Survival Game -6-

I took in a great deal of air before releasing it all into one yawn, something I haven’t done in so long. My eyes fluttered open as my mind felt clear and better than it had in days. My body felt well relaxed as if I had just gotten a massage. My stomach was content and my mouth no longer dry, I felt pampered. I soon began to believe that I was back in my cabin, no one but Diesel and I but that thought quickly vanished. It was then that I remembered Alexia and how I was wanted, how I jumped into garbage and how the last thing I remembered was a stinging sensation in my side.

My mind was once again cluttered with questions.

I pushed myself up so I was in an upright position. This room was not my cabin and it was certainly not one that I recognized. It was a dimly lit room with dark grey walls and a cream standard carpet. I was lying on a long highly comfortable couch positioned in one of the corners, a picture of a never-ending valley hanging over me. Across from me was a single rectangular window, the lights of the city much closer than they had been before, making me believe that I was in an apartment building of some sort. Other than the sofa and two picture frames, only a dresser remained.

I hid my face in my hands as I rubbed my temples – Diesel! I glanced around the room for a second time, knowing that Diesel was not present. I shot off of the sofa and out of the room, now standing in a short slender hallway with two doors on the other side of me, and one door beside mine. I continued down the hallway until I now stood in what appeared to be a living room. A large TV hung from a wall portraying what I presumed was news while a desk with a closed laptop stood nearby a window with a scene much like that from the room I was in. A sofa stood on the wall I was closest to and a long rug rested in the middle where a slumbering Diesel was present.

“Diesel!” I told and I immediately saw his head pop up as he dashed towards me. I hugged him as he licked me and wagged his tail.

“He was trying to get in your room,” a voice told and I jumped to my feet as I looked in the direction. A lightly built male stood there. He had brown shaggy hair hidden by a green beanie and a peachy white complexion complete with dimples and dark freckles, a pair of soft green eyes that matched his beanie completing him. The boy appeared to be about my age, a bit younger perhaps yet everything about him gave off the impression of trustworthy. Thing was he also gave off a weak energy as well.

“Captain said to let you sleep though so I didn’t let him go in.”

“Who are you?” I asked not particularly caring, as long as Diesel was okay.

“Oh I’m sorry, I’m Ishmael.”

“Alright Ishmael, how did I end up here?” He blushed at the question, clearing his throat as he looked back down at the food that he was preparing, dough from what it looked like.

“Uh we, well not we as in me but my team more like it, well they shot you with a tranquil dart.”

“You drugged me!” I hissed with narrowed eyes, Diesel matching my anger as he growled lowly.

“No not me, I swear! My team.”

“Yea I got that the first time, there’s no I in team!”

“There is when it comes to drugging folks.” I huffed as I shook my head and sat on the arm of the nearby couch, observing his every move at that moment.

“Where am I and exactly what team are you part of?” Ishmael didn’t immediately respond, instead he seemed to consider if he should tell me at all. In my mind I had a right to know especially since they hadn’t killed me, in his mind he probably saw things less my way.

“I rather not talk until the Captain gets here.” It was evident that I was talking to the wrong guy, Ishmael seemed like nothing but a messenger, a helper if anything.

“Then where is this Captain?”

“Here.” I turned my head to the closing door, two figures coming into the building.
Both were muscular but other than that they had little similarities. One had light tan skin with a black uniform and heavy gear hanging from his belt, clinging to his legs, and fastened to his chest and stomach area. He had barely any hair but the hair he did have was a dark grey though the man didn’t appear anywhere over fifty. He had a matching goatee and serious gray eyes that appeared as if they had seen more than anyone else. On his left arm was a smiley face with crossbones laying under that, the man probably going for irony, dangling from his right arm was a heavy appearing automatic gun and fingertip-less gloves on both hands.

The other one was the same height as the other man, he had brown spiky hair that stopped right at his neck. He wore similar gear to that of the other man but wore a lot less and his clothes appeared to be leather. He had sneaky chocolate colored eyes and wore a smirk that I would probably grow to hate.

“How are you feeling?” the Captain asked and I lightly chuckled at the question matched with his concern.

“I feel great but I would feel much better if I knew where I was, care to tell me since you did drug me.”

“No not I. That goes to Neko here, his idea, his move,” the Captain smiled pointing his thumb at the boy he had walked in with. Neko smirked at me as he posted himself up on the closest wall. I had half a mind to go and slap the smirk off of his face but I contained myself and turned to face the Captain once again.

“Where am I?”

“You are at one of the so called Rebel rest places though we formally call in the Rebel Sector.” I should have known, here I was thinking I was captured by Sector Patrol men or something along those lines when really it was the rebels.

