Rebellion

2 - How it all began

I slowly open my eyes. Everything is blurry at first but I gradually start seeing clearly. I see a blurry figure standing over me. It takes a while for my eyes to focus but once they have, I see that it’s Blaze who is standing over me.

“Are you all right?” He asks.

I shrug. Then he leans towards me and I feel his warm lips against mine.

I suddenly wake up. What the hell was I dreaming?

“Are you okay?”

Blaze is sitting by me.

“Um, yeah,” I lie. “Just a strange dream.”

I put my hand onto my forehead. I wince.

“What happened?” I ask as I sit up.

 “I was about to ask you the same thing,” he says. “You were running and then the ball came and hit you in the head pretty hard.”

Oh god! I’ve made a total fool of myself in front of Blaze!

“Where are the others?” I ask as I try to stand up.

Blaze sees that I’m struggling so he takes my hand and helps my up. His hands are so warm and strong, I could hold onto them forever.

Harper! Stop it!

“They’re inside,” he says, pointing towards the big, round building behind us. I nod. We turn around and slowly walk towards the Sports center, hand in hand.

When we walk into the building, I see Aarin, Rufus and the rest of the team sitting on a bench by the wall.

“Hey!” Aarin says as she stands up and walks towards me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I nod.

“I was so worried about you!” She says and hugs me.

Blaze pats me on the back and walks towards the bench and starts talking to a tall, dark-haired boy from our team.

“So what happened?” Aarin says as she lets go of me.

“I don’t know,” I say and shrug. “I got distracted or something.”

“Distracted by what? My brother?” She laughs. How did she know?

I awkwardly laugh back. Aarin looks at me suspiciously. I feel my heart beat faster and the blood pump through my veins.

“So what happened after I got knocked out?” I say, trying to change the subject.

“Nothing much,” she replies. “The game stopped. They’re going to postpone it to next Saturday.”

“Oh, I see,” I say. “I’m sorry I ruined the game.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she says and puts her hand on my shoulder. I look into her grey eyes.

“Hey,” Rufus walks towards us. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I say.

My head is still pounding and I feel a bump on where the ball hit me. It feels like a little elf is inside my head and pushing as hard as he can on the inside of my forehead.

“Listen, I was wondering if we should all go to a café or something since you seem all right,” Rufus suggests.

“Sure,” Aarin nods.

“You guys go ahead. I think I’m just going to go home and rest my head for a while,” I say.

“Are you sure?” Aarin says. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No it’s okay,” I say. “I’ll be fine. Plus Neeko’s been home alone all day.”

“Okay,” she says. “See you later.”

Aarin, Blaze and Rufus walk out of the building and wave back to me.

I walk towards the front door of my big, white house. It has windows on nearly every inch of the walls and a small swimming pool at the front. I remember how Rufus and I used to play catch every time we went swimming. Our mom used to throw balls into the pool and we’d swim to the bottom and whoever got the more balls, won. Ever since she died, we never even go near pools.

I walk through the door and Neeko, my pet Bernese mountain dog, is there to greet me with a wet kiss. I bend down and stroke his ash black fur. I got Neeko for my eighth birthday, my first birthday after my mother died. When I was a kid I always watched Zilchball on TV and my favorite player was Neekolay Cramer, Neeko. I decided to name my new puppy after him, Neeko.

“Harper!” I hear my father call from the kitchen. “Harper, thank god!”

I walk rapidly into the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” I ask worriedly.

“You need to listen to me,” he says and grabs my arms. He’s scared I know it. Like me his British accent enhances when he’s scared or trying to prove a point. “They know who I am! They’ve found out that I’m not Jarek Umber”

“What!” I gasp. “How?”

“I don’t know but we don’t have much time. You have to take this,” he says as he reaches into the pocket of his black trousers and takes out a small bottle that’s holding some strange, black liquid. “You must bring this to the official science facility in Northern Scandinavia.”

He puts the bottle into my open hand and closes it. He holds tight onto me with his warm, soft hands.

“Once in the facility, you must give this to Dr. Reznor Paradox and him only. He’s the only one you can trust!”

“W-what is it?” I stutter.

“It’s the cure to all this pollution that has been happening around us! It’s the solution. I know it!” He looks deep into my eyes with his own big, brown eyes. People say that I look a lot like my father, that we have the exact same eyes.

“You must go now!” He says, getting more and more worried. “Tell your brother I love him.”

I look straight at him. I feel my eyes starting to water.

“I love you,” he says and hugs me tight.

I breathe in his scent. I love his smell; it always makes me feel confident and safe.

“But where are you going?” I say as he lets me go.

“The police are on their way here but you must go and take your brother and keep each other safe. You must run away but be careful, they’ll come after you.”

“But dad, I’m only fifteen and he’s thirteen,” I protest. “We’re not legally allowed to live on our own.”

“Would you rather be locked up in a cell?” He asks. “I know you’re strong enough to do this.”

I stare into his eyes one last time and hug him once again.

“I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you too,” he says and kisses my forehead. I hear an engine stop outside. “Now go!”

“But dad-“

“GO!”

He pushes me away and I run out the back door. I take a deep breath and start to sob. I look back through the window. I hear Neeko bark out as three men in white with big missiles walk into the kitchen and grab my father. The last thing I see of my father is him being beaten down by the police and then dragged out covered in blood.