~The Things I've Written When No One Was Looking~

Rebellion (Part I)

Mommy used to say I should pray always; she said there would be a god to save us one day. She had so much hope and faith. I used to be like that too, until that day came...

"Thalia," Nikko whispered. It was so quiet that I barely heard it. I looked at him. His face filled with concern, panic, and worry. I shook my head at him.

"Nikko, stop. I told you to keep a stoic face until we are out of their territory," I told him. I was feeling the same as Nikko felt, but I had to be brave. If I showed any weakness, and I mean any weakness, then we would be found. I quickly learned, the hard way, that feelings got in the way. They cloud your judgement and slow you down.

"But, Lia, we're almost there," he complained.

"Doesn't matter. I am not taking any risk of them taking you," I tell him sternly.

Nikko knew better than to protest, so he stayed quiet until we reached our...home I guess. I mean I wouldn't really call it a home. Our homes were destroyed and demolished into bits a long long time ago. But this place was a close second. It was a place for us to rest and a safe ground. The searchers haven't found this area yet, which I am thankful for. There aren't many safe grounds around the world anymore. You'd be considered lucky if you found somewhere to hide. Even luckier if it became a perfect hideout.

Fortunately, ours was a secret passageway in the back of the ally. To the untrained eyes it seemed to be a dead end, but if you were like a few people who were fortunate enough, like me, you'd have your eyes trained. They'd spot this hideout in a blink of an eye.

When we reached the entrance to the hideout, I let Nikko in first. I didn't want the little guy to be caught if there happened to be any searchers around. He jumped right in with ease, as I quickly looked both ways to see if anyone was near, as if I were crossing the street. No one was. I took a quick sigh of relief and jumped in.

After jumping into the hideout, we were greeted by Teddy's wailing. And before you ask, no she isn't a boy. Teddy's not her real name, but when we found her she had no idea what her name was and was clutching five mini teddy bears, as if her life depended on it. It looked likes she was trying to strangle them with her tiny bare hands with that tight death grip of her's. So we decided to call her Teddy.

"Why is Ted crying again?" he asked quietly, as not to let her hear it. I shushed him and silently bent down to Ted and gently picked her up.

"Hi Teddy, why are you crying sweetie?" I asked her in a soothing voice. She snuggled her head into the crook of my neck and continued sobbing. I rubbed her back in circular motions until she finally calmed down. Her breathing had evened out and for those few moments it was peace and quiet. Something we rarely got down here in the underground. There weren't many adults around here anymore. Most of them would be dead by now probably. The searchers weren't exactly merciful. They were ruthless and killed every adult that didn't support our new ruler.

Searchers...I thought in disgust. They were dogs for the government. It disgusted me how they took pride in their job. They actually had the audacity to be proud and took advantage of the privileges they got with the job. They're as corrupted as the government was before the new ruler. I remembered back then when the occupation of being a Searcher was still new. The first round of Searcher's that came to my city was the day my life ended.

I remember it like it was just yesterday.

FLASHBACK:

"Mommy why is there so many loud noises outside?" I asked her.

"It's nothing sweetie," she said quietly.

*BOOMING AND CRASHING sounds*

"Mommy are you sure that's nothing?" I ask her. My curious mind running wild trying to find out what it was.

"It's nothing..." she replied.

The booming and crashing sounds were getting louder and closer.

"Mommy. I'm scared!" I told her.

She nodded, grabbed my hand, and led me through our house and to our secret room. Mommy went through numerous things before the hidden door sprung open. She lifted me up in one swift movement and carried me into our hidden room that led to the underground passageways.

"Thalia, sweetie, mommy has to go now," she said calmly.

I whimpered. I didn't want mommy to go and leave me alone here with all the loud sounds outside.

"Thalia, I'll come back, don't you worry, but until then stay here. Do not get out or open this door for any reason. Do I make myself clear?" she ordered me.

I nodded vigorously before the door was shut at my face. I listened to mommy's footsteps till they were long gone from my range of hearing.

Slowly, I crept out, tiptoeing out of my hiding spot. Then, mommy's voice rang in my head as I remembered that I was supposed to stay in there, but me being me. I just couldn't listen. I never did. I guess I just liked to rebel like daddy. He was rebelling against some sort of thing the government was doing. He said that he would tell me all about it when I'm older because, apparently, I wasn't old enough to understand it. I scoffed at the idea of me not understanding the simplistic idea of rebellion.

To me that's all I've ever known when it came to daddy. Sure, I grew up with him being a loving father but he was obviously someone who held an important spot in the rebellion. More often than not, you would find guest at our house. Almost each and every guest held an air of importance to them. It seemed almost ridiculous. They looked like the pampered rich trying to mock the poverty with all their fancy clothing. The others had this mysterious vibe about them going on, but none the less, they all came often, whether, they were rich, poor, or strangers. They all had important meetings with daddy.