“Well I’m curious about why I’m still alive.”

“Why would we kill one of us?” I used to believe the same thing until I began to put my life on the line for a Duchess of a place that I despised.

“More or likely it’s because I had the Duchess with me and you all seem to want her pretty badly.”

“Only because of her bargaining status.” I waved my hands in the air motioning for him to stop, if I was going to get the story I wanted it from the beginning. I was more than a wee curious about where this rebellion started, when it did, and exactly why it started now when it would’ve been more than a force in the past.

“How about you tell me the whole story from the beginning.” The Captain smiled as he pulled out a wooden chair, perching his feet upon the table.

“If only I knew what you were referring to when you speak of this beginning,” he told and I rolled my eyes, why were these type of men always difficult. It was a simple question that I wished would be met by a simple yet extensive answer.

“You guys are rebels, why?”

“Simple. We don’t agree with this policy that we are not able to pick our own lives. That we must bend to the will of the so called powerful government and hope that they give us an ID in order for us to survive,” the boy known as Neko told.

“In short we don’t agree with Superiors,” the Captain told. I could understand that better than the next person for I didn’t much agree with the Sector’s policies either.

“And you believe kidnapping the Western Duchess is gonna help that?”

“Oh no, not at all but it will be a start.” I thought about his words. I then slowly realized that the only reason they would allow me to live and bring me here was if they wanted something. They had no idea if I were one of them or not, so the only other thing I could think of was that they wanted to use me.

“Where do you fall into all of this?” the Captain asked and I realized that he had been staring at me the entire time, “well that’s another easy answer, we want you to bring the Duchess to us.” I snickered before looking each man in his eye, wondering how many others there were.

“And how do you expect me to do that? She’s on her way to the grand castle if not already there.”

“I’m sure she is but the thing is she trusts you. You have given your freedom and almost your life to keep her safe, I’m sure you going up to her and persuading her to come wouldn’t be that hard.” I stared at this man; this man that appeared highly intimidating yet at the same time was coming off more as an idiot as time went by.

“And why would I do that? Huh? What’s in it for me?” This seemed to be something the Captain was interested in as he laid back in the chair even more, his eyes on me.

“You ever wondered what exactly happened to your parents?” I froze once he stated those words. My whole demeanor seemed to change at that one word. I eyed the man more closely and I stood straighter than before. His words made no sense to me. How would even know who my parents were? He chuckled lightly at my befuddlement but made no attempt to further explain what he meant.

“How would you know who my parents are?” I asked and he clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Not so fast. You want information, I need a pledge.” I sneered at the words and shook my head. He was right I had given up my freedom and almost my life for someone I didn’t like but regardless of our chemistry, why would I go back on all of that now? I doubt this man knew who my parents were or if there was a happy ending for me when I was done with this task. With one last shake of my head I stood and called for Diesel, the dog immediately coming to my side.

“I’m going to see my way out now,” I told them as I headed towards the door yet Neko slowly stood in front of it. I impulsively reached for my bow only to realize that I had left it back at the warehouse. I growled as Neko’s smirk widened.

“Your dad was a fantastic marksman,” the Captain told and I turned to look at him yet he never glanced at me, only forward. “We always asked why he chose arrows over bullets and he was never able to give us a good enough answer.” I wanted to disagree to tell him that he had the wrong man but the simple words he used described my father perfectly, for I would ask the same. I watched as he stood up and came to me, eyeing me and there I could see the look in his eye of someone who had lost a close friend.

“Your father. He died for something he believed in. He died trying to make sure his family would be able to prosper. He died for no reason.”

“You tell me what happened and I’ll think about joining,” I told him after thinking about his words.

“That’s not the deal,” Neko growled and I cut my eyes to him but the Captain stopped any advancements on either part.

“It’s fine Neko, she deserves to know.” And with those words, I sent a smirk to Neko, his eyes narrowing as he grumbled and walked into the kitchen with Ishmael.

“Your father was a leader in our town and he had chose me to help out. The first day the Superiors came to our village, they had what is known as a screening. In their beginning days they visited all the towns and villages in their area to recruit future officials, intellect, and their families. If they deemed you worthy you were brought in for cleansing and to get your ID and occupation. When they visited our town though your father and most of the town denied a screening. It seemed that no one wanted to join their perfect Sector.” I watched as he seemed to grow more depressed with the story he was telling, his grey eyes seemed to match his new disheartened mood.

“At first the Superiors seemed to understand this and they left us alone. But then that day came.” My heart picked up speed as the memories came rushing back, the screams and cries of the people that I had grew up with.

