by Kip Nelson
There were times when Adam and Diana were given the same shift, which they were pleased about as it gave them a chance to talk about the community. After about a week they had a lot to say.
“It feels like we haven't really had a chance to speak that much,” Adam said.
“It's touching that you missed me,” Diana replied playfully.
“How are you finding it so far?” Adam said, ignoring her remark.
“Actually, it's better than I thought it would be. I mean, I'm still not entirely convinced that everyone here can be trusted, but some people seem fine. I think there are two types of people here, the ones who just are trying to make it through the day, and the ones who really know what's going on. I'm just not sure about who falls into which category. It seems to work well, though. Lisa certainly has these people organized.”
“From what I hear she can be pretty ruthless. I was on duty with Mark the other night, have you met him?”
“Tall guy with the tear drop tattoo?”
“Yeah, that's the one. Anyway, I was asking him about a few things that Lee had mentioned, about people who had been thrown out of the community. It seems pretty harsh, but I guess they have their rules.”
“Yeah, it's one thing I don't like. Everyone seems happy enough, so I must give them credit there, but I have heard stories about people who have done something to displease Lisa. She doesn't seem to be the most reasonable person.”
“How's Annabelle doing?” Adam asked, not really wanting to talk about Lisa or his fears.
“She misses you and Peter, but she's liking being back at school. I'm glad for it as well. It feels like she's an actual child again. She's made a friend, George, and Tara seems like a great teacher.”
“Yeah, she does,” Adam said, smiling as he thought back to her. He'd seen her across the camp a few times, but never had made the move to speak to her.
“I think someone has a little crush,” Diana teased.
“Can you blame me?”
“Not really,” she said, laughing softly. Diana had relaxed a lot since their life in this place had begun. Adam was glad they could laugh and joke as friends. They felt safe, and he was pleased that now that they were settled, they were feeling a little happier.
“I don't know what I'm going to do about it, though.”
“Just ask her out. What's the worse that can happen?”
“I could give you a long list about that. It's not like I've had the best luck with women in the past.”
“That was the past, this is a new beginning. You're just two people are living in this world now. Just go talk to her and see what happens.”
Adam remained unconvinced, but he knew he wasn't going to make Diana understand how it was for him. She was a beautiful actress, one of those women who only had to click her fingers and a battalion of men would come running toward her. Not that she seemed interested in any of that. Plenty of men had cast admiring glances her way, and a number of them had asked Adam for the inside scoop, but she hadn't given any of them the time of day.
There was a call from outside for the gates to open. The two of them ran to open it and let the patrol in, who were returning with yet another big supply of food. Adam was glad to see that the stores of food were not going to run out anytime soon. Yet, whenever they came back he had to wonder where they were getting the food. Then, one day, he got a call to open the gates, expecting it to be another food run, but it wasn't. A few men had returned. One was wounded, with blood seeping from his shoulder, his body limp, his skin pale. Adam's throat ran dry as he watched them rush through the gates, screaming bloody murder that they had been attacked. Adam shut the gates, but as he did so he peered into the darkness, afraid that someone would be following them. The world was a dangerous place.
Rumors rippled through the camp as to who had attacked. Some people had more of an idea than others. Adam ran straight to Diana and Peter, panicked about what happened. Then word came through the camp that Lisa was going to make a speech.
Everyone gathered outside. Lisa, small in stature, stood with her hands clasped behind her back. Lee and a few other men flanked her. “Something terrible has happened, and as many of you know this is not the first time. I wish we lived in a safe world where people could move about freely without being in danger, but we do not. Our patrol was out looking for food and supplies to keep this community going when they were attacked by a violent enemy, and not all of them survived. I've heard their account of what happened. I'm sure word of it will spread. I can assure you it was horrific. It saddens me there are people out there who are slaves to chaos. I am proud of what we have built here, and I will not see it threatened like this! I say these words with a heavy heart, but it is time for war.”
Chapter Twenty
Adam was stunned by the words. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It seemed surreal. This was supposed to be a place of peace. War didn't enter into it. He never signed up for that.
“What the hell?” Diana gasped beside him.
Adam gulped and looked around. He saw worried faces, but also faces that were relishing the challenge. Across the crowd his eyes met with Joanna's, and she looked empty. So far, he had managed to avoid her since he didn't have anything to say, but now he felt sorry for her. So many people in the crowd weren't prepared for a war. They weren't soldiers, they were just normal people, and who was this enemy anyway?
