Searching for Paradise

Chapter Four

Shout out to warmmilk for the cover on my story! You did a great job on it and I absolutely love it!! Way better than anything I could ever do! I also want to thank everyone who also made a cover! Everyone did really good! Now onto the story! Enjoy :).

I woke up. It was dark, my head was pounding, and my stomach was cramped. I sat up, being instantly met with warmth and light. A small fire was burning a few feet from me, and as I surveyed my surroundings, I realized I was in a small shack. I looked out the small window above me to see the sun setting in the distance. I ran cold with fear. If I wasn't back by the time it set, I wouldn't be getting back in tonight.

"Your awake." A voice drifted over from the door of the shack. I whipped my head around to see a man standing there. As he came closer though I realized he wasn't much older than me. His face was dirty, and looked worn and tired. He walked over to the fire, sitting down on the floor in front of it. "You hungry?" He asked eyeing me warily. I didn't trust myself to speak. I barely knew this person. My stomach however didn't care, letting out a loud growl. He chuckled reaching back, pulling something out of the pack on his back. I almost gagged when I saw it. Rabbits. Four of them, hanging from a rope. "What, never seen someone cook a rabbit before." He said pulling out a knife. I bristled, watching as he started cutting into the rabbit. Then I really did gag. I ran to the door pulling it open, emptying my already empty stomach. "Take that as a no." He chuckled. I went back to my side of the cabin, sitting down close to the fire still watching him.

"So Goldilocks, come to the woods often?" He asked a smile on his face. "Who's Goldilocks?" I asked completely confused. He stopped skinning the rabbit and looked up at me. After staring at me for a few minutes he laughed loudly. "I don't believe it. Your one of those society people aren't you. Come from the big city do ya?" He asked leaning forward. "Ofcourse. Come to think of it, why haven't I seen you around." I asked eyeing him. He scoffed. "I don't live in that place." He said going back to the rabbits. I was shocked. "Impossible. Nobody could survive outside the City. That's why we live there." I said. "Is it really so hard to lie to people." He said watching me. "No. No way. Why would they lie about that." I said crossing my arms. He slammed his knife into the floor and stared at me over the fire.

"Control. Its all about controlling everybody." He said. I shook my head. "Why would they do that." I said skeptically. He sighed. "Look do you want something to eat or not. Because if you keep asking questions this rabbit wont be cooked for a while." He said angrily. I closed my mouth turning to look out the window instead. The sun had disappeared behind the ground, as did my chances of getting home. I started to cry. What else could I do. I was alone in a shack god knows where, with a complete stranger who claimed to live on the outside of the City. I wiped the tears that streamed down my face.

"Your not crying are ya Goldilocks?" His voice called out. "My name is Gabriella." I said turning to face him. "Cade." He replied.

After an hour of sitting, the smell of cooking meat made my mouth water. My stomached grumbled loudly as the smell filled the shack. As he cooked, I took him in. His hair was black and shaggy, he had a thin face with a straight nose that wasn't to big, or too small, with a small upturn at the end. His eyes were what shocked me. They were a beautiful golden brown that sparkled in the light of the fire.

"Its done." He said snapping me out of my thoughts. I scooted closer as he tore a piece off and handed it to me. I have to say this was not my finest moment. I scarfed down the meat like a starving dog. I had just finished what he gave me when he handed me another piece. "Your not going to eat?" I asked taking the meat from him. He shrugged. "Got three more rabbits. Ill be fine." He said flicking his hair out of his face. I nodded, eating the rest of the food. I wiped my hands on my pants, standing up. He watched me as I walked to the window.

"I've never spent this much time outside." I said surveying the land around us. "Enjoy it while you can Goldilocks." Cade laughed as he poked at the fire. "You'll be back in your cozy city soon enough." He said sarcastically. "Why do you hate the union so much." I asked turning to face him. He scoffed pushing himself off the floor. He walked over to me and leaned against the wall. "I used to be just like you." He said staring out the window. "Oh, the Union will take care of us, the Union will keep us safe." He mocked shaking his head. He turned to look at me.

"The Union isn't all it seems Goldilocks. They've got secrets too, just like everyone else." He said watching me closely. "They want you to think its perfect. They want you to not question things, or be on your guard all the time. Its how they control you. Make you do stuff you wouldn't ordinarily do. They make you do the work to keep up their.. Illusion. They're frauds, liars, and murderers." He spat out the last part with hate. I thought back to earlier in the woods. The children, my father.

"But they're going to be exposed. For everything they've done. There's rebellion all around them Goldilocks. They cant keep their charade up forever." Cade said fiercely, his eyes sparkling as he talked.

"I'm going to join them." Cade said firmly. I looked at him, his lips pursed, his jaw clenched. I didn't think. I just spoke. "Take me with you." I said the words flying out of my mouth. Cades head snapped up and he turned to face me. "No way Goldilocks you'd just slow me down." He laughed at my statement, walking away from me. I grabbed his arm and stepped in front of him.

"I just watched my own father execute two children my sisters age. A man I have looked up to my whole life murdered two innocent children today. If that was the Unions doing your taking me with you." I said firmly glaring at him. He chuckled and shook my hand from his arm.

"I like your attitude Goldilocks but you lack one thing your going to need for a trip like this." He said. I looked at him confused. "Supplies." He said walking over to his pack. He looked around before finally pulling something out and walked back over to me. "Here." He said handing me a piece of paper. "This is a map I drew of the area. This is the cabin were in now." He said pointing to a small X on the paper. "This is the City." He said moving his finger to a big black dot. "If you come back tomorrow night with supplies and you still want to go, Ill take you with me." He said taking his hand from the paper. "Im catching some z's. If I have to spend all day in this cabin, I'm going to sleep most of it away." He laughed moving back over to the fire. He moved his pack, laying down, resting his head on it.

I sat down in front of the fire and studied the map trying to figure out how to use it. There were other markings on the map, but I didn't know what they meant. I sighed. It seemed simple enough to find the cabin again. From what the map said we weren't very far from the city. I sat there trying to decipher what the other symbols on the map were, I didn't realize the sun had started to come up. I started for the door, but stopped halfway, looking back at Cade. I took a stick from the fire and wrote out a quick note on the wall with the burnt end. As soon as I was done I threw the stick back into the fire and headed out the door.

I surveyed the area to make sure nobody was around, and took off at a sprint in the direction I hoped the City was in. After a while of running the walls that surrounded the City came into view. I ran faster towards the looming walls.

"Wait for me Cade. Wait for me." I said to myself as I got closer to the place I used to call home.