SILVER EYES (GXG)

Chapter 14: Between The Lines (Part 1/2)

My body went rigid, and I felt as if I had been forcibly transported to the deepest, darkest corner of my mind. The strength, the adrenaline, all vanished. Just as if sucked up by the craziest, twisted whirlpool. Dizzy, spinning, I felt my mind on the edge of shattering.

I couldn't do anything but watch. That was the only thing my body seemed to let me do. It was a sunny, calm day. That horrible, unforgettable sunny day. I knew exactly what was going to happen.

Mom and Dad were setting up a trap for the drones. It was what they used to do. The drones were like living spy crows, always surveilling The Other Side. They tracked everything, especially anyone who didn't attend The Call or those suspected of being part of the Phoenix Group, the rebels. So, my parents, who never crossed the wall, built traps for them. Dangerous work really, but they always said it made them feel like they mattered. Like they were fighting back.

Young Michael and I walked through the woods to pick apples from the community fields. It was another thing Mom and Dad made us do whenever we were causing too much trouble. Sending us to collect apples was their way of saying, "Give us a break, kids." Especially since they knew it would take us ages to stumble upon a good one finally, most of them were half-rotten.

Michael jumped around the bushes, happily humming a song, wearing an old brown sweater and overalls he'd inherited from me. He looked like an adorable baby deer, really.

Then we heard a sound.

A drone sound.

But not the usual one. It was more like a malfunctioning noise. A few minutes later, they spotted a drone flying unusually low.

I watched the scene unfold frozen, not knowing what to do.

My younger self proposed catching the drone to bring it to our parents.

"No! Just let it go!" I screamed, but they couldn't hear me.

Before I could even blink, young Grace and Michael were throwing stones at the drone. One, two, three, four... They laughed. They were having fun. They felt safe.

And then... My stone hit the drone. A perfect clean shoot.

"Yes!" Young Grace exclaimed, and she high-fived Michael.

But instead of falling, the drone began to fly better, as if its previous appearance of being damaged had been a trap. Suddenly, it rushed toward them.

They ran away terrified.

The images passed quickly before my eyes and everything inside me screamed.

"Don't go back to the house, you idiots!" I yelled full of anger.

But, of course, they did.

My parents heard the screams and came to help. My mom said she would distract the drone, while my father opened the bunker door on the floor and ushered them inside. He said they would join us as soon as they had dealt with it.

He sealed the door.

Silence.

Darkness.

Young Grace and Michael hugged each other.

No, no, please, no.

A massive explosion. I covered my ears. Young Grace did the same.

Then, a moment I would never forget. They opened the door. Smoke rushed in, like the prelude to a show, a horrible, grim show. Fire crackled. Ashes swirled in the wind. On the floor, amidst the ruin, two lifeless figures. My parents.

The world stood still. No sounds. No feelings. No air coming in and out of my lungs.

"Let me see! Let me see!" Michael yelled behind young Grace, but she pushed him back.