Exchanged

Chapter 7

Five. Five more hours. Time was not on my side. As I swiped through the dirt path, my mind envisioned my next stop: home.

The Victorian house inched closer and closer. And there he sat. My lifeless father lay propped up on the entryway steps. It looked as if his soul left him there, as a hollow shell.

As I descended into a reclining position next to him, I caught a glimpse of the x. The very sight of the "sacrificial lamb" symbol sent goosebumps down my arms. However, my view of the x was cut off when my father turned his cheek away and looked at me.

"You know, Elle, you've always reminded me of a thread."

I looked at my father, confused and disturbed at this remark. Had the misery of the Exchange caused him to go mad?

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"The Capitol, or the Needle, is sharp and dangerous, slicing through everything in its path. You, or the Thread, are long and lean, yet strong. You slip through the Needle and pull it back. You restrain it's power and sew its path of open seams. Elle, the one thing I regret in my life is not living a legacy, something for others to remember me by. But I realized you are my legacy. When I pass, I will be remembered through you. The father of the Thread, the girl who overpowered the Needle."

Never in my entire life had I loved my father more. But reality had sunken in with a wave of fear. What if I can't overpower the Capitol? What if I'm not "The Thread?"

I stared at him. He had put so much faith in me. I couldn't let him down.

"Daddy, I vow to do whatever I can to live your legacy as the Thread."

Tears built up in his eyes and dripped down his cheeks.

"I love you, kido," he said.

"I love you, too" I replied.

For a split second, me father looked away. Now was my chance. I slipped my hand into my bag and scooped a dollop of healing cream. My dad shifted his gaze back, tears rolling down the x. I reached over to wipe them off the x. Little did he know I had rubbed the pink cream across the symbol.

In the end, whomever wore the x was Exchanged. My father's x would soon fade, and he would no longer be the sacrificial lamb. Phase 2, completed.