When I arrive back at camp, everyone is awake. Iris is the first to see me. "Oh, there you are," she smirks. "We thought you ran away back to the soldiers to tell on us," she says, mocking a child's voice. I glance at Moana and Souris. Moana grips Souris' hand tighter, their knuckles growing white.
I drop the two sacks on the ground. One empty, one half-full. Willow walks up to me and searches them. She tries to empty the first one, and nothing comes out. She moves on to the second one, tipping it upside-down. Cans of military-grade food spill out onto the ground. Willow's eyes widen at the sight. Everyone, including Iris, seems shocked and impressed.
"Where did you get that?" Willow finally manages. She seems uncomfortable at the sight of the pastel-green bags.
"Broke into the Military Nutritional Storage. I got two sacks of food, then went back to the poor neighborhoods and gave away most of it."
"Wait, you broke into the center of town, then into a military building, then back out of both, with the state of your leg?" she seems shocked, impressed, scared, excited, and sad at the same time. The sadness seems to take over her face for a second, and I find myself wanting to comfort her, to take her away from here and to the safety of the other country. The other Nation. The one across the sea. And who says there couldn't be more besides us two? "Why?" she mutters.
"Because you guys needed food, and I needed to tell everyone that I was alive and that we were going to war, anyways."
Everyone's speechless. Souris gets up first, walking up to the pile of cans and taking a can of soup, walking back to her stuff. Everyone stares at her. "What?" she asks. Moana rummages through her bag, taking out something shiny and tossing it to Souris. It's a can opener. Everyone shrugs, each of them picking out a can. I stuff the remainder of the food back into the sack.
I take the sack and walk over to the shore, staring at the water and trying to plan for the war. The thing is, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. We've never been at war. All of war is ancient history. Nobody's been at war in centuries, maybe even millennia. And I don't know how much it will affect our lives. I don't know if we'll even notice that we're at war, and if the Nation will try to disguise the war from us. Maybe we've been at war before, and nobody's noticed.
I barely even hear the footsteps crunching through the gravel and coming towards me before Willow sits down next to me.
"I could never do anything like that," she sighs. I turn to her, gazing into her perfect eyes. "Do you want some?" she asks, offering me her can of chili and a spoon. I take it gratefully and begin to eat. I'm stunned by how delicious it tastes, and by how rich it is. "What do you think it'll be like?" she asks. "You know, being at war."
I finish my bite. "I don't really know." I hesitate as I realize something. They're going to draft the poor into the war. They're gonna make the poor fight to keep the rich safe. They're going to treat the poor like objects, like animals, like they're completely expendable. I wonder what the age to be drafted will be. 25? 20? 15?
"Neither do I," she replies, and she seems to notice the strain in my expression. "Is something wrong?" she asks.
"Just realized something, that's all," I say, continuing to eat in silence. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I had started eating.
"Where are you from?" she asks.
"The poor neighborhoods," I reply. "I was born there."
"Where did you grow up?"
"On the streets."
"With your parents?"
"No," I reply. I see the look of shock and grief on her face before I turn to look at the ground. "My parents abandoned me when I was a little kid because they had too many, and because they thought I was the least likely to succeed." I hand my head. "I was completely alone until I met Anivia five years ago," I say. I sneer a bit as I remember how it happened. "I was trying to pickpocket a couple of soldiers, and they caught me. They almost killed me, and then left me to die. Anivia found me, and we were together ever since.
YOU ARE READING
Kaden
Science FictionKaden has always hated the corrupt government of the Nation, the country in which she lives. When the only person who she's ever really known and trusted is killed by soldiers, she is forced to live with a diverse group of teenage rebels... and to s...