“We have to get out of here,” Diana said, and tugged at Adam. They pushed their way through the crowd and made their way back to their apartments. Diana had Annabelle in tow. The young girl didn't know the entire context of what was happening, but she knew it was bad.
“I can't believe this is happening,” Diana said as she started flinging her belongings into a bag.
“We have to go. I am not getting embroiled in a war. I only came here because it seemed safe and because you promised us it would be safe. I'm not staying, not with Annabelle. This isn't the place for a child. I know you're probably going to try arguing with me and saying we should stay here for the greater good, but I don't give a crap about the greater good. I care about me and Annabelle, and I am not going to have this child in a war.”
“I'm not going to argue with you. We do need to get out of here. I don't want to stay here either. You really think I'm built for war? I wanted this to work out. I wanted to stay here because I don't know what our chances are like out there, but I know they must be a damned sight better than they would be at war. Peter, what do you think?”
“War is bad. Seen too many of them. I don't want another one. Not a soldier anymore. No violence.” Adam paused for a moment. He hadn't known that Peter had been a soldier, but there wasn't time to ask him about it now.
“We can't just leave George!” Annabelle said. Diana pressed her lips together. Time was of the essence. They had to leave before anyone noticed they were gone. Diana crouched down so she was on the same eye level as Annabelle.
“I know this is hard and you don't want to say goodbye to your friend, but he has to stay with his parents. Maybe they'll get out too while they can, but we must look out for ourselves. Okay? Like we always have done? We've gotta keep each other safe. I know it's hard and it doesn't seem fair, but unfortunately that's what life is like. We just have to get out of here, because it's not safe. Do you understand?” Annabelle nodded, her eyes wet with tears. It broke Adam's heart.
A few minutes later they had everything, for their belongings were few, and were about to leave. Adam turned and saw Lee standing at the door, wagging his finger.
“Naughty, naughty. I told you I was going to be keeping an eye on you and I saw you slip away. That wasn't very community-minded of you, was it? Especially not in this hour of need,” he said, smirking.
“Lee, come on, we've got a kid here. This isn't safe. You never told us there would be a war,” Adam said.
“Never thought there would be one. But you can't count on anything in this world. You're staying here and you're going to help us
fight. I'm taking you to Lisa.”
All the rage that Adam felt for this man boiled up and made his heart race. His blood pulsed through his veins and he could feel his entire body start to tremble.
“We're leaving. One way or the other. If you don't get out of my way, I'm going to make you get out of my way,” Adam growled. He barely was aware of Diana telling him to stop. All he could see was red, and Lee was locked in his sights.
“Try it,” Lee said.
That was all the prompting Adam needed. He stormed forward and lunged at Lee with his right fist, but he was untrained in the ways of fighting, unlike Lee, who saw the move and easily dodged it. He caught Adam's fist and twisted around, then held his arms behind his head, pulling them down tightly, the pain was almost unbearable.
“All I need to do is press a little more weight on these and I'll break your arm. Stop now. I don't want to do it,” Lee said. Adam was fuming but he knew he had little choice, and the fight was over as quickly as it had begun.
“Pull yourselves together and follow me,” he said.
Shamed, Adam hung his head and followed meekly. Yet the hatred in his heart burned ever more fiercely. All he wanted to do was get revenge on Lee, but he seemed impotent. He wasn't sure if he ever would be able to accomplish this goal, but he didn't want to give up. Otherwise, nothing had any meaning. He was clinging to this sense of justice to try making sense of the world, to give him a point upon which his moral compass could revolve. Yet the longer it went on, the more it seemed like Lee was going to escape without justice, and he didn't even have the punishment of his conscience. He was without remorse, and that angered Adam more than anything.
However, the four of them followed Lee to Lisa. As they walked through the camp the whole place was in chaos, a sharp contrast to the usual tranquil atmosphere. Seeing everyone rushing around in a panic, with scared looks on their faces, it took Adam back to that first night when the world had been plunged into darkness, death, and destruction. So many people had lost their lives on that night, but war was another matter entirely. It always had been a distant concept for him, fought in faraway countries, with the news being lost in the shuffle of oil prices and the latest celebrity sex scandal.
Now it was all too real, and he was on the front lines. All it would take was one bullet to end it all and that would be his life over. He wasn't ready for that. He wasn't a soldier. He was just a video games designer. Anxiety set in and he looked around for an escape route. He didn't care what Lee would do. He would keep running until his legs gave way and he could run no longer. He would sprint into the city and cower in a dark corner, where it was safe.
