Earth's Revolution

Chapter 1 - The Forest

Nothing different was supposed to happen. Normal was safe. And that was where I wanted to stay. 

The light grew to a pleasant glow in my bedroom, as the soft rays poked through the trees. I turned over, to look out the open window. A warm summer breeze floated through, which announced the beginning of the day, with the familiar scent of gasoline, bug spray, and fertilizer.

I began my routine, ending with saying goodbye to my adoptive parents as they both went to work. I breathed in the sounds of the city waking up, and everything moving about, as it had for the past sixteen years.

I sat down on a swinging bench on our front porch, and picked up the book.

Oscar, my adoptive brother, walked out of the front door, pulling on a thin, light green T-shirt, and finishing a cup of orange juice.

"Where are you hurrying off to?" I asked.

"A soldier who fought in the first war agreed to come train me and some of the others at the warehouse this morning." he explained. "I think we were going to go to the archives too; might be a few hours later than normal."

"Okay, sounds good. I'll see you then." he leaned down and gave me a hug.

"Bye!" he jogged down the steps and down the street to their secret meeting place.

I disapproved of him doing all of this behind his parents' backs, but if they knew, then they wouldn't let him go. He could, and would, do basically anything he wanted, because our parents left at six in the morning, and got back at seven at night, so as long as he was back by then, and did all the chores he was supposed to do, life went on smoothly. 

It was as smooth as deceit could be.

I didn't get along with any other girls my age, and I was okay without friends, so I was content. 

I couldn't remember life before all of the routines had emerged. Wake, everyone goes their separate ways, do your thing, everyone comes back, go to sleep, repeat the next day. It was strange to think of doing anything different.

The heat of summer around midday was getting extremely uncomfortable, and I continued my studies indoors.

Hours later, I heard Oscar on the creaky boards of our front porch, and come through the front door. "Janet!"

"I'm in here, Oscar." I replied from inside our kitchen. I was bent over a text book, and was having trouble understanding it. Oscar walked down the short hallway that led from the front door.

"I found something at the archives." He said, as he threw half of a frozen waffle from the fridge into his mouth, and sat down at the table. "It was about the Redpaths." he said.

My pencil froze in its path around the page and I stared at the problem blankly.

"What?"

"Your dad fought in the twelfth infantry, and died in the fourth battle." He said soberly, and paused. "Your mom lost her job, and didn't have enough money to pay the mortgage, and was sent to jail in Turkey. And your sister was sent to a human charity boarding school in Canada."

"My sister," I whispered to myself. All of this information was completely new to me, because my parents hadn't left me any information, and it seemed like everyone they knew, or had connections with had disappeared. 

"Jan, I'm sorry." He said. 

All three of his older brothers had fought in the first war, and surprisingly survived at such a young age, but only to live a few more years and then be executed.  Oscar was eight years younger than all of them.