Spectrum

chapter three

the gunshot took me by surprise. it echoed down every hall in our house. then, silence, but what took me more by surprise was that the shot hadn't originated from my chamber. i never shot the gun. that only left one possibility. mother. i had to act quickly because i knew they'd be coming for me next. what was i supposed to do? kill him? i settled on hitting the guard in the neck with full force. something happened and he dropped to the floor, as did i. i knew they'd walk in, and i'd be able to shoot the shin, and get the second guard down. the president was something i would worry about when i got to it.

just as i suspected the second guard walked in. i could tell he was confused. that is, until he had two bullets in his leg and shin. the familiar bang of the gun again filled the house. i immediately started on my way to the dining room. i had to say goodbye. i had to. the tears started to come less from the pain and more from sorrow. as i limped into the dining room i seen my mother, now a bloody corpse, and standing over her, that monster. that fiend! i aimed the pistol at him.

"Don't... move." i didn't say it as a suggestion, i said it as a demand. he was onviously unarmed so when i blew a kiss to my mom and ran out of the door, he didn't dare to move. I ran. finally, i stopped to catch a breath, still checking the road behind me. that's when i noticed it. the ring on my finger no longer glowed white. i was no longer a member of the Ivory community. it glowed gold. I was now part of Cadmium.

i ran to the only place i could think of. Caddy's. when her mother opened the door, she proclaimed

"My goodness!" her smile was ear to ear. "You look gorgeous!" she really excentuated the 'gorgeous'.

"Thank you very much, but is Caddy here?" my voice was steady but my eyes pleaded for her to say yes.

"Yes, yes of course," she could tell something was wrong. "She's in her room, you can head right up," when i opened the door, Caddys face lit up with excitement.

"Hey D!" she called me that on occasion. "You look -"

"No time for that," i showed her my ring. she immediately was struck by fear. "What do I do?" i begged for her help. she looked out her bedroom window and said.

"Stay in here, pick out clothes and put them on. I'll be right back," i heard her footsteps running down the stairs. into her wardrobe i went. finally deciding on a summery dress that showed my stomach in a diamond shape, and quite a lot of my back. i slipped on a white cloth jacket over it. and buttoned the bottom button. i may not be in Ivory anymore, but i still wanted myself to be covered. i still had on the white heels, so i decided to borrow a pair of brown sandals that showed my toes. that's when Caddy barged through the door, a bowl in one hand and scissors in the other.

"You look lovely," she stated, and you could obviously hear her lack of breath. she hurried across her room to the bed, on which i sat.

"What's that?" i asked her. she looked up at me, her eyes full of sorrow. she looked back down.

"It's uh..." she hesitated. "It's hair dye." and that was the final piece of the puzzle. she was genious! i hugged her tightly.

"Thank you so much," i started to cry. i just did the most dangerous thing you could do in the world, yet Caddy still was helping me. she was doing everything she could to keep me from jail or maybe even death. she cared so much, maybe even too much. if anybody were to find out she was helping me, she would get the same fate i was givin. she got on her bed and went behind me and took my hair down. she started snipping. I told her the story and all she did was gasp and make worried sounds as i verbally went through what happened moments ago. "So why do you think it put me in Cadmium?" i asked at the end of it all.

"Becuase you showed them all forgiveness," she smiled. "You didn't kill any one of them," her voice was almost proud. "Isn't forgiveness wonderful?" that's when i noticed if Caddy hadn't have forgivin me for what i did, i wouldn't be here. i'd probably be in jail right now. or dead. "It's done," she was proud of her work. she handed me a mirror. "I hope you like it," she smiled. in the mirror i seen a woman, who was stronger than she appeared that same morning. her hair was maybe three inches long. very short. both of my ears were visable. "hurry," she broke my thoughts. "We have to dye it," i looked at the bowl. she had put on gloves and was ready. she gave me a quick smile. "Ready?"

"What color is it?" i questioned her.

"Brown, like the rest of my family," she informed me. "You'll fit in best that way," she was so much more intellegent than anybody thought.

"Yeah," i smiled back at her. "Let's do it," i layed my head back in her hands and closed my eyes.

"Are you excited?" she asked me, and i could hear the smile on her face. i didn't answer her immediately. i hated the danger i was in, but i felt something new. something wonderful. "Doe?" she realized i'd never answered her.

"Oh, sorry," i opened my eyes and apologized to her for not answering. "I don't know, Caddy," returning my eyes to being closed.

"You're done!" she proclaimed after washing out the excess dye in a seperate bowl and drying it off. i stood up and looked at the large mirror in her closet. "You look gorgeous, Doe!" i looked at her and my body pivoted to follow my view. i smiled.

"Call me Mia,"