After Dark (On Hold)

The Soldier

"Let's walk along the side of the fence. Maybe we'll come across something different around a ways down." Or someone. I thought of the possibility of meeting a new friend here. I fantasized about how we could meet halfway though the woods every day and hang out. The thought interested me and I began to walk faster.

Soon we came to a clearing where there was a cafe, along with a grocery store and a small, local bank. We snuck behind the cafe and began to whisper.

"I guess I still don't see the point in this. It's not like we can do anything for fear of being caught," remarked Elise.

I was about to reply when I heard a voice behind me. I jumped as I watched the startled expression plastered across Elise's face.

"Being caught? Oh, you wouldn't want that to happen!" It was a boy, he looked about 18 or 19. He started chuckling and I just stared. Wait. Coal colored buttons? A black coat and combat boots? It took me too long to realize that he was a young soldier. Elise shot me a harsh glare. We had been caught. She had been against us coming here in the first place, so I was to blame.

"You two aren't from this region are you?" He asked. The smirk on his face indicated that he thought this was funny. It wasn't. I thought for a moment. Should we tell the truth?

"Why would you think that?" I inquired. "You've never seen us around here before?"

"Actually, it wasn't really a question. See your wristband?" he said as I looked down at my hand. All the people in our town wore them. The soldiers put them on our wrists when they came, another symbol that they had control over us. "Well this town has dark red ones ones. Yours are green. I assume you two are from the next town over?"

I felt defeated. We were definitely in trouble. He motioned for us to follow him.

"What are you going to do with us," said a nervous voice from behind. It was Elise.

He let out a deep laugh. This kind of scared me. "Don't you worry your pretty little head. I'm not telling the authorities." I was relieved, but was still unsure of where he was taking us. He stopped at a rugged looking house. It was well kept, but there wasn't much to it. Although we were worried about walking into a stranger's house, we were more afraid that if we made a run fr it he would tell his boss. After walking in he took a seat at a small square table and we did the same.

"So what are two girls doing so far from home?" he questioned.

Elise squirmed in her seat. "Wasn't my idea," she murmured.

She obviously wasn't about to answer, so I began. "If you were us, wouldn't you want to get out of that cage of a place? Just for once? It's not like we weren't coming back. I just wanted to explore a little. And how crazy is it that I didn't even know that there was another town like ours just a mile away? That just shows how little we know about anything outside that fence. But of course you wouln't understand." A took a deep breath. I had a habit of rambling when I was nervous.

The soldier snickered at me. I glowered at him in irritation. "That's actually why I decided to talk to you guys. You left home to explore. You're unlike the rest, and I like that you don't just sit and watch as the world goes by."

OK, so he didn't seem too bad after all, but I wasn't about to let my guard down.

"So what do you do exactly?" I was a bit surprised. Elise wasn't one to pipe up at a time like this. I guess that was a good sign. If she was beginning to trust him, I might be able to do the same.

He was slow to answer, "I became a guard soldier when I was seventeen and a half. It's been a year since then. We mostly keep an eye on the people here, it's like this all over the US. There are eight of us in this town. I know the guys from your town, and there are five there. The bigger the population, the more soldiers. We are here to make sure you don't question the government or rebel. In some way, having the areas split up like this makes it so people don't unite or get ideas to run away."