“We knew about the cleansing but we were never told about the actions that came to the recently cleansed town later on . . . probably because no one lived to tell.”

“Stay in the house!” my mother shouted to me. My heart picked up beat as she came to me and kissed me gently on the forehead, “I love you baby,” she told me and I watched as the tears fell.

“What’s wrong mommy?” Yet she didn’t ask as she kissed me and hugged me once more. With that she turned her back to me and walked off.

The Captain got up and went to the nearby window, leaning up against it, his back to us. “It happened in the morning, when pretty much everyone was still in deep sleep. I remember hearing a shout and then it morphed into a scream, I instinctively shot up to see what was happening when I saw men on horseback, setting houses on fire.”

“Mother!” I screamed as loud as possible as I coughed profusely at the smell of smoke. I was beginning to form a headache when I finally made the decision to get up. I ran out of the room and called for Diesel yet he was nowhere to be seen. I then called for my family and yet they didn’t answer me either. I ran out of the house, stopping as I saw the scene before me. The houses were on fire and everyone was running around screaming in fear. I watched as men on bay horses began to pull out guns and shoot those that were running, taking no mercy. I watched as those I knew since I was little died without knowing why. I dropped to my knees as I felt the tears rush out.

“A group of us and your father tried to reason with the Superiors, telling them that no one wanted the bloodshed. But they could care less as it seemed our pleas only increased their shooting. They didn’t try to shoot us though, that’s what always confused me. I assume they were trying to tell us that it was our fault, that we should’ve accepted. We watched entire families die and we could do nothing.”

I then realized that standing there wouldn’t do anything, besides get me killed. I took off around the house, sticking to the walls and low to the ground. Whenever I heard hoofs I would lie on the ground and pretend I was dead. I repeated this until I felt myself touch something. I looked and saw a blood trail, rounding the back of a house. Out of curiosity I followed and froze when I stared at my mother’s dead body. I felt my body lockup as not even tears expressed my sorrow. I laid beside her body as I cried, grieving all those that we lost. It was then that my hatred sprouted and grew. The hatred against the so called Superiors, those that wore the symbol of the snake. Yet it was then that my body went limp and I felt myself fall unconscious beside my mother.

“We saw you, dead. Once your father saw the two of you lying there he, of course he couldn’t take it. He declared that he would do everything in his power to get revenge, and there the rebellion was made. We would travel to towns and villages that had yet been visited and destroyed by the Superiors, recruiting more and more men. But that didn’t go on forever. The Superiors began to fight back and a never spoken war began to go on between us, we learned how to sneak passed their borders unexpectedly, there we began to tear them from the inside out. But your father was captured and made an example of for any rebels that were still free.”

I sat and thought about his words. Conflicting feelings running through me as I pictured my father dying in front of a huge crowd, a man reciting from a parchment a ridiculous message to all rebels, a crowd watching with joy as he died at their hands.

“Your father died trying to destroy a corrupt government, are you telling me you’re going to risk your life for the same government? The government that took your town from you . . . your family?” If no one had told the Captain before, then he should win the Medal of Honor for speeches. I felt rage fly through me as I thought about his words and the memories. The memories of a young girl going from town to town, stealing to survive, all alone because of a group of people who couldn’t take a simple no thank you.

“And you think your Duchess is much different?” Neko inputted as he shot me a wide smirk. “What did she tell you she was here for?”

“A . . . a me . . . meet . . . meeting with the Duke,” I stuttered as I feared what he was about to tell me.

“And that’s all?” he chuckled, “the meeting is for their arranged marriage. The Western Sector wants to team up with the Southern Sector to end the rebellion, since we only exist in these two areas. We haven’t even touched the Northern Sector yet.” I had stopped listening to him when he had said end the rebellion, was Alexia aware of the rebellion? I remembered her shock when there were actual rebels out and about, was all that fake?

“Listen . . .,” the Captain began and I interjected, telling him my name. He nodded and began to speak again, “we can use your help with this.”

“What exactly are you thinking about doing? Where is all this leading to?” The Captain raised his eyebrow, telling me that he wasn’t going to tell me none of the above if I didn’t pledge to the rebels. I rolled my eyes and rose my left hand and sat my right hand in front, as if pledging over a book. He smiled as he recited a pledge that I found highly interesting ending it all with, “in survival we trust.”

“Down with the Sectors! Down with the Superiors!” Neko and Ishmael both shouted after I finished the last line, the Captain smiling.

“Follow me.” I watched as he walked out of the room. I followed behind him with Ishmael and Neko following behind me.