The Resistance

Chapter one

Alicianna (year 3940)

I woke in a cold sweat, my face dripping with a sticky liquid that clings to my skin like sap to a tree. Swinging my shaking legs over the side of the cargo-sheet camping bed, I put my elbows on my knees and rested my head on my hands. I slide my hands through my hair, locking my fingers behind the back of my neck, it was only a dream, it was only a dream. I kept telling myself this, breathing in and out until my racing hart slowed to a normal pace, cold and uncontrollable, I knelt at the side of what I believed to make shift hospital bed; I attempted to get to grips with what rolled in to my head last night like the unstoppable waves of the sea. The terra I felt was so real, too real and their screams were too real for a dream which lead me to believe that it was more then that. The images were so vivid and they were so real that it couldn’t have just been a story of the unconscious. It felt like they had been ripped away from me for real, like we were stuck in an on-going cycle, the moon and suns rising and sinking, never to be together. Every night the same thing, the same pattern.

A small beam of light flickered as the small sheet that posed as a door was lifted. A rush of warm air consoled my shaken body and the friendly sight of a young girl both soothed and heightened my senses. I jerked back on the bed like a hesitant young animal, but she just smiled. I felt weary as she walked into the small make shift tent; smiling, her checks were rosy and flushed she was genuinely glad to see me.

She was tall for a girl of her age and very slim and fit. Her raven black hair just reached her shoulders, gently brush them like vine branches of a willow tree. As she stood there I noticed she was wearing tattered jeans that were too big and hung loosely around her waist, a long sleeved top the color of blue bells in bloom and around her neck were shinny sliver dog tags. Her completion wasn’t pale but her skin was lighter than you would have thought in this blistering sun, her cheeks were rosy and a few small freckles lay neatly under her eyes, eyes like a bright shining amethyst, a beep and burning purple. She smiled as she stood there staring at me, her eyes melting away all my fear and I instantly loosened up, like she was family. Then her face twisted and she looked confused.

“Are you all right Lica?” concern riddled her tiny voice, I shook my head and she gave and awkward smile “The doctor said you might have some amnesia” she walked cautiously over to the bed side and then dropped like a stone on to it. She bounced a little and then settled. “Well you look good” her words seemed muzzled through the fog in my head. I tried to picture what had happened but nothing came to mind, just grey fuzz like interference on an old TV. “You really don’t remember me or what happed, do you?” she questioned, cocking her head to one side to get a better view of my face. I looked into her eyes, they were so familiar like families but I could not place them, I thought about what to say because ‘No’ just wasn’t quite right.                                                                  

“I do” I stuttered hesitantly, her face drooped in sadness; she had to detected the lie in my words. “Vaguely, I remember a girl like you” I stopped and thought hard, poking my tongue out I thought even harder, the girl laughed “What?” the tone of my voice was almost cold. “You always pulled that face when you think really hard” she laughed another care free childish laugh “It’s ok, really, if you don’t remember you don’t remember, the doc said it will take a while for the memories to come back if they come back at all” I could tell those words sadden her greatly, she stood up and sighed then walked to the drape door. I thought harder “M, m, Madie” the name struggled to reach past my lips but she still heard me. Her ears pricked up like a puppy dogs and her eyes lit up. “You, you remembered my name” a smile spread across her face. “What else can you remember” she sat back down and looked at me in expectation. A moment of silence passed, my brain working on over drive to give the poor girl some reconciliation “I’m sorry, I can’t remember anything else” she looked away, the smile had disappeared and then it reappeared and she was looking at me again. “The doctor said it might take some time but I‘m glad you remember me, cause well you came here with no one else so it would be a bit weird if you didn’t remember me” Confused I looked around trying to make out where here was.                                                                                                               

The makeshift tent was dark and small and not unlike a military cargo material. In one corner it had a temporary wooden paneled wall like a wind breaker; here was the small porcine basin atop aplastic crate, above the crate hung a small chipped mirror which you could just about see yourself in. The rest of the tent was not as sturdy, if you were to gently touch one side the whole thing would shake and rattle like the tail of the snake. I pulled at my necklace, dragging the silver charm across its chain I battled harder with my memory.

“Where, where is here?” I stuttered once more.

“The Resistance!” Madie exclaimed cheerfully but I just pulled a confused face, it was almost as if I was the child in the room.

Madie sighed and then rubbed my shoulder “come on, let’s go get you some clean clothes” I looked at her puzzled for a moment but she just stared back at me and smiled, a small laugh escaped at her small lips “Come on” she then slapped me on the back, got up and walked to the drape. I sat there for a few minutes and watched her walk away, trying to absorb everything I was just told and not told, I shook my head and stood up. I placed my hands out beside me to regain so balance, when I was sure that I wouldn’t fall over I head out after Madie. The last bit of our convocation echoing in my head, “where is here?”

“The Resistance”