Crying: A Dystopian Novel

Standing: Chapter 10

     ++++ JOHN ++++

"YOU'RE LYING!" I shout. "They were in the living room when you stormed the house!"

"Search us if you'd like, sir. They were not there." Anger flows through my veins as I run out the Versi's back door and sprint to our house.

"MOM? DAD?" I shout over and over as I search the house. When I don't find them at home, I run to the bunker. They're not there either, or at the cove. Tears wallow up in my eyes as I lie down on the floor of the cove, but I keep them from streaming down my cheeks. I'm infuriated and demolished at the same time.

"John? John!"

"Mom?" I run out of the cove and up the bank.

"John!" Grace runs over and wraps her arms around me. "Did you find them?"

"No." I sigh; she sounds just like Mom.

"John!" Anna yells as she approaches us. She runs up and latches onto me. "It's okay, we'll find them."

"What happened after I left?" I ask, trying to distract myself.

"Michael started yelling at them again and Mom kept attempting to calm Eleise and Laelynn down." I hold her close and sigh; I thought I'd never see her again when they started wrapping me and Grace up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I swallow and hug her.

"Are you okay?" She asks again.

"No." I choke. "They're gone and I have no idea where they are, if they are still alive."

"I know. But when we find them alive, I guarantee that they will be thrilled to see you and Grace." I nod in response, still scatter-brained. "You good now?" I bite my lip and fiddle with her braid.

"I'll be okay when everything's over." We head back to Anna's house.

"Hey, Mom's called a meeting while they're

gone." Michael says as we enter the house. He has an anger in his eyes that I've only seen a few times; it's an anger reserved for when someone threatens those he's close to.

The last time someone came in and tried to take over, Mr. Versi was killed. I can only imagine the things running through his head.

*****************************************

"Thank you all for coming." Mrs. Versi opens the meeting. "I know you are all wondering who those people were. This is what I have been told by them." She talks on and tells what happened to us. "We need to take a vote as to whether or not we believe them. Any opinions before hand?"

"Don't trust them." Michael immediately makes his voice heard from beside me. It's stiff and he sounds like he's ready to bite someone's head off. Anna scoots past me to stand beside him and squeezes his hand. He puts his arm around her as cries of 'trust them' and 'no, don't trust them' resonate through the room.

"Quiet, please!" Mrs. Versi shouts. "Thank you. All in favor of trusting them?" I count hands as they rise: 44.

"All opposed?" I count again: 40. We lost. Michael mumbles curses under his breath when his mom reports the numbers to the group.

"Then I'm leaving. Come on Anna." He says. People all around the room gasp as he walks out. Anna, Eleise, Laelynn, Grace, and I all run after him. Once we're outside the building, he turns to Anna. "Are you coming with me or just trying to stop me?"

"Would you just leave us here like that? Michael, where would you go? There's absolutely no where safe."

"You don't know that."

"You don't know that there is. Michael, just listen to me. I know you're upset but that doesn't mean you can just lea—"

"I can, and I will. If you want to let these people come in, take over, and then decide to kill you, then go ahead and be just like Dad. Same to you Eleise, Laelynn. If you want to come, come. If not, then goodbye." Anna stands there in shock as her brother runs into their house. He's in there a few minutes before he reappears with a backpack on his back and disappears into the woods. I walk over and hold her in her shock.

"He'll be back." I try to make myself sound confident of this.

"I can't believe he just left us."

"He'll come back. He just needs time to get over it." Grace comes over and hugs us and Eleise and Laelynn just sit in the grass, twiddling their thumbs, leaning their heads on one another.

"Anna? Please come out." I knock on the door. I haven't seen her since Michael left a week ago.

"GET OUT OF MY LIFE!" She yells.

"An—"

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Don't mind her. She's still... coping." Laelynn sighs as she comes down the hall.

"How is she?"

"The same. That's her response to everyone. They were super close."

"Oh. How are you and Eleise?"

"I'm okay. Eleise is reading a lot more than usual, but I guess she's okay."

"Thanks." I leave. I did the same thing Anna's doing when Grace was captured. I pushed everyone away. Back then it seemed great, but now that I'm on the receiving end, it's not the same.