The Wrong Side

Chapter 14

My name is Caden Tarasi and everything about my life feels wrong. I don't know how to describe it.  I know everything about myself: My parents, my family, where I was born and raised and I know what's happening around me. I know that I was born in the middle of a little civil war between the Endurance and the Freeborn. I know that I was born in the Endurance and my father was opposed to their ideals even though he worked for them. He ran away and took me with him. He raised me in a little house in a town with other people who were neutral when it came to the "Freeborn or Endurance" question. I know I had a few friends in that town. I know that the Endurance found us a few days ago and arrested us for treason.

I know all of this happened, so why don't I believe that it happened to me? There are only a few things that I remember that actually feel real -- like I was the one who experienced those events. First: My house. I know that my father raised me there on our own but it doesn't feel real; only the house does but not my father. Second: A voice in my head saying only a few words.

"Matthew, Luna and Kadiya Irving. Take them to the place where you grew up. And don't tell anyone."

I remember the voice saying something else about a key but those two things are like a bit of clarity in a world of confusion.

My surroundings now are dark. I think that I'm in the back of some sort of van because I can tell that I'm moving and I'm sitting down with my hands cuffed behind my back. My body feels stiff and sore-- like I've been lying still for a really long time and I haven't moved at all. I can't see anyone with me in the back here so I stretch out my legs and try to sit up as tall as I can. I can see the back of a few seats and the heads of about four people. When I think I see someone turn their head back, I duck back down.

I have no idea where I am, but I'm pretty sure that if they have my hands cuffed behind my back, they're probably not friendly. There aren't any windows here, so I can't see what's happening outside the van. I don't know what the terrain is like outside but I couldn't care less at the moment. Right now, I need to get out of these cuffs so that... wait. I remember the voice saying something about me being able to find a key to my left. Was that intended for this situation?

I've moved around the back of the van quite a bit, so I try to find the spot where I originally woke up. I'm not sure if I've found it, but it feels similar. I start combing the area to my left until I -- Ah-ha! I see a ring of keys in the corner and behind a box. I now need my hands on the other side of my body. I try to bring my legs through my arms which are still cuffed. It's slow work, especially since the van isn't that tall and I'm trying not to make a lot of noise during my escape attempt. Eventually, my hands are in front of me and I take the ring of keys. There are two keys and one is far to big for the little keyhole on my cuffs so I choose the smaller one. It's surprisingly tricky to get the key in its hole and turn it, but the cuffs come undone and I sigh from relief.

The next step is to get out of this place. I'm assuming that the larger key is for the door of the van. I crawl over and run my hands over the doors, trying to find the little keyhole. I can't find it even though I've checked the doors twice. I try a third time and I find a little square. Is this the lock? I touch it with my thumb, trying to feel for the keyhole, but a bright green light illuminates the back of the van and I flinch from the shock. I turn reflexively to see if any of the people at the front of the van noticed. Luck is on my side tonight because none of them turn around. When I turn back, the light has disappeared and a soft beep comes from the door. I wait for something to happen and it doesn't. Until it does and the doors fly open, exposing the outside world.

It's the middle of the night and we're far away from any city or town so the only light comes from the van and the moon or stars. We're driving on a dirt road and we're going at a decently fast pace. If I was to jump, it would hurt a lot. I bite my lip, trying to decide whether or not I should jump.