Rise

Chapter 3 - Cut

The broken tree branch was not as sturdy as I'd imagined. It bent significantly under my weight as I hobbled down the cracked, uneven road, but I refused to slow down. Should the boy realize that I was gone, he could easily catch up to me if I didn't get myself as far away as possible.

The rain had become a light mist, but the air was still cold and biting, seeping through my thin school shirt and pants. The street I traveled on was hardly even that anymore, it had taken on years of damage and was layered with debris of all sorts: glass, blackened bricks, wood chips. I tried my best not to step on anything but gravel, but doing so with one leg and a weak stick was like chewing on rocks.

I had no idea where I was, and the lack of street lights didn't help. I only counted on the fact that the helicopters were close by, and I wandered blindly in the direction of where I last heard them. Every building that lined the street had clearly been deserted for years, yet there was an unsettling feeling that accompanied them. Of those that still stood, the burnt paint and shattered windows kept an eerie watch over me, and I couldn't help but sense that someone lurked among the shadows just beyond where I could see with the help of the moonlight. However, I knew better. Nobody lived beyond the walls where I came from. The security surrounding us was too much of a risk, even for the resistors. That was always taught in school.

I breathed in an out slowly through my nostrils, letting the wet air cool my lungs. I cleared my throat a few times and found to my great joy that it had healed significantly since I drank the water the boy gave me. I wasn't entirely sure why I didn't trust that he would take me to the Cause rescue team in the morning; he had saved my life and helped tend my wounds. Perhaps I was disturbed by the fact that he rambled a bunch of nonsense about the Cause that was entirely wrong.

He tried to tell me that Resistance was only trying to fight for the freedom that the Cause had taken from the people of the world. When the Cause first started sixty years ago their intentions had seemed pure; they had wanted to unite the world under one governing movement, one that was dedicated to serving the people of the world and creating balance among everything. It was supposed end wars, poverty, and discrimination, ideals that most of mankind had all but given up fighting for.

But then the boy said that when the Cause movement had been in effect for about fifty years, the rulers began to be consumed with power. They accused their people of not observing the laws and misbehaving in acts of rebellion, which lead to enforcements of a higher standard of decrees. With the entire world united under one government, there was no one to stop the Cause leaders from making the changes, resulting in the start of an uprising among the people.

When he had finally finished speaking and decided to accept that I would no longer respond, he curled up next to the portable heater and closed his eyes. He apparently assumed that I was too weak to walk and would not attempt to try and leave again. Such a child he was, so lost and confused. I waited for about twenty minutes until I was sure that he was deeply asleep, and sat up quietly.

I carefully rolled onto my knees, making sure to keep the weight off my bad leg, and kept my palms pressed to the cold, dirt-caked floor. The blanket beneath me rustled noisily when I shifted my foot, and instinctively my head snapped up to look at the boy. To my relief, he still lay motionless except for the small movement of his chest rising and falling. As I glimpsed his face I noticed that he looked incredibly peaceful. He was in a place that many longed for, but could not find. I could see that there was definitely something that differentiated him from everyone else, however I was not going to wait around long enough to find out what. I scrambled out of the ware house on my hands and knees, feeling like a wild dog escaping from its kennel.

As I continued down the road, I tried to force myself to stop thinking about what the boy said. I felt so enraged by his complete and utter misguidance, by the lack of understanding. My heart was gripped with it, my hands shook with it. Whoever taught him with such ignorance was setting him up to fail. He was only a child and already his head was completely brainwashed, and for what purpose? One person, especially a nomad, would never make any difference in this broken world.

Eventually the splintering branch I leaned on became so weak that it finally snapped and I collapsed on top of it. My hands reached out to catch my fall, and I slapped puddles of water up into my clothes. I yelped as icy pin pricks shocked my skin, and I immediately sat back on my knees.

"Oh," I sighed as the feeling of helplessness began to set in. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself and shuddered violently for a few moments. The kiss of winter was much more evident now than it was within the walls. Our environment was more controlled there. Here she is cruel, unforgiving, making a mockery of my frailty.

The quiet was even scarier now. I was alone in the dark, sitting on the wet gravel and being eaten alive by the icy atmosphere. Where was my father? He would know exactly what to do, would make everything okay again. He was a natural problem-solver, never let anything overcome him. Why wasn't he there with me? Why couldn't we have escaped the blast together?

If he was with me he'd probably start saying encouraging things as he always did whenever I felt hopeless, to keep me from giving up.

It's going to be alright, Kaye, I thought, imagining his voice in my head. You're still alive, you're still here. You can do this.

I nodded slowly to myself, closing my eyes. "Yeah, I can make it," I whispered. My throat throbbed. I leaned my forearms into the tops of my thighs, keeping all the warmth at my center.

Just hold on. Fight.

***

Author's note:

I will mentally high five the first person who comments whether or not they understand what's going on at this point. Please help me out here. I will follow you! Lol :)