But as he looked around he saw his friends beside him: Peter, who he had spent so many nights in the wilderness with; Annabelle, the young girl who needed protection, who was stronger than she seemed and yet vulnerable, too; and Diana, the woman who could take care of herself, but still was emotionally scarred. Adam knew then that he couldn't run away because these people needed him, and he needed them.
They were taken to a small building, which was evidently where Lisa lived. She was calmer than most people, and watched everything with an inscrutable gaze. It unnerved Adam to see how unaffected she was by the proceedings. Perhaps it was just her age and the fact that she had seen so much already that she just didn't have the energy to appear bothered. However, Adam got the impression that this didn't really matter to her, that all these lives were there for her to use as a means to an end.
“I caught these ones trying to slip away,” Lee said.
“Slip away,” Lisa said, tut-tutting, “I expected more from you,” she said, moving toward them.
“You know, when you first came here I thought you were going to be a valuable addition to this community. I thought you understood what we were about. You proved yourself and we took you in. Why would you want to throw all that away? I understand that war is scary, but there are people all around you who need your help. Imagine if everyone did as you did and left, there would be nobody to defend this place! But people want to stay and fight for what we are building. This place means something to them and they're willing to put their lives on the line. Perhaps it is just because you have not lived here for that long and have not fully acclimatized, but many of the people here have been with us from the beginning.
“We need every able-bodied man and woman to help defend this place from the enemy. We can't succeed if people don't unite and fight for our freedom! Liberty and safety are important to me. I have tried making this a place where everyone can feel safe, but in this world, liberty is not a right. We must be careful not to take it for granted. We must fight for it every day and make sure we remember what is important. If you leave, you will be an enemy of the camp. I don't want you to go down that path, like others have done. I want to be your friend. I want to see you all be pillars of this community,” she said passionately. Adam and Diana glanced at each other warily, wondering what they had gotten themselves into.
“But who is the enemy? Who is attacking us?” Adam asked.
“A savage enemy who tries stealing our food,” she said, her voice heavy, cracking under the weight of her anger.
“We have had dealings with them in the past. They are a most vicious sort. They will not rest until they have destroyed us, and taken everything we have! We must fight back. It is not going to be easy, but please, I implore you, do not run away from us or turn your backs on the people who have taken you in and welcomed you as family.”
“What about Annabelle?” he asked.
“She will be kept safe with the rest of the children,” Lisa said. As far as Adam could see he didn't have much choice. He agreed to be part of the army.
During the following few hours people rushed about the camp gathering guns and body armor.
“I really don't want to do this, Adam,” Peter said, and whenever anyone tried to give him a gun he shook his head and refused to take it.
“Just stick with me, Peter. I'll make sure that nothing is going to happen to you,” Adam said. He worried about Peter, but knew he couldn't force the man to take a gun if he didn't want one. They took Annabelle to the school, where Tara was taking care of the children.
“Annabelle, stay strong and remember that you can protect these other children if they need it, okay? We'll come back for you soon,” Diana said, although there was an aching in her heart.
She didn't want to leave Annabelle, but there was no way she was going to take the girl into a war zone. She made Tara promise to keep the kids safe and then hugged Annabelle tightly. Annabelle hugged Adam and Peter tightly as well, so tightly that Adam was afraid she wasn't going to let go. He smiled at Tara just before he left, and as their eyes met he promised himself that if he made it back he would ask her out.
“I can't believe we're leaving her,” Diana said.
“She'll be okay,” Adam replied, trying to reassure her.
“But will we?”
Adam couldn't answer that question. The rifle was heavy in his hands. He'd never used one before, only in games, but this was not a game. Others were marching alongside him. People such as Lee were rallying everyone to the cause as the legion of soldiers left the community.
“I just want to say that I never expected this to happen,” Adam said, “and I'm sorry that my decisions led us to this.”
“We're in this together now, and we'll get through it together. I don't care what Lisa said. I'm not thinking about the community here. I'm thinking about us and Annabelle. I'm going to get back to her. She's already lost her parents. I'm not going to let her lose us as well.”
“I second that,” Adam said. Peter murmured, panic in his eyes. The sky was dark, and the stomping of feet echoed around, shaking the ground. Adam felt a lump in his throat as they passed through the gates and went to war.
Find out what happens next in book three! Coming Soon!
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