her anything about either dream, but I decided that I would tell her about certain parts of the last one. I would hold off on telling her about the small children or the feeling I had in the dream. She would really think I was crazy if she knew all of that.

  “I dreamt that I was dressed in a full Force uniform and I was running through a field,” I said. “I was running fast, like I was in a hurry to get away from something. The weird part is, there was a girl running beside me, and it wasn’t you.”

  I could tell that Samantha was trying her best not to laugh, but I knew that at some point it was going to come out. I saw her trying to get herself under control so that she could speak to me, and it annoyed me.

  I was getting more frustrated. “Come on, Sam. You promised that you wouldn’t make fun of me, and I can see that you are trying your best to keep it in. Why is it so hard for you to take me seriously when it comes to my dreams sometimes meaning something?”

  “I am sorry, Jake. It’s just, you have the weirdest dreams sometimes, and that one just sounds like you have a funny way of dreaming about girls.” She started to giggle.

  “I knew it!” I replied as I started to get up. “I knew I should have just kept it to myself and not said anything. You always do this to me, Sam, and I am really getting tired of it."

  “Where are you going? Was that all that happened in your dream? Come on, Jake, I promise I won’t laugh anymore.” She followed me to the ladder.

  Samantha grabbed my arm to stop me from climbing down the ladder. I looked at her with a look that told her I wasn’t messing around, and she stepped back a bit.

  “I want to know more about your dream, Jake,” she said softly. “I have only ever teased you in fun. I didn’t realize that it bothered you so badly. I’m sorry.”

  Her hand dropped to mine, and she squeezed it tightly as she gave me a pleading look. I knew I couldn’t stay mad at her for long; she was my best friend, and I knew deep down that she hadn’t meant to hurt my feelings.

  “All right,” I said. “I will finish tell you about it, but if you laugh one more time, I will stop. I won’t tell you another dream as long as I live.”

  She nodded her head, and we sat back down where we had been sitting before. I knew she was going to think that the whole thing was weird, but I needed to tell someone. Why not her?

  “We ran through the field as fast as we could until we came to a truck,” I said. “We jumped inside the truck, and I looked for the key. It felt like I knew where everything was in this truck, and soon, we were driving through the field, making our way to a place I was not sure of. Suddenly, what should have been the fence to The Forcefield appeared, and it was a wall instead. We crashed head-first into the wall, and that is when I jolted awake.”

  Samantha sat there for a few moments thinking in silence. I wondered what thoughts were going through her mind and how big of a dork she thought I was. I didn’t want to ask those things out loud, because I knew she would use that as an opportunity to tease me.

  “Maybe it has something to do with the next group of trainees that will be coming in,” she offered. “I know that you have never agreed with The Force’s method of acquiring them. It could be your conscience fighting with you over what to do about being Phase Leader this year.”

  “I don’t really know what it is. I just know that it had me up almost all night trying to figure it out. Not to mention, the girl in the dream is a girl I have never seen before. She isn’t at the complex, because I would remember seeing her.” I stood again and grabbed the plate.

  “There are a lot of girls. I am sure you have just missed seeing her. What did she look like?” Sam asked as she started down the ladder.

  “She was tall and thin, with shoulder-length hair and blue-green eyes,” I said.

  “Yeah, I don’t remember seeing a girl that fits her description either,” she said as we made it to the kitchen. “Maybe it was one of your dreams that tells you when something is going to happen. She might be in the next group that will be coming in soon.”

  Sam went on: “The new recruits arrived last night, if you already didn’t know. I watched them as they were brought into the building. There are easily twice as many of them than what there normally is, and that makes me wonder what is going on. I am not even sure how they are going to have enough bunk space for them, because they’ve brought so many in this time. There has to be something brewing for them to take the amount of kids that I watched step out of the vans last night, Jake. We need to be cautious here. This could get dangerous for everyone.” She spoke in a low tone.

  I put the plate and fork in the sink, and we headed down to my apartment. I hadn’t expected to spend the night on the roof, and I was kind of disappointed that my first night in my own place was botched by a dream that kept me awake. The dream kept coming into my mind; I knew that I had to do something to keep from thinking about it, so I headed to the gym after telling Samantha.

  I tried not to think about it as I did my daily workout, but parts of the dream flashed through my mind like short movie clips. I knew I had to figure out what it meant or try to be patient, but my gut was telling me that it had something to do with The Elected. I was going to find out eventually, but it was hard to tell myself that I was going to have to wait. I hated waiting.

  Chapter Seven

  I stood in the gym as I watched the others training. I knew th
at I needed to train as well, but I could not stop the thoughts that were running through my head. I was thinking about the times I had trained with the other abducted students. I was put in with the abducted students, even though my father had been the one to find me.

  I was scared at first, but the more I did it and the more phases I got through, my confidence grew. It had been hard at first, and there were a few challenges that I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through.

  My father was one of the people who trained me, and he pushed me hard to do better than the other kids.

  All I wanted was to be their friend and not have to beat them out of a place at The Force. It made me sad every time I completed a phase and someone got sent home, because I knew what was coming next for them. The Elected would find out that they had been returned, and then, they would meet the same fate my mother and brother had met. That was when I came up with the idea of making a sanctuary for those who needed it.

  I finished all twelve phases, and I was the youngest to ever do so.

  There were times that I thought I would never make it, but my father kept pushing me to keep going and work harder, so I did. I smiled at the memory as I continued to try to finish my daily workout. I needed to make sure that I was in top shape when it was time to train the new recruits. A feeling of dread crept into my stomach as I thought about that and what it meant. I moved closer to the bag I was punching and hit it a little harder at the thought of more families being torn apart.

  My father always said there was a method to the madness, but I never figured out what the method was to that madness.

  I knew that when phase training was over, father would try to talk me into being leader again, but I was going to have to stand my ground and let him know that I wasn’t going to do that anymore. I wasn’t going to celebrate the fact that young children were ripped from their families, never to see them again.